Brabham BT49
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The Brabham BT49 was a ground effect Formula 1 car designed by Gordon Murray for the Brabham team. It was used over four seasons, taking a total of 7 wins, 6 poles and 135 points. Nelson Piquet used this model to win the 1981 Formula One drivers' championship.
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[edit] Concept
The BT49 was designed at short notice when Bernie Ecclestone decided to end Brabham's relationship with Alfa Romeo after the Italian constructor started testing its own Formula One car in the summer of the 1979 Formula One season. The Alfa Romeo engines had been powerful, but heavy, unreliable and very awkward to work with. Murray described returning to the Cosworth DFV for the BT49 as being "like having a holiday".
The car was an extremely simple and uncomplicated design, based around the Cosworth DFV. It was an aluminium alloy monocoque tub, into which a carbon fibre composite insert was fitted, forming the driver's seat, the fuel tank and the top of the chassis. The first two chassis were built up from cut down chassis from the Alfa-Romeo V12 powered BT48. The BT49 featured extremely low sloping sidepods housing the radiators which were laid at a shallow angle, and advanced ground effect tunnels built into the underside of the car. The car featured the carbon-carbon brakes which Brabham had been developing since 1976.
After their experience with the BT48, their first proper ground effect car, the BT49 had well developed aerodynamics. In its first years of use these were enhanced by sliding skirts sealing the underside of the vehicle.
For the 1981 season, the FIA banned the sliding skirts fitted to the cars and introduced a 6 cm minimum ground clearance for the cars, intended to slow them in corners by limiting the downforce created by aerodynamic ground effect. Brabham were the first team to find a way around the rules. Ground effect reduces the air pressure under the car, sucking it onto the track, and increases as the underside of the car gets closer to the track surface.[1] Gordon Murray devised a hydropneumatic suspension system for the BT49C, in which compressed air acted as the spring. The air springs supported the car at the regulation height for checks while stationary in parc fermé. At speed, where the ride height could not be measured, downforce compressed the suspension and the car settled to a much lower ride height, which created more downforce. Brabham were accused of cheating by other teams. Murray believes that the system was legal, as any suspension system will compress under download. The loophole was in the degree of compression permitted, which was not specified under the rules. Murray also feels that the team's effort in developing the system was wasted when, part way through the season, FISA decided to permit systems with a simple switch to lower the ride height.[2] This required the sidepods to be redesigned and the drivers were exposed to massive lateral g-forces, but the system worked perfectly.
During the 1981 season, Brabham signed a deal with BMW to supply turbo engines for 1982. A BT49 was used as a testbed for the new engine, and Piquet was ecstatic about the massive power of the unit. In qualifying trim the BMW turbo produced up to 1500 horsepower.
Murray was reluctant to built an entirely composite chassis until he completely understood how the new materials worked in a crash, an understanding achieved in part through an intrumented crash test of a BT49 chassis, with its carbon fibre components.[3]
[edit] Racing History
Nelson Piquet debuted the car at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1979, and it was developed for the 1980 season allowing Piquet to challenge Alan Jones and Williams hard for the world championship. Piquet took 3 wins, but lost out in Canada when first Jones put Piquet in the wall at the start, and then the engine failed in the spare car during the race.
In 1981, Piquet used the modified BT49 to take another 3 wins and snatched the world championship away from Carlos Reutemann in the final race, but Williams again won the constructors' title.
Brabham used the BT49 occasionally during 1982, and Riccardo Patrese took the car's final win at the Monaco Grand Prix that year before the BT49 was replaced by the BT50 which used the BMW engine. The BT50 was itself closely based on the BT49.
The BT49 took a total of 7 wins, 6 poles and 135 points in its career.
BT49s are still raced today in historic racing championships.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Haney, Paul and Braun, Jeff Inside Racing Technology pp. 15 - 19 TV Motorsports ISBN 0-9646414-0-2
- ^ Henry (1985) pp.223-225
- ^
[edit] See also
Williams FW07B • Williams FW07C • Brabham BT49C • Renault RE20B • Renault RE30 • Ligier JS17 • Ferrari 126CK • McLaren M29C • McLaren M29F • McLaren MP4/1 • Lotus 81 • Lotus 87 • Lotus 88 • Lotus 88B • Tyrrell 010 • Tyrrell 011 • Alfa Romeo 179B • Alfa Romeo 179C • Alfa Romeo 179D • Arrows A3 • Ensign N180B • Theodore TY01 • ATS D4 • ATS HGS • Fittipaldi F8C • Osella FA1B • Osella FA1C • March 811 • Toleman TG181
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