Arrows A3 Cosworth V8 F1 Warsteiner Argentinian GP Buenos Aires 1980

Ground effect and aerodynamics were the buzzwords of the 1980 Formula 1 season. Colin Chapman’s Lotus 79 had heralded the era of wing cars with its 1978 World Championship title, and since then all F1 engineers had been trying to put their own wing designs on the track – cars that generated so much downforce through their side skirts that the rear and front wings could be significantly reduced in size. At Arrows, designer Tony Southgate built the Arrows A3, a rather reserved wing car concept in the huge field of 20 teams. In favour of a sleek design, he dispensed with the small additional body wings in front of the rear axle that were so typical for 1980. The side skirts saved three seconds per lap, but the high lateral acceleration also reached frightening levels for the drivers. The early end of the skirts era was already on the horizon. Although the 1980 World Championship was decided between Williams, Brabham and Ligier, Riccardo Patrese was surprisingly competitive from the outset. At the season opener in Argentina, the Cosworth engine let him down, but by the second race in Brazil he had already secured his first World Championship point with a sixth-place finish. His second-place podium at the US Grand Prix in Long Beach was sensational. With the A3, the era of the golden Warsteiner Arrows also came to an end.

GTIN/EAN: 9580006939890