ATS F1

1977 to 1984 Formula One constructor team

ATS, the Wheel Maker's Racing Team

Günter Schmid's German wheel company ran its own Formula One team from 1977 to 1984, ending with BMW turbo power and a young Gerhard Berger.

ATS is a German maker of alloy wheels, founded by Günter Schmid and based in Bad Dürkheim near Hockenheim. Schmid entered Formula One in 1977 by buying the remaining Penske cars, and Jean Pierre Jarier finished sixth on the team's debut at Long Beach. From 1978 ATS built its own cars, starting with a design by Robin Herd, and drivers came and went quickly, among them Jochen Mass, Keke Rosberg and Hans Joachim Stuck.

Its best results were fifth places for Stuck in the United States in 1979 and for Manfred Winkelhock and Eliseo Salazar in Brazil and at San Marino in 1982. ATS cars started 89 Grands Prix from 1978 to 1984, the last two seasons with BMW turbo engines, and Gerhard Berger made his debut with the team in 1984. When BMW withdrew its engines, Schmid closed the team, and he later returned with Rial.

Drivers

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