Having shelved the disastrous collaboration project with Porsche for engine supply, which resulted in catastrophic performance during the first half of the 1991 season and ultimately led to a return to the classic Ford-Cosworth DFR, the year 1992 marked a rebirth for Footwork, as well as a further step toward the Japanization of the team, although it continued to compete under a British license. In fact, after Wataru Ohashi, president of the Japanese logistics giant Footwork Express Company, completed the acquisition of the former Arrows team in 1990 (renamed Footwork Grand Prix International), the Japanese entrepreneur looked to his homeland for an engine manufacturer capable of fulfilling his ambitions for the new season.
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| FOOTWORK FA13, Michele Alboreto Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1992 |
This partner was found in Mugen Motorsport, a company managed by Masao Kimura and Hirotoshi Honda, son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, who seized the opportunity to push forward a “made in Japan” project. This led to the end of Mugen’s collaboration with Tyrrell, which had begun at the end of 1990 thanks to the direct intervention of Ron Dennis, who had convinced the Japanese engine manufacturer to supply their power unit to his friend Ken Tyrrell. For the new season, Mugen developed a new engine derived from the 1991 Honda RA101E V10, the Mugen MF-351H V10, which was exclusively supplied to Wataru Ohashi’s team. The technical director of the Anglo-Japanese team remained Alan Jenkins, under whose direction designer Dave Amey developed the new FA13 based on a very conventional design. The result was a car with simple, clean lines, featuring a front end inspired by the Jordan 191, the breakout car of the 1991 season.
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| FOOTWORK FA13, Michele Alboreto Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexican GP 1992 |
The car featured a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with the inevitable push-rod suspension system using deformable quadrilaterals. Mated to the new Mugen engine was a new six-speed semi-automatic gearbox produced by Xtrac, a British engineering company founded in 1984 by former Hewland engineer Mike Endean, specializing in competition transmission systems. The gearbox was adapted by Footwork technicians to fit the new chassis. In addition to a raised nose, in line with the modern Formula 1 trend, the FA13 had a particularly sleek design, with violin-case-style sidepods reminiscent of the Ferrari 640 series designed by Barnard.
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| FOOTWORK FA13, Aguri Suzuki Imola, San Marino GP 1992 |
The rear section was very tapered and extremely clean, with bodywork extending to the end of the rear diffuser, fully enclosing the engine, suspension, and gearbox. Powered by Mugen, the team signed the best talent from the Japanese racing school at the time, Aguri Suzuki, to pair with the experienced Italian driver Michele Alboreto. The new FA13 proved significantly more competitive than the 1991 model, also thanks to the engine’s notable reliability. The car often made it to the finish line and performed well, trailing only the untouchable Williams, McLaren, and Benetton teams.
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| FOOTWORK FA13, Aguri Suzuki Catalunya-Barcelona, Spanish GP 1992 |
Michele Alboreto, in his eleventh Formula 1 season, scored four points finishes and came seventh on six occasions, while Suzuki was somewhat disappointing, though he frequently finished in the top ten. Alboreto’s six points earned Footwork seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship, a significant improvement over previous disappointing seasons. In its “B” version, the FA13 also saw action in the first two races of the 1993 season, with British driver Derek Warwick and returning Aguri Suzuki behind the wheel.
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