Notes on the cars at Silverstone

Williams: The usual trio of FWO8C cars. An experimental front aerofoil was tried in practice featuring deflectors in front of the tyres. It is common knowledge that the team is in line for the turbocharged Honda engine, but there is speculation as to which Honda engine. The present V6 is rather “obsolete” by Honda Research and Development standards.

Tyrrell: The usual trio of 011 cars. An impressive display of Cosworth V8 engines on stands in the paddock. When I suggested it looked like a museum Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite smiled and said “more like industrial archeology”.

Brabham: Two new cars to B-Specification. These are BT52 designs incorporating all the improvements made in the first half of the season. Colour scheme of blue and white has been reversed to white and blue! BT52/3 as the spare car and two T1/2 assemblies comprising the entire rear half of the car, complete with engine, transmission, suspension, hubs, radiators, intercoolers, mounting plates all ready to bolt on to the monocoque. A complete spare half for each driver.

McLaren: The usual trio of MP4/1C cars: New rear uprights, Y-form fillers on top of the fuel cell for pit stop refuelling for the first time. With the first Porsche V6 turbocharged engine on test in an old MP4 chassis, the days of the present cars are numbered.

ATS: A new D6, number 3, to the same layout as the modified D6/02, with short stde-pods and with the turbocharger tucked in neatly alongside the BMW engine. D6/02 as the spare.

Lotus: Not a Cosworth engine in sight. Two brand new, lighter, smaller and better balanced cars built around the 91/92 Carbon-fibre Kevlar composite monocoques. Rocker arm front suspension and pull-rod rear suspension, like a 93T in reverse. The latest available Renault engines with downswept exhaust systems running under the car. Designated 94T-1 and 94T-2. The two old 93T cars previously used by de Angelis were available as spare cars, each driver having one new car and one old car.

Renault: Two new examples of the well-proven RE40, numbers 5 and 6, with RE40/03 as the spare. Reverted to side-exhausts pointing upwards.

Ram March: The John MacDonald team rented their car to Kenny Acheson.

Alfa Romeo: Two new cars which could be called B-spec if you felt so inclined. Smaller carbon-fibre composite monocoques have reduced fuel tank capacity in that the cars are committed to pit stops. The original 183T cars are kept in reserve in case any circuit bans refuelling, as Monaco did.

Ligier: The usual trio of JS21 cars. Planning ahead to use Renault V6 turbocharged engines in 1984 with the backing of the Antar petrol company, a partner company in the ELF group.

Ferrari: Two new cars with carbon-fibre composite monocoques in place of the previous aluminium honeycomb ones. Designated the 126C3 these new cars use all the mechanical components from the 126C2. There is no longer a glass-fibre bodywork over the monocoque, the “tub” forms the actual shape of the car. Chassis numbering continues the 126 sequence, with 066 for Arnoux and 067 for Tambay.

Arrows: A new A6 car for Boutsen. Number 5. Some day-by-day advertising on the cars makes them difficult to recognise and leaves little room for the numbers.

Osella: Another team without a Cosworth V8 engine in sight. Two new cars designed by Tony Southgate use Alfa Romeo V12 engines, transmission and rear suspension. New Southgate front suspension features the coil spring units high up in the middle over the driver’s knees. The old original V12 Alfa-engined car as spare.

Theodore: The usual trio of Ensign inspired cars. Financial limitations prevent innovation, and now even prevents any serious test work.

Toleman-Hart: A new 183B for Warwick, number 4. Both drivers had twin-plug Hart 4-cylinder engines available. Giacomelli in car number 3, with number 2 as the spare. Car number 1 is used as a test-vehicle.

Spirit-Honda: A new car 201/C powered by the turbocharged Honda V6 engine. Still based on the Forrnula 2 Spirit-Honda chassis but lighter and tidier. The old hack-car as spare. An engine fault on race morning forced the team to race the old test-car.

We await with interest the first sighting of a Honda-powered Williams car, the new Tyrrell 012, the signs that BMW might build a no-holds-barred racing engine, the Porsche V6 turbocharged engine in the McLaren, a Ligier powered by Renault, the next Ferrari engine, somebody financing an engine development programme at Brian Hart Engines Ltd, and the lap speeds at she Osterreichring. — DSJ.