 Jacques Villeneuve driving the BAR 01 at the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix. | |||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | British American Racing | ||||||||
| Designer(s) | Adrian Reynard (Technical Director) Malcolm Oastler (Chief Designer) Willem Toet (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Tyrrell 026 | ||||||||
| Successor | 002 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Moulded carbon fibre composite structure | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, pushrod with coaxial spring/damper, and torsion bar | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, pushrod | ||||||||
| Engine | Supertec (Renault) FB01, 3.0-litre V10 (71°), mid-engined | ||||||||
| Transmission | BAR/Xtrac six-speed longitudinal sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||
| Power | 780 hp @ 15,800 rpm[1] | ||||||||
| Fuel | Elf | ||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | British American Racing | ||||||||
| Notable drivers | 22.  Jacques Villeneuve23.  Ricardo Zonta23.  Mika Salo | ||||||||
| Debut | 1999 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||
| Last event | 1999 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||
The BAR 01 (also known as BAR PR01)[2] was the car with which the British American Racing Formula One team competed in the 1999 Formula One season, its inaugural year in the series after purchasing Tyrrell. It was driven by Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Champion who had left Williams in order to work with team principal Craig Pollock, his manager and good friend. The second driver was Ricardo Zonta, the 1997 Formula 3000 champion and 1998 FIA GT champion, although Mika Salo would deputise early in the season after the Brazilian injured his ankle at Interlagos.
Despite the driving pedigree of Villeneuve and Zonta, and the technical experience of Reynard Motorsports, the year was a disaster and a major disappointment for the team, especially after Adrian Reynard aimed to secure the pole position and race victory in its first race. The cars were usually quite competitive and looked like points-scoring contenders on several occasions (Villeneuve, at one point, had briefly run third during the Spanish Grand Prix), but reliability was terrible, with Villeneuve alone failing to finish the first eleven races of the season. The end result was last in the Constructors' Championship with no points, behind much smaller teams such as Minardi, Arrows and Sauber.
- ^ "Engine Supertec". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "BAR PR01". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2022.