Hesketh Racing was named after Lord Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, the 3rd Baron Hesketh, who founded the team in the 1970s.

Hesketh Racing was a Formula One constructor from the United Kingdom, which competed from 1973 to 1978. The team competed in 52 World Championship Grands Prix, winning one and achieving eight further podium finishes. Its best placing in the World Constructors' Championship was fourth in 1975.

Hesketh gave James Hunt his Formula One debut, and he brought the team most of its success. Alan Jones also began his Formula One career in a privately entered Hesketh.

The Hesketh team had a growing reputation for their playboy style, arriving at races in Rolls-Royce cars, drinking champagne regardless of their results, and checking the entire team into five-star hotels.

 

Headquarters; Easton Neston, United Kingdom, 1973-1978

308

The Hesketh 308 and its derived sister model the 308B are Formula One racing cars designed by Harvey Postlethwaite for Hesketh Racing to compete in the 1974 and 1975 World Championships. The car gave James Hunt his first World Championship Grand Prix win in the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

The 308 replaced the ageing March 731 chassis that the team had been using since coming into Formula 1 the previous season, and was loosely based on the March design.

It was powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFV and when the car was first launched featured conventional front suspension comprising double wishbones with outboard mounted coil-spring damper units.

Originally, Lord Hesketh had plans to fund and have built a V12 engine to accompany the car, but this never came to pass, and the DFV V8 was used exclusively. Four chassis were built over the three seasons the car competed.

For 1975 the 308 was updated to 308B specifications, with revised bodywork and repositioned oil radiators. The car was even more competitive and Hunt challenged for the victory in Argentina and Brazil before he broke his and the team's duck at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix. It would be the team's only win however.

The team folded at the end of the season as Hesketh could not afford to keep financing his unsponsored team, and Hunt moved to McLaren for 1976.

brett lunger

1975

cosworth dfv V8 NA 2993 cc 

watkins glen international

Hesketh 308 1975

308d

The Hesketh 308 and its derived sister model the 308B are Formula One racing cars designed by Harvey Postlethwaite for Hesketh Racing to compete in the 1974 and 1975 World Championships.

The car gave James Hunt his first World Championship Grand Prix win in the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Originally, Lord Hesketh had plans to fund and have built a V12 engine to accompany the car, but this never came to pass, and the DFV V8 was used exclusively. Four chassis were built over the three seasons the car competed.

The Hesketh 308D was based on the Hesketh 308, originally designed by Harvey Postlethwaite, and was powered by a 3-litre V8 Ford Cosworth DFV engine.

Anthony 'Bubbles' Horsley updated the 308 to the 308D to continue as Hesketh Racing after Postlethwaite moved to Walter Wolf Racing. Nigel Stroud was team chief engineer and Harald Ertl was signed to drive the 308D for the 1976 season, with the team being sponsored by Penthouse and Rizla. Guy Edwards joined in a second 308D car from the Belgian Grand Prix, and Alex Ribeiro brought in some funds later in the year.

The team scored no World Championship points in 1976, with Ertl's 7th place at the British Grand Prix being the team's best result of the year.

alex ribeiro

1976

3-litre V8 ford cosworth dfv

watkins glen

Hesketh 308D 1976 - YouTube

1973-1978