<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Compared to its rivals, the Brabham BT52 BMW was remarkably compact. This was not only due to the absence of side-pods but also because of a relatively small fuel tank was fitted. This did not hold enough for the thirsty BMW engine to reach the distance as Murray had hatched a plan to bring refuelling back to Formula 1. Running the car light for most of the race more than made up for the time lost in the pits. During the stops, tyres were also changed, and to ensure they were immediately up to operating temperature, Murray also devised the now familiar tyre heating ovens. Believing a fiery accident during a pit-stop was bound to happen and refuelling banned as result, the rivalling teams did not opt to add stops to their strategy.
For what was very much a make-or-break season for the Brabham/BMW partnership and even BMW's high profile F1 program, team supremo Bernie Ecclestone retained the 1982 driver line-up of 1981 World Champion Nelson Piquet and young Italian Riccardo Patrese. The main rivals of the Parmalat-liveried machines were the Renaults and Ferraris, which both featured twin-turbo V6 engines that had the benefit of several more years of development. The absolute favourite to win the title was Renault's Alain Prost, who look set to clinch the F1 World Championship with a turbocharged car for the very first time. For turbo pioneers Renault, this would also be a fitting reward for several difficult and at times humiliating seasons with notoriously unreliable V6.
Piquet immediately made his intentions clear by taking a dominant win at home in the season opening Brazilian Grand Prix. Prost fought back in the subsequent rounds with the new-for-1983 Renault RE 40, which had not been ready at the start of the season. With four races to go, the Frenchman held a comfortable 14-point lead. Renault decided to defend their lead and froze the engine specification. BMW on the other hand feverishly worked to improve the straight four. The bolder strategy was rewarded as Piquet won two of those final four races and Prost only finished once, in second place. Piquet grabbed his second and BMW's first driver's World Championship by just one point. Patrese was out of luck all year and finished only twice including one victory.
Nelson Piquet made history by clinching the first World Championship with a turbocharged car in what should have been Renault's year. It was the Brazilian's and the Brabham BMW's consistency that made the difference as the pairing scored just three wins against Prost's four. The 1983 season was the high water mark for the Brabham/BMW partnership as subsequent cars failed to yield the same results, which was also due to the increased level of competition especially from the TAG-Porsche-engined McLarens. A turbo Renault would also not fight for the championship again, while Prost and Piquet would remain rivals in various cars for some years to come. Still very much a unique design, Murray's BT52 has gone into history as the last great Brabham Grand Prix car. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Compared to its rivals, the Brabham BT52 BMW was remarkably compact. This was not only due to the absence of side-pods but also because of a relatively small fuel tank was fitted. This did not hold enough for the thirsty BMW engine to reach the distance as Murray had hatched a plan to bring refuelling back to Formula 1. Running the car light for most of the race more than made up for the time lost in the pits. During the stops, tyres were also changed, and to ensure they were immediately up to operating temperature, Murray also devised the now familiar tyre heating ovens. Believing a fiery accident during a pit-stop was bound to happen and refuelling banned as result, the rivalling teams did not opt to add stops to their strategy.