Arrows F1 Team Logo

Historic

Arrows

British

  • Arrows Grand Prix International Official Name
  • Milton Keynes & Leafield, England Base
  • 1978 F1 Debut
  • n/a Team Boss
  • n/a Technical Chief
  • 0 World Championships

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 entry1978 Brazilian Grand Prix
Races entered394 entries (382 starts)
Constructors’ Championships0
Drivers’ Championships0
Race victories0 (Best finish: five 2nd places, last one at 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix)
Podiums9
Points164
Pole positions1
Fastest laps0
Final entry2002 German Grand Prix

Arrows Championship Results

YearNameCarDriversPointsWCC
1978Arrows Racing Team
Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team
FA1
A1
Rolf Stommelen
Riccardo Patrese
119th
1979Warsteiner Arrows Racing TeamA1
A2
Jochen Mass
Riccardo Patrese
59th
1980Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team
Warsteiner Arrows Racing with Penthouse Rizla+
A3Manfred Winkelhock
Mike Thackwell
Jochen Mass
Riccardo Patrese
117th
1981Ragno Arrows Beta Racing TeamA3Jacques Villeneuve Sr.
Riccardo Patrese
Siegfried Stohr
108th
1982Ragno ArrowsA4
A5
Marc Surer
Brian Henton
Mauro Baldi
510th
1983Arrows Racing TeamA6Thierry Boutsen
Alan Jones
Chico Serra
Marc Surer
410th
1984Barclay Nordica ArrowsA6
A7
Marc Surer
Thierry Boutsen
3
3
10th
11th
1985Barclay Arrows BMWA8Gerhard Berger
Thierry Boutsen
148th
1986Barclay Arrows BMWA8
A9
Christian Danner
Marc Surer
Thierry Boutsen
110th
1987USF&G Arrows MegatronA10Derek Warwick
Eddie Cheever
117th
1988USF&G Arrows MegatronA10BDerek Warwick
Eddie Cheever
235th
1989USF&G Arrows FordA11Martin Donnelly
Derek Warwick
Eddie Cheever
137th
1990Footwork Arrows RacingA11
A11B
Alex Caffi
Bernd Schneider
Michele Alboreto
29th
1991Footwork Porsche
Footwork Ford
A11C
FA12
FA12C
Michele Alboreto
Alex Caffi
Stefan Johansson
0
0
NC
NC
1992Footwork Mugen HondaFA13Michele Alboreto
Aguri Suzuki
67th
1993Footwork Mugen HondaFA13B
FA14
Derek Warwick
Aguri Suzuki
49th
1994Footwork HartFA15Christian Fittipaldi
Gianni Morbidelli
99th
1995Footwork HartFA16Gianni Morbidelli
Max Papis
Taki Inoue
58th
1996Footwork HartFA17Ricardo Rosset
Jos Verstappen
19th
1997Danka Arrows YamahaA18Damon Hill
Pedro Paulo Diniz
98th
1998Danka Zepter ArrowsA19Mika Salo
Pedro Paulo Diniz
67th
1999Repsol ArrowsA20Pedro de la Rosa
Toranosuke Takagi
19th
2000Arrows F1 TeamA21Jos Verstappen
Pedro de la Rosa
77th
2001Orange Arrows AsiatechA22Enrique Bernoldi
Jos Verstappen
110th
2002 Orange ArrowsA23Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Enrique Bernoldi
211th

Arrows Drivers

Driver Nationality Current/Last Team F1 Debut Status
Italian Benetton 1977 Monaco Grand Prix Retired
German March 1973 British Grand Prix Retired
Belgian Jordan Grand Prix 1983 Belgian Grand Prix Retired
Australian Arrows 1975 Spanish Grand Prix Died, F1 Legend
Austrian Benetton 1984 Austrian Grand Prix Retired
British Footwork Arrows 1981 San Marino Grand Prix Retired
American Arrows 1978 Argentine Grand Prix Retired
Italian Minardi 1981 San Marino Grand Prix Died
Dutch Minardi 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix Retired
British Williams 1992 Spanish Grand Prix F1 Legend
Finnish Toyota Racing 1994 Japanese Grand Prix Retired
Spanish HRT Formula 1 Team 1999 Australian Grand Prix Retired
German Arrows 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix Retired

Previous/Next Team Names

Team Nationality Debut Season Status
Footwork Arrows British 1991 Historic
Super Aguri F1 Japanese 2006 Historic