The ATS D7 was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

used by Team ATS in the

1984 Formula One season The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 38th season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Formula One World Ch ...

. The car was designed by

Gustav Brunner Gustav Brunner (born 12 September 1950) is an Austrian Formula One designer and engineer. Career Born in Graz, he started his career in racing car design at the German-based constructor McNamara (constructor), McNamara. He first entered F1 in a ...

and was driven for most of the season by German

Manfred Winkelhock Manfred Winkelhock (6 October 1951 – 12 August 1985) was a German racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Waiblingen, Winkelhock was the older brother of Joachim and Thomas. Winkelhock participated in ...

. He was joined in a second car late in the season by Formula One rookie, Austrian driver

Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (; born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, ...

. It was the last car produced by the ATS team.

Racing history

Early in the season, the D7 with its powerful turbocharged

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

engine, showed surprising speed, if not reliability. Winkelhock qualified sixth at

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...

for the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix (; ; ) is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race of Belgium was held in 1925 at the Spa region's race course, an area of the country that had been associated ...

and early in the race ran confidently in fourth place behind the

Ferraris Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

Michele Alboreto Michele Alboreto (; 23 December 1956 – 25 April 2001) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alboreto was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and won five F ...

and

René Arnoux René Alexandre Arnoux (; born 4 July 1948) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Arnoux won seven Formula One Grands Prix across 12 seasons. In 1977, Arnoux won the European Formula Two Championship. His be ...

and the

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

Derek Warwick Derek Stanley Arthur Warwick (born 27 August 1954) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Warwick won the World Sportscar Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans, both in 1992 with Peuge ...

before exhaust failure put him out on lap 39. He then qualified seventh for the next race in

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

and again was racing in the points (top six) before his race ended in turbo failure. Winkelhock only managed to finish two races in the quick but unreliable D7, finishing eighth in both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. After joining the team for his first race in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Berger enjoyed better reliability. He finished 12th at the

Österreichring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later s ...

before gaining his first ever points finish in F1 by placing sixth in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

. However, as ATS had only entered one car for the season and Berger was in a second entered car, no points were awarded for his drive. Despite Berger's sixth place at Monza, the ATS D7 scored no points for the 1984 season. Following the season

stopped supplying the team with its engines due to the lack of results and bad publicity team owner

Günter Schmid Günter Schmid (13 August 1932 – 29 May 2005) was the founder and principal of the Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Féd� ...

had gained for his pit lane antics. As a result, Schmid closed the team at the end of the season.

Complete Formula One results

( key) As

was the team's second entry and as the team had only entered one car for the entire championship, the second entry was ineligible to score points.

References

ATS Formula One cars {{F1-stub