Unstoppable - An Opel in Formula 1
06/02/2022
Occasionally, things that at first glance appear to be a stupid joke turn out to be surprisingly correct. Like this Opel Vectra A, which presented itself as a Formula 1 safety car at the Opel meeting in Hoch-Ybrig last Sunday and thus looked as miscast as a Ferrari as a delivery vehicle for a parcel service in view of the 26-year-old AMG permanent occupants. In fact, however, the nova-black Vectra with the bright yellow stickers right down to the wheels was surprisingly true to its historical role model: after the starting accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a brand new Opel Vectra Turbo 4x4 with a sliding roof led the field around the circuit for four laps before being released for the race after the fifth lap.
The unique appearance of an Opel in Formula 1 would be a negligible side note in motorsport history if it did not play a decisive role in a theory about the cause of Ayrton Senna's fatal accident on the seventh lap. Despite its 204 hp, the turbo Vectra was simply not fast enough as the leader of the pack of 800 hp monsters - but at the same time it was too fast for its brakes, which gave up the ghost after just two laps. The forced slow driving caused the temperature in the tires of Senna's Williams to drop, and with it the tire pressure and ground clearance. This is the only reason why he is said to have touched down in the Tamburello corner and lost control - with the familiar consequences.
Whether this was really the case is disputed. However, the Vectra was never allowed to lead a Formula 1 field again. At the Japanese Grand Prix, it was replaced by a Honda Prelude - which, even in its most powerful version, had slightly less power but probably better brakes.
