The Arrows A2 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...

, designed by

Tony Southgate Tony Southgate (born 25 May 1940, Coventry, England) is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was respo ...

and Dave Wass, was used by the Arrows team in the latter half of the

1979 Formula One season The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 ''World Championship of F1 Drivers''FIA Yearbook 1980, Grey Section, page 84 and the 1979 ''International Cup for F1 Constructors''FIA Year ...

. Powered by a

Cosworth DFV The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and u ...

and driven by

Riccardo Patrese Riccardo Gabriele Patrese (born 17 April 1954) is an Italian former racing driver, who raced in Formula One from to . He became the first Formula One driver to achieve 200 Grand Prix starts when he appeared at the 1990 British Grand Prix, an ...

and

Jochen Mass Jochen Richard Mass (born 30 September 1946) is a German former racing driver. Life and career Born in Dorfen, Bavaria 50 km (31 mi) from Munich, Mass participated in 114 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 14 Ju ...

, it was relatively unsuccessful with its best finish being sixth on two occasions.

Design and development

For the season,

supervised the design and development of the Arrows A2. Unlike most contemporary cars, the engine, a

, and gearbox of the A2 were set at a four-degree angled incline. This enabled the use of aerodynamic underfloor sections across the full width of the chassis. This had the effect of raising the car's centre of gravity. The A2 generated extensive downforce, but at the expense of handling. Within weeks design work started on the A2's successor, the A3, and the previous year's car, the A1, was brought back for one final entry in the 1979 season.

Race history

The A2 made its debut at the

1979 French Grand Prix The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon. It marked not just the first victory of a forced-induction car in Formula One since the Alfa Romeo 159's victory at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1951, but also the ...

but finished well down the field. Mass managed a pair of sixth places, at the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and Dutch Grands Prix.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

) 3 points scored using the A1B.

Notes

References

* * A02 {{F1-stub