5 replies to this topic

[chr1s]

At a glance both these cars appear broadly similar, are they completely different chassis and if so, in what way do they differ from one another?

[funformula]

At first sight both types seem to be very similar, the roll hoop section being the most obvious difference.but there were some differences in the monocoque.

Wasn´t the Tyrrell 009 more or less regarded as a Lotus 79 copy whilst the 010 was a copy of the Williams FW07 (which itself was a copy of the Lotus too but without the shortcomings in chassis stiffness)?

 

Tyrrell 009 chassis pictures here TYRRELL009 (gurneyflap.com)

 

Tyrrell 010 chassis pictures here Racecarsdirect.com - 1980 Tyrrell 010 Formula 1

[BRG]

I dare say that Nigel Beresford may be able to comment authoritatively on this and the other thread once he gets back from his day-job at the Mexico City FE race.

Edited by BRG, 13 February 2022 - 12:31.

[chr1s]

Thank you funformula for your reply and the links that show both types in more detail. What I find interesting is that both Lotus and Williams raced their chassis  (Lotus albeit out of necessity) for two and three season respectively, yet Maurice Philippe felt the need for a new car after just one. Was there a fundamental flaw or shortcoming in 009 that warranted a "clean sheet" design? And was 010 a significant improvement over 009?

[Michael Ferner]

I think one problem is that, with a design copy, the copyist is always faced with the problem of not fully understanding the genesis of that particular design. Also, looking at where Tyrrell was coming from, they had to adapt to a wholely new design philosophy, the so-called ground effect. The 009 worked pretty well straight out of the box, but by the looks of it, offered little development potential (this is all from memory now, with no chance to look up substantial info). Perhaps because it was modelled so closely on the 79, which also revealed severe shortcomings in 1979. The FW07 took the Lotus concept a stage further, and so it was perhaps logical to build a new Tyrrell along the same lines. The 010, however, did not work quite as well as the FW07, and relatively speaking not as well as the 009, either - the F1 world had moved on since January '79, when Jarier had been fighting the Ligiers for pole position at BA. During that time, Tyrrell was also facing considerable economic challenges, so perhaps it's fair to say the team managed to "hang on in" during those two or three years with a conservative approach, before embarking on a fully new Tyrrell design in 1981.

 

EDIT Forgot to mention, Tyrrell also suffered an enormous amount of accidents due to structural weaknesses in 1979, which must have played a role, too.

Edited by Michael Ferner, 09 June 2022 - 07:52.

[chr1s]

Thinking about it, my argument was slightly flawed in that both the Lotus and particularly the Williams were successful cars, so there was no need to replace them, where as in Tyrrells' case, after an unsuccessful season with 009 I suppose the only option open to them was to try again. I could have just as easily made the thread about the Mclaren M29 and M30!