At the end of 1995, the Arrows team from Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, returned to the control of Jackie Oliver and Alan Rees, who managed to repurchase Wataru Ohashi’s shares thanks to the support of the financial company Schwäbische Finanz & Unternehmensberatung AG. Despite the change in ownership, 1996 marked the final season in which the team raced under the name Footwork, due to an agreement signed at the end of 1990 with the Japanese entrepreneur Ohashi, president of the logistics company of the same name. According to the terms of the agreement, Arrows was required to retain the Footwork name until the end of the 1996 season, even after the Japanese group exited the scene.
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| FOOTWORK FA17, Jos Verstappen Imola, San Marino GP 1996 |
In March 1996, however, just before the start of the World Championship, Rees decided to leave the team, selling all his shares to Tom Walkinshaw, who thus came to control 40% of the company, while his partner Peter Darnbrough acquired 11%. Jackie Oliver remained the majority shareholder with 49%, although the team's name began to include the TWR (Tom Walkinshaw Racing) prefix. TWR, founded by the British entrepreneur in 1975, was engaged in the design and production of racing and road cars, winning Le Mans twice in the Sportscar category and securing three World Championship titles in the same class. It was also credited with launching the career of engineer Ross Brawn. The departure of Rees and the arrival of Walkinshaw immediately imposed limitations on the design and development of the new Footwork-Arrows FA17 for the 1996 season, as the British manager intended to focus all efforts on 1997, the year when Footwork’s definitive exit would mark a new beginning for TWR Arrows.
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| FOOTWORK FA17, Jos Verstappen Buenos Aires, Argentinian GP 1996 |
With this same outlook, Walkinshaw essentially retained the previous season’s technical team, with Alan Jenkins as technical director and Dave Amey as chief designer. However, he began laying the groundwork early for the new team expected in 1997, allowing Jenkins to move to the nascent Stewart Team and replacing him with Frank Dernie, who had worked with him at Ligier the previous season. Under these conditions, with Walkinshaw already fully focused on the future, 1996 could only be a difficult year for the Milton Keynes-based team. The FA17 car was little more than a basic adaptation of the previous FA16 to meet new regulatory requirements, with head protection around the cockpit and a slightly bulkier nose to accommodate new deformable structures. The rest of the mechanics remained virtually unchanged from the FA16: a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with a honeycomb structure, double wishbone suspension in a push-rod configuration, and a longitudinal six-speed semi-automatic gearbox derived from X-Trac. The engine was also the same: the old and underpowered 2996 cc V8 Hart 830, delivering only 680 hp at 13,100 rpm, around fifty horsepower less than its rivals. Hart had actually designed a new V10 engine for 1996, but the British engine builder's financial troubles and Arrows’ own minimal budget prevented its development.
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| FOOTWORK FA17, Ricardo Rosset Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1996 |
The two FA17s were entrusted to Dutchman Jos Verstappen and Brazilian Ricardo Rosset, reigning Formula 3000 champion but a Formula 1 rookie. After competing in the first three races of the season with the 1995 livery, the car sported a completely new red paint scheme from the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, brought in by new sponsor Power Horse, an energy drink brand that injected a decent sum of money into the team, though still not enough to lift the British squad out of the lower ranks. Worsening the situation was a contract Walkinshaw had signed with Bridgestone, which used the FA17 throughout the season as a test car to trial new tires that would debut in Formula 1 in 1997. This effectively prevented the car’s development. As a result, the 1996 season turned into a disaster, with frequent retirements and only 12 race finishes.
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| FOOTWORK FA17, Ricardo Rosset Monza, Italian GP 1996 |
To be fair, the season had started with some promise, as the FA17 showed decent qualities, particularly in Verstappen’s hands, who even managed to finish sixth at the Argentine Grand Prix. However, the competition’s improvements, the lack of development, and Rosset’s underwhelming performances turned the rest of the season into a nightmare, with both cars relegated to fighting at the back of the grid. As the team waited for 1997, the transitional 1996 season ended with just a single point for Footwork-Arrows, earning ninth place in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of only Minardi and Forti.
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