KAUHSEN

Kauhsen was a Formula One constructor from Germany, founded by former sportscar driver Willi Kauhsen. The team started in Formula Two in 1976, purchasing Renault cars, and raced with an assortment of drivers with limited success. Kauhsen then entered the 1979 Formula One season, spending 1978 designing their own chassis with Cosworth engines. They participated in two World Championship Grands Prix with Gianfranco Brancatelli, failing to qualify on both occasions, before the team was shut down.

Although unsuccessful in Formula Two, Kauhsen decided to enter Formula One in 1979, and after failing to secure a deal to run the Kojima cars used in the 1977 Japanese Grand Prix, Kauhsen spent 1978 designing their own chassis. Having planned to follow the then-advanced use of ground effects by Lotus, initial testing of the prototype revealed fundamental design issues; the designers failed to take account of the variable ride height of cars during braking and acceleration, stopping the ground effects functioning correctly. 

The problems in getting working ground effects on the chassis led to the team abandoning the concept, and returning to the older "wing car" that had been in prevalence before. These redesigns drained the team of funds; Kauhsen struggled to pay the entry fee for the championship, and only managed to acquire older tyres from Goodyear. Kauhsen's first World Championship appearance was at the Spanish Grand Prix, using another redesigned car. Brancatelli failed to qualify for the race, being the slowest out of the 27 entries, the closest competitor being three seconds quicker. Running an updated car at the next race in Belgium, Brancatelli again failed to qualify, with a broken clutch preventing an improvement in pace. After the two successive failures, and a lack of funds, Willi Kauhsen withdrew from Formula One and closed the team.

Activity: 1979
Grand Prix: 2
Best Result: Did Not Qualify
Best Grid Position: Did Not Qualify
Fastest Laps: 0
Championship Points: 0