Ligier JS33
| Company type | Racing car |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motorsport |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Formula One car |
The Ligier JS33 was a Formula One car fielded by the Equipe Ligier squad throughout the 1989 Formula One season. Its highest race placement was fifth at the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix. Although the car received a 'B' specification upgrade for the subsequent season, it did not achieve any points finishes.
Development
In 1989, Ligier transitioned from using Judd engines to employing the Cosworth DFR. The JS33's chassis was initially crafted by Michel Beaujon and finalized by Richard Divila. Its design bore similarities to the March 881, sharing the same March gearbox.
The 1990 'B' spec revision involved swapping out the March gearbox for an X-trac unit, modifying the front suspension layout, and achieving weight reduction.
1989 season
Veteran driver René Arnoux continued with Ligier, joined by newcomer Olivier Grouillard. Arnoux encountered difficulties early on, missing qualification in the first two events and only making it onto the grid eight additional times, with a solitary points finish of fifth place in Canada.
Grouillard generally demonstrated stronger performance than Arnoux, securing a best qualifying position of 10th at San Marino; however, he was disqualified from that race due to a technical violation. His top race result was sixth at the French Grand Prix. Grouillard departed from the team after this season. Ligier concluded the year tied for 13th in the Constructors' Championship with three points, marking an improvement over their prior campaign.
1990 season
For the 1990 Formula One campaign, Ligier enlisted Nicola Larini and Philippe Alliot as their drivers. Larini exhibited consistency by completing all but three races, with his best outcomes being back-to-back seventh-place finishes at the Spanish and Japanese Grand Prix. Alliot experienced challenges including exclusion from the opening round because of a mechanic working outside the designated pit area and disqualification at the German Grand Prix after receiving a push start on lap one.
Due to an excess of entrants compared to available grid slots, Ligier was obligated to participate in pre-qualifying starting from the German Grand Prix, as neither driver had earned points by midseason. This requirement was short-lived; following the exit of Onyx, Ligier regained direct access to qualifying sessions as the highest-ranked unseeded team.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (bold signifies pole position; italics denote fastest lap)
| align = "left" | Philippe Alliot | EX | 12 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 18 | 9 | 13 | DSQ | 14 | DNQ | 13 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 11 || Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:F1 | Ligier Loto | JS33 | Ford V8 | Template:Goodyear | BRA | SMR | MON | MEX | USA | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | 3 | 13th | |
| René Arnoux | DNQ | DNQ | 12 | 14 | DNQ | 5 | Ret | DNQ | 11 | DNQ | Ret | 9 | 13 | DNQ | DNQ | Ret | |||||||
| Olivier Grouillard | 9 | DSQ | Ret | 8 | DNQ | DNQ | 6 | 7 | Ret | DNQ | 13 | Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||
| Template:F1 | Equipe Ligier Gitanes | JS33B | USA | BRA | SMR | MON | CAN | MEX | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | ESP | JPN | AUS | 0 | NC | |||
| Nicola Larini | Ret | 11 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 16 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 14 |