RED BULL LEGENDS PARADE 2026: TYRRELL P34B (1977)

The car was given an aerodynamic makeover, becoming wider, heavier and less reliable. And yes, Patrick Depailler made it onto the podium three times, but the Frenchman and the Swede finished only ninth and 14th respectively in the world championship – clear evidence that Tyrrell had problems with the B model. Goodyear was no longer willing to continue development of the special front tyres for just one team, and the quality suffered. The front axle continued to groan under the twin load. In the end, an exceptionally wide track was tried as an experiment. Now sticking much further out, the wheels negated the car’s original aerodynamic advantage. By the end of the season, Derek Gardner’s dream was over and the six-wheeler experiment was declared a failure.

Derek Gardner. Born 1931 in Warwick, he never made it into the Formula 1 Hall of Fame – somewhat unjustly – unlike other legendary designers such as Adrian Newey, Gordon Murray, Colin Chapman and John Barnard. While only active in the premier class for just under eight years, he still managed to create several iconic world championship-winning cars, two of which are here today in the Red Bull Legends Parade. With the six-wheeler, the innovative and courageous designer fulfilled a dream, but Gardner gave up shortly after its failure, leaving the paddock permanently halfway through the 1977 Monza race weekend. He passed away some 40 years after building the prototype of the first world championship-winning Tyrrell at home in the modest confines of his garage.

Ronnie Peterson, Patrick Depailler. These two rank among the most defining characters of the 1970s in grand prix racing: fast, self-assured and simply brilliant. They both won major races and are two of the greatest drivers never to become world champions. They both had fatal accidents while still relatively young, Ronnie in 1978 at Monza and Patrick some two years later at Hockenheim. 

To this day, the P34 in both its variants enjoys cult status and serves us all as an important reminder of Formula 1’s wildest and most innovative years. Along with the Brabham BT 46B which is also here in the Red Bull Legends Parade and which likewise took its one and only victory at Anderstorp in Sweden, it is the world’s most inventive and eye-catching Formula 1 car in terms of looks. Its USP has also made it one of the best-selling model and toy cars of all time. The legendary six-wheeled racing car has outlived its creators and team, while the cars themselves are still the main attraction at shows around the world, thanks in part to new, specially made tyres.

The heir to the world’s largest pasta-making dynasty contested nine Formula 1 races for Minardi in 1989 and 1990 after showing that he was much more than just a ‘pay driver’. Barilla was the overall winner of the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Joest-Porsche 956 with team-mates Klaus Ludwig and Louis Krages (alias John Winter).