My favourite F1 car.. a smashing innovation and while everyone bangs on about 1976, Hunt vs Lauda, this car came second 9 times, bumping each of the title rivals into 3rd place in the last 2 races, with the Swedish 1-2 dropping the big names to 3rd and 5th places! Simply put, in a Championship decided by one single point, the P34 by denying points here and there was a deciding factor to the ultimate Champion. Jody and Patrick finishing 3rd & 4th, behind Hunt/Lauda, proved it's worth, and I hear that it regularly does (or did) well in F1 Historic races. :D
I think it was Goodyear which finally finnished of the six wheeler, they weren't prepared to go on supplying the small front tyres, just for One Team, otherwise it could have been more successful.
The 70's were a wild ride in F1. All these different concepts that were developed when F1 was pretty much like the Wild West back in the day. The P34 is an icon of this era and it's almost a shame that the brake and tire issues kept the car from being a bigger success because the general concept worked quite nicely. Ken Tyrell later often spoke about his love for the car, stating "It was the car that performed best". Great video bringing back great memories.
I was in my mid-teens when the P34 raced. In the US it was hard to get F1 news, though I did hear about the six wheeled car. When I found out that Tyrrel had built the car I was not surprised. I thought Tyrrel was a great team at the time and could and should win more world championships. Too bad but their hay-day was behind them. I saw 5 USGP-West at Long Beach between 1979 & 1983. I saw a lot of changes to F1 in those years, too bad that you can't be inventive in today's F1. If you try something new it gets banned after all of the complaining by the other teams.
This car's what attracted me to formula one as a young teen. I had an AFX slot car of this car,which made me go out and get a tamaya Model of the P34. Which I still have till this day 47 years later.
If they can get it to run efficiently through the entire race then, yeah why not? Without breaking any of the new rules that have been put in place since the 70s that is. I can imagine that would be difficult to do.
I got to see Jody Scheckter race his 6 wheeled wonder at the 1976 Gran Prix of Monaco. I was in the Army at the time but took some leave and did an American Express tour to the race. One of the highlights of my younger years for sure!!
I own one of these magnificent cars. Granted, it says Hot Wheels on it, but I own it all the same. Hot Wheels also had to produce smaller wheels for their version. It sits on my desk near my laptop and I go "Vroom! Vroom!" to make it run ever so sweet. The Tyrrell P34 is one of my all time favorite cars, along with the Chaparral 2J and Babs the land speed car. Too cool.
I have the Tamiya kit of the P34. I build one as a kid and found another to build now that my skills are a bit better. I've seen one of the cars at Hillsborough Concours D'Elegance in Ca. a few years ago.
I did see these P34 cars run at the Long Beach F1 race. Fantastic. There is one in Canepa’s collection upstairs above his shop in Scotts Valley. Fantastic engineering1
There was a 2 front wheel and 4 rear wheel F1 car as well. I think fewer relegations forcing the racing teams to innovate for their competitive edge. Look at what happened during the team's that switched to turbo engines during the Cosworth DFV era.
March had also a 6 wheeler with 4 wheels on the back, Rothmans livery with Ian Scheckter behind the wheel, i am not sure if they ever raced with this car or if it was a proto type.
I am pretty sure that the March 6 wheel thing was a publicity stunt where they just soldered a second gear box to take pictures, but as far as I know the car wouldn't actually move at all. At the time March was more about selling cars to other teams than actually fielding their own team (though they did that too) and so had to be seen as forward looking by their clients.
Williams made one with 4 back wheels too. It also sent power to all 4 of the rear wheels. It was that that forced the governing bodies hand at the time to clarify that F1 cars are to have only 4 wheels, and can only be 2 wheel drive.
There were articles about the P34 while it was racing that said Gardner and the team thought the six-wheel design would give more front grip. But in fact, its real advantage was that it produced less aerodynamic drag. One study in that era said that 80% of the drag produced by a Grand Prix car was caused by its tires/wheels. Reducing the size of the front tires seems to have been very beneficial to the car's top speed.
To the script writer/narrator - traction and grip are different things altogether, so 6 wheels do not provide more traction unless more than two of them are drive wheels. I think you meant grip due to increased overall contact patch. Also, Patrick Depailler's name is pronounced "Da-pie-yay", not "De-pile-uhh"!
04:39 The car was slower at the end of the year was caused (mainly, but not only) by Good Year not developing those small front tyres (for only 1 team) the same amount as the normal size tyres for the rest of the teams. It wasn't worth for Good Year financially and also they didn't have enough data/experience to do it efficiently. It's similar to why Ferrari was struggling with its Bridgestones in 2005.
1:00 best F1.. it all goes on to the driver and, yes..who makes a kit, but mostly to driver in stead of who has the biggest budget... Micheal Schumacher said in many interviews.. put Jos Verstappen, yes Max'dad in a Ferrarri ( back then) and there would be a whole different top ten..
I remember these cars. I highly doubt that we will ever see a six wheeled F-1 car again. Too many obstacles to overcome, one being the cost of such a machine. Tires and brakes have come a long way since the 70's, so I don't think that the car is an impossible thing to achieve. And yeah, I was a fan of these cars at the time. So different!
As I see it the idea wasn't a bad idea, but the complexity and weight are the things making it less feasible. Add to it that it would be time lost at the pit stop with wheel changes. So it's likely a thing of the past for Formula 1, but 6 wheeler cars could be a thing for other kind of races like 24 hour LeMans.
I love the Tyrell P34 Six Wheeler because I'm a model builder and a fan of Tamiya 1/12 F1 race car models. I would love to see six wheels back in F1. Formula One needs a change I think and whenever there is a huge change it causes all the teams to adjust and settle down with the technical advancements be it aerodynamics, tyre types,engines and so on! The six wheel idea worked but they killed it before Tyrell sorted out snags. They brought back turbo chargers and advanced it right? The sport needs a major overhaul in some way instead of all these new wings for airflow and reducing drag but give us a whole new excitement to make it worth watching! I'm getting bored !
Admiro a diferença de tamanho das rodas frontais para as traseiras! Mas como me lembro bem, no fim dos anos 70 inicio dos anos 80 todos os carros tinham essas rodas minúsculas na frente e enooormes atrás
00:46 This is BS! 🤣 Nowadays qualy differences are around 1-1.5 secs. Back then it was a much larger gap. Also in a race it was a much bigger difference between the winner and last place.
"The field back then were all supplied by Cosworth." This is incorrect. While this line is spoken, you're showing a flat 12 Ferrari... "They used the same Goodyear tires" This is incorrect. While this line is spoken you're showing a Michelin shod Renault... "They used the same gearbox used by Hewland." I don't have to say it, do I?... "By creating less front lift" This is incorrect. Gardner designed the P34 around the idea of less frontal area. Jackie Stewart was never Gardner's boss. Jackie Stewart was also retired when the car was designed and produced. Having said this, you've correctly identified the primary issue: lack of development, and lack of tire development from Goodyear as the reasons the car was abandoned. Also, the FIA mandated 4 wheels after the P34 so no evolution of the idea...
@ Peter Franz - I think the fact that it created less frontal area was a side effect, and not the primary reason for 4 front wheels. The car had 2x the steering traction enabling it to corner faster than the normal 2 wheel setup.
@@Loulovesspeed ... Long delay, LOL. I have a Tyrrell book somewhere but couldn't find it... but here's Derek Gardener explaining that reduced drag was primary but corning ability was also a factor. Let's say we're both right. Remember though Ferrari was beginning to dominate with the 312T and Ken thought he had access to the coming French turbos, but wasn't sure how long he had to wait, so the best way to add "power" was reduce drag. ruclips.net/video/qklVP88cQnM/видео.html
It was an idea that was sound in principle but let down by engineering at the time. As a principle it could come back at any time with teams searching for an edge. Similar to rear, front and all wheel drive, which is best in principle and which is best in application. Honest answer unknown as teams in all forms of motor racing keep changing the configuration. My main concern is that it may be considered too old fashioned such as the 36 inch or larger of the rims used in the 1930's, yet angular rotation and momentum is sound in that you get more speed from much larger rims. Weight will always remain problematic like with all wheel drive. Does the gain outweigh to loss in performance of speed.
I love the way you say all the F1 cars had the engines and GoodYear tires. Then you show a picture of a Michelin shod Renault. You forgot to mention that the larger rotating mass of four wheel created more turbulence than the smaller P34. Williams did design a six wheeler but it tested and did not race it had four wheels in the back.
It didn’t race because it was 4 wheel drive and it also had ground effect, it was banned before it got the chance to race, f1 board and rules determined it’s outcome
🤔 I would have developed the car to be able control which tires and breaks were wearing down. Switching between sets with a press of a button. Then when you need all the rubber and power. Have a seperate button to put all four on the ground. This would make it worth it.
@@Roger-mg8zh - Easy big fellow, no need to get triggered. I was simply clarifying the major difference between a car with 4 rear drive wheels and 2 front wheels, and a 4 front wheel (on their own axles) set up with standard 2 driving rear wheels. By the way, Auto Union had 4 rear drive wheels on the same back axle (dual wheels) way back in 1935, so Ferrari clearly duplicated them. Tyrrell was the first, and only GP car to have 4 front steering wheels. The Ferrari312-T6 never competed in a race as Enzo cancelled its development prior to the FIA banning 6 wheelers all together. That is why the Ferrari is forgotten and the Tyrrell is remembered. 😀
I’m not a diehard F1 fan but there seems like there was so much innovation and experimentation back then. Now everyone has the same boring car. What happened?
Not exactly correct. Gardner designed the car because Tyrrell was not able to obtain a turbo engine and was stuck with the DFV that was about 180HP short of the turbo cars. So he swung for the fences and the aero advantage made up for about 150 of the 180 deficit.
Like all things hard ,Time and large balls at the bottom of deep pockets win over .where would the 6wheelers be now if they kept going with development ? materials are way way way better now ! And 10" seems to me the main issue back then. Tyer manufactures would want to be the to be there if they thought 6 wheelers were the future .The 6 wheel door was almost opened . Just saying ..
No it's not even close to be the most complicated car ever made. Do you have any idea how complicated the current cars Aero and power units are? This video just started and so much is wrong!
No they were not much more even, and they were not all supplied by Cosworth! F1 hasn't been more even than now. Only a handfull of cars get laped once. Come on don't make shit up!
6 wheelers should be explored till the end , the concept is tight ! but why stop there ?? why not 8 ?? Too much too soon ? materials have gone spaceage so why not 8 wheels .
@noel obrien - Six wheelers were explored to the end, and the creators realized it was an impractical set up for several reasons. 8 wheels would only compound the problems.
My favourite F1 car.. a smashing innovation and while everyone bangs on about 1976, Hunt vs Lauda, this car came second 9 times, bumping each of the title rivals into 3rd place in the last 2 races, with the Swedish 1-2 dropping the big names to 3rd and 5th places! Simply put, in a Championship decided by one single point, the P34 by denying points here and there was a deciding factor to the ultimate Champion.
Jody and Patrick finishing 3rd & 4th, behind Hunt/Lauda, proved it's worth, and I hear that it regularly does (or did) well in F1 Historic races. :D
I think it was Goodyear which finally finnished of the six wheeler, they weren't prepared to go on supplying the small front tyres, just for One Team, otherwise it could have been more successful.
Bring all these fantastic historic cars back and race them on the Nurburgring every 10th year. We can all arrive on Carrot Fueled Hover cars.
Good idea! Call them wacky racers.
The 70's were a wild ride in F1.
All these different concepts that were developed when F1 was pretty much like the Wild West back in the day.
The P34 is an icon of this era and it's almost a shame that the brake and tire issues kept the car from being a bigger success because the general concept worked quite nicely.
Ken Tyrell later often spoke about his love for the car, stating "It was the car that performed best".
Great video bringing back great memories.
I was in my mid-teens when the P34 raced. In the US it was hard to get F1 news, though I did hear about the six wheeled car. When I found out that Tyrrel had built the car I was not surprised. I thought Tyrrel was a great team at the time and could and should win more world championships. Too bad but their hay-day was behind them. I saw 5 USGP-West at Long Beach between 1979 & 1983. I saw a lot of changes to F1 in those years, too bad that you can't be inventive in today's F1. If you try something new it gets banned after all of the complaining by the other teams.
This car's what attracted me to formula one as a young teen. I had an AFX slot car of this car,which made me go out and get a tamaya Model of the P34. Which I still have till this day 47 years later.
I saw these cars race at the British grand Prix's of 76 & 77.
If they can get it to run efficiently through the entire race then, yeah why not? Without breaking any of the new rules that have been put in place since the 70s that is. I can imagine that would be difficult to do.
An amazing car. 70's innovation like the "skirts" on the JPS Lotus. F1 seemed a lot more free back then.
I got to see Jody Scheckter race his 6 wheeled wonder at the 1976 Gran Prix of Monaco. I was in the Army at the time but took some leave and did an American Express tour to the race. One of the highlights of my younger years for sure!!
I own one of these magnificent cars. Granted, it says Hot Wheels on it, but I own it all the same. Hot Wheels also had to produce smaller wheels for their version. It sits on my desk near my laptop and I go "Vroom! Vroom!" to make it run ever so sweet. The Tyrrell P34 is one of my all time favorite cars, along with the Chaparral 2J and Babs the land speed car. Too cool.
I have the Tamiya kit of the P34. I build one as a kid and found another to build now that my skills are a bit better. I've seen one of the cars at Hillsborough Concours D'Elegance in Ca. a few years ago.
AFX (slot cars) made one too.
I did see these P34 cars run at the Long Beach F1 race. Fantastic. There is one in Canepa’s collection upstairs above his shop in Scotts Valley. Fantastic engineering1
There was a 2 front wheel and 4 rear wheel F1 car as well. I think fewer relegations forcing the racing teams to innovate for their competitive edge. Look at what happened during the team's that switched to turbo engines during the Cosworth DFV era.
loved the vid, you should have thousands of followers, and will have if you keep going, the algorithm will help you
March had also a 6 wheeler with 4 wheels on the back, Rothmans livery with Ian Scheckter behind the wheel, i am not sure if they ever raced with this car or if it was a proto type.
I am pretty sure that the March 6 wheel thing was a publicity stunt where they just soldered a second gear box to take pictures, but as far as I know the car wouldn't actually move at all. At the time March was more about selling cars to other teams than actually fielding their own team (though they did that too) and so had to be seen as forward looking by their clients.
Williams made one with 4 back wheels too. It also sent power to all 4 of the rear wheels. It was that that forced the governing bodies hand at the time to clarify that F1 cars are to have only 4 wheels, and can only be 2 wheel drive.
There were articles about the P34 while it was racing that said Gardner and the team thought the six-wheel design would give more front grip. But in fact, its real advantage was that it produced less aerodynamic drag. One study in that era said that 80% of the drag produced by a Grand Prix car was caused by its tires/wheels. Reducing the size of the front tires seems to have been very beneficial to the car's top speed.
Imagine the pit stop
To the script writer/narrator - traction and grip are different things altogether, so 6 wheels do not provide more traction unless more than two of them are drive wheels. I think you meant grip due to increased overall contact patch. Also, Patrick Depailler's name is pronounced "Da-pie-yay", not "De-pile-uhh"!
The P34 must’ve been the inspiration for my favorite car series in fiction, and anime series it’s from. The Asurada Series cars after the SA-01
04:39 The car was slower at the end of the year was caused (mainly, but not only) by Good Year not developing those small front tyres (for only 1 team) the same amount as the normal size tyres for the rest of the teams. It wasn't worth for Good Year financially and also they didn't have enough data/experience to do it efficiently.
It's similar to why Ferrari was struggling with its Bridgestones in 2005.
I had the AFX slot car version
I saw his car run at Watkins Glen in the 70's strange looking at best.
"Jackie Stewart, the only man that speaks English, and still needs a translator!"- Robin Williams
1:00 best F1.. it all goes on to the driver and, yes..who makes a kit, but mostly to driver in stead of who has the biggest budget... Micheal Schumacher said in many interviews.. put Jos Verstappen, yes Max'dad in a Ferrarri ( back then) and there would be a whole different top ten..
Changing front tires would be a nightmare since there is no room for 4 mechanics at the same time.
True, but they suffered from less tire wear at the same time.
Go Tyrell back when F1 had their feet on the ground
Check out all the crazy 6-wheeled and dualie hillclimb cars built over the years.
🏁🏁Great vid 🏁🏁
I remember these cars. I highly doubt that we will ever see a six wheeled F-1 car again. Too many obstacles to overcome, one being the cost of such a machine. Tires and brakes have come a long way since the 70's, so I don't think that the car is an impossible thing to achieve. And yeah, I was a fan of these cars at the time. So different!
Obstacles indeed, like the 6 wheel being banned by the FIA, so much for any doubt in your mind...
It’s 2023. Cost isn’t the issue. Moneys out there.
As I see it the idea wasn't a bad idea, but the complexity and weight are the things making it less feasible.
Add to it that it would be time lost at the pit stop with wheel changes.
So it's likely a thing of the past for Formula 1, but 6 wheeler cars could be a thing for other kind of races like 24 hour LeMans.
That and the small tires liked to separate on the rim and loose air.
"No we arent smoking something, this happened during the 70's"
So they were smoking something?
Two in the front, one in the back. Recipe for success
I love the Tyrell P34 Six Wheeler because I'm a model builder and a fan of Tamiya 1/12 F1 race car models. I would love to see six wheels back in F1. Formula One needs a change I think and whenever there is a huge change it causes all the teams to adjust and settle down with the technical advancements be it aerodynamics, tyre types,engines and so on! The six wheel idea worked but they killed it before Tyrell sorted out snags. They brought back turbo chargers and advanced it right? The sport needs a major overhaul in some way instead of all these new wings for airflow and reducing drag but give us a whole new excitement to make it worth watching! I'm getting bored !
The duals should have been on the rear as Williams did
Admiro a diferença de tamanho das rodas frontais para as traseiras! Mas como me lembro bem, no fim dos anos 70 inicio dos anos 80 todos os carros tinham essas rodas minúsculas na frente e enooormes atrás
00:46 This is BS! 🤣 Nowadays qualy differences are around 1-1.5 secs. Back then it was a much larger gap. Also in a race it was a much bigger difference between the winner and last place.
"The field back then were all supplied by Cosworth."
This is incorrect. While this line is spoken, you're showing a flat 12 Ferrari...
"They used the same Goodyear tires"
This is incorrect. While this line is spoken you're showing a Michelin shod Renault...
"They used the same gearbox used by Hewland."
I don't have to say it, do I?...
"By creating less front lift"
This is incorrect. Gardner designed the P34 around the idea of less frontal area.
Jackie Stewart was never Gardner's boss.
Jackie Stewart was also retired when the car was designed and produced.
Having said this, you've correctly identified the primary issue: lack of development, and lack of tire development from Goodyear as the reasons the car was abandoned.
Also, the FIA mandated 4 wheels after the P34 so no evolution of the idea...
Im no F1 buff but when i heard "engineering wise, its probably the most complicated car ever made, because its got 6 wheels". I laughed.
Came here to say these things too. Also food for thought, did Goodyear really develop the 10” wheels? I thought tyres was their game.
@ Peter Franz - I think the fact that it created less frontal area was a side effect, and not the primary reason for 4 front wheels. The car had 2x the steering traction enabling it to corner faster than the normal 2 wheel setup.
The original (1976) Tyrrell pre-dates the 1.5l turbo, Michelin-shod Renault shown in the film. But what about the 12 cyclinder Matra engined Ligier?
@@Loulovesspeed ... Long delay, LOL. I have a Tyrrell book somewhere but couldn't find it... but here's Derek Gardener explaining that reduced drag was primary but corning ability was also a factor. Let's say we're both right. Remember though Ferrari was beginning to dominate with the 312T and Ken thought he had access to the coming French turbos, but wasn't sure how long he had to wait, so the best way to add "power" was reduce drag. ruclips.net/video/qklVP88cQnM/видео.html
You really should have more subscribers
It was an idea that was sound in principle but let down by engineering at the time. As a principle it could come back at any time with teams searching for an edge. Similar to rear, front and all wheel drive, which is best in principle and which is best in application. Honest answer unknown as teams in all forms of motor racing keep changing the configuration. My main concern is that it may be considered too old fashioned such as the 36 inch or larger of the rims used in the 1930's, yet angular rotation and momentum is sound in that you get more speed from much larger rims. Weight will always remain problematic like with all wheel drive. Does the gain outweigh to loss in performance of speed.
Road car drivers of that period with plenty money could copy this by ordering a panther 6.
I love the way you say all the F1 cars had the engines and GoodYear tires. Then you show a picture of a Michelin shod Renault. You forgot to mention that the larger rotating mass of four wheel created more turbulence than the smaller P34. Williams did design a six wheeler but it tested and did not race it had four wheels in the back.
It didn’t race because it was 4 wheel drive and it also had ground effect, it was banned before it got the chance to race, f1 board and rules determined it’s outcome
F1 drivers and cars are so boring today, it's one of the main reasons historic racing is so popular. There's actual racing taking place
this vid is so underrated?
🤔 I would have developed the car to be able control which tires and breaks were wearing down. Switching between sets with a press of a button. Then when you need all the rubber and power. Have a seperate button to put all four on the ground. This would make it worth it.
I want to see an 18 wheeler F1 series.
"The most complicated F1 car ever made"
Modern F1 car: "Hold my MGU-H"
Not all cars were supply with a Cosworth V8. Ferrari had a 12 cylinder.
you forgot also the Ferrari with 6 wheels 4 at the end on same back axle.. 😜
@Roger - The Ferrari has 4 drive wheels vs Tyrrell with 4 steering wheels. Big difference. 🤔
@@Loulovesspeed I say something about where !! I just mean nobody ever remember the Ferrari 6 Wheeler ...nothing more or less !!
@@Roger-mg8zh - Easy big fellow, no need to get triggered. I was simply clarifying the major difference between a car with 4 rear drive wheels and 2 front wheels, and a 4 front wheel (on their own axles) set up with standard 2 driving rear wheels. By the way, Auto Union had 4 rear drive wheels on the same back axle (dual wheels) way back in 1935, so Ferrari clearly duplicated them. Tyrrell was the first, and only GP car to have 4 front steering wheels. The Ferrari312-T6 never competed in a race as Enzo cancelled its development prior to the FIA banning 6 wheelers all together. That is why the Ferrari is forgotten and the Tyrrell is remembered. 😀
I remember those.
great vid!
I bet all builders and drivers wish they could have use it for target practice. Too big to use as a paperweight
Let's try with 12 wheels.
Who had a scalextric model car like this?
it won so it must have merit hey!?
I’m not a diehard F1 fan but there seems like there was so much innovation and experimentation back then. Now everyone has the same boring car. What happened?
A 6 wheeled formula one car? Known to some of us as Dragstrip.
Not exactly correct. Gardner designed the car because Tyrrell was not able to obtain a turbo engine and was stuck with the DFV that was about 180HP short of the turbo cars. So he swung for the fences and the aero advantage made up for about 150 of the 180 deficit.
How about 6 wheels and a fan!
put a cannon on the front its a tank
Why not 3 1/2 wheel car?
Congratulations on winning "the world's most annoying voice" competition. 👏
That was a proto type. Never raced
I think 4 wheel are good enough
You have to try to know
Like all things hard ,Time and large balls at the bottom of deep pockets win over .where would the 6wheelers be now if they kept going with development ? materials are way way way better now ! And 10" seems to me the main issue back then. Tyer manufactures would want to be the to be there if they thought 6 wheelers were the future .The 6 wheel door was almost opened . Just saying ..
No it's not even close to be the most complicated car ever made. Do you have any idea how complicated the current cars Aero and power units are?
This video just started and so much is wrong!
No to the first question and no to the second
No they were not much more even, and they were not all supplied by Cosworth! F1 hasn't been more even than now. Only a handfull of cars get laped once. Come on don't make shit up!
6 wheelers should be explored till the end , the concept is tight ! but why stop there ?? why not 8 ?? Too much too soon ? materials have gone spaceage so why not 8 wheels .
@noel obrien - Six wheelers were explored to the end, and the creators realized it was an impractical set up for several reasons. 8 wheels would only compound the problems.
What a droning voice, had to stop watching!🤯🤯
Not well thought out. 🛞