Although in the World Championship the historic British team from Ockham, Surrey, still races under the Tyrrell name, the 1998 season represents merely a transitional year between the old and the new ownership. As early as July 1997, persistent rumors began circulating about the likely transfer of Ken Tyrrell's team into the hands of British American Tobacco, the world’s second-largest tobacco company. After initially sounding out Giancarlo Minardi regarding a possible sale of his team shares, they turned to Ken Tyrrell, well aware of the veteran English manager’s openness to selling. In truth, Ken Tyrrell had already shown interest in selling his team, due to the ever-rising costs of competing in the Formula 1 World Championship. He had previously approached Australian businessman Paul Stoddart, already involved with Tyrrell as a sponsor through European Aviation. However, the deal never materialized, even though Stoddart’s company continued sponsoring the team by providing aircraft for the long-distance transportation of team equipment.
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| TYRRELL 026, Ricardo Rosset Monza, Italian GP 1998 |
At this point, Craig Pollock entered the picture. Formerly a sports director at the Beausoleil College in Switzerland, he had befriended a young student, Jacques Villeneuve, sent there after the death of his father Gilles. Pollock had become Villeneuve’s manager from 1993 onwards. Following the failure of Lola Racing Cars, which entered the 1997 World Championship but only took part in the practice sessions of the opening race in Australia before withdrawing completely, the FIA introduced a $40 million deposit requirement for any new team wishing to enter the championship. To bypass this obstacle, and to benefit from the financial advantages granted to existing teams based on previous results, Pollock convinced Tom Moser, head of British American Tobacco, by the end of 1997 to finance the $26 million acquisition of Tyrrell. The deal gave BAT 50% ownership, with the remaining 50% split equally between Reynard and Pollock himself. Jacques Villeneuve was also involved, already confirmed as an official driver for 1999 when the team would officially become BAR (British American Racing), though rumors of his direct financial stake in the venture were never confirmed.
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| TYRRELL 026, Ricardo Rosset Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1998 |
The new ownership structure was announced in December 1997, which is why 1998, during which Ken Tyrrell still managed the team on the sporting side, -was considered a transitional season, pending the official rebranding to BAR in 1999. While awaiting new technical staff, the team working on the new Tyrrell 026 remained largely unchanged from 1997: Harvey Postlethwaite continued as Technical Director, and Mike Gascoyne, initially Chief Aerodynamicist, was promoted to Deputy Technical Director before leaving mid-season for Jordan to replace Gary Anderson. Ben Agathangelou, an aerodynamic engineer with a McLaren background, was brought in by BAR to strengthen the technical department, while Tim Densham stayed on as Chief Designer. Given its transitional nature, the Tyrrell 026 was merely an evolution of its predecessor, with no groundbreaking innovations.
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| TYRRELL 026, Toranosuke Takagi Nürburgring, Luxembourg GP 1998 |
The new carbon fiber monocoque chassis, with honeycomb structure, met stricter crash test requirements but maintained the same general features as before. The once shark-nose-style raised front wing support gave way to a more squared-off design with two classic pylons holding a full-width front wing. The push-rod suspension now had horizontally mounted dampers, visible as two distinct bulges atop the nose cone. The gearbox remained the same in-house six-speed longitudinal semi-automatic unit used on the 025, paired with a Ford-Cosworth V10 Zetec-R engine capable of delivering up to 710 hp at 15,000 rpm. Simplicity and reliability made the 026 a reasonably competitive car, but results suffered more from driver choices than from the car’s capabilities. The lead driver seat went to Japanese rookie Toranosuke Takagi, strongly backed by main sponsor PIAA but entirely inexperienced. The second seat was initially earmarked for Dutchman Jos Verstappen, father of current World Champion Max, preferred by Ken Tyrrell but rejected by BAR management. After evaluating Frenchman Jean-Christophe Boullion and Dane Tom Kristensen, Pollock ultimately opted for paying driver Ricardo Rosset, a notoriously underperforming Brazilian who failed on five occasions to meet the 107% qualifying rule required to race on Sundays. Tyrrell strongly disagreed with this choice and decided to leave the team even before the season started.
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| TYRRELL 026, Toranosuke Takagi Spa-Francorchamps, Belgian GP 1998 |
With 5 DNQs, 14 retirements due to mechanical failures or driver errors, and lackluster race finishes, rarely within the top 10, the final season for the legendary Tyrrell team in Formula 1 was nothing short of disgraceful, ending with zero points and a dismal 11th and last place in the Constructors' standings. Thus concluded the glorious history of one of the most iconic teams of the 1970s, with 23 victories, 1 Constructors' Championship, and 3 Drivers' Championships, all achieved by Jackie Stewart. At season’s end, the two Tyrrell 026 cars were sold to Dutch manager Frits van Eerd, who used them in the Euro Boss series, while Paul Stoddart acquired most of the team’s assets, including one 026 chassis, which would later serve as the basis for his future two-seater Minardi cars.
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