The influencers: Brabham BT50

Technology that revolutionised racing

BRABHAM BT50

YOU may not know this, but it was a South African who came up with what became a fundamental part of modern F1 strategy … until it was banned in 1984 and again in 2010, that is. Yes, it was our very own Gordon Murray – legendary F1 designer for Brabham and then Mclaren – who rst devised a cunning mid-race refuelling plan.

Back in 1982, Brabham was one of the few teams that had abandoned naturally aspirated engines for the 1,5-litre turbo that the regulations had allowed since 1966. These engines were more powerful but less reliable and a whole lot thirstier. For most of the season, the Brabham BT50 had carried a larger fuel tank but, by the British Grand Prix (the 10th round of the season), Murray was ready to unveil his radical new strategy for the drivers: reigning champ, Nelson Piquet, as well as Ricardo Patrese. Murray’s thinking was that running a lighter car with less fuel and softercompound tyres gained enough time to stop halfway through the race for more of the same and still be faster than everyone else.

Unfortunately, a combination of engine fragility and race incidents meant it wasn’t until round 13 at the Austrian GP that a Brabham actually made it far enough to put the theory to test. With Piquet retiring, Patrese made it to the halfway mark in the lead, popped into the pits for more fuel and tyres, exited … and then promptly retired with another engine failure.