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  Tyrrell 010 Cosworth      

  Article Image gallery (38) 010-3 Specifications  
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Country of origin:Great Britain
Produced in:1980
Numbers built:3
Designed by:Maurice Philippe for Tyrrell
Predecessor:Tyrrell 009 Cosworth
Successor:Tyrrell 011 Cosworth
Author:Wouter Melissen
Last updated:April 15, 2016
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Click here to download printer friendly versionComing to grips with the new ground effect aerodynamics, pioneered by Lotus in 1977, Maurice Philippe created the Tyrrell 009 for the 1979 season. He was clearly inspired by the Lotus 78 that clinched the World Championship with Mario Andretti a year earlier. Tyrrell's first ground effect car was good for a fifth place in the 1979 Constructors' World Championship for the British team.

Applying the lessons learned and also taking cues from the 1979 Williams FW07, Philippe penned the new-for-1980 Tyrrell 010. The car was built around an aluminium monocoque, which used the ubiquitous Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine as a fully stressed member. The rocker-actuated springs and dampers were mounted in-board to provide a clean airflow through the ground effect tunnels. The side-pods featured sliding skirts to enhance the ground effect.

Tasked to drive the Candy-liveried Tyrrell 010 were Jean-Pierre Jarier and Derek Daly, who were also with the team in 1979. For the first fly-away races in Argentina and Brasil, Tyrrell still relied on the existing 009s before switching to the 010 for the South African Grand Prix. Jarier and Daly qualified a disappointing 13th and 16th on the grid. Only the Frenchman made it to the finish, in a promising seventh. A fifth at the Belgian Grand Prix, saw Jarier score the 010's first points in the car's third race.

One of the inherent flaws of the Tyrrell 010 was the lack of chassis rigidity. While Tyrrells were traditionally very well built, the sheer forces generated by the ground effect aerodynamics stressed the chassis more than ever before. This resulted in an unusual large number of retirements for the Tyrrell team. Jarier eventually managed to score two more fifth place finishes, and Daly managed to place fourth. Tyrrell ended the year sixth in the standings.

With limited resources available, Tyrrell was forced to start the 1981 season with the Tyrrell 010. Eddie Cheever was the lead driver, while the second car was driven once by Kevin Cogan, twice by Ricardo Zunino and for the remainder of the year by the hugely talented Michele Alboreto. Subtly improved, the 010 was at times more competitive, as Cheever finished in the points on four occasions before it was superseded by the Tyrrell 011.

Amassing just 15 points in the better part of two seasons, the Tyrrell 010 did not perform quite as well as the earlier or subsequent Tyrrells. In historic racing, the 010 has proven slightly more successful with one example finishing runner-up in the 2015 FIA Masters Historic Formula championship, ironically beaten only by a Tyrrell 011.

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  Article Image gallery (38) 010-3 Specifications