Arrows A20

Arrows A20

250px
Category	Formula One
Constructor	Arrows
Designer(s)	Mike Coughlan Eghbal Hamedy
Predecessor	A19
Successor	A21
Technical specifications
Chassis	Moulded carbon fibre composite structure
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, pushrod
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, pushrod
Engine	Arrows, 72-degree V10
Transmission	Arrows carbon-fibre six-speed longitudinal semi-automatic
Fuel	Repsol
Tyres	Bridgestone
Competition history
Notable entrants	Arrows
Notable drivers	14. Pedro de la Rosa 15. Toranosuke Takagi
Debut	1999 Australian Grand Prix
Races Wins Poles F.Laps 16 0 0 0
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	0

The Arrows A20 was the car with which the Arrows Formula One team competed in the 1999 Formula One season. It was driven by Pedro de la Rosa, a Spanish débutant, and Japan's Toranosuke Takagi, who moved from the defunct Tyrrell team.

The team was short of funds with the lack of a major sponsor (Danka's sponsorship having ended at the end of 1998) and the chassis was a development of the A19, which had not been too competitive itself. Engine builder Brian Hart supplied in-house engines, but it became clear that his small resources were insufficient to compete in modern F1, and he left the team after an ownership dispute with Tom Walkinshaw.

At the start of the year a colourful Nigerian prince, Malik ado Ibrahim, bought a 25% shareholding in the team, and his T-Minus brand appeared on the cars for most of the year. However, he too could not provide sufficient funding. The idea behind the T-Minus brand was that companies and corporations would purchase the rights to use the name and they would be permitted to use the brand to promote their products. Malik stated that he had intentions to use the brand in conjunction with Lamborghini but a deal never pulled through. An Arrows employee of the time stated 'The T-Minus brand has bought in absolutely no money over the year' and carried on stating 'It was simply a dream in the Prince's head and nothing materialised.'

The year proved to be a disaster, as the cars were slow and unreliable, and the team ended up battling with Minardi at the back of the grid. Its only competitive showing came in the opening race of the season at Melbourne, where de la Rosa finished sixth for a point on his début, with Takagi one place back in seventh. Only this point, and newcomer BAR's poor finishing record, kept Arrows from finishing last in the Constructors' standings.

While de la Rosa proved promising, Takagi struggled with communication issues as he could not speak English at the time and left at the end of the season; he was replaced for 2000 by Jos Verstappen.

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
1999	Arrows	Arrows V10	B		AUS	BRA	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	EUR	MAL	JPN	1	9th
				Pedro de la Rosa	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	15	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	13
				Toranosuke Takagi	7	8	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	DSQ	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret

References

• AUTOCOURSE 1999-2000, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1999) ISBN 1-874557-34-9