Team story
Origins
Erich Zakowski had built Zakspeed’s reputation preparing racing Fords, including Escorts and Capris in the German championship. In 1985, he moved into Formula 1 with Jonathan Palmer and the 841. The world championship debut came in Portugal: the German team approached Grands Prix with its own chassis and an internally developed turbo engine.
The Formula 1 journey
Martin Brundle took fifth at Imola in 1987, scoring the constructor’s only two points. The other seasons combined retirements with qualifying difficulties. In 1989, Bernd Schneider managed to start only twice; Aguri Suzuki never passed pre-qualifying.
Zakspeed’s final start was Schneider’s in Japan, which ended in retirement.
Historical timeline
Three chapters in the story of Zakspeed
Three episodes to revisit the people, cars and races that shaped this journey.
First appearance · Portuguese Grand Prix
Jonathan Palmer · Portuguese Grand Prix 1985. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the first recorded race start, or the first entry if the team never started a race.
Sporting landmark · San Marino Grand Prix
Martin Brundle · San Marino Grand Prix 1987. The recorded position is P5; this number alone does not show whether the driver completed the race distance. This marks the first win or podium where one exists, otherwise the highest recorded placing for this constructor.
Latest recorded appearance · Japanese Grand Prix
Bernd Schneider · Japanese Grand Prix 1989. The recorded outcome is DNF. This is the last race start attributed to this constructor in the archive, not necessarily the end of the organisation behind it.
A distinctive way of racing
Building the engine too distinguished Zakspeed from the small Cosworth customer teams. The four-cylinder turbo powered its first four seasons, through the 841, 861, 871 and 881. With the turbo ban in 1989, the Yamaha OX88 V8 arrived in the 891 instead.
The change required a new technical partnership, but did not solve the fundamental problem of reaching the grid.
What remains
After 1989, Zakspeed left Formula 1 and concentrated again on other competitions, without the marque disappearing with the 891. Family management continued through Peter Zakowski as well. The world championship programme’s high point remains Brundle’s Imola race; the sequence from the in-house turbo to the first Yamaha project shows two different technical approaches, not a participation sustained by the same engine throughout.
