1976 Tyrrell P34: the 6-wheeled Formula 1 wonder in action at Imola - Accelerations & Pure Sound!

The Tyrrell P34. A car so iconic that it wouldn't need any introduction. Personally, I consider it as the most radical F1 car ever created together with the Brabham BT46 'Fan Car'. You know that I already had the pleasure of seeing the '77 version of the car (called P34B, chassis P34/5) in action at Imola Circuit during the 2018 and 2019 Historic Minardi Day, the latest editions of the event I attended. That car was and still is owned by the former Italian F1 driver and winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Pierluigi Martini, but I knew that he had managed to purchase a second original P34 with which he was already participating at the Minardi Day in this last few years.

The Historic Minardi Day is an event born in 2016 in order to celebrate the Minardi F1 team after 10 years from its last F1 season. Over the years, it has increasingly evolved into a two-days motorsports festival, where old Formula cars could stretch their legs on track together with GT race cars, prototypes and supercars divided into various groups and sessions.

The P34 you see up here is chassis P34/2 and it was the first official P34 car built by Tyrrell for the 1976 season (chassis 01 was the development car). It was used by Patrick Depailler in its debut race and he continued to campaign it for the remainder of the 1976 season, obtaining some podium finishes. The same chassis was also used for some races in 1977 in the evolved B version. This is the status in which Pierluigi purchased the car, already having in mind to try to restore it to its original, 1976 debut conditions, a project completed albeit with some difficulties.

Project 34 (the actual meaning of 'P34') was designed by Derek Gardner, Tyrrell's chief designer in 1975, with the basic concept to use a tyre that would be small enough to fit entirely behind the front wing of the car. In fact, for the mid-1970s, F1 stipulated that the maximum width of the front wing was 1.5 m. Considering the needed room for the driver's feet, the steering mechanism, suspension and the normal front tyre size, this meant the front tyres projected above and out to the sides of the wing. The P34 used four specially manufactured 10-inch diameter (254 mm) wheels and tyres at the front, with two ordinary-sized wheels at the back.
This design led to two effects: lower overall drag and thus improved speed on straights and cleaner overall aerodynamic flows reaching the rear wing. However, given the space limitations, such a tyre would have to be quite small which also means having a smaller contact surface to offer reasonable cornering performance. This led to the use of four wheels instead of two. Adding more wheels also had the advantage of offering more total brake area. The downside was increased complexity of the steering system and a physically larger suspension system.

In 1976 two cars were entered, driven by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, both producing good results with the car. The P34's golden moment came in the Swedish Grand Prix. Scheckter and Depailler finished first and second, making it the only six-wheeled car to ever win a race. The car seemed to be particularly good down the straights and through long corners, like at Anderstorp, Watkins Glen, Mosport Park, Fuji and the Österreichring, but it struggled on bumpy circuits like Brands Hatch, Jarama and the Nürburgring, where the grip was actually variable. At the end of the season the team finished 3rd overall.

Listen to the iconic 3.0-liter Cosworth DFV V8 engine in action around the Italian circuit!

#TyrrellP34 #6Wheeler #Formula1
-----------------------------------------------------------
I have to thank my friends and youtubers ‪@Italiansupercarvideo‬ and ‪@sportcrash71‬ for the great collaboration done. Don't forget to subscribe to their channels!!

You can also find and follow me on:
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19bozzy92/
Facebook:   / 19bozzy92yt  
Instagram:   / ste19bozzy92  

Camcorder: Canon Legria GX10 & HF G30 + Canon DM-100 Microphone & Zoom H5
Event: Minardi Day 2025
Where: Autodromo di Imola, Italy

Link To My Channel:    / 19bozzy92  

THANKS FOR WATCHING AND SUBSCRIBE!!!