The Penske PC4 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 ...

car used by

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

during the

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and was driven to victory in that year's

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix () is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, and –. It returned to the Formula One calendar in , where it has remained since then. It was first held at ...

by John Watson, scoring the last win for an American-licensed constructor in a F1 race.Though American-owned,

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

achieved a victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix having raced with a British licence. It was used for most of the following

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

by ATS Racing and Interscope Racing also used the PC4 for two races that year.

Development

The Penske PC4 was designed by Geoff Ferris. It featured a low monocoque tub with hip radiators. After a poor debut in Sweden, its aerodynamics were revised and the wheelbase extended.Nye, 1992, p. 308 Three chassis were built by

during the course of the 1976 season.Nye, 1992, p. 222

Racing history

Team Penske used the PC3 for the first six races of the season, but for the

Swedish Grand Prix The Swedish Grand Prix () was a round of the Formula One World Championship from 1973 to 1978. It took place at the Scandinavian Raceway in Anderstorp ( Gislaved Municipality), about from Jönköping, in Småland, Sweden. The first race to hold ...

the PC4 was introduced. The team's sole driver, John Watson, qualified the new car 17th on the grid but crashed on the first lap of the race when its throttle became stuck. Following aerodynamic revisions and a lengthening of the wheel base, the PC4 proved to be quite competitive. Watson fared much better at the following race in France, when he took the car to third place, having started eighth. He followed this up with another third in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. He scored both his and Penske's maiden win 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 ...

, having qualified second. Another point was scored in the United States, where Watson finished sixth. A total of 18 points were scored with the PC4, and with two points scored with the PC3, the Penske team placed fifth in the Constructor's Championship, with Watson 7th in the Driver's Championship. Penske withdrew from Formula One at the end of the season, the team opting to focus on Indycar racing.

ATS Racing

German industrialist

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� ...

brought the Penske PC4 chassis for his newly formed ATS Racing team, set up to participate in the

1977 Formula One season The 1977 Formula One season was the 31st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 28th World Championship of Drivers and the 20th International Cup for Formula 1 Constructors. The season commenced on 9 January 1977 and ended ...

. The team initially fielded a single entry for

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 ...

. He scored a point for sixth place in the team's debut race in the United States. His ninth on the grid at that race was the team's best qualifying with the PC4, which would usually place in the lower half of the grid. The team expanded to two entries later in the season and Hans Heyer made a one-off appearance in the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

, famously driving despite failing to qualify. Hans Binder took over for the next three races, qualifying for two of them. ATS discarded its PC4s following the introduction of its own chassis, the ATS HS1, for the final three races of the year.

Interscope Racing

Ted Field's Interscope Racing ran a PC4 for

Danny Ongais Danny Ongais (May 21, 1942 – February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver. Ongais was the only Hawaiian born driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500. He competed professionally in motorcycle, sports car, CART, IndyCar, Formula One, and d ...

at the tail end of the 1977 season. Ongais managed a best of seventh from the two races entered.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.) 2 points scored in 1976 with the Penske PC3.

Notes

References

* {{F1 cars 1977 Penske Formula One cars