Kauhsen was a German Formula One constructor established by former sportscar racer Willi Kauhsen. Fresh from major success with Alfa Romeo, including victories in the 1975 Interserie and World Sportscar Championship, Kauhsen set his sights on single-seater racing. The team entered Formula Two in 1976 using Renault machinery before embarking on the ambitious challenge of designing and building its own Formula One car for the 1979 season.
Despite bold ambitions and significant engineering effort, Kauhsen’s Formula One project never reached its potential. The team entered two World Championship Grands Prix with Italian driver Gianfranco Brancatelli but failed to qualify for either event. Financial pressures and technical setbacks soon brought the venture to an end, making Kauhsen one of Formula One’s shortest-lived constructors.
| Nationality | German |
| Years Active | 1979 |
| First Race | 1979 Spanish Grand Prix |
| Last Race | 1979 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Race Entries | 2 |
| Race Starts | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Constructors’ Championships | 0 |
| Drivers’ Championships | 0 |
| Best Start | DNQ (Never qualified) |
| Best Finish | DNQ (Never qualified) |
| Did Not Start | 0 |
| Did Not Qualify | 2 |
| Retirements | 0 |
Formula Two
Willi Kauhsen had built a strong reputation behind the wheel of Porsche and Alfa Romeo sportscars before launching his own Formula Two team in 1976. To give the project the strongest possible foundation, he acquired the championship-winning Elf-Renault 2J Formula Two cars, which were rebranded as Kauhsen-Renaults and campaigned by Michel Leclère and Klaus Ludwig.
The team’s early performances suggested plenty of promise. Leclère secured pole position at the opening round of the 1977 Formula Two Championship at Silverstone, demonstrating the pace of the package. However, as Kauhsen introduced a series of modifications to the chassis, performance began to slip away. The once-competitive cars gradually became increasingly difficult to qualify, and results suffered throughout the season.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, Klaus Ludwig left the team before the campaign had finished. His seat was subsequently shared by José Dolhem, Vittorio Brambilla and a young Alain Prost, each taking turns behind the wheel during the remainder of the season. Brambilla delivered the team’s standout performance by finishing third in the second heat at Misano, while Prost’s best result was 10th place. A combination of retirements, disappointing finishes and repeated failures to qualify eventually convinced Kauhsen to abandon the championship before the final rounds.
Formula One
Although its Formula Two programme had delivered only modest success, Kauhsen remained determined to reach Formula One. After an unsuccessful attempt to secure the Kojima cars that had appeared in the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix, the team instead committed to building an entirely original Formula One challenger for 1979.
Development occupied much of 1978. Designer Klaus Kapitza joined from Ford, and the team set out to create a car inspired by the dominant Lotus 79, whose revolutionary ground-effect aerodynamics had transformed Formula One. While Kauhsen designed its own chassis, many of the remaining components were sourced from established suppliers, including the dependable Cosworth DFV V8 engine and a five-speed Hewland gearbox.
On paper, the concept looked competitive. In reality, testing quickly exposed serious flaws. The chassis had been designed without fully accounting for the way ride height changes under braking and acceleration, preventing the ground-effect aerodynamics from working effectively. The discovery forced the team back to the drawing board, requiring an extensive redesign only months before the new Formula One season was due to begin. Drivers Patrick Nève and Harald Ertl were recruited to assist with development as engineers worked against both the clock and an increasingly limited budget.
Ultimately, the team abandoned the ambitious ground-effect concept altogether and reverted to a more conventional wing-car philosophy. The redesign consumed valuable time and money, leaving Kauhsen struggling to fund the programme. Paying the Formula One entry fee became a challenge, while the team was forced to rely on older Goodyear tyres rather than the latest specification.
A welcome injection of sponsorship allowed Italian driver Gianfranco Brancatelli to be signed, and Kauhsen’s first appearance at a Formula One World Championship event came at the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix with a revised version of the car. Brancatelli was unable to qualify, finishing last among the 27 entrants and more than three seconds slower than the next quickest driver. A further updated car appeared at the following 1979 Belgian Grand Prix, but another failure to qualify followed after a broken clutch prevented Brancatelli from improving his lap time.
After two unsuccessful World Championship qualifying attempts and with finances exhausted, Willi Kauhsen brought the Formula One project to an end and closed the team before the season could progress any further.
After Formula One
Although Kauhsen’s Formula One adventure was over, its story did not end there. The team’s assets were purchased by Arturo Merzario and incorporated into his own Merzario team, which was facing similar struggles with the A2 chassis.
The Kauhsen WK formed the basis of the Giampaolo Dallara-designed Merzario A4, but the new car failed to improve the fortunes of either project. Like its predecessor, it was unable to qualify for the remaining Formula One World Championship rounds. Its only race appearance came away from the championship at the Dino Ferrari Grand Prix, where it finished 11th.
Merzario withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1979 season and returned his focus to Formula Two, bringing the final chapter of the Kauhsen Formula One story to a close.
Kauhsen Stats by Season
| Year | Engine | Drivers | Entries | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | Fastest Laps | Front Rows | DNF | Best Start | Best Result | Points | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 | Gianfranco Brancatelli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DNQ | DNQ | 0 | Never classified |
