The Arrows A21 was the car with which the Arrows team competed in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. A completely new design after a disastrous 1999 season, it was quick in a straight line and promising on race day, but too unreliable to convert its speed into a large points haul.
Arrows A21 at a glance
| Team | Arrows Grand Prix International |
|---|---|
| Season | 2000 Formula One World Championship |
| Drivers | Pedro de la Rosa, Jos Verstappen |
| Design | Mike Coughlan and Eghbal Hamidy |
| Engine | revised Supertec V10 |
| Sponsors | Orange, European Aviation |
| Pre-season | lap record in testing at Barcelona |
| Best result | 4th, Italian Grand Prix (Verstappen) |
| Constructors | 7th, 7 points |
| Strength | among the highest straight-line speeds of 2000 |
| Derivative | Arrows AX-3 three-seater (2001) |
Based on one source.
History of the Arrows A21
The A21 was a completely new car, designed by Mike Coughlan and Eghbal Hamidy, who had designed the very similar-looking Stewart SF3. Work started early, as the team switched its focus away from the aged A20, and the new car benefited from a revised Supertec engine and an aerodynamic package with a much lower centre of gravity than its predecessor.
A major injection of sponsorship from the mobile phone company Orange helped fund development through the season. Paul Stoddart’s European Aviation also became a sponsor, providing logistical and transportation support, while Stoddart’s F3000 squad effectively became Arrows’ junior team.
On track the A21 proved promising after the catastrophic 1999 season, but it was too unreliable to score more than a handful of points finishes. Breaking the lap record in pre-season testing at Barcelona confirmed its potential. Pedro de la Rosa looked set for podium finishes at Hockenheim and the A1-Ring, but lost time after a spin at the former and suffered a gearbox failure at the latter.
Jos Verstappen produced a number of impressive performances, including a memorable drive through the field in changeable weather in Canada, and his season culminated in fourth place at Monza. The A21 was noted for consistently having among the highest straight-line speed of any car in 2000. Both drivers enthused about how fast it was, though Verstappen conceded that it was not at its best on high-downforce tracks. The team finished seventh in the Constructors’ Championship with seven points.
The season was also the subject of a television documentary, Racing Arrows, whose 13 episodes followed the team and its drivers and were broadcast by the British channel ITV in 2001. In 2001 one of the A21s was modified into a three-seater, retaining the original V10 engine; the project was designated Arrows AX-3 and was later used for demonstrations, most recently at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.
Design and features
- Revised Supertec V10: a step up from the power unit of the previous season.
- Low centre of gravity: the new aerodynamic package sat noticeably lower than the A20’s.
- Straight-line speed: consistently among the fastest cars of the 2000 field.
- Orange sponsorship: funded development through the season.
- Barcelona lap record: set in pre-season testing, a sign of the car’s potential.
Arrows A21 versions
- Arrows A21 (2000): the standard two-seater Grand Prix car.
- Developed A21: the car updated through the season with Orange-funded parts.
- Arrows AX-3 (2001): a three-seater conversion retaining the V10, used for demonstration runs.
The A21 followed the Arrows A9 of the turbo era and shared the pit lane with the older Arrows A5 in the team’s history. More cars are in the Arrows collection.
Sources
- Arrows A21, English Wikipedia: design, season, results, AX-3
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