Paul Jolly: Building a winning team

Tyrrell Racing was very much ‘hands-on’ managed by founder Ken Tyrrell who was himself a former racer. His remarkable skill was to identify and recruit driver talent when he witnessed it. Famous drivers include John Surtees, Jacky Ickx, Jody Scheckter, Martin Brundle and of course, Sir Jackie Stewart, with whom the Tyrrell Team won the Constructors Championship and Drivers World Championship, three times.

Teams of the 1970s included Ferrari, McLaren, BRM, Lotus and Williams. Enzo Ferrari rather unkindly referred to some of the British teams as ‘Garagistas’ or privateer racers meaning little better than garage owners putting together a racing car on the side.

Certainly, the likes of Colin Chapman at Lotus, Bruce McLaren, John Cooper and Ken Tyrrell relied on other income to support their racing endeavours. There was little in the way of corporate sponsorship then and the winnings were no match for the costs.

Bernie Ecclestone changed all this with his introduction of television rights revenue rewarding the teams just for being there. Additionally, he ensured the top finishing teams got substantial travel allowances, essential for all the costs of cars and equipment to be carted around the globe.

At its peak of success, the Tyrrell Team employed around 45 staff and today, nearly that number is required in the pits alone in order to execute a speedy tyre change during the race.

Tyrrell sold his team in 1997 to BAR which then transitioned into Mercedes F1 after a brief period of Honda then Brawn GP ownership. Mercedes now employs over 1000 personnel to run the team.

With the benefit of driver Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes went on to win 8 consecutive constructors titles and a remarkable legacy for a remarkable man and his pioneering Team Tyrrell.

My first association with Ken Tyrrell was in 1969 and I was fortunate to be invited to Monza to be with the Tyrrell Team when Jackie Stewart wound up the first of three World Championships.

Like so many young drivers, I thought I was pretty good behind the wheel and worth a shot. Ken Tyrrell thought otherwise!