Zakspeed 841

Zakspeed 841

Zakspeed 841 at the 1985 German Grand Prix (Palmer)
Constructor:	Zakspeed
Designer:	Paul Brown
Successor:	Zakspeed 861
Technical specifications
Engine:	Zakspeed
Wheelbase:	2820
Weight:	565 kg
Tires:	Goodyear
statistics
Driver:	30 Jonathan Palmer Christian Danner
First start:	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix
Last start:	1985 European Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 9 - - -
World Cup points:	-
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-
Status: end of season 1985

The Zakspeed 841 was a Formula 1 racing car from the German motorsport team Zakspeed , which was used in the 1985 Formula 1 World Championship. The car was powered by a four-cylinder turbo engine that Zakspeed had developed itself. It was considered to be the first Formula 1 racing car since the Porsche 804 from 1962, which was completely developed in Germany.

background

Erich Zakowski had had a Ford agency in Niederzissen since the 1960s . From 1968 he took part in motorsport events with Ford vehicles that his company had prepared himself. In the 1970s, Zakspeed was a regular participant in the German Racing Championship , which the team won several times. During this time, Zakspeed increasingly received factory support. At the beginning of the 1980s, Zakspeed's motorsport program was broadly based: the team was involved in Group 2 and Group 5 with modified Ford vehicles . In the late 1970s, Zakspeed became a "turbo pioneer": from 1978 the team started using turbocharged four-cylinder engines based on Ford blocks in racing. The over 700 hp Zakspeed racing cars, which were based on production models from Ford such as the Capri , were among the most powerful vehicles in their series, and Zakspeed's experience in handling supercharged racing engines grew increasingly.

At the beginning of the 1980s, Erich Zakowski hoped to receive an order from Ford to develop a turbo engine for Formula 1. Ultimately, however, Ford gave the order to the British subsidiary Cosworth , which had the engine ready for use in early 1986. Erich Zakowski then decided in the summer of 1983 to move up to Formula 1 independently and without any financial support from Ford. In the following months Zakspeed developed a turbo engine according to Formula 1 rules and its own chassis, the prototype of which was ready to drive in the summer of 1984. The Formula 1 debut only took place six months later in the 1985 season.

Besides Ferrari and Renault, Zakspeed was the only team that manufactured its own chassis and engine.

technology

The 841 was the first monoposto designed by Zakspeed . Former Chevron , March and Maurer employee Paul Brown was in charge of development, and long-time Zakspeed technician Helmut Barth developed the aerodynamics. When it debuted, the car was seen as state of the art.

The chassis had an aluminum core with complementary carbon fiber components. It weighed 26 kg. The wind tunnel tests were carried out in the facilities of the University of Aachen ; Zakspeed claimed the team spent 600 hours of research in the wind tunnel. The suspension of the front wheels consisted of double wishbones . The shock delivered Koni . A special feature of the 841 was the division of the radiator: the water and oil cooler were located in the right side box, while the intercooler was housed in the left side box. Zakspeed obtained the gearbox from Hewland , but modified the housing.

Zakspeed's engine was a four-cylinder in-line engine that had been developed under the direction of Norbert Kreyer . The Italian engineer Gianni Marelli , who had previously worked at Ferrari and Alfa Romeo , was temporarily active in an advisory capacity for Zakspeed. The engine had no connection to Zakspeed's earlier turbo engines, which were essentially based on engines from Ford. The cylinder block was made of aluminum. The two overhead camshafts were driven by gears. Kreyer used a turbocharger that was obtained from KKK ; the manifold injection was provided by Kugelfischer . Initially, it was a purely mechanical injection; It was not until the Grand Prix of Great Britain in July 1985 that an electronic control system developed by Zakspeed was ready for use. The ignition was an in-house development by Zakspeed. The engine weighed 125 kg without a turbocharger. The compression was initially 6.5: 1; during the summer of 1985 it was increased to 7.0: 1.

There are different specifications for the performance of the engine. Zakspeed itself speaks in retrospect in a publication from 2011 of 700 hp. Some sources say 700 to 750 horsepower, others say 800 to 820 horsepower.

In the course of development, Zakspeed made numerous detailed modifications. Among other things, the oil tank was enlarged from 8 to 12 liters, which made it necessary to extend the wheelbase by 80 mm.

Zakspeed used Shell fuel ; the tires came from Goodyear .

production

Zakspeed made two copies of the 841. The first vehicle was ready for use in the summer of 1984, the second only in May 1985. The 841/02 was slightly more torsion-resistant than the first example, but was nevertheless lighter. The weight was given as 565 kg.

Presentation and race preparation

Zakspeed initially planned the Formula 1 debut for the German Grand Prix in 1984 . However, due to delays in the production process, the team did not have enough material to start racing at the time.

However, Zakspeed put the public presentation of the 841 on the weekend of the German Grand Prix. The car was painted silver at the time. After the end of the race, Manfred Winkelhock carried out a so-called shakedown at the Hockenheimring , which, according to the Zakspeed technicians, went largely without any problems. In the course of 1984 further tests followed in Misano with Winkelhock and, in December 1984, on the Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France. Jonathan Palmer carried out these tests .

They run

Zakspeed made its debut in the 1985 Formula 1 season. In March 1985, Erich Zakowski succeeded in signing a long-term sponsorship agreement with the Hamburg cigarette manufacturer Reemtsma . Reemtsma was the title sponsor and advertised the West brand on the Zakspeed cars. In countries where cigarette advertising was banned, the West lettering was alienated, later it was occasionally changed to "East".

For cost reasons, Zakspeed limited itself to the European races in the first Formula 1 season. Like Spirit , Minardi and Osella, the team only reported one car. Jonathan Palmer was hired as driver because Winkelhock, last year's test driver, was under contract with RAM Racing in the meantime . After Palmer had an accident at the 1000 km race in Spa-Francorchamps and was then out for several weeks, Zakspeed replaced him for the last races of the year with Christian Danner , who made his Formula 1 debut here and competed without a fee.

The team’s first race was the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix , the second world championship run of the year. Palmer qualified for 23rd place on the grid, behind the two Tyrrell , which still used naturally aspirated Cosworth engines, and in front of the turbo-powered cars from Spirit and Osella ( FA1F ). His best lap time was 6.5 seconds over pole time of Ayrton Senna in the Lotus - Renault ; the top speed was short of 20 km / h on the Lotus. In the race, Palmer retired early. At the start it collided with Keke Rosberg's stopped Williams FW10 . As a result, he suffered a suspension damage that resulted in a technical failure on the second lap. At the subsequent Grand Prix of San Marino Palmer qualified for starting position 17; this was Zakspeed's best qualifying result in 1985. On the pre-race lap, there was a misfire and an engine failure, so that Palmer did not start in Imola in the end. In Monaco , Palmer crossed the finish line in 11th place, four laps behind. It was the first and last finish of the Zakspeed 841. In the other eight races in which Zakspeed took part in 1985, the drivers retired due to damage to the engine area. There were several problems with the oil pressure ( France and the Netherlands ), once the alternator failed, and at the German Grand Prix the camshaft broke after 17 laps.

Jonathan Palmer on the Zakspeed 841

Jonathan Palmer thought the Zakspeed was a solid car despite the fact that it only crossed the finish line once. In an interview with Fast Lane magazine in October 1985, he stated that the Zakspeed was clearly superior to the Minardi, RAM and Osella cars:

The engine keeps the power and is responsive. That is a good result for a team that is in its first year in Formula 1. In the 841 I was two to three seconds faster per lap in every race than I was in RAM last year.

Race results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	Points	rank
1985 Formula 1 season																		0	-
Jonathan Palmer	30th		DNF	DNS	11			DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF
Christian Danner														DNF	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

literature

• Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars , 1988 (GT Foulis & Co. Ltd), ISBN 978-0-85429-617-0 (English)
• Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing . Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
• David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001 . 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English).
• David Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1993 . Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Ferdi Krähling, Gregor Messer: Sieg or Selters. The German drivers in Formula 1 from Bellof to Vettel. Bielefeld, Delius Klasing 2013. ISBN 978-3-7688-3686-9 .
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 . 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).

Web links

• The Zakspeed 841 on the website www.zakspeed.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing , p. 353.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} David Hodges: Racing cars from AZ after 1945 , p. 270.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars , S. 163rd
4. ^ Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 , p. 602.
5. ↑ However, Minardi had a turbo engine developed by Motori Moderni. The Italian team contributed to the development costs of the six-cylinder.
6. ^ David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars , p. 249.
7. ↑ ^{a b c} Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars , S. 166th
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars , p. 164.
9. ↑ The Zakspeed 841 on the website www.zakspeed.de (accessed on January 29, 2014).
10. ↑ Ferdi Krähling, Gregor diameter: victory or seltzer . The German drivers in Formula 1 from Bellof to Vettel. P. 94.
11. ↑ Race report for the 1985 San Portugal Grand Prix on the website www.grandprix.com (accessed on January 29, 2014).
12. ↑ Quoted from Ian Bamsey: The 1000 bhp Grand Prix Cars , p. 165