March 881

British designer Adrian Newy began developing a new race car in July 1987, combining this with race engineer Mario Andretti at at CART . 1988 was a transitional year for Formula One, this season the FIA allowed to participate in the championship along with turbocharged 1.5-liter V6 engines atmospheric 3.5-liter engines, in 1989 turbocharged engines will be banned due to high prices. The March team used Judd's 3.5-liter naturally-aspirated engine from a small privately owned company, Engine Developments Ltd. Turbocharged engines on the machines of other teams were much more powerful. The ratio of power was as follows: 900 horsepower engines with turbochargers versus 580 horsepower in atmospheric Judd CV ^[1] .

In his autobiography, speaking of Formula One cars of that period, Newey admits that “aerodynamically the machines were rather boring and in this respect <...> less complex than race cars of [world series] IndyCar” ^[2] . The only solution for building a competitive car was to build a lighter and more aerodynamically efficient car than its rivals. Newey called 881 the most important in his career in terms of the template for future projects ^[2] .

The car was built under the command of the pilot Ivan Capelli . Ivan has a small height, which was the idea to make the cockpit small, and already around the pilot as closely as possible to assemble the elements of the chassis. A special shape of the nose fairing was invented, now the nominal bottom of the car started farther than usual. Newey used a new solution for the front wing, which became solid, not split into two parts nose fairing, as it was done earlier. This made it possible to achieve a constant level of downforce across the entire width of the wing, and not separately on each of the wing wings ^[3] . Also promising was the use of wider front-end platinum front wing with a trailing edge, reaching the front edge of the wheel. This was done to stabilize the air flow, loading the wing, when turning the wheel ^[3] . The chassis was created V-shaped in cross section and as narrow as possible, the pedals and, accordingly, the pilot's legs were elevated above normal. The combination of these solutions has made the front of the machine more efficient. The pilot's cockpit hole was reduced to the minimum allowed by the federation, minimizing turbulence and the “dirty” air flows generated by it to the maximum. To make the engine casing narrower, the engine exhaust cap ^[4] was reworked.

Several modifications have been added to the car being developed by Newy, thanks to his experience in designing machines for IndyCar. Thus, the safety arc over the pilot's head was now made of cellular aluminum, as was done in March 86C. The aerodynamics of cars with almost identical power engines in the IndyCar at that time paid more attention than in Formula 1, where engineers tried to increase power ^[3] . Newy managed to increase the downforce by 50% while maintaining the level of air resistance: in March 881 the ratio of downforce to air resistance was more than 3 to 1, whereas last year’s car had a figure of about 2 to 1 ^[5] . Due to its unusual design, the new car stood out from the peloton , having smooth streamlined shapes as opposed to chopped by the machines of other teams ^[6] . Newey himself called 881 the aerodynamic top of his time in Formula 1 ^[3] .

The first tests of Formula 1 teams in 1988 were held at the Imola circuit . Due to the unusual chassis design, special attention of the press was riveted on the Leyton House March team. ^[7] The tests revealed two key problems of the new car: the gearbox overheated and the cockpit was so narrow that it did not allow pilots to change gears (while transmissions on Formula 1 cars were switched with a lever located at the helm) ^[8] .

Monocoque had to expand in the area of ​​the gear lever, but with sufficient streamlining ^[8] . The problems with the overheating of the gearbox did not allow the team to drive through the plan planned by the team, but according to the test results, it was possible to say that the new March car was faster than many other cars with atmospheric engines. After the tests, the car March 881 got on the cover of the March issue of the authoritative autosport magazine Autosport ^[9] .

1988 Season

In the Brazilian Grand Prix debut for the team, the team managed to qualify in the middle of the peloton, but because of the heat and problems with the cooling system, both cars dropped out ^[10] . In the second stage in Imola, Guzhelmin finished fifteenth, and Capelli did not make it to the finish. At this stage, due to a design error, the downforce destroyed the nose cone, and later this problem was eliminated ^[10] . Guzhelmin came down to Monaco , and Capelli finished tenth ^[10] . The city circuit in Monte Carlo is not as demanding for motors as Imola with its long straight lines, but the team did not manage to adjust the car due to the constantly changing weather during the race weekend ^[10] . After the race in Monaco, it became clear to the team that they did not realize the full potential of the chassis, as demonstrated previously in the pre-season tests ^[10] .

Already by the Mexico stage, the team managed to solve the problem of cooling the gearbox thanks to David Brown Gears ^{[10] [11]} . In the race, Guzhelmin got down again, and Capelli at the finish was 16th ^[12] . The pilots complained of understeer during the passage of the apex , this problem was intended to solve the increased front wing, increasing downforce ^[11] . The geometry of the front suspension was also modified due to an increase in the coefficient of increasing resistance: as the car picked up speed, the car became harder and vice versa ^[11] . This modification also allowed to lower the clearance of the car, which favorably affected its aerodynamic properties ^[11] . Recalling this period, Newey writes: “Slowly but surely, we left our problems with reliability behind and understood how to tune this car” ^[11] .

The next was the Canadian Grand Prix , in which the March pilots did not show outstanding results in qualifying, remaining behind several cars with atmospheric engines, but in the race, despite the gathering of Guzhelmina, the team earned its first points in the season ^[11] . Ivan Capelli finished in fifth position ^[13] . The next stage took place on the city ​​road in Detroit , which was well suited for cars with atmospheric engines ^[11] . In fact, the Grand Prix was a failure for March. In training, Capelli had an accident, breaking the car and breaking his leg. In the race Guzhelmin started one of the team, but for the fourth time did not get to the finish line ^[11] .

For the French Grand Prix , changes were made to the chassis settings to help pilots use the aerodynamic advantages of the car and attack more strongly ^[14] . In the race at the Paul Ricard autodrome, both 811 finished in the top ten ^[15] . In the UK, Capelli came down, and Guzhelmin brought the team points, finishing fourth. ^[16] In Hockenheim at the German Grand Prix Capelli fifth, and his partner in eighth place; The team takes the sixth line in the Cup of designers ^{[17] [14]} . Due to the peculiarities of the route, March developed a longer nose fairing and a new front wing for Hungary ^[14] . Capelli went down because of engine problems, and Guzhelmin came fifth. ^[14] In Belgium, Guzhelmin came down, and Capelli climbed to the third step of the podium ^[18] . At the stage in Italy in the fight for the fifth position, Capelli collided with Williams FW12 Riccardo Patrese , but, despite the contact, both finished, Ivan - with glasses ^{[14] [19]} .

In Portugal , March had the best qualification during the season ^[20] : Guzhelmin qualified fifth, and Capelli was third - only Prost and Senna qualified for the turbocharged McLaren MP4 / 4 ^[21] . In the course of the race, Capelli, using slipstream , overtook Senna and finished second behind Prost ^[20] . After the not very successful team for the Spanish Grand Prix , where Guzhelmin was the seventh, and Capelli came down because of engine problems ^[22] , there was a stage in Japan . Capelli qualified fourth behind the two McLaren and Berger Ferrari ^[23] . Senna stalled at the start and the entire race broke through from the end of the peloton ^[24] . Being the third, Capelli passed Berger and pursued Prost ^[24] . At one of the circles, Capelli after the exit from the last turn ahead of the Frenchman and crossed the start-finish line first. Thanks to a more powerful motor, Prost regained the lead in the race even before the first turn, but in official protocols Capelli was indicated as the leader of the circle ^[24] . In addition to Senna, Prost and Berger, he was the only rider who managed to lead the race in the 1988 season ^{[6] [25]} . A car with an atmospheric engine was leading in the Formula 1 race for the first time since 1983 ^[24] . However, in that race, the Capelli machine did not make it to the finish line ^[26] . The reason for the stop could not be found, since the engine control unit was in good condition. Later it turned out that the driver could accidentally turn off the ignition when adjusting the stiffness of the rear stabilizer ^[24] . Guzhelmin finished in tenth place ^[26] . In the last race of the season in Australia, Capelli brought another point to the team, finishing sixth, his partner dropped due to an accident ^[27] .

At the end of the 1988 season, the team Leyton House March Racing Team on machines with atmospheric engines took the sixth place in the Cup of Designers ^[28] , experienced Ivan Capelli became the seventh in the individual standings, and his partner debutant Guzhelmin was the thirteenth ^[29] .

Season 1989

For several reasons, the team did not have time to prepare a new car by the beginning of the 1989 season ^[30] . March CG891 was finally ready only for the 1989 Monaco Grand Prix , so the team used last year’s March 881 in Brazil and San Marino ^[30] . In the Brazilian home race, Guzhelmin finished third after Mansell at Ferrari and Prost at McLaren ^[31] . In San Marino, both cars got off during the race ^[32] . The points earned by Guzhelmin in Brazil were the only ones earned by the team throughout the 1989 season due to unsuccessful performances of CG891 ^[33] .

By the 1989 season, many teams copied some of the 881 technical solutions, such as a raised nose and a V-shaped monocoque. But due to an unsuccessful CG891, the March team was behind them ^[34] .

• Adrian Newey . How to build 881 // How to build a car. - Moscow: Eksmo, 2019. - P. 99–126. - 352 s. - ISBN 978-5-04-093735-6 .