Instalment 3 of this series showcases the journey of the Arrows F1 Team, from its foundation in 1977 to the turn of the century in 2002. The British-based team’s twenty-four-year history includes 394 entries, 164 points, 9 podiums and a single pole position. Out of 382 successful starts, the team never managed to win a race.
The Arrows F1 Team used a Ford engine in their 1978 FA1 car. Most of the staff were key members of Shadow that had split from the team. The initials of the managing staff and sponsors, Franco Ambrosio, Alan Rees, Jackie Oliver, Dave Wass and Tony Southgate made up the Arrows name.
At the 1978 South African Grand Prix, Riccardo Patrese led the race dominantly before his engine blew on lap 63 of 78. Arrows nearly secured a victory again with Damon Hill, as he finished 2nd at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix.
The FA1 was built in just 60 days and performed well. However, it wasn’t long before a shadow (literally) was cast over the team. Shadow boss, Don Nichols, claimed the FA1 was a replica of their DN9 car. Arrows were taken to court and lost, but they built their new challenger, the A1, in just 52 days. The team did not miss a single race that season as a result.
Arrows’ eventful year continued as an Italian Grand Prix crash claimed the life of Ronnie Peterson. A Niki Lauda and James Hunt-led witch hunt saw Patrese held responsible for the accident and he was awarded a race ban for the following USA Grand Prix.
A more subdued season followed for Arrows in 1979 with little success coming the way of Patrese and Jochen Mass in the gold-liveried Arrows A2. Changes to regulations as the 1980s dawned meant it was simply no longer possible to put a Ford Cosworth V8 into an average chassis.
By 1984, BMW M12 engines aided Arrows’ cause in Formula One. After BMW pulled out in 1987, Arrows used the subsequent ‘Megatron’ branded engine to good effect. Courtesy of the power unit, Arrows improved to 9th in the Constructors’ Championship in 1984 and 8th the following year. 1985 saw Thierry Boutsen promoted to P2, after 2nd placed Alain Prost was disqualified for driving an underweight car.
As the 1980’s ended, despite best efforts from Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever, the much desired first win for Arrows never materialised. However, a 6th place finish in 1987 and 5th the following year gave the British outlet their best Constructors’ Championship result.
The team retained the same driver line-up of Cheever and Warwick for 1989 but performance was subpar. The Ross Brawn designed Arrows A11-Ford powered Cheever to 3rd place at his home race in the USA while bad luck plagued Warwick. Arrows finished the year in 7th place.
As 1990 dawned, the Japanese Footwork company emerged into Formula One. Striking a deal with Jackie Oliver, the Arrows team was officially renamed ‘Footwork’ in 1991. This deal was swiftly followed by a swoop for Porsche engines. However, the overweight Porsche unit hugely contributed to a woefully uncompetitive FA14 car.
Ford engines briefly returned in 1992 before a switch to Mugen. Aguri Suzuki drove alongside Michele Alboreto then Derek Warwick. After little promise, new design chief Alan Jenkins designed the 1994 FA15. Despite early promise, on-track fatalities including that of Ayrton Senna, led to huge regulation changes which in turn hindered the FA15’s potential. By 1995, Footwork and Arrows parted ways.
By 1996, the team had a new owner in Tom Wilkinshaw. He signed up 1996 World Champion Damon Hill and Brazilian Pedro Diniz for the 1997 season. The 1997 Arrows A18 used Yamaha engines and Bridgestone tyres. Hill came close to snatching Arrows’ first victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but after passing Michael Schumacher for the lead, a component failure robbed him of the chance.
1998 saw the introduction of Mika Salo, replacing Jordan-bound Hill. Arrows also used their own V10 engine, the T2-F1 that year. It proved to be of little success – 4th and 6th positions at the chaotic Monaco Grand Prix would be the best the team could muster. They finished the year in 7th place with 6 points.
Following a failed attempt in 1999 by Nigerian prince, Malik Ado Ibrahim, to inject cash into the team; 2000 saw the return of 1996 driver Jos Verstappen to partner Pedro de la Rosa driving the Arrows A21-Supertec. De la Rosa was replaced by rookie Enrique Bernoldi in 2001 but the team managed just one point courtesy of Verstappen.
2002 was Arrows’ final season. The A23 used Cosworth V10 engines and was driven by Bernoldi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The team was plagued with legal costs. Verstappen sued for breach of contract, then Arrows were forced to pay Pedro Diniz a large sum of money due to an unsuccessful legal challenge by the team. Frentzen also threatened action due to lack of pay. The team were bankrupt. Negotations failed to bring about an F1 return and the team closed down at the end of the season.
THE ARROWS LEGACY: Arrows’ chassis and designs were bought by Minardi before being integrated into Super Aguri’s SA05 and SA06 chassis’. Both cars proved uncompetitive.
