ATS D4 Ford-Cosworth DFV

    1980 marked the third season in Formula One as a constructor for ATS, the German team managed by Günter Schmid. The major novelty for the Bad Dürkheim-based outfit was fielding two cars at the start of the championship, driven by Swiss driver Marc Surer and Dutchman Jan Lammers. The first two races of the season were contested with the ATS D3, a car already seen on track in 1979 but with slight updates. From the third round, the team introduced the new ATS D4.

 ATS D4, Jan Lammers
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1980

   The D4 was the fifth different model used by the team in a short period and was designed by Austrian Gustav Brunner, yet another technical director hired by Schmid. Brunner returned to ATS as chief designer after previously serving as John Gentry’s assistant. He was joined by Tim Wadrop as an aerodynamics engineer, and together they designed a classic wing car, significantly more compact and streamlined than the previous D3. The D4 had a short wheelbase of 2692 mm and a low weight of just 579 kg.

 ATS D4, Marc Surer
Hockenheimring, German GP 1980

   Like all ground-effect cars of the era, it featured an aluminum monocoque chassis. However, it did not use the Honeycomb panel construction technique. The chassis housed a load-bearing powertrain, consisting of the classic Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine paired with a Hewland FGA 400 five-speed gearbox. The D4 had very smooth lines and bore a strong resemblance to the Williams FW07, which had dominated the latter half of the 1979 season. However, its performance did not match that of the Williams, highlighting once again that mastering ground effect required more than just copying the shapes of winning cars—it demanded in-depth airflow studies within and beneath the side pods.

 ATS D4, Jan Lammers
Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1980

   Unfortunately, the first D4, presented at Kyalami and entrusted to Marc Surer, was unlucky. The Swiss driver suffered a serious crash during practice, completely destroying the car and sustaining severe injuries. Under the new sporting regulations introduced that season, driver substitutions required at least one month's notice. As a result, at the next race in Long Beach, ATS fielded only Jan Lammers, who delivered a sensational fourth-place qualifying performance, only to be let down by a driveshaft failure during the race.

 ATS D4, Jan Lammers
Jarama, Spanish GP 1980

   The team continued the season with just one driver. Upon Surer’s return from injury, Lammers was dropped, despite having achieved ATS’s only highlight of the season. At the end of the year, Brunner accepted an offer from Maurer to develop their Formula 2 cars, leaving Schmid once again in need of a new technical director for the 1981 season.