#tyrrell 012

[tank-head]

[frenchcurious]

Stefan Bellof (Tyrrell Racing Organisation - Tyrrell 012 Ford-Cosworth) Grand Prix de Monaco 1984. © Rainer Schlegelmilch / Motorsport. - source Carros e Pilotos.

[eliorosb3rg]

stefan bellof in the tyrrell 012 ford

[coimbrabertone]

If You Ain't Cheating, You Ain't Trying...Part Two.

Last time I covered the Penske P2P scandal and the strangely similar Benetton Option 13 from thirty years prior. Today, we're going back another ten years to 1984, and examine how cheating scandals get political: this is the story of the 1984 Tyrrell 012.

The lead shot car.

So, our story begins in 1982, with the likes of Renault and Ferrari (and, with much less success, Toleman) running turbocharged engines. These turbos were marking the end of the age of the British garagistas with their venerable Ford-Cosworth DFV, but a few of the frontrunning Cosworth teams got crafty about it and put up a fight.

Brabham and Williams ran water tanks on their new carbon brakes, ostensibly for cooling, but in reality, the cars were weighed with these water tanks, they dumped them in the race, and then topped off by the time the cars made it to scrutineering by the end of the race. Thus, for most of the actual race, these cars were up to 110 pounds underweight (50 kg).

Just a few years later though, Brabham had switched to BMW, Williams to Honda, and Tyrrell was the last Cosworth team left standing.

The turbocharged engines were getting close to their peak power - over 1000 horsepower with the one-off qualifying units, and still like 800 in the races - so Tyrrell had to get even craftier to stay in contention.

Enter the water-cooled injection system on the Tyrrell 012.

Similarly to the brakes from 1982, this 1984 Tyrrell had a water tank on the engine, ostensibly for cooling purposes, that could be topped off at the last pitstop. Only it seemed like the Tyrrell wasn't just getting filled with water, but with lead shot - 140 pounds of it - and some of that was coming loose as the Tyrrell pulled out of the pits. So, Tyrrell was taking the term "shotgun exhaust" a tad bit literally, it seems.

The real trouble started in Detroit 1984, when Tyrrell's Martin Brundle finished second. That sounds good, except the only problem was...in those days, F1 had much more stringent scrutineering for the podium finishers. And thus, the hammer came down on Tyrrell.

Tyrrell was accused of filling the cars with a mixture of water, lead shot, and benzene.

Thus, Tyrrell was alleged to have, 1: Refueled when refueling was banned in 1984. 2: Used an illegal fuel. 3: Used illegal fuel lines (the cooling lines from the water tank). 4: Had an unsecured ballast (the lead shot).

For these charges, Tyrrell would be disqualified from all rounds, excluded from the championship, and was banned from attending the final three rounds of the season. Furthermore, as they now had no points whatsoever from 1984, they did not qualify for travel subsidies for 1985.

To add insult to injury, FISA fined them for missing the three races they were banned from. Furthermore, as Tyrrell was not an entrant in these races, the other teams - all of which used turbos by 1984 - could unanimously push through regulation changes that benefitted them. Thus, attempts to limit the fuel usage of turbocharged engines were abandoned, 1985 and 1986 would be the years of unrestricted turbos up and down the field.

The writing was on the wall, and by the middle of 1985, Tyrrell would adopt a Renault turbocharged engine.

Thus, was it really about lead shot or illegal fuel or water tanks, or was it about FISA and the turbo teams strongarming the last naturally aspirated team into compliance? I think it was the latter a lot more than the former.

Similarly, the crisis that prompted this whole discussion - the Penske cheating scandal in the 2024 NTT Indycar Series - is that really all about using push-to-pass on restarts at St. Pete? Or is it about the fact that Roger Penske owns the series, owns the dominant Team Penske, and many are dissatisfied with the series' trajectory.

Stagnant regulations, stagnant TV ratings, and stagnant investments. Opportunities to bring Indycar abroad have failed to materialize, Honda is considering leaving and the premier Chevy team - whose engines are made by Ilmor, which Roger Penske also owns! - just got caught cheating. No wonder Zak Brown from McLaren and Michael Andretti from Andretti Global have been his most vocal critics, especially with regards to this scandal.

Michael was calling for Penske to sell the series before all this, now? Well, it's gotten so bad that there was a behind closed doors team owners meeting during this last Indycar race at Barber Motorsports Park.

Forty years ago, a cheating scandal was all the excuse the turbo teams needed to turn against Tyrrell, now, a cheating scandal has only strengthened the battle between Team Penske and the other Indycar teams.

The only difference, I suppose, is that Tyrrell was a minnow, and Penske is the big fish in the pond.

That team meeting at Barber? A day after that, Scott McLaughlin and Will Power crossed the line one-two in a dominant victory for Team Penske.

Tyrrell, meanwhile, were a shell of their former shelves after 1984, and would never win another race.

Next on this miniseries on cheating, we get to the wacky days of old timey NASCAR, particularly the infamous Smokey Yunick.

[automundoarg]

El otro Tyrrell que pasó a la historia, pero por tramposo

Al momento de mencionar al equipo Tyrrell de Fórmula 1 inmediatamente vienen a la mente su protagonismo en el inicio de la década de 1970 y su revolucionario modelo P34, que quedó en la historia por ser el único auto con seis ruedas que ganó una Gran Premio. Pero la escudería fundada por Ken Tyrrell también fue protagonista de otros momentos y no precisamente muy felices. De hecho, en 1984 fue…

[carpr0n]

Starring: ‘83 Tyrrell 012

By Tony Barker

[legendsofracing]

Stefan Bellof in his Tyrrell 012, 1984.

[formlab]

Tyrrell 012 - 1985

[f1-blog-posts]

Stefan Bellof, Tyrrell-Ford 012, 1984 Monaco GP, Monte Carlo

[jrgysusobjetos]

TYRRELL 012 BENETTON ( Michele Alboreto)

Tinta blanca. A4. jrG

B.820

2021

[tank-head]

[frenchcurious]

Stefan Bellof (Tyrrell 012 Ford-Cosworth) essais du Grand Prix de Monaco 1984. © Sutton Images / Motorsport. - source Carros e Pilotos.

[coffeebreakexpresso]

#Stefan Bellof  #Tyrrel 012 Cosworth #Brands Hatch 1984

[missedapex]

🤘🔥 The wedge shaped Tyrrell 012 originally driven by Martin Brundle in classic Tyrrell blue ____________________________________ #missedapex #racecar #motorsport #automotive #racing #sportscar #exoticcar #jdm #f1 #canadiangp #formula1 #grandprix #tyrrell #vintagecar

[offcarstarters]

Tyrell 012 Off Car Starter. Developed and manufactured to professional motorsport standards by Ark Racing

The Tyrrell 012 is a Formula One racing car that was designed by Maurice Philippe for the Tyrrell team. It was introduced for the 1983 season, and was subsequently used in 1984 and the first few races of 1985.

[inspornation]

TYRRELL 012