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Harvey Postlethwaite | |
|---|---|
 Postlethwaite in the late 1990s | |
| Born | (1944-03-04)4 March 1944 Barnet, England |
| Died | 15 April 1999(1999-04-15) (aged 55) Barcelona, Spain |
| Education | Royal Masonic School for Boys |
| Alma mater | University of Birmingham |
| Occupation(s) | Aerodynamicist, engineer,Technical Director |
| Known for | Scuderia Ferrari,Tyrrell,Hesketh,HondaF1 project. |
| Spouse | Cherry Postlethwaite |
| Children | 2 |
Harvey Ernest Postlethwaite (4 March 1944 – 15 April 1999) was a British engineer and Technical Director of severalFormula One teams during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He died of a heart attack in Spain while supervising the testing of the abortedHonda F1 project.
After leaving theRoyal Masonic School for Boys, Harvey Postlethwaite attended theUniversity of Birmingham, England to study mechanical engineering and graduated, with a BSc and then a doctorate, during the 1960s. He was a keen follower ofmotor sport, competing in a Mallock at club level for a while. After graduation Postlethwaite joinedICI as a research scientist, but bored by this he soon began to pursue a career as a race car engineer, joiningMarch in 1970, then aged just 26. Postlethwaite worked on the fledgling company'sFormula 2 andFormula 3 cars but was lured away to join theHeskethFormula One team who were a March customer. The Hesketh team was well known for an unconventional approach to Formula One—Postlethwaite was himself considered 'eccentric':
Working to modify and improve the novice team'sMarch731 chassis, Postlethwaite elevated the team into serious contention and the following year designed the team's car from scratch. 'Doc' Postlethwaite's1974Hesketh 308 secured a number of podium positions. The following year he further developed the car's unusual rubber spring suspension and saw his creation take victory at theDutch Grand Prix in the hands ofJames Hunt.
By1976Lord Hesketh could no longer afford to run the team and sold out. Postlethwaite went with his cars to the newly foundedWolf–Williams Racing, headed byWalter Wolf andFrank Williams, but the results were poor and the owners soon went their separate ways. Postlethwaite remained withWolf, designing the team's1977 challenger, theWR1.
Success was immediate withJody Scheckter taking victory at the season's opening race. Two more wins and a number of podium results followed and Scheckter eventually finished second in the Drivers' Championship.
Although Postlethwaite remained with the team until1979 they were never to repeat their1977 success. When Walter Wolf closed the team down at the end of 1979 he transferred, along with the Wolf cars and driverKeke Rosberg to theFittipaldi Automotive team. He produced a new design, theF8, for the latter half of 1980 but left to joinFerrari in early 1981. At the time the Italian team were considered amongst the best engine and gearbox builders in the sport, but amongst the worst chassis designers. Postlethwaite was selected personally byEnzo Ferrari to rectify this problem and by the following year everything was in place for success.
The1982126C2 Ferrari took the Constructors' title despite several serious setbacks, including the practice crash atZolder which claimed the life ofGilles Villeneuve. Despite the loss of their inspirational Canadian driver, Postlethwaite's updated design, the 126C2B, took the Constructors' title again in1983.
Postlethwaite remained with Ferrari until1987. After 1983 his cars took several more wins, but were unable to compete withMcLaren andWilliams for title victory. He was eventually replaced byJohn Barnard and moved toTyrrell, where he worked for four years. During his tenure as technical director Tyrrell's results improved noticeably, culminating in the1990 season opener inPhoenix, whereJean Alesi was able to challengeAyrton Senna's McLaren for victory and finished second in a Tyrrell 018. Alesi repeated the feat in Postlethwaite's novel019 – the first of the 'high nose' Formula One cars – atMonaco. At the car's launch Postlethwaite proved the structural integrity of its unusual front 'gull wing' by standing on it. While at Tyrrell Postlethwaite employedMike Gascoyne, who became his assistant and protégé.
In 1991, Postlethwaite was signed as technical director of theSauber team who planned to enter Formula One in1993. Taking Gascoyne with him, Postlethwaite relocated toSwitzerland and designed the team's first car. Despite leaving Sauber before the start of 1993, the designer's car went on to considerable success in the hands ofJJ Lehto andKarl Wendlinger regularly scoring points.
Postlethwaite moved back to Tyrrell in 1994 where he remained until1998 when the team was sold to becomeBritish American Racing. Although by the late 1980s and 1990s Tyrrell was a small, and largely uncompetitive team, the designer remained well respected within the sport and was hired as technical director of the abortive in-houseHonda F1 project in 1999. Although Honda had not committed to race in Formula One the project produced an evaluation car, designed by Postlethwaite and built byDallara, and it was during testing of this car atBarcelona in Spain that he suffered a fatal heart attack. The project was subsequently discontinued, although Honda began supplying engines again from the2000 season onwards, eventually taking over theBAR team for2006.
Postlethwaite was married to Cherry, with whom he had two children.[2]
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