The Old Rumour Mill – May

Posted on

| Written by

When Norbert Hamy wanted a name for his F1 team, he just turned his first name back to front.

Trebron Racing Systems were set to join F1 racing in 1993 – but the obscure Japanese entry, run by a Canadian who claimed to have designed all manner of exciting technologies, simply disappeared.

Plus, a contractual tug-of-war over Ayrton Senna, and Goodyear’s aborted return to F1 in 2003.

Senna’s 1987 plans – the rumours start!
Autosport, May 15th 1986

Ayrton Senna’s destination for 1987 was the subject of widespread speculation in 1986. This article alone suggested Ferrari, Brabham, Lotus-Renault and Lotus-Ford as the options.

In the end, of course, the answer was “none of the above.” Senna did stay at Lotus, but largely thanks to the fact that they had courted a supply of Honda engines. But they got one thing bang on: “We doubt he would move elsewhere simply for money”…

Japanese Formula 1 car for ’93
Autosport, 21st May 1992

A new Japanese team for 1993 was announced early in 1992. Trebron took its name from its Canadian owner Norbert Hamy who had found three Japanese backers. The car was to use Judd V10 power and would be built in Japan but raced from a base in England.

Curiously, Hame claimed to have designed a six-wheel ground effect car with a kind of active suspension (though not computer controlled) as early as 1976, but had been unable to find backers for the project. His 1993 car was to also feature several innovative technologies.

But this exotic and quite unusual project was never realised.

Goodyear discuss F1 return
May 17 2001

A three-way tyre war? Now that would have been something. Shortly after Michelin’s return to F1 in 2001 Goodyear apparently considered rejoining the party with a target date of 2003.

The team explored the possibility of linking up with BAR, Jordan, Sauber, Prost and Minardi (interestingly, all teams that have changed owners since 2001) – but it never came to be.

Related links

Tags: f1 / formula one / formula 1 / grand prix / motor sport

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

2 comments on “The Old Rumour Mill – May”

  1. For a brief moment in the early eighties, there was a three-way tyre war. Goodyear and Michelin had been fighting for a few years when Pirelli entered the fray. Unfortunately, they soon found the pace of development and spending too hot for them and they disappeared almost as quickly as they had come.

    But does anyone remember the year that Avon was the only F1 tyre manufacturer?

  2. I remember the three-way war. But wait… wasn’t Pirelli in F1 as late as 1991? They were on the Benettons that year if I remember right… I think it was Michelin that left first, sometime in the mid-80s, never to return until 2001.

    But Avon? I’d have to guess that’s either in the early 50s or early 60s… But I wasn’t born yet back then! :p

Comments are closed.