Brabham BT44

Debut1974 Argentine Grand Prix

Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps
36	5	2	4

Constructors' Championships0Drivers' Championships0

The Brabham BT44 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray, Brabham's chief designer.^[1]

Design

An update of the partially successful BT42 of 1973, the BT44 was a simple design with a standard Ford DFV/Hewland gearbox combination, but was very clean aerodynamically. Murray had an eye for clean lines, and the BT44 was particularly graceful. He was also a forward thinker, and tinkered with side skirts and airdams on the car, a precursor to ground effects aerodynamics.

Sponsorship came from Martini.^[2]

Racing history

1974

The 1974 season was successful for Brabham. Carlos Reutemann took three wins with the car, partnered by Carlos Pace who was able to string a series of promising results together. Brabham finished at a fighting fifth place in the Constructor's Championship after a closely fought season.

1975

The BT44 was modified for 1975, and Pace won his first and only Grand Prix at his home event in Brazil, while Reutemann won at the Nürburgring. A series of other strong finishes helped Reutemann to finish third in the drivers' championship in 1975, whilst Brabham equalled his feat in the constructors' championship by finishing second. Whilst the BT44 was a good car, it couldn't match the McLaren M23 or the Ferrari 312T.^[3]

1976

The BT44 was replaced by the Alfa Romeo powered BT45 for 1976 which proved to be a serious step back for the team. The BT44Bs were sold to RAM Racing, who ran them for a variety of drivers in the 1976 World Championship, including Loris Kessel, Emilio de Villota, Patrick Nève, Jac Nellemann, Damien Magee, Lella Lombardi and Bob Evans, none of whom had much success.^[4]

Formula One World Championship results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Pts	WCC
1974	Motor Racing Developments	BT44	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA		351	5th
					Carlos Reutemann	7	7	1	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	6	3	1	Ret	9	1
					Richard Robarts	Ret	15	17
					Rikky von Opel				Ret	Ret	DNQ	9	9	DNQ
					Carlos Pace										9	12	Ret	5	8	2
	Goldie Hexagon Racing			F	John Watson											Ret	4	7	Ret	5
1975	Martini Racing	BT44B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G		ARG	BRA	RSA	ESP	MON	BEL	SWE	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	USA			54	2nd
					Carlos Reutemann	3	8	2	3	9	3	2	4	14	Ret	1	14	4	Ret
					Carlos Pace	Ret	1	4	Ret	3	8	Ret	5	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
1976	RAM Racing	BT44B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	G		BRA	RSA	USW	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	NED	ITA	CAN	USA	JPN	0	-
					Loris Kessel				DNQ	12		Ret	DNQ			NC
					Emilio de Villota				DNQ
					Patrick Nève					Ret
					Jac Nellemann							DNQ
					Damien Magee								DNQ
					Bob Evans									Ret
					Lella Lombardi									DNQ	DNQ	12
					Rolf Stommelen										DNS

^1 Includes 1 point scored using a Brabham BT42.

See also

• Tyrrell P34
• Lotus 72

References