Tyrrell Racing facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tyrrell

Full name	Tyrrell Racing Organisation
Base	Ockham, Surrey, United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Ken Tyrrell
Noted staff	Derek Gardner Mike Gascoyne Tim Densham Harvey Postlethwaite
Noted drivers	Patrick Depailler Jean Alesi Didier Pironi Jody Scheckter Jackie Stewart Andrea de Cesaris François Cevert Stefan Bellof Ronnie Peterson Derek Daly Jos Verstappen Martin Brundle Jonathan Palmer Michele Alboreto Mika Salo
Next name	British American Racing
Formula One World Championship career
First entry	1968 South African Grand Prix (as Matra International) 1970 South African Grand Prix (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Races entered	23 entries (23 starts) (as Matra International) 442 entries (440 starts) (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Constructors	Matra March Tyrrell
Constructors' Championships	1 (1971) (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Drivers' Championships	3 (1969 as Matra International, 1971, 1973 as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Race victories	9 (as Matra International) 24 (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Pole positions	2 (as Matra International) 17 (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Fastest laps	9 (as Matra International) 18 (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)
Final entry	1969 Mexican Grand Prix (as Matra International) 1998 Japanese Grand Prix (as Tyrrell Racing Organisation)

The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was a famous auto racing team and Formula One car builder. It was started by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001). The team began racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970.

Tyrrell had its biggest success in the early 1970s. During this time, they won three Drivers' Championships and one Constructors' Championship with the legendary driver Jackie Stewart. Even though they never reached those heights again, they kept winning races through the 1970s and early 1980s. Their last win with the Ford Cosworth DFV engine was at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix.

The team was later bought by British American Tobacco in 1997. Tyrrell raced its final season in 1998. Today, the Mercedes-AMG F1 team is a descendant of Tyrrell. This is because Tyrrell was sold and rebranded many times, through teams like BAR, Honda, and Brawn GP.

Early Racing Years (1958–1967)

Tyrrell Racing began in 1958. They first raced Formula Three cars with Ken Tyrrell and other local drivers. Ken Tyrrell soon realized he was better at managing a team than driving. So, in 1959, he stopped driving. He started a Formula Junior team, using his family's woodshed as a workshop!

Throughout the 1960s, Tyrrell moved up through different racing levels. They gave famous drivers like John Surtees and Jacky Ickx their first chances in single-seater cars. The team's most well-known partnership was with Jackie Stewart, who joined in 1963.

Tyrrell also managed the BRM Formula Two team from 1965 to 1967. During this time, Stewart was racing for BRM's Formula One team. Later, Tyrrell made a deal to race F2 cars built by the French company Matra.

Tyrrell's first time entering a World Championship Grand Prix was at the 1966 German Grand Prix. They raced F2-spec Matra MS5 cars. One of their drivers, Jacky Ickx, had a crash on the first lap.

Formula One Racing (1968–1998)

Starting Strong in the 1960s

Jackie Stewart and Tyrrell won their first championship with the French Matra car.

With help from Elf and Ford, Ken Tyrrell achieved his dream. In 1968, he moved into Formula One. His team was officially called Matra International. This was a partnership between Tyrrell's own team and the French car maker Matra.

Jackie Stewart was a strong competitor. He won three Grand Prix races in the Tyrrell-run Matra MS10. This car had an amazing new feature: its fuel tanks were part of the car's structure, like airplane parts. This made the car lighter and stronger. However, the FIA (the racing rule-makers) thought this was unsafe. They banned it for 1970, saying cars must use rubber fuel bags.

For the 1969 championship, Matra decided not to race their own factory team. Instead, they focused on Ken Tyrrell's 'Matra International' team. They built a new car, the Matra MS80, with a Cosworth DFV engine. Stewart easily won the 1969 title with this car. It was the first time a French car won the championship. It was also the only time a car built in France and entered by a private team won. This was a huge achievement for both the British team and the French car builder, who had only joined Formula One the year before.

The Golden Years of the 1970s

Tyrrell's first F1 car, the 001, shown at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The unique Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler car.

In 1970, Matra merged with another company, Simca. Matra then asked Tyrrell to use their V12 instead of the Cosworth engine. But Simca was owned by Chrysler, a rival of Ford, who sponsored Tyrrell. Also, Tyrrell's French fuel sponsor, Elf, had a deal with Renault that stopped them from supporting a Simca partner.

So, Ken Tyrrell had to buy a March 701 car for a short time. Meanwhile, he secretly worked on building his own car. Because of this, his team's name officially changed from Matra International to Tyrrell Racing Organisation in 1970.

Tyrrell still had French fuel company Elf as a sponsor. The team kept using the traditional French blue racing colors for many years. Tyrrell and Stewart raced the March-Fords in 1970. They had mixed results while Derek Gardner designed the first Tyrrell Grand Prix car in the woodshed in Ockham, Surrey.

Ken Tyrrell's private team, known as Matra International from 1968 to 1969 and Tyrrell Racing Organisation in 1970, won 10 races in total. They also won one World Drivers' Championship in 1969. This made them the most successful privateer team in Formula One history.

The Tyrrell 001, which looked a lot like the Matra MS80, appeared at the end of the 1970 season. At the Canadian GP, Stewart got pole position (starting first). This made Tyrrell one of the few car builders to get a pole position in their very first race! However, the car had mechanical problems in all three races it started.

The very similar Tyrrell 003 won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 1971. Jackie Stewart and François Cevert drove very well. Stewart's chance to win in 1972 was hurt by a stomach ulcer. But he was back in top shape in 1973. He and Cevert finished first and fourth in the Championship.

Sadly, Cevert was killed in practice for the last race of the season, the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Stewart, who was planning to retire after the season, and Tyrrell immediately pulled out of the race. This effectively gave the Constructors' title to Lotus. Without their star driver or his talented French teammate, Tyrrell never seriously competed for the World Championship again.

Even so, the team remained strong through the 1970s. They won races with Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. One of the most famous wins was Scheckter's victory at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix. Tyrrell finished first and second with their unique Derek Gardner-designed Tyrrell P34 car. The P34 was the first (and only) successful six-wheeled F1 car! It had smaller wheels in pairs at the front instead of two big ones. This design was stopped because Goodyear wouldn't make the small tires needed for the car. They were too busy making tires for other F1 teams.

In 1979, Ken Tyrrell finally found a sponsor: the Italian company Candy. They provided money to run the Tyrrell 009 car.

Challenges in the 1980s

The Tyrrell 012 raced from 1983 to 1985.

In 1977, Turbo engines started to appear in Grand Prix racing. By the mid-1980s, these powerful engines made older, naturally-aspirated engines (without turbos) outdated. Tyrrell, without enough money, was the last team to race with the Cosworth DFV engine. All other teams had switched to turbocharged engines.

This was the start of two tough decades for Tyrrell. The team often lacked money because of not enough sponsors. It was fitting that the last win for the classic Cosworth Ford DFV engine was by a Tyrrell car (the Tyrrell 011). Michele Alboreto drove it to victory at the 1983 Detroit Grand Prix. This was also Tyrrell's last Grand Prix win ever.

The 1990s and the End of an Era

Mika Salo driving for Tyrrell at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

"Tora" Takagi driving the Tyrrell 026 at the 1998 Spanish Grand Prix.

Tyrrell continued to struggle through the 1980s and 1990s. The team often performed better than expected for their budget. There was a brief improvement in the early 1990s. The new Tyrrell 019 car, designed by Harvey Postlethwaite, had a special high nose. With Jean Alesi driving in 1990, the team got two second-place finishes. Alesi even led 30 laps of the Phoenix race!

Alesi left for Ferrari the next year. But Honda engines and Braun sponsorship in 1991 helped Stefano Modena. He started on the front row at Monaco and finished second at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix. Still, the team slowly fell behind. Tyrrell's last F1 points were scored by Mika Salo at the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix.

Eventually, Ken Tyrrell sold his team after the 1997 season. He was facing declining performance and health issues. The team was bought by Craig Pollock, who was starting British American Racing with British American Tobacco. Ken left the team before the 1998 season. This was after he disagreed with Pollock's choice of driver, Ricardo Rosset, who was chosen for sponsorship money over Jos Verstappen.

Tyrrell's final race was the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix. Rosset did not qualify for the race. His teammate, Tora Takagi, retired after a crash on lap 28.

Tyrrell's Lasting Legacy

The Brawn GP team, which won two championships in 2009, and the current Mercedes team are connected to Tyrrell. They are descendants through teams like Honda Racing F1 and BAR. BAR bought the Tyrrell F1 team, but they used a different factory, car builder, and engine. Most of the old Tyrrell cars and equipment were sold to Paul Stoddart, who later owned the Minardi F1 team.

When team boss Ross Brawn bought the Honda F1 team in 2009, they thought about bringing back the Tyrrell name for the new team.

As of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, the teams that came from Tyrrell have won many races. They have won 128 Grand Prix races, 8 Drivers' championships (one as Brawn in 2009 and the rest as Mercedes from 2014 to 2020), and 9 Constructors' championships (one as Brawn in 2009 and the rest as Mercedes from 2014 to 2021).

The Minardi 2-seater F1 cars are changed versions of the 1998 Tyrrell 026 design. You can still see the unique nose shape of the Tyrrell car in them. These cars are still used in demonstrations today.

Ken Tyrrell passed away from cancer on August 25, 2001, at 77 years old.

Tyrrell Racecars

Year	Car	Image	Category
1970	Tyrrell 001		Formula One
1971	Tyrrell 002		Formula One
	Tyrrell 003		Formula One
1972	Tyrrell 004		Formula One
	Tyrrell 005		Formula One
	Tyrrell 006		Formula One
1974	Tyrrell 007		Formula One
1976	Tyrrell P34		Formula One
1977	Tyrrell P34B		Formula One
1978	Tyrrell 008		Formula One
1980	Tyrrell 009		Formula One
1981	Tyrrell 010		Formula One
	Tyrrell 011		Formula One
1983	Tyrrell 012		Formula One
1985	Tyrrell 014		Formula One
1986	Tyrrell 015		Formula One
1987	Tyrrell DG016		Formula One
1988	Tyrrell 017		Formula One
1989	Tyrrell 017B		Formula One
	Tyrrell 018		Formula One
1990	Tyrrell 019		Formula One
1991	Tyrrell 020		Formula One
1992	Tyrrell 020B		Formula One
1993	Tyrrell 020C		Formula One
	Tyrrell 021		Formula One
1994	Tyrrell 022		Formula One
1995	Tyrrell 023		Formula One
1996	Tyrrell 024		Formula One
1997	Tyrrell 025		Formula One
1998	Tyrrell 026		Formula One

|

See also

In Spanish: Tyrrell Racing para niños