The once-bright Tyrrell star continued to fade, season after season, and in 1980, Ken Tyrrell's team approached the year with a resigned attitude, lacking fresh energy and, more importantly, new ideas to restore the Ockham-based team in Surrey, England, to its former glory. The team's long-standing designer, Maurice Philippe, had little choice but to modify the previous 009 model, which had performed decently in 1979, and evolve it into the new Tyrrell 010.
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| TYRRELL 010, Derek Daly Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1980 |
Due to the chronic lack of funds that plagued most smaller teams, the designer could only introduce minor aerodynamic improvements, without making changes to the chassis and suspension—both of which had already been significantly revised in 1979 to adapt the car to ground effect. Thus, the old aluminum monocoque chassis, only slightly reinforced, still housed the classic Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine paired with the Hewland FGA 400 gearbox. Meanwhile, the suspension was slightly strengthened to better handle the increased downforce generated by the new underbody of the 010, which, with larger ground-effect tunnels, now produced significant downforce.
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| TYRRELL 010, Jean-Pierre Jarier Montecarlo, Monaco GP 1980 |
All this was achieved while keeping the wheelbase at just 2,692 mm and reducing the weight to 581 kg, making the new single-seater one of the lightest on the grid. Aesthetically, the result was quite pleasing, with a very narrow nose that often ran without side wings. The sidepods were long and ended with two fins in front of the rear wheels, while the engine cover fully enclosed the mechanics, extending all the way to the rear wing.
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| TYRRELL 010, Jean-Pierre Jarier Zolder, Belgian GP 1980 |
The team’s two main drivers were veteran Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier and young Irishman Derek Daly. They began using the new 010 from the third race of the season in Kyalami, South Africa, after securing a fourth-place finish with the old 009 in the first two races. Later in the season, the 010 achieved a fourth-place finish with Daly at the British Grand Prix and three fifth-place finishes, all with Jarier. Combined with the four points earned with the 009, these results allowed Tyrrell to finish sixth in the Constructors' Championship.
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| TYRRELL 010, Derek Daly Brands Hatch, British GP 1980 |
From a historical perspective, it's worth noting that in the last two races of the season, a third Tyrrell car was entrusted to Mike Thackwell, making the New Zealander the youngest driver ever to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix at the time, just 19 years, 5 months, and 29 days old.
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