Shadow DN9
Formula One racing car
The Shadow DN9 was a Formula One car used by the Shadow team during the 1978 and 1979 Formula One seasons. It is most famous for having been copied by the new Arrows team for their FA1. Arrows, formed by a disgruntled group of Shadow's staffers, were in the end prohibited from using the design.
01Development
The DN9 was developed by Tony Southgate, returning to Shadow from Team Lotus. After racing the last three-quarters of the 1978 season, it returned for 1979. A new sponsor (Holland's Samson shag tobacco) necessitated a new paintjob and a series of wind tunnel tests and subsequent aerodynamic improvements were carried out. New side skirts were introduced, helping to lower drag while doubling downforce.
02Racing history
The DN9 was introduced at the 1978 Long Beach Grand Prix for first driver Hans-Joachim Stuck's use, although he did not start the race. Second driver Clay Regazzoni got the new car for the race after (Monaco). Hawaiian driver Danny Ongais was also entered twice, by Interscope Racing, but failed pre-qualifying on both occasions. Ongais also tested at Silverstone, where he went faster than Lammers who was to become Shadow's second driver in 1979.
A disappointing 1978 meant using drivers of a lower caliber for 1979, with rookie drivers Elio de Angelis and Jan Lammers scoring only once, with de Angelis' surprise fourth place in the car's last race at the rainy 1979 United States Grand Prix. Interscope Racing, the privateer who had twice entered a DN9 in 1978, was the team fielding de Angelis, Shadow's de facto first driver. The choice of Dutchman Lammers was tied to the Shadows team's main sponsor, the Dutch Samson shag tobacco company.
03Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant(s) | Engine(s) | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Villiger Shadow | Ford V8 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | MON | BEL | ESP | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | 6* | 11th | |
| Hans-Joachim Stuck | DNS | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | 11 | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||||
| Clay Regazzoni | DNQ | Ret | 15 | 5 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | NC | DNQ | NC | 14 | DNQ | ||||||||||
| Interscope Racing | Danny Ongais | DNPQ | DNPQ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1979 | Samson Shadow Racing | Ford V8 | G | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | BEL | MON | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | NED | ITA | CAN | USA | 3 | 10th | ||
| Jan Lammers | Ret | 14 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 10 | DNQ | 18 | 11 | 10 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | 9 | DNQ | |||||||
| Shadow Racing | Elio de Angelis | 7 | 12 | Ret | 7 | Ret | Ret | DNQ | 16 | 12 | 11 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 |
* 2 points scored in 1978 was with the DN8
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Shadow DN9”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Elio de Angelis - Shadow DN9B at Druids Bend at the 1979 Race of Champions (50140833091).jpg by Martin Lee from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Shadow DN9 2008 Silverstone Classic (cropped).jpg by Russell Whitworth, CC BY-SA 2.0
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