The Tyrrell 001 is 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, ...

racing car which was designed by

Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the ...

's chief designer, Derek Gardner and used at the end of the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and the beginning of the 1971 Formula One season. The car competed in five Grands Prix, retiring on four occasions and achieving one second-place finish.

Development

When

Ken Tyrrell Robert Kenneth Tyrrell (3 May 1924 – 25 August 2001) was a British Formula Two racing driver and the founder of the Tyrrell Formula One constructor.Setright, L. J. K. "Tyrrell: A Shrewd Talent-spotter", in Northey, Tom, ed. ''World of Autom ...

, the team's owner, became disenchanted with the poor performance of

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

chassis during the season, he decided he would design and build his own car. He employed Derek Gardner to design it in secret at his own house. Tyrrell had run Matra chassis in 1969, but Matra's acquisition by Chrysler made continuing to use the preferred Ford

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 ...

engines with the Matra chassis impractical. The project, codenamed "SP" which meant "Special Project" cost Tyrrell over £22,000 of his own money.

Racing history

1970

The resulting car made its debut at

Oulton Park Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection al ...

at a non-championship race but retired; the car was introduced too late in the season to make any difference in the championship; it competed in the final three rounds of the season in North America.

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young Stewart (born 11 June 1939), known as Jackie Stewart, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland. Nicknamed the "Flying Scot", he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Cha ...

took pole in 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 ...

but retired with axle failure while leading, Stewart led again in the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

when the car suffered an oil leak. The

Mexican Grand Prix The Mexican Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de México), currently held under the name Mexico City Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de la Ciudad de México), is a motor racing event held at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. It first a ...

was delayed due to the large crowd of 200,000 proving difficult to control, almost forcing the cancellation of the race. They were crammed in front of the guard-rails, sat at the trackside and ran across the track itself. Despite impassioned appeals from Stewart and local hero Pedro Rodríguez they still remained troublesome. Stewart had suspension failure caused by running over a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

1971

Stewart took pole in the

South African Grand Prix The South African Grand Prix was first run as a Grand Prix motor racing handicap race in 1934 at the Prince George Circuit at East London, Cape Province. It drew top drivers from Europe including Bernd Rosemeyer, Richard "Dick" Seaman, R ...

but finished 2nd to

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

's Ferrari, Stewart raced the

Tyrrell 003 The Tyrrell 003 is a Formula One (F1) racing car which was designed by Tyrrell's chief designer, Derek Gardner and used in the and F1 seasons. It was driven by Jackie Stewart to the 1971 World Drivers' Championship. The 003 was effectivel ...

for the remainder of the season.

Peter Revson Peter Jeffrey Revson (February 27, 1939 – March 22, 1974) was an American race car driver and heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was a two-time Formula One race winner and had success at the Indianapolis 500. Background Peter Revson w ...

drove the 001's final race in the

but retired with clutch failure.

Gallery

Tyrrell 001 2008 Silverstone Classic.jpg, Tyrrell 001 at the 2008

Silverstone Classic The Silverstone Classic is an annual three-day car and race event at the Silverstone Circuit, home of the British Grand Prix. The event features hundreds of historic race cars in circa 20 races over the weekend, displays from over 100 car clubs w ...

1970 Tyrrell-Cosworth 001 Cockpit - Flickr - edvvc.jpg, The cockpit of the Tyrrell 001

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key)(results in bold indicate pole position ^† 6 points were scored using the Tyrrell 001; the other 67 points were scored using the Tyrrell 002 and

References

{{F1 cars 1971 Tyrrell Formula One cars