Zakspeed 841

Zakspeed 841

Category	Formula One
Constructor	Zakspeed
Designer(s)	Paul Brown
Technical specifications
Chassis	Monocoque
Suspension (front)	Double wishbone, inboard springs
Suspension (rear)	Pullrod
Engine	Zakspeed 1500/4 1495 cc 4-in-line Turbo-charged
Transmission	Hewland/Zakspeed 5/6-speed
Fuel	Shell
Tyres	Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants	West Zakspeed Racing
Notable drivers	30. Jonathan Palmer & Christian Danner
Debut	1985 Portuguese Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles F/Laps 10 0 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Zakspeed 841 was the Formula One car built and raced by the Zakspeed team for the 1985 Formula One season.

Concept

Zakspeed was already an established racing and tuning company, working in conjunction with Ford. The team decided to enter Formula One in 1985 with their own turbo-charged engine; the established and much larger Ferrari and Renault teams were the only other outfits to build both their chassis and engines at this time. It was the first all-German (engine and chassis) F1 car since the Porsche 804 in 1962. The small size of the team limited it to building just two chassis during the course of the season, which also meant that only one car would be entered for contested events. For financial reasons, the team would not travel out of Europe, limiting itself to a maximum of eleven out of the sixteen Grands Prix. The 841 was designed by Paul Brown, with the 4-in-line engine designed by Norbert Kreyer. Two chassis were built, with the second only being finished in time for the French Grand Prix, the seventh round of the championship. The finished package was generally agreed to be neat and tidy (if conventional), especially in the red-and-white corporate colours of West, the team's title sponsor.

Racing history

The 841 being driven by Jonathan Palmer at the 1985 German Grand Prix. The "West" logos have been painted over in accordance with Germany's anti-tobacco laws at the time.

The Zakspeed team made its début with the 841 at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, having missed the previous race in Brazil. British driver Jonathan Palmer drove the car and took 23rd place in qualifying. In the race, however, he collided with Keke Rosberg at the start, terminally damaging the suspension. At the next race in San Marino, Palmer qualified a highly respectable 17th, but failed to take the start with an engine misfire. The following race at Monaco brought the 841 its first finish in 11th place. However, this would be the team's only finish in 1985, as a series of mechanical problems led to Palmer retiring from the next five consecutive races that he took part in. The car's performance also failed to improve, with Palmer consistently qualifying outside the top twenty. The team was then forced to miss the Italian GP after Palmer broke his leg in a sports car accident at Spa, but managed to compete in two further races with the 1985 Formula 3000 champion Christian Danner taking his place. As the final two races of the season were outside Europe, Zakspeed did not take part and turned its attention to designing and building the 861 chassis for the 1986 season.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1985	Zakspeed	Zakspeed 1500/4 4-in-line (t/c)	G		BRA	POR	SMR	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	BEL	EUR	RSA	AUS	0	NC
				Jonathan Palmer		Ret	DNS	11			Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Inj	Inj	Inj	Inj	Inj
				Christian Danner													Ret	Ret

References

Books

• Bamsey, Ian (1988). The 1000 BHP Grand Prix cars. G T Foulis & Co Ltd. ISBN 0854296174. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Hamilton, Maurice (ed.) (1985). AUTOCOURSE 1985-86. Hazleton Publishing. ISBN 0-905138-38-4. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Websites

• "Constructors: Zakspeed". grandprix.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
• "Engines: Zakspeed". grandprix.com. Retrieved 2007-06-17.