The P34 was the brainchild of Tyrrell , who were looking for a way to outperform their rivals, most of whom used the same Cosworth DFV engine and Hewland gearbox .
Technical director Derek Gardner ‘s ambitious plan was to use four smaller wheels at the front of the car, as he hoped their compact size, as well as placing them behind the front wing rather than on top of it, would reduce drag . and perhaps even increase the agility of the car.
The six-wheeled P34 had four 10-inch tires mounted at the front of the chassis, with the steering directly attached to the front axle, while a bell crank moved the second set of wheels.
1977 Tyrrell P34 Front Suspension Comparison
It was also thought that having four wheels up front, instead of two, would improve the car’s braking performance.
However, this led to an unintended consequence that created a major headache with brake cooling, and he had to try numerous solutions to improve that situation.
The other problem I had was that the car’s wheelbase would shorten or lengthen if one axle was unloaded or locked up before the other.
That made the P34 particularly difficult to drive and set up, and because the wheels were so much smaller at the front, they also went through more revs than the larger ones at the rear of the car.
That feature affected tire life, a problem made worse by Goodyear ‘s improvement on the rear tire and lack of development of the small front tyres.
Giorgio Piola had unprecedented access to the Tyrrell P34 during that period and recalls it this way: “It all happened by sheer coincidence, as I was flying to Rio and ended up sitting next to Ken Tyrrell on the flight. In life you have to be good, but also to be lucky”.
Tyrrell was aware of Giorgio’s work and asked if he would be interested in doing the press kit for his team car, which meant he could get a lot of information and take lots of photos of the car.
“It was some of my best work, I was very close to that car as I had a good relationship with Tyrrell’s lead designer Derek Gardner. I did three large partial drawings of the car and an incredibly detailed top view which Derek helped me with. “.
The top view is incredibly detailed and one of the most difficult drawings Piola has ever done, as she explains that with partial drawings you can often use tricks, like putting the bodywork over an area you’re unsure of and want to darken.
However, this general drawing had to be extremely precise, and everything had to be exactly where it should be, right down to the position of the pipe.
“For me it was one of the best drawings I’ve ever done, but no one would publish it at that time since it had 32 annotations,” Piola explained. “That was too much detail and it wasn’t something that could be published in a magazine at the time, and because it was a huge hand-drawn illustration the arrows and numbers couldn’t be removed.”
Therefore, we can now exclusively reveal the work as he originally intended, with a summary of the annotations.
Visión general del Tyrrell P34
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Adjustable Aluminum Divider
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NACA-shaped air ducts in the front wing supplied air to the brakes via pipes [6]
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Adjustable Gurney Flaps
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Brake and clutch cylinders
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fire extinguisher for the engine
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The pipes that carry cold air from the front wing to the brakes
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Steering arm
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Ventilated front brake discs
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10-inch wheels
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Clutch pedal
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Steering column
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Fire extinguisher in the cockpit
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Tires specially ordered from Goodyear
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front rollover hoop
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Detachable cockpit bodywork
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Hole in the bodywork for fuel loading
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body pontoon
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Gear lever
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Fuel filler caps for side tanks
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left fuel cell
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water container
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rear rollover hoop
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Fuel tank
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Right oil cooler
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right radiator
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Motor Cosworth DFV V8
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Caja de cambios Hewland FG400
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Internal rear locking calipers
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Left air brake
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rear roll bar
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rear spoiler
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Right exhaust
Jody Scheckter, Tyrrell P34-Ford, se detiente frente a su equipo tras la victoria
The P34 had its moment of glory by winning the Swedish GP, but its tire problem continued to be exacerbated by Goodyear’s lack of development and the project’s eventual decline.
The P34 was withdrawn from activity after the 1977 season and six-wheel single-seaters were subsequently banned.
And while Tyrrell added an axle to the front of the car, several other teams had seen an opportunity to do the same to the rear.
Comparison of the 1982 Williams FW08 to the six-wheeled FW08B
Lacking a turbocharged engine, Williams set out to find a way to increase its chances. While Ferrari and March also had their own six-wheel projects, Williams’ came closest to competing of the three.
However, the front four wheels were a dead end, as Goodyear’s lack of development on the 10-inch tire for Tyrrell’s P34 demonstrated. Instead, Williams would focus their efforts on the rear of the car, but still with the intention of reducing drag .
The rear tire was still much wider than those used at the front of the car, so Williams proposed using two front tires in series at the rear of the car.
That philosophy not only provided the necessary drag reduction, but also had the added benefit of four-wheel drive and an increased wheelbase.
By being able to position the narrower wheels further out, it was able to lengthen and widen the Venturi tunnels and bodywork to the rear of the car, leading to a significant increase in downforce in ground effect.
Williams had put a lot of effort into transforming the FW07 to test the theory and even planned to race the FW08 that way. However, four-wheel drive was banned from F1. What turned out to be even more exasperating for Patrick Head was when Sir Frank Williams told him that he was okay with it at a meeting with the other teams in Maranello.
Patrick Head’s attempt at a six-wheeled F1 would have been a huge step forward for Williams, as the car was believed to be several seconds quicker than its predecessor. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete with it and the car was put into storage without having driven a single lap in a grand prix.
Alan Jones, 6-wheel Williams FW07D
