Formula 1 Classics II

[White Zeraora]

It's time for some more classic F1 cars to be turned into children's cards by a basement F1 fan with nothing to do...

Remember: These are meant to work with my existing F1 cards, the latest iteration of which can be found here: Formula 1 - 2022 Season

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Formula 1 Classic - Brabham BT46B
Machine/Effect/WIND/Level 10
ATK 3500/DEF 3000

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by paying half your LP. Cannot be targeted or destroyed by your opponent's card effects. (Quick Effect): You can banish 1 "Formula 1" monster from your GY; Banish 1 card on the field. You can only use this effect of "Formula 1 Classic - Brabham BT46B" once per turn. If this card would leave the field, you can banish 1 "Formula 1" monster from your hand or GY instead.

It is the 1978 season. Brabham's BT46, powered by a flat-12 Alfa Romeo engine, was a fast machine, but due to the Alfa Romeo power plant's large width, it couldn't make use of ground effect as well as its main competitor, the Lotus 79, could. Due to this problem, Gordon Murray requested Alfa Romeo to produce a V12 engine that would fix this problem, but it would only be ready by the next season, in 1979.

So, how do you abuse ground effect with a fat engine that won't let you install Venturi tunnels on your car? You slap a giant fan in the back, of course!

Inspired by the Chaparral 2J, a similarly-crafted Can-Am machine that was demolishing its competition, the BT46B has a massive fan on the back that sucks air out from beneath the car, reducing air pressure and increasing downforce without increasing drag.The fan was linked to the flat-12 engine by a series of clutches to prevent any potential issues during gear changes - The faster the engine ran, the faster the fan would run, and the greater the suction effect would be. This was so they could properly state that the fan's primary function was to cool the engine, and NOT aerodynamics, effectively exploiting a loophole in the rules that banned mobile devices whose primary function was aerodynamic.

And so, the car was prepared to be driven by John Watson and Niki Lauda at the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix in Anderstorp. Of course, the other teams questioned whether the big fan was actually legal or not, but the FISA allowed the car to race. Watson and Lauda qualified second and third respectively, behind the Lotus of Mario Andretti. There is a catch, though - Watson and Lauda were running full tanks of fuel in qualifying, and Lauda even said he tried his best to NOT get pole position!

In the race, Watson had a throttle issue and was forced to retire on the 20th lap, while Lauda stayed in 2nd behind Andretti (still holding back to hide how broken this car really was). But then, Andretti made a mistake, eventually getting a puncture that ended his race, and Lauda went on to win by 35 seconds. Of course, the FISA investigated the car after the race, with Brabham still claiming the fan's primary purpose was cooling. The car was deemed legal as raced, and Lauda's victory stood. But the car never raced again. Why?

Many F1 fans believe the car was banned, but actually, team owner Bernie Ecclestone willingly withdrew the car because he needed the support of the other teams - 1978 was the year Bernie became the CEO of the Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) and would lead the organization to a war against FISA, which would eventually lead to the dissolution of FISA and FOCA being given full control of F1's television rights, giving Bernie commercial control over the sport, which he would hold for several decades.

Formula 1 Classic - Ferrari 640
Machine/Synchro/Effect/FIRE/Level 8
ATK 2800/DEF 2200

1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner Monsters
When this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 8 or lower "Formula 1" monster from your Deck. When a Level 8 or lower monster in your opponent's possession activates its effect (Quick Effect): You can target 1 card on the field; Destroy it. This card must be face-up on the field to activate and to resolve this effect. You can only use this effect of "Formula 1 Classic - Ferrari 640" once per turn.

The 640, also known as the F1-89, was the first Ferrari F1 car designed by John Barnard, and it raced in the 1989 season with Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger at the wheel. The car began development in 1987, and was originally supposed to debut in 1988, already powered by a 3.5L naturally aspirated V12 engine envisioning the ban on turbocharged engines to come in the following year. However, issues with the car's revolutionary, 7-speed paddle shift gearbox (the first F1 car to ever be fitted with this item) forced the team to use a modified version of their 1987 car, the F1-87/88C, still with a turbo engine, for the 1988 season, pushing the 640's debut to 1989.

Although this kind of gearbox would become the norm in F1 by the mid 1990's, and is still used in F1 to this day, back in 1989 the system was experimental, and very unreliable. Ferrari test driver Roberto Moreno helped with most of the development work at Fiorano, Ferrari's private test track. By the time the circus returned to Europe, the reliablity problems' cause was located: The gearbox was simply running out of power, as the battery couldn't supply it with enough energy. With help from supplier Magneti Marelli, the issue was fixed, and reliablity was no longer an issue.

Despite reliability fears, the car won its debut race in Brazil courtesy of Nigel Mansell, with the brit even boldly claiming the car would "win every race this year". Obviously, this bold prediction did not come true as the car would have to wait until the French Grand Prix to even finish a race, let alone claim victory which would only come at Hungary, and reliability issues were still plentiful - Ferrari had at least one of their drivers retire in every single race in 1989, except for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez - But Ferrari only ran one car in that race as Mansell got a race ban for taking out Ayrton Senna after being disqualified in the previous race at Portugal - Which in turn was the team's third and final win that season, by the hands of Gerhard Berger.

In the end, the 640 led Ferrari to third place in the constructors, with Nigel Mansell finishing fourth and Gerhard Berger seventh in the Drivers' Championship.

Formula 1 Classic - Lotus 56B
EARTH/Machine/Effect/Level 4
ATK 2000/DEF 1200

At the end of the Damage Step, if this card battled: Destroy this card. Cannot attack unless you control another "Formula 1" monster. Before damage calculation, if this card battles a monster with higher ATK: You can activate this effect; Roll a six-sided die, and multiply this card's ATK by the result, but your opponent takes no battle damage from this battle. When this card is destroyed: Take 1000 damage, then inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. You can only use this effect of "Formula 1 Classic - Lotus 56B" once per turn.

The Lotus 56B is an anomaly caused by Colin Chapman having crazy ideas. This F1 car is a modified version of the Lotus 56 that ran the Indy 500 in 1968 (and came close to winning it all before a fuel pump failure ended their hopes). This car's absurdity comes from its engine - A Pratt & Whitney gas turbine, of all things! Chapman brought this monstrosity to Formula 1 in 1971. It was first ran in F1 in two non-championship races, the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, and the International Trophy at Silverstone, both times driven by Emerson Fittipaldi. During practice, in the wet, the 56B was the fastest car by miles, but the race was dry, and the car couldn't progress past the midfield positions. In the International Trophy, the car only lasted three laps before the suspension failed.

The car would see its first World Championship action at the hands of Dave Walker in a soaking wet Zandvoort. He qualified 22nd in the dry, but in the wet race, the car was quick enough to leap up to 10th place in just five laps - Until Walker slid away into the wet grass and out of the race. Fittipaldi would take the wheel again at Monza, giving the car's only finishing result in F1 with 8th place.

Formula 1 Classic - Matra MS80
Machine/Effect/WATER/Level 6
ATK 2500/DEF 1800

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing 1 "Formula 1" monster from your GY. During the Main Phase (Quick Effect): You can discard 1 card; then target 1 "Formula 1" monster in your GY; Negate the effect(s) of all face-up monsters your opponent currently controls whose ATK is equal to or less than that target's original ATK, until the end of this turn. You can only use this effect of "Formula 1 Classic - Matra MS80" once per turn. Cannot be destroyed by battle with a monster whose effect is currently negated.

Designed by Gérard Ducarouge and Bernard Boyer, the Matra MS80 made its debut in the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix held at the dangerous street circuit of Montjuic. It was then used for the remainder of the season by Matra International - Which despite the name, was not a works team, but rather a privateer entry ran by Ken Tyrrell that would eventually become the Tyrrell Racing Organisation. The car was driven that season by Jackie Stewart and Jean-Pierre Beltoise.

The MS80 was one of the first F1 cars to feature front and rear wings for downforce, first seen in the previous season of 1968, and was also one of the first "Coke-bottle" designed F1 cars, with the fuel cell on the sidepod, as it would become the norm in F1 in a few years' time. Like most cars of this era, the MS80 was powered by the Ford Cosworth DFV V8 engine (In fact, the only teams outside of privateers that did not run a Ford Cosworth DFV were Ferrari and BRM), and with around 420hp on a 540kg chassis in a car running Dunlop road tyres (yes, this was before slick tyres were a thing), it was quite a handful to drive. But it was fast.

The MS80 got a double podium in its debut race, with Stewart winning and Beltoise finishing third. Stewart would go on to win four more races in 1969, en route to his first of three World Drivers' Championship crowns. Matra would also win the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers (as the Constructors' Championship was known at the time). This is, to this day, the only F1 car built in France to win a Drivers' Championship, and the only non-Ferrari car built outside of the UK to win a Constructors' Championship. Matra International, the future Tyrrell team, is also the only team to ever win both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships in the same year without building their own car (as they bought their chassis from Matra).

Formula 1 Classic - McLaren MP4-13
Machine/Xyz/Effect/EARTH/Rank 8
ATK 3000/DEF 2000

2 Level 8 monsters
You can also Xyz Summon this card (from your Extra Deck) by using any 2 "Formula 1" monsters with the same Level as the materials. If Xyz Summoned this way, this card's effects are negated for the rest of this turn. Cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; This turn, each time your opponent activates a card or effect from their hand, draw 1 card. You can only control 1 face-up "Formula 1 Classic - McLaren MP4-13".

1998 brought with it a slew of techincal rule changes. Cars were made narrower, with track width reduced from 2.000mm to 1.800mm, and slick tyres were banned and replaced with new grooved dry tyres, unique to Formula 1, with the front tyres having three grooves and the rear tyres having four. These were all aimed at making cars slower through corners and making overtaking easier. But such a big rule change would certainly cause a big shuffle in the pecking order. Which teams would come out on top? Certainly teams like Ferrari have a lot of money to dump into their car, but McLaren had one key trump card that would give them the edge over the competition. And that was Adrian Newey.

Widely considered to be one of the best car designers in F1 history, Newey joined McLaren from Williams in 1997, and this was the first McLaren penned by him. The team would have Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard at the wheel, as it had been for the previous two seasons, and had opted to change tyre manufacturers, switching to Bridgestone rubber from the Goodyear tyres they had ran in 1997. With Ferrari opting to retain Goodyear rubber, two of the top contenders in F1 would be on different tyre manufacturers. And thus, began an era of F1 known as the Tyre Wars.

Right out of the gate, it was clear Adrian Newey had penned a beauty as usual, and the MP4-13 was by far the best car on the grid, with Hakkinen and Coulthard finishing first and second at the season opener in Australia, and Hakkinen had lapped the entire field except for the other McLaren. The car was dominant at the start of the season, but Ferrari closed the gap after Argentina, being faster on more technical tracks. The MP4-13, according to David Coulthard, found its Achilles' heel on low-speed corners, having a tendency to understeer through them, as Newey sacrificed mechanical grip for aerodynamic grip.

Although Ferrari and Michael Schumacher vailantly fought until the final race in Japan, the MP4-13 proved far too quick for the Scuderia, winning 9 of the 16 races and placing at least one car on the podium in all but two of the races in which at least one car finished (and all but three overall that season, counting the team's only double retirement at Canada). With eight wins that year, Mika Hakkinen went on to win the first of two World Championships, with McLaren also winning the constructors' crown - Their last, to this day.

Formula 1 Classic - Renault RS10
Machine/Effect/LIGHT/Level 6
ATK 2400/DEF 2000

If you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand),. When you do: You can Special Summon 1 "Formula 1" monster from your hand. Cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another "Formula 1" monster. Once per turn (Quick Effect): You can target 1 Level 6 or lower monster on the field; Return that target and this card to the hand. This effect cannot be negated. You can only Special Summon "Formula 1 Classic - Renault RS10"(s) once per turn.

It is the late 70s. Up until now, Ford has held an iron grip on F1 engines with their cheap and reliable Cosworth DFV V8, which was used by all but four of the 20 competing teams in 1978. One of these teams not running the Ford engines was Renault, who ran the RS01 equipped with a turbocharged V6, the first of its kind in Formula 1. Although, the car was never competitive - and was never meant to be, it was merely a test mule for the turbo engine itself - the stage was set for a revolution.

Enter 1979, as ground effect cars take even more center stage in F1 after the Lotus 79's dominance the previous year. Now equipped with a 6-speed gearbox, abusing ground effect and packing a revised V6 engine, now with twin turbochargers, the new RS10 was finally a serious contender.

It debuted in the 1979 Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama, albeit still using the old engine, while the twin-turbo V6 made its debut two rounds later at Monaco. However, its best performance would come on home soil at Dijon: A double podium, with Jean-Pierre Jabouille winning the race and René Arnoux finishing third after a legendary battle against Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve in the closing laps that is still remembered to this day as one of the greatest moments in F1 history. And with that, for the first time ever, a turbocharged engine had won a Formula 1 Grand Prix. The car would get another two podiums that year, second places at Silverstone and Watkins Glen, both courtesy of Arnoux, but the turbocharged engine was still unreliable, giving the RS10 only seven finishing results the entire season, leading to Renault finishing sixth in the constructors championship with 26 points, 17 of these earned by Arnoux, who finished 8th in the drivers championship, while Jabouille finished 13th, his only points of the season coming off his win at France.

The foundation, however, was laid out: Turbo engines were the future, and would come to dominate F1 in the early and mid 80s. Until turbochargers were outlawed after 1988, turbo engines would win six of the next nine championships, and would be outputting upwards of 1,500 horsepower in qualifying trim at the height of their use. While this car wasn't a stellar racing machine, it certainly was one of the most important cars in F1 history.

Formula 1 Classic - Shadow DN8
Machine/Effect/DARK/Level 4
ATK 1900/DEF 1400

When a card or effect is activated that would make a "Formula 1" monster you control leave the field (Quick Effect): You can discard this card; Negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card. During your Main Phase: You can Special Summon this card from your GY, but banish it when it leaves the field. You must control a face-up "Formula 1" monster to activate and to resolve this effect. You can only use each effect of "Formula 1 Classic - Shadow DN8" once per turn.

Conceptualized by Tony Southgate, then finalized by Dave Wass after the former joined Lotus, the Shadow DN8 was Shadow Racing Cars' contender for three F1 seasons: 1976, 1977, and 1978. Several great drivers drove this car at one point, including Alan Jones, Riccardo Patrese, Clay Regazzoni and Hans-Joachim Stuck. The car was introduced in Zandvoort during the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix, where Tom Pryce would give the car a solid fourth place finish in its first race. The car showed itself a solid midfield runner during the five races it contested in 1976.

Then came 1977, and a tragedy struck the team: Tom Pryce was killed at Kyalami after running over a track marshal and being hit in the head by a fire extinguisher, in one of the most gruesome accidents in F1 history as the marshal's body was disintegrated beyond recognition in the accident. Future world champion Alan Jones would take the seat, and would only take two races to make an impact, with two consecutive points finishes at Monaco and Zolder.

Then came the Austrian Grand Prix. Taking advantage of the wet track at the start of the race, Jones jumped from his 14th position on the grid all the way to fourth place. After passing the Brabham of Stuck and the Wolf of fellow future World Champion Jody Scheckter, Jones claimed the lead after James Hunt's McLaren broke down, and never relinquished it for the remainder of the race, claming his first - and Shadow's only - victory in Formula 1. Jones would claim another podium in 1977 with third place at Monza, as Shadow finished the season seventh in the constructors with 23 points - their largest tally in F1. The car would contest another four races in 1978, with a best result of 5th place at Brazil courtesy of Clay Regazzoni, before being replaced with the DN9 at Monaco.

Expand the quote to view the cards and a brief history lesson on the machines behind them. These aren't really meant to be a deck, but just more support cards for the F1 theme.