In the Know with Ken

Nowadays we are used to a February/March schedule of presentations by the Formula 1 teams of their new cars for the impending season.  These have become increasingly glitzy with carefully optimised ‘production values.’  Aston Martin, for instance, released a 36 minute video on 1^st March, which introduced us to the new AMR21.  As well as being informative, this video is clearly intended to portray and promote Aston Martin’s and Cognizant’s brand values and corporate identities.  Whilst the teams – and their main sponsors/funders – see such activities as essential to their operations, and thus seek to completely control the outputs, today’s media is proactive and intrusive, often reporting developments in timeframes entirely of their own choosing: result – the keeping of things confidential such as driver contract negotiations, technological innovations and technical failures is just a team manager’s fantasy. 

Very different from how things were 51 years ago.  Unhappy with the March 701 he was running for Jackie Stewart, Ken Tyrrell commissioned Derek Gardner to design and supervise the building of a new car.  By today’s standards, it is incredible that much of the design work was carried out in Gardner’s bedroom, that the car was constructed in a shed in Tyrrell’s wood yard and that this was done in secret.  Tyrrell 001 was presented in August 1970, taking fellow F1 competitors and the Press by surprise.  Something else to beggar twenty-first century belief is the cost of the exercise - £20,000.  Equally unlikely from a 2021 viewpoint, given the slick attire of all team personnel – again, Aston Martin’s video can be cited as evidence – is Gardner’s choice of garments in which to be photographed with the design buck: simple collar and tie – no sponsors’ patches or Team Tyrrell I.D.

Derek Gardner with 001 design buck

Jackie Stewart and Ken Tyrrell with the new Tyrrell 0001, Sept. 1970

Tyrrell 001 was not in itself a particularly successful car, but it provided the basis for the F1 Tyrrells which would take Stewart to his second and third World Championships in 1971 and 1973.  But 001 did immediately suit Stewart far better than the mediocre March had done.  After some typical shake-down issues at a non-championship meeting and in practice at Monza, Stewart put it on pole for its first Grand Prix and led the race comfortably until a broken stub axle enforced retirement at just over one third distance. 

At the next Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen, Stewart and 001 were again highly competitive, and built a big lead in the race.  However, it proved to be another DNF – this time because of an engine failure with less than 30 laps remaining.  Bad luck continued for 001 in Mexico, where retirement on this occasion resulted from collision with a dog!

At the 1971 season-opening South African Grand Prix, the car at least made it to the flag, but in second place as the Ferrari 312B2 of Mario Andretti was class of the day, taking the American to his first victory.  001 made one other appearance – at the U.S Grand Prix, with Peter Revson at the wheel, but to little effect as a clutch failure rendered 001 the race’s first retirement.

The car used by Stewart to win the World Championship in 1971 had some dimensional changes from 001 and the nose was noticeably different.  Designated 003, Stewart won eight Grands Prix with it in 1971-2.

001 on the left in 1970, with distinctive high, flat front wing; 003, right, with the revised nose introduced at the French Grand Prix, 1971

Superb detail photographs of 001 are to be seen here