Tyrrell won the 1971 championship with a team of 19 people – in total. The list of employees included Ken, his wife Norah (secretary/timekeeper/lap scorer) and Eric Baker (accountant). The rest, from Derek Gardner (design director) to Robin Coleman (transporter driver and racing mechanic), had done all that was necessary to build and run cars capable of winning seven of the 11 grands prix.
The final victory at Watkins Glen had been important for two reasons: a $267,000 prize fund made the US GP the richest by far in F1; and a maiden win for François Cevert not only earned Tyrrell $50,000 but also signalled the Frenchman’s continuing rise as a serious contender.
The competitiveness of Elf Team Tyrrell might have seemed set to continue through 1972, but its fifth season of Formula 1 would fail to meet the high expectations generated with such apparent ease by the previous four. In fact, it was so poor by comparison that 32-year-old Jackie Stewart would be written off as having passed his best. The Scotsman had indeed lost his edge – but not because of the ageing process.
As a sign of only 12 grands prix on the calendar, Stewart had been able to accept a drive with Carl Haas in the CanAm series to go along with a hectic round of commercial appearances. Ken Tyrrell chose not to veto this decision so long as the relentless transatlantic commute didn’t affect his driver’s performance. But, unknown to Jackie, that’s exactly what was happening.
The most obvious and surprising indication of
