Ligier JS41
| Industry | Motorsport, Formula One team |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1969 |
| Founder | Guy Ligier |
Key people | Frank Dernie (designer), Flavio Briatore (former partial owner), Tom Walkinshaw (former owner) |
| Products | Formula One cars |
| Parent | None |
The Ligier JS41 was a Formula One vehicle crafted by Frank Dernie for the Ligier squad competing in the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Its propulsion came from the 3-litre Mugen-Honda MF-301 V10 power unit. The car bearing number 26 was piloted by French racer Olivier Panis, while the number 25 was alternated between British driver Martin Brundle and Japanese competitor Aguri Suzuki. Frenchman Franck Lagorce fulfilled the role of test driver.
The design of the JS41 bore a strong resemblance to the Benetton B195. Early in 1995, Ligier was partially owned by Benetton's director Flavio Briatore, who redirected the Renault engines, previously used by Ligier for three seasons, to Benetton and arranged for Ligier to receive Mugen engines instead of those from Minardi. During that season, Briatore divested his stake to Benetton's engineering chief, Tom Walkinshaw. This strategic realignment resulted in the JS41 becoming one of Ligier’s most formidable cars in recent memory, allowing both Brundle and Panis to regularly accumulate championship points.
Sponsorship and livery
The JS41 sported a fresh dark blue color scheme, retaining Gitanes as its principal sponsor. At the British and German events, the Gitanes logos were replaced with barcode imagery. Meanwhile, at the French Grand Prix, the familiar 'gypsy woman' emblem was swapped out for a male figure accompanied by a French flag and the word "Ligier."
Later use
One chassis of the JS41 was procured by Bridgestone to conduct tyre testing prior to their inaugural participation in Formula One.
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pts. | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:F1 | Ligier Gitanes Blondes | Mugen Honda MF-301h V10 |
Template:Goodyear | BRA | ARG | SMR | ESP | MON | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | POR | EUR | PAC | JPN | AUS | 24 | 5th | |
| Aguri Suzuki | 8 | Ret | 11 | 6 | Ret | DNS | |||||||||||||||||
| Martin Brundle | 9 | Ret | 10* | 4 | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | 8 | 7 | Ret | ||||||||||||
| Olivier Panis | Ret | 7 | 9 | 6 | Ret | 4 | 8 | 4 | Ret | 6 | 9 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 5 | 2 |