The Cooper T77 is a 1.5-litre

Formula One car A Formula One car or F1 car is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel racing car, open-wheel formula racing car used to compete in Formula One racing events. It has substantial front and rear wings, large wheels, and a turbocharged engine mid ...

entered in the 1965 Formula One World Championship by the

Cooper Car Company The Cooper Car Company was a British car manufacturer founded in December 1947 by Charles Cooper and his son John Cooper. Together with John's boyhood friend, Eric Brandon, they began by building racing cars in Charles's small gar ...

Development

1965 saw Cooper in a state of flux. Cooper's founder Charlie Cooper had died in 1964 and his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

sold the company in April 1965. Designer Owen Maddock had left. The 1.5 litre formula was in its final year and the focus was on the new 3-litre formula. No real development was carried out and so the T77 was not much changed from the previous year's T73.

Racing history

The T77 made its World Championship debut at the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix, where McLaren finished fifth and Rindt failed to qualify. The rest of the season proved to be another disappointment for the team, their best result being McLaren's third place in Belgium, and Rindt's fourth place in Germany. McLaren finished ninth in the World Championship with 10 points and Rindt finished thirteenth with 4 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Cooper finished fifth. This was McLaren's final year with Cooper. He left to form his own team. Jochen Rindt remained, driving the new T81, initially teamed with

Richie Ginther Paul Richard "Richie" Ginther (5 August 1930 – 20 September 1989) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ginther won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with Honda. Born in Hollywood, Ginther competed in Formula One f ...

, and then by

John Surtees John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer, who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from to , and Formula One from to . Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycl ...

following his acrimonious departure from

Ferrari 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 ...

. Rindt's car was sold on and fitted with an ATS 2.7 litre V8 engine.

Jo Bonnier Karl Jockum Jonas "Joakim" Bonnier (31 January 1930 – 11 June 1972), commonly known as Jo Bonnier, was a Swedish racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Bonnier won the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix with BRM. ...

practiced it at the 1966 French Grand Prix but found it too slow.

Silvio Moser Silvio Moser (24 April 1941 – 26 May 1974) was a racing driver from Switzerland. Early life and career Moser began his career in the early sixties, racing Alfa Romeos and moved to single seaters in 1964, with a good deal of success both in Eur ...

then drove it in the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

. Starting twentieth, he did not finish the race because of an oil pressure problem.

Formula One World Championship results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Formula One Non-Championship results

( key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{F1 cars 1967 Cooper Formula One cars 1960s cars Cars of England