The Tyrrell 012 was introduced at the end of the 1983 F1 season. It was then used in 1984 and in the first races of 1985 after been replaced by its successor, the Tyrrell 014.
The car was very light, thanks to the carbon fibre chassis and tight shape, but it was never able to worry the rivals’ turbocharged cars. In order to gain some competitiveness, Cosworth provided the team a short-stroke version of the Ford Cosworth DFV, called DFY, that was able to produce around 520hp. In 1984 the car was driven by Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof, whose driving impressed in their rookie seasons in F1, achieving solid placings and a podium place each, but after Brundle’s second place in the Detroit Grand Prix the cars were disqualified by the FIA for various rule infringements and the team were excluded from the championship. The Tyrrell 012 is pretty known for its ‘boomerang’ rear wing that was used in only one occasion, during the first practice session of the 1983 Austrian Grand Prix, but then immediately dropped after discovering it had no advantages over a conventional wing.
Watch it in action during the Masters Historic F1 Championship in 2015 at Monza Circuit and in two editions of the Oldtimer GP at the Nürburgring, driven by Martin Stretton.
