5 Race Cars That Were Banned For Being Too Good

The 1970s was a time of constant innovation in motorsport, and nowhere was this more evident than in Formula 1. Rules were relaxed allowing designers to experiment with huge air-boxes, crazy wing designs, and, in the case of the Tyrrell P34, two extra wheels. But it was towards the end of the decade where innovation really hit its peak.

After years of experimentation, Colin Chapman finally produced the first ‘ground effects’ Formula 1 car in 1977, the iconic Lotus 78. We could write a whole book on the genius of Chapman’s design, but in short, the car basically worked like one massive inverted aerofoil, creating huge amounts of downforce. Rubber skirts were also added to the car to increase the low air pressure under the low-sitting machine; the levels of aerodynamic grip were astounding.

The car made its debut at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix at Anderstorp and completely dominated. Team principal Bernie Ecclestone made the drivers qualify on full tanks to make sure that the team didn’t show its hand too early. In the race, Niki Lauda quickly overtook pole sitter Mario Andretti in the Lotus, and promptly cleared off into the distance, winning the race by a whole 34 seconds. Unfortunately, the constructors association called for the car to be withdrawn, with team owner Bernie Ecclestone complying. The car never raced again, and still holds the title of being the only F1 car with a 100 per cent win record.

There are teams that decide to bend the rules, and then there are other teams who decide to break them. Back in 1995, Toyota Team Europe (TTE) was the latter. After the madness of the Group B era, the FIA was determined to not let speeds get out of control. As a result, it required the top tier cars to run restrictor plates on their turbos reducing air intake by around 25 per cent; equating to around a 50bhp loss at the wheels.

The clever boffins in the Toyota race department developed a genius way to bypass the seals around the restrictor. When the car was on the move, the air restrictor would move just enough to render it ineffective. When the car came to a stop, cleverly designed springs would force the restrictor back into position. The design was so beautifully carried out that the car passed numerous technical inspections before someone knew what was up. Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, said: “It is the most sophisticated and ingenious device either I or the FIA’s technical experts have seen for a long-time. It was so well made that there was no gap apparent to suggest there was any means of opening it”

The FIA may well have been impressed with TTE’s ingenuity, but it took such infringements of the rule book very seriously; TTE was banned for the rest of the 1995 and 1996 season.

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