Spirit was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They were official entrants in 25 grands prix in 1983 and 1984. Founded in 1981 by Gordon Coppuck and John Wickham, Spirit had a close relationship with Honda. Indeed, despite being relatively new entrants to the formula, Spirit were selected to use Honda's RA series 2 litre V6 engine in the European Formula Two Championship in 1982 and 1983. In 1983 they also debuted in Formula One, using their 201 F2 chassis, driven by Stefan Johansson, and again employing a Honda engine - this time helping Honda to make a low-key debut with their 1.5 litre turbocharged version of the F2 engine. They debuted at the 1983 British Grand Prix, with their best result 7th at the 1983 Dutch Grand Prix. Spirit began work on a dedicated Formula One car, the Spirit 101, for 1984, but Honda suddenly switched their support to the Williams team, leaving Spirit to use the lower powered Hart 4 cylinder Turbo engine (Honda's rapid departure from Williams at the end of 1987 has distinct parallels with their ditching of Spirit). With Mauro Baldi driving, the car was a distinct tail-ender, and ran no better when Huub Rothengatter took over from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards. Baldi returned for the last two races of the season when Rothengatter's finances ran out, but results were mainly negative. The car often failed to finish, and when it did was usually at or near the end of those still running. The team's best results were 8th places, scored by Baldi in the South African Grand Prix and San Marino Grand Prix, and Rothengatter at the Italian Grand Prix. Emerson Fittipaldi expressed interest in testing a Spirit on his return to racing but this did not turn into a return to F1 or an upturn in Spirit's fortunes. Despite a huge lack of funds, the team began the 1985 season with Baldi and the upgraded 101D, still with the Hart turbo. After three failures to finish in the opening three races, the team folded.
Complete Formula One Results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Spirit 201C | Honda V6 (t/c) | G | BRA | USW | FRA | SMR | MON | BEL | USE | CAN | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | RSA | 0 | - | ||
| Stefan Johansson | Ret | Ret | 12 | 7 | Ret | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | Spirit 101 Spirit 101B Spirit 101C |
Hart 4 in-line (t/c) Ford V8 |
P | BRA | RSA | BEL | SMR | FRA | MON | CAN | USE | USA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | EUR | POR | 0 | - | |
| Mauro Baldi | Ret | 8 | Ret | 8 | Ret | DNQ | 8 | 15 | ||||||||||||||
| Huub Rothengatter | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 8 | ||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Spirit 101D | Hart 4 in-line (t/c) | P | BRA | POR | SMR | MON | CAN | USE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | BEL | EUR | RSA | AUS | 0 | - | |
| Mauro Baldi | Ret | Ret | Ret |
