Hello and welcome to F1 Livery Histories
the channel where we take a look back
at the different paint jobs, racing trims
and sponsor decals adopted by respective
Formula One teams throughout the eras.
Today we'll be profiling a team renowned
for its technical expertise which
managed to not only build and enter its
own chassis at Grand Prix level, but also
manufacture its own engines during the
height of the turbo era.
One of the few German
privateer teams which managed to compete
in Formula One for an aggregate of five
seasons with a budget far smaller than
that of the sport's heavyweight teams,
remaining completely self-reliant throughout
the entirety of its term in motorsport's
top division.
Zakspeed
Zakspeed Racing was founded in 1968 by German mechanic
Erik Zakowski in the then West German
municipality of Niederzissen,
operating under the name
Zakowski Niederzissen tuning.
Leading into the
1970's the team would adopt the name Zakspeed
and soon became the official
factory Ford team for the German DRM series.
Together Zakspeed and Ford would
secure a total of six DRM titles between
1972 and 1981 with such cars as the Ford
Escort and the Ford Capri.
Heading into the 1980s Zakpeed would expand its
operations, entering cars into the North
American IMSA GT series, the European
Endurance Championship and the German
Interserie competition. Having firmly
established itself on the touring car
scene, Zakspeed would make the decision
to commit to Formula One, starting from
season 1985 as both a chassis and engine
constructor, becoming the first
all-German Formula one entry since 1962.
So begins our retrospective on the
indomitable Zakpeed Racing.
It was at Estoril, for the 1995
Portuguese Grand Prix that the Zacspeed
outfit would first emerge on the
Formula one stage, fielding the Paul
Brown designed 841 chassis, which came
with an inline four-cylinder
turbocharged Zakspeed engine designed
by Norbert Kreyer.
Due to financial restraints Zakspeed would compete at
only the European rounds of the season.
Titular sponsorship would come in the
form of German tobacco company, West,
whose colours of red and white formed the
basis of the team's
West would appear on the sidepods and rear wing of
the car in black text, and in an effort
to circumvent tobacco bans, transformed
its company name into an assortment of blocks.
Along with West, the team would
also carry its technical partners on its
livery, namely its tyre and fuel
suppliers, Goodyear and Shell, along with
wheels manufacturer, BBS, shock
absorber manufacturers, KONI, brakes
fabricators, Ferodo, German Brewers
Hannen and paint products company, Behr.
For season 1986 the team would compete
in its first full Grand Prix season,
producing the 861 chassis. The team would
this time run with a mostly red car that
featured a white hoop which surrounded
the engine case and monocoque.
German industrial and consumer technology
company, Bosch, would join the team as
sponsors,
seen on the car's nose cone.
The 861 would be retained for the first round of
season 1987, before the team produced the
871 chassis, designed by Chris Murphy and
Heinz Zollner, which was piloted by Martin
Brundle to fifth position at the 1987
San Marino Grand Prix in its debut outing.
Brundle's fifth place finish would
prove to be the team's first and only
points finish. Insurance consultants, EMB,
car audio brand, Sonax, electronics
company, Toshiba, as well as German beer,
Jeever, would join the team's sponsorship
list, whilst at races held in countries
which prohibited tobacco advertising,
West would become known as "East".
The team
would return in 1988 with the 881, the
final car to be powered by Zakspeed's
self-manufactured turbocharged engines.
The team would welcome aboard new
technical partners in Castrol and
Fondamental which was seen in the car's
monocoque and wings, respectively.
In 1989 Zacspeed would
initiate a partnership with engine
manufacturers, Yamaha, with the Japanese
motor company set to make its initial
foray into the world of Formula One.
The team would field the Gustav Brunner
designed 891 chassis, which came with
Pirelli rubber and a black rear wing
which once again sported West branding.
Unfortunately for Zakspeed and Yamaha,
the Yamaha engine proved to be both
underpowered and unreliable, with the
team only managing to qualify for two
Grand Prix throughout the season.
Following this arduous season the team
would lose its support from West, leading
the team's owner to abort the team's
plans for 1990 and choose a return to
sports car racing, as the team went on to
modify and enter cars in DTM and the FIA
GT Championship throughout the 90's, as
well as brief appearances as a
manufacturer in CART and Superleague
Formula during the 2000's. Like many teams
which have found the going tough in
Formula One, Zakspeed's shortcomings can
be put down to a lack of financial
security rather than a lack of
engineering proficiency.
Zakspeed will
be forever remembered as one of Formula
One's more ambitious teams, which took
the fight to the much wealthier factory-backed
teams of its day
