page_title: Tyrrell Racing
section_title: 1970s
hierarchical_section_title: Tyrrell Racing / Formula One (1968 - 1998) / 1970s
caption_attribution_description: Jody Scheckter 1976 im Tyrrell-Ford P 34 in der Südkehre des Nürburgrings
context_page_description: The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor. It was created by Ken Tyrrell. The team started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team had its best success in the early 1970s. During that time, it won three drivers' championships and one constructors' championship with Jackie Stewart. The team never did as well again, but it kept winning races through the 1970s and into the early 1980s. It won its final win at Detroit in 1983. The team was bought by British American Tobacco in 1997. It finished its last season as Tyrrell in 1998.
context_section_description: IN 1970, Matra merged with Simca. For the 1970 season, Tyrrell was asked by Matra to use Simca's V12 in place of the Cosworth. Simca was a subsidiary of the American company Chrysler which was competition for Ford. Stewart tested the Matra V12. He did not think it was as good as the DFV. Ford gave Tyrrell a large part of the money they needed to race. The team also got money for the French petroleum company Elf. Elf had an agreement with Renault that did not allow them to provide money to anyone who was partnered with Simca. Because of this, Ken Tyrrell had to buy a March 701 chassis as temporary solution while making his own car in secret.
  Tyrrell was still sponsored by French fuel company Elf, and Tyrrell would keep the traditional French blue racing colours for most of the rest of the time the company existed. Tyrrell and Stewart ran the March-Fords throughout 1970 with mixed success. During this time, Derek Gardner worked on the first Tyrrell built Grand Prix car at the woodshed in Ockham, Surrey.
  The Tyrrell 001, which looked like the MS80, was first seen in 1970. It earned Stewart a pole position in the Canadian GP. The car had problems in all of its 3 race starts. The nearly identical Tyrrell 003 won both Drivers' and Constructors' Championships in 1971. Stewart's had health problems dealing with a stomach ulcer in 1972 and did not race. He was well in 1973 and raced again. He finishing 1st in the Championship. On October 6, 1973, Tyrrell's other driver was killed in practice for the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Stewart, who was to stop racing at the end of the season, and Tyrrell decided they did not want to keep racing. Without their best driver, Tyrrell were never serious World Championship contenders again.
  The team did still win some races during the 1970s with Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler. Most notable of these was Scheckter's win at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix. They finished first and second in that race using an unusual Derek Gardner designed Tyrrell P34 car. The P34 was the first (and only) successful six-wheeled F1 car. They replaced front wheels with smaller wheels mounted in banks of two on either side of the car. The design was no longer used after Goodyear refused to make the small tires needed for the car.
caption: The Tyrrell P34 six-wheeler - arguably one of the most radical F1 cars ever to have raced.
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