The Spirit 101 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

car for the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1985 Formula One season The 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 39th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 7 April and ended on 3 November after sixteen races. The World Championship for Drivers was won by Alain Prost,1986 FIA Yearbook, Re ...

s, The chassis was designed by

Gordon Coppuck Gordon Coppuck (born 8 December 1936 in Fleet, Hampshire) is a British racing car designer who was chief designer for McLaren and later worked for March and co-founded Spirit. Born in December 1936, he attended Queen Mary's School for Boys b ...

and Tim Wright.

Development

Spirit decided to continue in

for 1984 with

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile Wo ...

turbocharged engines. Initially twice world champion

Emerson Fittipaldi Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once. Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...

and moneyed Italian

Fulvio Ballabio Fulvio Ballabio (born 8 October 1954) is a race car driver born in Milan, Italy. He raced in Formula Two in 1983, in Formula 3000 in 1986 and 6 starts in CART from 1987 to 1989 for Dick Simon Racing and Dale Coyne Racing. More recently he drove ...

were slated to drive. However Fittipaldi left to find a drive in Indycars after finding the machine uncompetitive and Ballabio was refused an

FIA Super Licence The FIA Super Licence is a driver's qualification allowing the holder to compete in the Formula One World Championship. Requirements Super Licence To qualify for an FIA Racing Super Licence an applicant must meet the requirements of the FIA's Int ...

. Instead Italian

Mauro Baldi Mauro Baldi (born 31 January 1954) is an Italian former Formula One and endurance driver who raced for the Arrows, Alfa Romeo and Spirit teams. He is one of only 9 drivers who won the Triple Crown in endurance racing. Biography Baldi started ...

found funds and was nominated as the team's sole driver, Stefan Johansson being released as he could not find the funding to continue. The 101 was a neat but underpowered car and Baldi struggled to move away from the rear of the grid.

Jean-Louis Schlesser Jean-Louis Schlesser (born 12 September 1948) is a French racing driver with experience in circuit racing and cross-country rallying. He is known for his wins of many different competitions. He is the nephew of Jo Schlesser, a former Formula O ...

had planned to take over from the third race before the threat of litigation from

RAM Racing RAM Racing was a Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their ow ...

, as he still owed them money.

Racing History

1983

The first version of the car, was presented largely incomplete at the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

and didn't race during the season.

1984

In 1984 the first chassis was adapted to house the Hart 415T engine and become the "101B", with new sidepods. Later a new better build chassis was built and debuted at the 1984 San Marino Grand Prix, while the first was later newly modified as "101C" to adopt the

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

(third type of engine in few months), with the previous year side pods, and after the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

refitted with Hart engines to be used as T-Car. The 101B debuted at the

1984 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix, officially known as the XIII Grande Prêmio Brasil de Fórmula 1 was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 1984 in Rio de Janeiro. The race was contested over 61 laps of Jacarepaguá Circuit and was the first ...

and Baldi retired with a broken Distributor, At

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

the Italian finished eighth. The

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of ...

saw Baldi retire with broken suspension, at

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

the Italian finished eighth. The

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

saw Baldi retire with engine failure. The Italian failed to qualify for

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Baldi was replaced by Dutchman

Huub Rothengatter Hubertus (Huub) Rothengatter (born 8 October 1954) is a former racing driver from the Netherlands. He participated in 30 Formula One (F1) Grands Prix, debuting on 17 June 1984. He scored no championship points. He drove for Spirit, Osella and ...

for the

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a spor ...

and was fourteen laps down and was not classified, For

the Hart Engine was replaced by the

but the Dutchman failed to qualify. Rothengatter retired from the

Dallas Grand Prix The Dallas Grand Prix was a round of the Formula One World Championship in 1984. The race was cancelled in 1985 due to financial problems and safety concerns.David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 35. The Dallas Grand P ...

with a Fuel Leak, For

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

the Dutchman was nine laps down and was not classified. The

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

saw Rothengatter finish ninth, At

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

the Dutchman was twenty eight laps down and was not classified. Rothengatter retired from the Dutch Grand Prix with throttle problems, and finished ninth at

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Baldi replaced Rothengatter for the final two races: the

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...

saw Baldi finish eighth. The Italian finished 15th at

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. The Spirit team had scored no World Championship points during the year.

1985

The 101-02 chassis (having been progressively upgraded throughout 1984) was updated into the Spirit 101D for 1985 and Baldi continued to drive. The first race of 1985 was the

1985 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix (officially known as the XIV Grande Prêmio do Brasil) was a Formula One motor race held at Jacarepaguá in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro on 7 April 1985. It was the first round of the 1985 Formula One World Champio ...

and Baldi retired because a turbocharger broke, The Italian spun off and retired at

. The

San Marino Grand Prix The San Marino Grand Prix () was a Formula One championship race which was run at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, near the Apennine mountains in Italy, between 1981 and 2006. It was named after nearby S ...

saw Baldi retire because of an electrical fault.

Allen Berg Allen Bernard Berg (born August 1, 1961) is a Canadian former racing driver who raced for the Osella team in Formula One. Racing career Berg was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. He began in karting in 1978 and switched to cars when he was ...

had arranged a deal to take over the seat later in the season. Money was even tighter, however, and after three rounds John Wickham, co-founder of Spirit decided to take up an offer from

Toleman Toleman Motorsport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and participated in 70 Grands Prix. Origins The Toleman company was formed in 1926 by Edward Toleman for the purpose of delivering Ford ...

to buy out the team's tyre contract and folded the F1 outfit. The Spirit team had scored no World Championship points during the year.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)

References

{{F1 cars 1985 Spirit Formula One cars