Former Formula One racing driver and engineer, Brian Hart, has died at the age of 77 after a long battle with illness.
Hart is well known for having built engines for the likes of Jordan and Toleman.
Starting his racing career in 1957, Brian Hart enjoyed great success in single seater racing even and qualified for the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in 1967 – his sole outing in F1. He retired from racing in 1971 after starting his own company, originally preparing Ford engines for F2 cars before developing his own engine for Toleman’s F2 team.
Following a one-two in the 1980 European F2 championship, Toleman graduated – along with Hart – in to Formula One. With their limited budget the opening seasons were a struggle, but by 1984 Hart was also supplying engines to Spirit and RAM.
Their engine secured its first podium finish at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix when Ayrton Senna finished second for Toleman.
More podiums followed and 1985 saw Toleman’s Teo Fabi take the first pole position for the pairing, but a year later Hart dropped out of Formula One, not able to compete with the large budgets available to the likes of larger engine manufacturers like Honda and Renault.
In 1993 Hart returned to F1 with Jordan and enjoyed a podium a year later at the Pacific Grand Prix with Ruben Barichello while the Brazilian driver also claimed a pole position in Belgium.
When Jordan then opted for Peugeot engines, Hart supplied Footwork – yielding a podium at Adelaide in 1995. Tom Walkinshaw Racing bought the engine company in 1997 and Brian Hart left TWR in 1999 after deciding to quit F1.
