The Tyrrell 015 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 designed for

Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the e ...

Maurice Philippe Maurice Philippe (30 April 1932 – 5 June 1989), was a British aircraft and Formula One car designer. Early life and career Philippe was born in Tooting and attended the Latymer School in Hammersmith. He began his career as an apprentice for ...

for use in the season. The cars were powered by the turbocharged

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

EF15

V6 engine A V6 engine is a six- cylinder piston engine where the cylinders and cylinder blocks share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V6 engines were designed and produced independently by Marmon Motor Car Company, ...

which was rated at in race trim. The 015 ran on Goodyear tyres and were driven by

Martin Brundle Martin John Brundle (born 1 June 1959) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster who competed in Formula One from to . In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Brundle won the World Sportscar Champions ...

in his third season with the team, and

Philippe Streiff Philippe Pierre Streiff (26 June 1955 – 23 December 2022) was a French racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Early life and career Philippe Pierre Streiff was born on 26 June 1955 in La Tronche, Isèr ...

who joined 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 ...

. The 015 was a development of the team's first ever turbo car, the

Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell (1924–2001) which started racing in 1958 and started building it ...

which had first run the Renault turbo in Brundle's hands at the

1985 French Grand Prix The 1985 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 7 July 1985. It was the seventh race of the 1985 Formula One World Championship. It was the 63rd French Grand Prix and the ninth to be held at Paul Ricard. The rac ...

. As the 015 was still unfinished at the start of the season, the team ran the 014 for the first three races of the season. The new car was finally ready for

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

and proved to be somewhat reliable, if not the fastest car on the grid. Of the three teams which used versions of the turbocharged Renault V6 during the season, Tyrrell were usually slower than both Ligier and Lotus. This was usually explained by Lotus having a works contract to run the latest engines (as well as having the undisputed fastest driver in Grand Prix racing, Brundle's old

British F3 The British Formula Three Championship was an international Auto racing, motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level Formula racing, feeder formula ...

rival

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Senna won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles with McLaren, and—at the time of his death—held ...

), while the French Ligier team had been using the French engines since . Tyrrell on the other hand, had a failed relationship with Renault during the early 1970s which prompted the factory to eventually form its own team in , only had a contract to run customer engines which were usually the oldest, least powerful and economical of those on offer. The car's best result wasn't achieved until the final race of the season 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 ...

when Brundle finished in 4th place despite running out of fuel as he crossed the line. He had actually inherited 4th from his team mate when Streiff ran out of fuel on the previous lap. Streiff was still classified in 5th place. Brundle also scored the team's best starting position for the year when he qualified 10th for the car's debut at Monaco. Tyrrell 015 rear

The 015 made headlines for the wrong reasons at the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championship. It is one of the oldest ...

when Streiff's car caught fire in front of the pits on lap 43. Despite the car being on fire directly beyond the pit wall the marshals fire truck took nearly a minute to get to it which gave enough time for the car to be burnt beyond repair. This was the last turbo powered car run by Tyrrell in Formula One. After losing their Renault engines when the factory pulled out of Formula One altogether at the end of 1986, the team reverted to using

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...

power when they ran the 3.5 litre Ford Cosworth DFZ

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. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

in their car, the DG016.

Complete Formula One results

( key) * 2 points scored using the

at 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 ...

Notes

{{F1 cars 1986 Tyrrell Formula One cars