When anybody with enough Dinero’ could start His
own formula 1 team…
Obviously, I highly doubt this could transpire
in today’s Formula 1 climate. As just ask Michael Andretti how difficult it is
to be granted membership into the F1 Fraternity!
Yet the 1970’s were a totally different era,
prior to Uncle Bernaughty, nee Messer Bernard Charles Ecclestone’s forty year
reign as F1 Supremo, when anybody with the right amount of cash could go motor
racing in thee Pinnacle of Motorsports by simply buying a racecar and de
riggour Ford Cosworth DFV V-8…
Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, better known
as Lord Hesketh was once such individual with a keen passion for motor racing.
Initially setting up Hesketh Racing in the lower “Junior” Formula 3 series in
1972, in conjunction with Anthony “bubbles” Horsley as the team’s driver.
The team quickly gained a reputation for it’s
flamboyant Playboy style, and Lord Hesketh employed James Hunt as it’s second
F3 driver. With “Hunt the Shunt” and “bubbles” destroying both racecars before
Horsley retired from the cockpit.
Hesketh ran Hunt “solo” for the remainder of
the 1972 Formula 2 season in March and Surtees chassis. Yet Lord Hesketh,
running His race team out of His Family estate’s stables, concluded the ocst
between F2 and Formula 1 were minimally different and therefore decided to
enter F1 for 1973.
Beginning with a “rental” Surtees for Hunt,
Hesketh bought a March 731 F1 chassis along with employing young March Engineer
Harvey Postlethwaite to modify its March chassis. With the team making it’s
debut at that year’s Monaco Grand Prix.
For 1974 Postlethwaite designed the brand new
Hesketh 308, which Hunt scored three third place finishes with.
1975 would be Hesketh’s Formula 1 zenith, with
Postlethwaite’s upgraded Hesketh 308B winning the team’s lone race at the Dutch Grand Prix, with
Hunt holding off Ferrari’s Niki Lauda…
Yet at season’s end, Lord Hesketh decided He
could no longer afford to bankroll the F1 team that had run without sponsors.
Seeing Hunt replace the departing Emerson Fittipaldi at McLaren, and
Postlethwaite taking His Hesketh 308C design to the rival Wolf Williams Racing
concern.
Canadian Oil Magnate Walter Wolf, who’d attended
multiple Grands Prix during the ’75 F1 season. Decided to invest into the
struggling Frank William Racing Cars concern, which desperately needed a cash
infusion! Taking a 60% ownership stake, but leaving Frank as the team manager.
Wolf also bought the assets of Hesketh Racing,
with Postlethwaite’s moving to Wolf Williams as its Chief Engineer. Along with
His latest Hesketh design becoming known as the Wolf Williams FW05 with Jacky
Ickx and Michel Leclere as it’s initial drivers.
Although later Wolf Williams driver Arturo Merzario
would be instrumental in saving Niki Lauda’s life at the legendous’ Nurburgring
August 1st. Being credited with undoing Lauda’s seatbelt during His Ferrari
being engulfed in flames!
As it’s hard to
believe that its now over a decade since ‘lil Ronnie Howard’s most excellent
film simply titled Rush, depicting the epic battle of Hunt v Lauda was
released. Which is definitely worth checking out…
http://www.nofenders.net/2013/10/rush-f1-aficionados-different-view_10.html
At seasons end, Wolf decided to reorganize the
team, dumping Fraink Williams from His managerial role, ultimately buying the
remaining 40% shares in Wolf Williams, which became rebranded as Walter Wolf
Racing.
Being disillusioned by this turn of events,
Williams along with Patrick Head set-up Williams Grand Prix Engineering and the
rest is History…
On an interesting sidenote, Lord Hesketh sold 308
racing chassis in 1975 to privateers Harry Stiller Racing and Polar Caravans,
the latter being for the totally unknown Swedish F1 hopeful Torsten Palm.
As Palm would finish tenth in his lone F1 race
outing at his Home Grand Prix at Anderstorp.
As little did I
know that I’d actually get to visit Anderstorp once, which I fondly cherish now
over a decade ago! Nor that I’d meet ‘lil Stevie Johnson, aka Stefan Johansson
nearly a year later at Indianapolis during it’s maiden Legends Day outing…
http://www.nofenders.net/2010/06/swedish-daytrippin.html
Meanwhile Harry Stiller would enter His Hesketh
308B for Aussie’ Alan Jones, making His F1 debut at that year’s Spanish Grand
Prix. As Jones would race four times aboard the Hesketh, with a lone finish of
P11 at the Swedish Grand Prix.
As Jones would go onto net Williams it’s Debutante
F1 World championship in 1980, with the ground effects FW07 chassis.
Interestingly, Hesketh Racing would soldier on for a further two years in Formula 1 under the leadership of Horsley, who’d become its team manager following His retirement from racing. With the Hesketh team garnering much publicity due to its being sponsored by Penthouse magazine, with Guy Edwards as it’s primary driver during ’76. Racing with updated Hesketh 308D’s, which were reworked Hesketh 308C’s from the previous season.