Simon Fish in a1980, Ensign N180, exiting the pits, for the start of the FIA Masters Historic F1 Race at the Silverstone Classic
Ensign was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They participated in 133 grands prix, entering a total of 155 cars. Ensign scored 19 championship points and no podium finishes. The best result was a 4th place at the 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix by Marc Surer, who also took fastest lap of the race. Ensign was founded by Morris Nunn who also carried out design duties during the first two seasons of the team's existence. Nunn would later go on to be a prominent chief engineer in the American-based Champ Car series, winning championships with drivers Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya in the late 1990s. Finished in the attractive Unipart colours of red, white and blue, the first N180 was entrusted to Clay Regazzoni. The car showed potential but a massive accident in the fourth Grand Prix of the year, at Long Beach, sadly left Regazzoni paralysed. For the remainder of the season, the team then used a succession of drivers with limited success. Tiff Needell drove an N180 twice before Jan Lammers took over for the remainder of the season with a 12th the best result. In the Dutch and Italian Grands Prix Geoff Lees drove a second N180. Despite the ultimately disappointing results in 1980, the team still believed in the same basic design and the car evolved into the N180B for the 1981 season. Marc Surer piloted this car in the first six rounds of the season, scoring excellent fourth and sixth place finishes. During the remaining rounds, Eliseo Salazar was Ensign's designated driver and he added a further point to the team's tally by finishing sixth in the Dutch Grand Prix. For the 1982 season, the thoroughly upgraded N181 was developed by Bennett alone. It made extensive use of carbon-fibre composites to further strengthen the chassis. The new Ensign finished only once, a lowly eighth, in what was the team's final season. As such the, N180 and its 1981 evolution was the last ever Ensign to score a World Championship point.
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1, 1980, 2016, british, car, circuit, classic, clay, competition, constructor, driver, drivers, eliseo, ensign, f1, fia, fish, formula, front, geoff, helmet, historic, international, jan, lammers, lane, lees, masters, morris, motorsport, n180, needell, nunn, pit, pits, race, rear, regazzoni, salazar, silverstone, simon, tiff, tyres, wheels, wing
