Wolf WR1
With the WR1, Canadian millionaire Walter Wolf entered the Formula One World Championship as a constructor. His tenure would not be a long one, but the beginning of the adventure was nothing short of sensational. The WR1 won on its debut, went on to claim two more victories during the season, and allowed its sole driver, South African Jody Scheckter, to lead the Drivers’ Championship for much of the year.
The WR1 was one of the many masterpieces created by the young British engineer Harvey Postlethwaite. Its greatest strength lay in its aerodynamics: clean, simple lines and perfectly balanced weight distribution. The chassis was an aluminium monocoque, and power came from the lightweight Ford-Cosworth V8. Its livery nodded to the Lotus cars of the era, though the use of gold was more lavish—resulting in an even more elegant effect. In short, it was a car that never went unnoticed.
司机:
Jody Scheckter: After three seasons under Ken Tyrrell’s wing, the South African reached full maturity in 1977. It was a different Scheckter who, for the first time at the wheel of the brand-new Wolf WR1, took victory in the opening race of the season—the Argentine Grand Prix. The man giving Niki Lauda and Ferrari a real fight for the world titles was him. Two more wins, at Monaco and Montreal, along with a string of podium finishes—second at Kyalami and Hockenheim, third at Long Beach, Jarama, Zandvoort, and Watkins Glen—kept him in contention for much of the summer and ultimately earned him the runner-up spot in the championship, his best result to that point. Rounding out Scheckter’s remarkable 1977 campaign were a pole position at Hockenheim and fastest laps at Monaco and Fuji.
我们的模型车:
Over the course of the season, four examples were built—designated WR1 through WR4. The WR1 and WR4 would also be entered in the early races of 1978. Jody Scheckter remained Walter Wolf’s sole works driver for both the ’77 and ’78 seasons. Toward the end of 1978, however, Wolf sold the WR3 and WR4 chassis to Theodore Racing, which entrusted them to a rising Finnish talent named Keke Rosberg.
Between 1977 and 1978, the WR1 took part in a total of 27 Grands Prix. It scored three victories, ten podium finishes, two fastest laps, and one pole position. Remarkably, despite running only a single car, Wolf finished fourth in the 1977 Constructors’ Championship.
