Credit: Connew PC1-Cosworth at Race Retro, Stoneleigh (2018). Photo by In Vitrio, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Many F1 teams, especially privateers, tried to enter the sport but disappeared after just a few races. The Connew team’s story, however, was different. The project started completely from scratch and seemed almost impossible from the beginning, yet it actually made it to the Formula 1 grid. That is what makes the tiny garage in London such a remarkable part of F1 history and a story worth remembering.
Founded in Britain by designer Peter Connew, the team attempted to enter F1 with virtually none of the resources normally associacted with Grand Prix racing. There was no major manufacturer behind it, no large engineering department and no substantial factory.
Peter Connew’s Unusual Route Into F1
Peter Connew’s story didn’t begin with years of experience running a racing team. he had worked as a technical draughtsman at Surtees, where he gained valuable experience around F1 machinery.
That experience gave him an understanding of how F1 cars were designed and constructed, but Connew’s ambition went much further than simply working for somebody else’s team. Peter decided to design and build an F1 car of his own.
The project began around 1971, with Connew working alongside his cousin Barry Boor, a woodwork teacher who helped build the fiberglass bodywork, as well as a handful of friends. They didn’t have the facilities normally associated with F1, so much of the work was carried out in a small lock-up garage in Chadwell Heath, East London.
Contemporary accounts of the project have since made the garage an important part of the Connew story. The ambition was enormous compared with the resources available. Unlike many privateers at the time, who entered Formula 1 by buying existing assets or complete chassis, Connew started almost everything from scratch, building its own car with very limited resources.
Building an F1 Monocoque in a Small Garage
The most remarkable part of the project was that Connew didn’t simply buy an old F1 car and modify it. He designed his own, the car was built around an luminium monocoque, with the structure constructed by bending and riveting sheets of aluminium.
The team had already completed its first monocoque when F1 regulations changed. The aluminium specification they had used was no longer acceptable under the new safety requirements.
For a small private project like Connew, this could have been the end, but Peter Connew and his colleagues effectively started again and constructed another tub using thicker aluminium. The surviving car is generally identified in historical records as PC1-002, although the car is commonly referred to simply the Connew PC1.
An F1 Car Built Around Ingenuity
The Connew PC1 included several interesting engineering ideas. One of them concerned the front radiator, the crew designed the radiator installation at an angle, with the airflow directed through the front of the car and out through the upper section of the nose. The idea of it was to manage airflow and reduce the aerodynamic effects that could otherwise contribute to lift.
Connew bought a Ford Cosworth DFV engine for its chassis. At the time, the DFV was one of the leading engines in Formula 1 and was available to customer teams, making it possible for privateers like Connew to use proven power without having to design and build their own engine. The team also used a Hewland gearbox, giving the Connew PC1 access to established F1 technology while keeping the project as simple as possible.
How Connew Got a Cosworth DFV
An F1 chassis alone wasn’t enough. As mentioned earlier, the team also needed a proper engine and gearbox to compete. The team was eventually able to obtain a second-hand Cosworth DFV engine.
Rather than transporting the engine in a professional racing transporter, Connew reportedly collected it using an ordinary road car. With the passenger seat removed, the huge Cosworth V8 was placed inside the car and driven back to the workshop.
Looking at the way they ran the project and managed the operation until the car was finally completed, the story becomes even more remarkable. The fact that an F1 engine was being transported around London in an ordinary road car shows just how far removed the team was from the resources and facilities of a normal F1 constructor.
The Long Road to a Grand Prix
Building the car was only half the battle for Connew. The team also had to transport it to circuits, deal with race-entry procedures and prepare it for F1 events.
The team’s first attempt was at the French Grand Prix, but they couldn’t reach the circuit in time. Their transporter reportedly broke down, forcing them to abandon the trip.
Connew finally arrived at the 1972 British Grand Prix, where the PC1 appeared at a World Championship Formula 1 event for the first time. François Migault took the wheel during qualifying and finished 27th, around 8.1 seconds behind the pole sitter. However, the team reportedly discovered several handling problems with the car and decided not to start the race.
The French GP was one of the early disappointments, the team was unable to get to the event as planned, and then at the British GP the team did not start. For most new teams, that would have been a deeply frustrating debut. For Connew, it was another problem to overcome!
The 1972 Austrian Grand Prix: Connew Finally Starts
The team’s breakthrough finally came at the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix at the Osterreichring. This time, the PC1 made it onto the starting grid.
Migault qualified 26th, while Henri Pescarolo, who qualified 25th, did not start the race. This meant that Migault moved up to 25th on the starting grid, placing the Connew driver at the back of the field.
But the important thing was that the tiny independent constructor had actually qualified for a Formula 1 race. Ahead of Migault were some of the biggest names and teams in F1. Emerson Fittipaldi was on pole for Lotus, with Ferrari, Tyrrell, MclLaren, Brabham, and BRM all represented. Behind the scenes, however, the Connew operation was something entirely different.
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22 Laps From a Garage-Built F1 Dream
Migault managed to complete 22 laps before the car was forced to retire with a suspension failure. The official F1 results record the Connew as a retirement after 22 laps.
BUt statistics alone do not explain what made the achievement remarkable.
The Connew PC1 had survived the journey from a small East London garage to the F1 grid and actually raced in a World Championship Grand Prix. For a team operating on such a tiny budget, simply making the start was a remarkable achievement. Building almost everything from scratch and reaching a Formula 1 grid was something that few teams could have accomplished so easily.
And that was it, the dream was over and Connew never raced in F1 again after the Austrian GP in 1972. They simply disappeared from the grid.
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The Dream Continued After Formula 1
It wasn’t the end of story for PC1. Connew later appeared in non-championship events. At the John Player Challenge Trophy at Brands Hatch in October 1972, David Purley was scheduled to drive the car, but an electrical problem prevented it from starting.
The team also attempted to find a way to continue racing after its F1 ambitions became financially impossible.
The Connew PC1 was eventually converted for Formula 5000, using a Chevroled V8 instead of the Cosworth DFV. The cheaper configuration gave the car a possible route back onto the track, although the project continued to struggle with reliability.
In 1973, the car appeared in Formula 5000 events, with Tony Trimmer eventually driving it at Brands Hatch, the PC1’s racing life came to an end after serious incident damaged the only usable chassis beyond practical repair. And with no realistic way to build another car, the Connew Racing Team disappeared.
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What Happened to the Connew PC1?
For a car that had such a short racing career, the Connew PC1 had a surprisingly long afterlife. The remains of the car and its unused spare tub stayed with Peter Connew for decades.
Eventually, Barry Boor encouraged Connew to restore the surviving chassis, the restoration took the story full circle.
In 2014, the pair managed to get the car back together, with outside help providing components including a Cosworth DFV engine and a Hewland gearbox. The restored Connew was subsequently displayed at events including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and Race Retro.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Connew PC1-Cosworth at Race Retro, Stoneleigh (2018). Photo by In Vitrio, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. – Source: Wikimedia Commons
What a fabulous story. Can’t believe I didn’t know about it.
Appreciate that! There are so many forgotten moments like this, it’s always great when readers connect with them.
The first copy of Motoring News that I bought in late 1971 had a report from the Racing Car Show in London where the Connew was on display and it rather captured my interest. I thought it was one of the best-looking cars of the time – easily up there with the 1971 BRM P160. I followed the team’s fortunes when they appeared at races in 1972 and was sad when they didn’t make it even though that was the likely outcome.