Simtek S941

Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying in Imola in 1994

The Simtek S941 was a Formula 1 racing car , built and used in 1994 by the British Formula 1 team Simtek .

The young Englishman Nick Wirth took a considerable financial risk when he entered Formula 1 with his racing team Simtek in 1994 . The team was supported by three-time world champion Sir Jack Brabham , who, with his commitment, provided his youngest son David with a Formula 1 cockpit.

The Simtek S941 was the team's first Formula 1 racing car. The vehicle was powered by a V8 cylinder engine from the Ford Cosworth HB series. The conventional 6-speed transmission from Xtrac was replaced by a semi-automatic in the middle of the season. The S941 was narrow and the relatively high nose and the front wing ensured a good flow of air towards the rear end.

Nevertheless, the car was aerodynamically problematic. The Austrian Roland Ratzenberger , who had signed for six races with Simtek and made his debut at the Grand Prix of the Pacific , had a fatal accident during training for the Grand Prix of San Marino in Imola .

During qualification training on Saturday, Ratzenberger drove over an edge at the Acque Minerale chicane, damaging the front wing of the S941. One lap later, at around 320 km / h, he lost this wing, after which he could no longer control the car. Ratzenberger crashed into a wall at high speed and died from a broken neck.

Just a few weeks later, Andrea Montermini , who joined the team for Ratzenberger, had a serious accident in Barcelona. This time the cause remained unclear. But after another serious accident by Brabham while testing in Silverstone , more detailed research was carried out on the cause: the car had lost some of its contact pressure when driving hard over curbs, lifted off and rolled over to the side. The subsequent rebuild largely eliminated this problem and made the car safer.

Although the design was generally considered a success, the S941 was not very successful. On the one hand, this was due to the tragic death of Ratzenberger and the basic questions of the aerodynamics of the bolide. On the other hand, a small private team had almost no chance against the big Formula 1 teams in 1994. The S941 could not be further developed in the second half of the season due to a lack of necessary test days.

While Brabham contested the entire season, the second cockpit was given to pilots with a lot of sponsorship money. After Montermini, Jean-Marc Gounon , Domenico Schiattarella and Taki Inoue joined the team. Gounon took ninth place at the French Grand Prix, the best placement for the S941 in the 1994 season.

The successor model for the 1995 season was the Simtek S951 .

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
Formula 1 World Championship 1994																		-	13.
D. Brabham	31	12	DNF	DNF	DNF	10	14th	DNF	15th	DNF	11	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	12	DNF
R. Ratzenberger	32	DNQ	11	DNS
A. Montermini						DNQ
J. Gounon								9	16	DNF	DNF	11	DNF	15th
D. Schiattarella															19th		DNF
T. Inoue																DNF

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Web links

Commons : Simtek S941  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files