Tom Walkinshaw Racing - TWR in Formula One

TWR in Formula One

Tom Walkinshaw Racing was involved in Formula One from 1992 to 2002. At first, Walkinshaw became Benetton's engineering director, and was instrumental in developing the car that took Michael Schumacher to his first World Championship title in 1994. A falling out with Benetton boss Flavio Briatore saw Walkinshaw move to a position as team manager at Ligier, which had been acquired by Briatore.

After a failed attempt at purchasing Ligier, Walkinshaw instead bought a majority stake in the Arrows in 1996. The following year, Arrows surprised the world by signing World Champion Damon Hill and introducing Bridgestone tyres to Formula One. Although the team nearly won the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix, Arrows continued to have trouble attracting sponsorship, and following the liquidation of Arrows, TWR being the major shareholder of the outfit, followed suit, closing its doors in 2002. TWR Australia was quickly acquired by Holden. The TWR technical centre at Leafield was sold and would later become the headquarters of the now defunct Super Aguri F1 team, and more recently the Caterham team.