Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula 1 team that competed in the sport from 1978 to 2002. Founded by Italian financier Franco Ambrosio, along with former Shadow team personnel Alan Rees, Jackie Oliver, Dave Wass, and Tony Southgate, the team was initially based in Milton Keynes, England, before moving to Leafield.
Notable Team Members and Drivers
Riccardo Patrese (Driver): From 1978 to 1981, Riccardo Patrese drove for Arrows during the early part of his career. Although the team and Patrese didn’t manage a win during this period, he did secure a second-place finish at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix.
Damon Hill (Driver): Damon Hill, the son of Graham Hill, drove for Arrows in the 1997 season. Despite the team’s underdog status, Hill almost won the Hungarian Grand Prix that year. He led the race until a mechanical failure just three laps from the finish forced him to slow down, eventually finishing second.
The team was initially named after the founders’ initials (Ambrosio, Rees, Oliver, Wass, Southgate), creating the ARROWS acronym. But even before the cars hit the track, the Arrows team were embroiled in a legal dispute with Shadow Racing Cars concerning the similarity of the Arrows FA1 to Shadow’s design. This resulted in their first car, the FA1, being banned.
Over 24 years, Arrows competed in 382 Grand Prix races. Although the team never secured a win, it achieved several commendable performances, including five second-place finishes and a handful of podium appearances. One of the team’s most notable moments came in 1997 when Damon Hill nearly won the Hungarian Grand Prix, leading the race until a mechanical failure in the closing laps forced him to settle for second place.
Arrows were also known for their role in developing young talent. They gave future stars their first taste of Formula 1, including drivers such as Riccardo Patrese, who debuted with Arrows in 1977. The team was a stepping stone for many drivers who would achieve success later in their careers.
Throughout its history, Arrows underwent several ownership changes. In the late 1990s, the team was acquired by Tom Walkinshaw, who aimed to create a more competitive Arrows team. Despite significant investment, the team struggled to achieve consistency come race day. Financial difficulties became a recurring problem, culminating in the team’s withdrawal from Formula 1 partway through the 2002 season.
After the team went into liquidation, the intellectual property rights of Arrows Grand Prix International, including all Arrows A23 chassis and the preliminary designs for the Arrows A24, were acquired by the Minardi team. Subsequently, the Arrows A23 was rebranded as the Minardi PS04 after Minardi made comparative tests against their own PS03 car. Despite the advantages of the A23, Minardi still opted to combine the most effective elements from the PS03, PS04/Arrows A23, and the conceptual designs of the Arrows A24 to create the Minardi PS04B for the 2004 season. This model was further refined into the PS05 for the subsequent season.
In 2005, Super Aguri carried forward the lineage of Arrows Grand Prix International, following Paul Stoddart’s sale of the combined Minardi and Arrows intellectual property rights to Red Bull Racing and Aguri Suzuki for the Minardi PS05 cars, respectively.
By the end of 2005, the growing Super Aguri F1 team had taken on Arrows’ previous headquarters at Leafield in Oxfordshire. From Minardi, they purchased four untouched Arrows A23s, all spare parts, and the intellectual property rights of Arrows Grand Prix International. The team, staffing numerous former Arrows personnel, including technical director Mark Preston, used the 2002 Arrows A23s, with slight modifications, as the Super Aguri SA05 in the initial races of the 2006 season. An updated version of the 2002 Arrows chassis, labelled the SA06, debuted at the 2006 German Grand Prix.
When Super Aguri closed in late 2008, Formtech Composites acquired the intellectual property rights previously held by Super Aguri and took over the old Arrows facility at Leafield. Presently, Formtech Composites specialises in engineering composite components for various industries, including automotive, motorsport, military, and aerospace.
Footwork Arrows
See team: Footwork Arrows
In 1990, Japanese businessman Wataru Ohashi invested in the Arrows team, leading to the prominent display of the Footwork logo on their cars. Jackie Oliver sold his shares to Ohashi but remained as team principal. Following Ross Brawn’s departure to TWR, Alan Jenkins was hired as technical director, though his relationship with Oliver was strained. The team was officially renamed Footwork in 1991 and secured a deal to use Porsche V12 engines. However, the engines proved to be heavy and underpowered, resulting in poor performance, and Porsche quickly withdrew. Footwork then switched to Ford V8 engines.
By 1992, the team transitioned to Mugen engines, with Jenkins continuing to design efficient cars within a limited budget. The 1994 season was particularly competitive, featuring several points finishes, including a double points finish in Germany. Christian Fittipaldi partnered with Gianni Morbidelli, who had impressed during testing. The FA15 car showcased innovative aerodynamics. Alan D. Harrison, the longest-serving member since the early Shadow F1 days, took over as team manager after John Wickham. Morbidelli emerged as Footwork’s most successful driver, securing a podium finish in Australia in 1995, the last race of the Footwork era. Morbidelli cherished his time with the team, despite financial constraints. Oliver maintained control throughout this period, funding the team personally after Ohashi withdrew his support and resorting to pay drivers due to a lack of sponsorship.
Arrows Formula One World Championship Records
| First entry | 1978 Brazilian Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| Races entered | 394 entries (382 starts) |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 0 (Best finish: five 2nd places, last one at 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix) |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Points | 164 |
| Pole positions | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 2002 German Grand Prix |
Arrows Championship Results
| Year | Name | Car | Drivers | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Arrows Racing Team Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team | FA1 A1 | Rolf Stommelen Riccardo Patrese | 11 | 9th |
| 1979 | Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team | A1 A2 | Jochen Mass Riccardo Patrese | 5 | 9th |
| 1980 | Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team Warsteiner Arrows Racing with Penthouse Rizla+ | A3 | Manfred Winkelhock Mike Thackwell Jochen Mass Riccardo Patrese | 11 | 7th |
| 1981 | Ragno Arrows Beta Racing Team | A3 | Jacques Villeneuve Sr. Riccardo Patrese Siegfried Stohr | 10 | 8th |
| 1982 | Ragno Arrows | A4 A5 | Marc Surer Brian Henton Mauro Baldi | 5 | 10th |
| 1983 | Arrows Racing Team | A6 | Thierry Boutsen Alan Jones Chico Serra Marc Surer | 4 | 10th |
| 1984 | Barclay Nordica Arrows | A6 A7 | Marc Surer Thierry Boutsen | 3 3 | 10th 11th |
| 1985 | Barclay Arrows BMW | A8 | Gerhard Berger Thierry Boutsen | 14 | 8th |
| 1986 | Barclay Arrows BMW | A8 A9 | Christian Danner Marc Surer Thierry Boutsen | 1 | 10th |
| 1987 | USF&G Arrows Megatron | A10 | Derek Warwick Eddie Cheever | 11 | 7th |
| 1988 | USF&G Arrows Megatron | A10B | Derek Warwick Eddie Cheever | 23 | 5th |
| 1989 | USF&G Arrows Ford | A11 | Martin Donnelly Derek Warwick Eddie Cheever | 13 | 7th |
| 1990 | Footwork Arrows Racing | A11 A11B | Alex Caffi Bernd Schneider Michele Alboreto | 2 | 9th |
| 1991 | Footwork Porsche Footwork Ford | A11C FA12 FA12C | Michele Alboreto Alex Caffi Stefan Johansson | 0 0 | NC NC |
| 1992 | Footwork Mugen Honda | FA13 | Michele Alboreto Aguri Suzuki | 6 | 7th |
| 1993 | Footwork Mugen Honda | FA13B FA14 | Derek Warwick Aguri Suzuki | 4 | 9th |
| 1994 | Footwork Hart | FA15 | Christian Fittipaldi Gianni Morbidelli | 9 | 9th |
| 1995 | Footwork Hart | FA16 | Gianni Morbidelli Max Papis Taki Inoue | 5 | 8th |
| 1996 | Footwork Hart | FA17 | Ricardo Rosset Jos Verstappen | 1 | 9th |
| 1997 | Danka Arrows Yamaha | A18 | Damon Hill Pedro Paulo Diniz | 9 | 8th |
| 1998 | Danka Zepter Arrows | A19 | Mika Salo Pedro Paulo Diniz | 6 | 7th |
| 1999 | Repsol Arrows | A20 | Pedro de la Rosa Toranosuke Takagi | 1 | 9th |
| 2000 | Arrows F1 Team | A21 | Jos Verstappen Pedro de la Rosa | 7 | 7th |
| 2001 | Orange Arrows Asiatech | A22 | Enrique Bernoldi Jos Verstappen | 1 | 10th |
| 2002 | Orange Arrows | A23 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen Enrique Bernoldi | 2 | 11th |
