The Arrows A18 was the car with which the Arrows

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 ...

team competed in the

1997 Formula One World Championship The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1997 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1997 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contest ...

. It was driven by Briton

Damon Hill Damon Graham Devereux Hill (born 17 September 1960) is an English former racing driver and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 22 Grands Prix acr ...

, the reigning World Champion who had made the surprising move to the team after being dropped by

Williams Williams may refer to: People * Williams (surname), a surname English in origin, but popular in Wales, 3rd most common in the United Kingdom * Williams Nwaneri, American football player Places Astronomy * Williams (lunar crater) * Williams ...

, and Brazilian

Pedro Diniz Pedro Paulo Falleiros dos Santos Diniz (; born 22 May 1970) is a Brazilian former racing driver, businessman and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in São Paulo, Diniz began karting aged 18 and achi ...

, who had moved from

Ligier Ligier () is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Cham ...

. This was the last Formula One car powered by Yamaha engines after the manufacturer's decision to withdraw from the sport at the end of the season.

Development

The A18 was launched in January 1997. marked a new beginning for the team, with two new drivers, a new engine supplier in Yamaha with the engines tuned by

John Judd John Judd (born 9 April 1942) is a Formula One engineer from England. He is the boss of Engine Developments Ltd., manufacturers of Judd engines. He is also known for his partnership with triple F1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham. Formula 1 ...

and new tyres supplied by

Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...

, supplied under an exclusive deal. The team moved from old premises in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban area, its urban area was 264,349. The River Great Ouse forms t ...

to TWR's purpose-built factory in Leafield. The year also marked the first full season for

Tom Walkinshaw Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...

's outfit TWR in running the team, as the Scotsman had bought it from one of its founders,

Jackie Oliver Keith Jack Oliver (born 14 August 1942) is a British former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One between and . In endurance racing, Oliver won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1969, and t ...

during .

Race history

After a disastrous start to the season which saw the cars almost fail to make the grid in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, the team improved, hiring

John Barnard John Edward Barnard, (born 4 May 1946) is an English engineer and racing car designer. Barnard is credited with the introduction of two new designs into Formula One: the carbon fibre composite chassis first seen in with McLaren, and the sem ...

as Technical Director. The A18 was proven to be woefully unreliable, despite Walkinshaw's claims that he had wanted a simple and basic chassis design. Damon Hill stated in his autobiography that the car was good to drive but lacked downforce. Hill scored a point at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...

, but the highlight of the year came at the Hungarian GP, where he qualified third and led for most of the race. The failure of a throttle linkage component saw him drop behind

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...

on the final lap, although second place was still a great success for the team. Diniz also scored two points at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. The team eventually finished eighth in the Constructors' Championship, with nine points. Yamaha OX11A engine rear

Complete Formula One results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

References

*'' AUTOCOURSE 1997-98'', Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) A18 1997 Formula One season cars {{F1-stub