Since his debut in Formula 1, Guy Ligier had always embraced an “all-French” philosophy as a constructor, entrusting his single-seaters, whenever possible, only to French drivers and using exclusively Matra or Renault engines, apart from a brief stint with the Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. Those years were particularly successful thanks to drivers like Laffite, Pironi, and Depailler. Later seasons, around the late '80s and early '90s, again featured the English DFR V8. Had someone told the patriotic Guy Ligier in 1976, at the beginning of his venture as a constructor in Formula 1, that one day he would have to set aside his convictions and field two English drivers in cars designed by a British engineer, he probably wouldn't have believed it. Yet that’s exactly what happened in 1993.
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| LIGIER JS39, Martin Brundle Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1993 |
That year, not only was the new Ligier JS39 driven by Englishmen Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell, but it was also entirely designed by British engineer Paul Crooks, even though Gérard Ducarouge remained the technical director. It was Crooks’ first assignment as a chief designer, but he already had extensive experience in Formula 1. He started at age 27 when he joined the technical staff of what was then Toleman, working alongside Rory Byrne, with whom he collaborated for another ten years, up through the Benetton Formula era, focusing on small aerodynamic parts made of composite materials. Another key Anglo-Saxon component featured in the new Ligier was the semi-automatic gearbox supplied by Williams, already successfully used in 1992 on the Grove-based team’s cars. This gearbox was paired with the same Renault RS5 V10 engine mounted on the French team’s 1993 single-seaters, based in Magny-Cours.
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| LIGIER JS39, Martin Brundle Kyalami, Souh African GP 1993 |
The aerodynamic styling of the new JS39 was once again overseen by Loïc Bigois, an aerodynamic engineer who had been responsible for designing the French cars since 1990. The car featured a noticeably slimmer, pointier, and slightly lower nose than the previous version, and the front wing abandoned the inverted-V shape introduced by Jordan in 1991. The side pods were taller and shorter, in a Benetton-inspired style, and had smaller air intakes. The rear end of the new JS39 closely resembled that of the 1992 JS37.
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| LIGIER JS39, Mike Blundell Hungaroring, Hungarian GP 1993 |
Thanks to the efforts of Ducarouge, Crooks, and Bigois, and aided by Brundle’s experience and Blundell’s solid performance, Ligier closed the 1993 season as its best in nearly a decade, since the successful 1985-86 period. The JS39 proved competitive enough to reach the podium three times and score numerous other points finishes, ending the season with 23 points, just five fewer than Ferrari, and placing fifth in the Constructors' Championship. Martin Brundle finished seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 13 points, while teammate Mark Blundell came tenth with 10 points. The strong performance of the JS39 is all the more impressive considering that Ligier still didn’t have electronic driver aids or active suspension, which were only tested in a "laboratory" version of the JS39 during the summer of 1993 by the team’s third driver, Éric Bernard.
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| LIGIER JS39, Martin Brundle Suzuka, Japanese GP 1993 |
A special mention goes to the stunning livery used by Brundle during the Asian leg of the championship, at the final two Grands Prix in Japan and Australia. His car sported a unique “camouflage” paint scheme, while still retaining the traditional blue and white Ligier colors and the historic Gitanes sponsorship.
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