After the disastrous 1993 season, which ended without scoring a single point and with Katayama’s tenth place in Hungary as the best result, Ken Tyrrell sought to remedy the situation in the final part of the season by bringing back British engineer Harvey Postlethwaite to the technical team, assigning him the role of Technical Director. Alongside him were two other highly experienced Formula 1 engineers: the British Mike Gascoyne as Chief Designer and the Frenchman Jean-Claude Migeot as Head of Aerodynamics. The three were entrusted with the project of designing a car capable of at least competing for midfield positions in the 1994 season, from which all electronic driving aids were banned.
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| TYRRELL 022, Ukyo Katayama Interlagos, Brazilian GP 1994 |
Despite the return to the team of a seasoned technician like Postlethwaite, author of the first Tyrrell with a raised nose, the arrival of Gascoyne, recently with McLaren, and the presence of Migeot, coming from Ferrari, the new 022 was a rather conventional car, lacking innovative solutions and, most notably, featuring a traditional nose design instead of the raised nose configuration that had characterized recent cars from the Ockham-based team.
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| TYRRELL 022, Mark Blundell Estoril, Portuguese GP 1994 |
The new carbon fiber monocoque chassis, with push-rod suspension, still housed the V10 Yamaha OX10, now evolved into the B version, which offered a few more horsepower and improved reliability, an area that had been severely lacking in the 1993 version. However, Ken Tyrrell’s limited budget did not allow for the creation of an entirely new car, so despite Postlethwaite’s extensive experience, the new 022 remained closely tied to its predecessor, the 021, although it was more balanced and competitive.
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| TYRRELL 022, Mark Blundell Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1994 |
Its performance marked a clear step forward compared to the recent past, especially in qualifying. The two main drivers, returning Japanese driver Ukyo Katayama, strongly supported by Yamaha, and British driver Mark Blundell, coming from Ligier, achieved respectable results, consistently placing in the upper part of the grid, even though their lap times were about 2 seconds slower than those of the best cars. In races, however, the situation worsened significantly. Despite the 022 proving to be a solid midfield contender, numerous mechanical failures and frequent driver errors cost the team many valuable finishes.
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| TYRRELL 022, Ukyo Katayama Magny-Cours, French GP 1994 |
Nevertheless, the 022 managed to score 13 points during the season, with Blundell even achieving an unexpected podium in Spain, the first since the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix and the last for the historic British team from Ockham, in Surrey, southwest of London, allowing the team to secure seventh place in the Constructors' Championship.
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