The Ligier JS21 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 ...

manufactured and raced by

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 ...

during the

1983 Formula One season The 1983 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 37th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1983 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1983 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, which were conte ...

. Powered by a Cosworth V8 engine while the majority of teams used turbo power, the team failed to score any points.

Development

The JS21 was designed by Claude Galopin under the technical direction of Michel Beaujon. Henri Durand worked on the car's aerodynamics. Having used

Talbot Talbot is a dormant automobile marque introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément ...

engines for the previous two seasons, the JS21 was designed to be powered by a Ford

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 f ...

.Nye, 1985, p. 194 Ligier was the first choice to be the recipient of the then-new Honda turbo engine due to team owner Guy Ligier's longstanding relationship with Honda but the team declined to use it. The first three JS21 chassis were converted from the previous year's JS19, with four in total being built.Nye, 1985, p. 194

Racing history

The Ligier team recruited two new drivers for the 1983 season,

Jean-Pierre Jarier Jean-Pierre Jacques Jarier (; born 10 July 1946) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Jarier contested 143 Formula One Grands Prix for March, Shadow, ATS, Ligier, Lotus, Tyrrell, and Osella. He achieve ...

, who had a single outing for the team back in 1977, and Brazilian novice

Raul Boesel Raul de Mesquita Boesel (, born 4 December 1957) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced for the March and Ligier Formula One teams and later raced in Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. He won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship and ...

. Jarier qualified for every race with a best grid placing of 9th, at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...

. His best finish was 7th 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 ...

. For most of the season, Boesel usually qualified several places behind Jarier but improved towards the season's end although he did miss qualifying for the Austrian and Italian races. His best qualifying was 17th, in the season opening

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...

, and he achieved his best finish of 7th the following race in the United States. 1983 was the first season in the team's history that it failed to score a single point. For the following year, team owner

Guy Ligier Guy Camille Ligier (; 12 July 1930 – 23 August 2015) was a French racing driver and team owner. He maintained many varied and successful careers over the course of his life, including rugby player, butcher, racing driver and Formula One team ow ...

secured the use of Renault V6 turbocharged engines.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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

Notes

References

* {{F1 cars 1983 Ligier JS21