by "sliding-sideways" (sliding-sideways)
Published 02/28/2014 at 21:46
by "sliding-sideways" (sliding-sideways)
Published 02/28/2014 at 21:46
Tags: History
STARS: 11
Four-wheel drive systems have many uses these days. You use them in the snow, in the dirt, in the rain, when overlanding , or traversing those intimidating leaves on your driveway. For most of these applications, 4WD is appropriate (looking at you, leaves). In the racing world however, 4WD has been relegated to rallies, hill-climbs, and driving on water . As for Formula 1, no 4WD car has ever won a race, right? Wrong. This is a story, all about how, the Formula 1 world got flipped, turned upside-down. I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you all about how the Ferguson P99 became the only 4WD Formula 1 car to win a race. (There is a reason I'm not a superstar rap artist, but I can't put my finger on why…)
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Back in the day, there was a man named Henry Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson was a man who made tractors at the Massey Ferguson Company, kind of like a Mr. Lamborghini. Except Ferguson didn't decide to start building cars because Ferrari told him 'No', he did it to prove the benefits of the Ferguson Formula 4WD system he created.
Beginning in 1950, Ferguson and his friends, which included Tony Rolt, winner of the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and participant in the first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone. Oh, and he was a POW in World War II who came up with the idea of escaping from the Colditz Castle prison by glider. This glider was called the Colditz Cock . And you thought that you were cool because you cleared three (3!) leaves on your morning commute.
Anyways, Henry, Tony, Claude Hill, and Fred Dixon began to create a 4WD race car to prove to the masses that 4WD was the only drive. This project culminated in the Project 99, P99 for short. In its Formula 1 setup, the P99 was powered by a Coventry-Climax 1.5 liter, 4 cylinder engine, mounted in the front.
Around the same time, Henry started work on a road car, the R5, in 1956, which was essentially a car ahead of its time. The R5 was equipped with ABS, disc brakes, electric windows, and a 4WD system.
The P99's first race was in the 1961 British Empire Cup, crashing out on Lap 2. The next race for this car was the 1961 British Grand Prix, where Jack Fairman started the race in the car but Stirling Moss ended the race as the driver. Moss' Lotus 18 had crashed out and he decided to hop in the Ferguson. First things first, what? Second, how much more interesting would it be if drivers could switch cars in the middle of a Formula 1 race these days? Vettel crashes out, then kicks Riccardo from his Red Bull and goes on to win? And you thought 'Fernando is faster than you' was controversial.
It was the last Formula 1 race it would compete in where the Ferguson P99 made history. At the 1961 International Gold Cup at Oulton Park, Stirling Moss, driving the whole time this time, took the checkered flag over Jack Brabham and Bruce McLaren in their Coopers. Though it was a non-points race, this was the one and only win for a 4WD Formula 1 car and it was also the last time a front-engine car won an F1 race. After this race, the P99 retired from Formula 1 and went on to win the British Hillclimb Championship in 1964.
There have been other 4WD Formula 1 cars; Lotus ran the 63 and the 56B, McLaren had their M9A, Matra and Cosworth both fielded 4WD entries. The use of 4WD in grand prix racing was banned in 1982 as fans of oversteer rejoiced.
As for the Ferguson 4WD system, it competed at Indianapolis, with the Lotus 56, and it was used in the Jensen Interceptor FF (for Ferguson Formula).
Need a tl;dr? 4WD won a Formula 1 race in 1961, which is not like driving over leaves. It was built by a tractor maker, a WWII POW, and a couple other guys. Stirling Moss drove the Ferguson P99 to victory, widening the gap between his awesomeness and yours.
Photo Credits: ulsterautomobileclub.com, 8000vuletas.com, drive2.ru, formula.hu, kkoberdsl.clara.net
"Jonny Edge (@thejonnyedge)" (thejonnyedge)
02/28/2014 at 22:03, STARS: 1
Awesome work sir. Full marks.
"ihm96" (ihm96)
03/04/2014 at 18:46, STARS: 0
Really cool story. I wonder if a team could try this today, or if the regulations are too tight?
"Bakkster, touring car driver" (Bakkster)
03/04/2014 at 18:52, STARS: 1
Regulations are punishingly strict. Only RWD for your 1.6L turbo which must be submitted to the FIA ahead of the season.
"LTIROCKS" (ltirocks)
03/04/2014 at 19:20, STARS: 1
4WD is slower around a road racing circuit than a rear drive set-up with a well designed limited slip differential.
While the 4WD does provide more traction in tight, lower speed corners, it also adds weight. That added weight must then be carried around the rest of the track - where traction isn't an issue.
Since most of the added weight it in the front of the car, the car's polar moment of inertia is also compromised.
F1 cars are designed and built to be lighter than the minimum required weight so that ballast (in the form of tungsten) can be added in the most strategic places (as low as possible). So while the 4wD car might still technically qualify for the minimum weight, ballast positioning would be compromised.
Then there are modern tech requirements (e.g. safety issues) to consider. Nobody needs a front driveshaft spearing a driver in a front impact. And F1's small front tires would do a poor job of putting the power down, while also screwing up the car's front end air flow (a larger frontal area would be required to make room for the front portion of the AWD system).
"ihm96" (ihm96)
03/04/2014 at 19:33, STARS: 0
Can't we just have a fun experiment tho and bring audi in haha. Thanks for the info though
"ihm96" (ihm96)
03/04/2014 at 19:35, STARS: 0
Thanks for the detailed explanation. I kinda assumed it would be slower, I just wanted to know if it could even be attempted
"Errol Kaufman" (errolkaufman)
03/04/2014 at 19:52, STARS: 0
How the hell can you write this article and spell SIR ST I RLING MOSS' name wrong.
Fix it fool.
"Bakkster, touring car driver" (Bakkster)
03/04/2014 at 19:56, STARS: 0
Here's a good look on some of the details of the regulations. Some of it's as mundane as mandating 8-speed gearboxes and not allowing ratios to be changed during the year.
http://scarbsf1.com/blog1/2013/07/…
"ihm96" (ihm96)
03/04/2014 at 19:59, STARS: 0
I can't imagine keeping track of all those gears while driving haha. I have f1 2012 and tried doing manual mode and I found myself losing track of what gear I was in so much, it was impossible. F1 drivers are amazing
"Bakkster, touring car driver" (Bakkster)
03/04/2014 at 22:27, STARS: 0
Just takes practice. You quickly get into a rhythm. And an F1 gearbox won't let you shift down if it would over rev the engine.
"ihm96" (ihm96)
03/04/2014 at 22:34, STARS: 0
True. I just often downshift too many times and end up in neutral or reverse which ends up causing an accident and it just becomes a clusterfuck haha. Granted I abandoned it after a somewhat short time
"davedave1111" (davedave1111)
03/05/2014 at 15:42, STARS: 2
As for Formula 1, no 4WD car has ever won a race, right?
No, no F1 car has ever won a Grand Prix .
"tromoly" (tromoly)
12/20/2017 at 11:10, STARS: 0
Should note that Oulton Park was damp/wet during the Gold Cup, that’s really when the 4WD helped out. Similar to how the also-4WD Lotus 56B dominated qualifying in the wet at the 1971 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch (no relation to current ROC), yet when the circuit dried out it was relegated to midfield.