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The F1 underdog thwarted by its bazooka-seeking owner

Some 30 years on, the story of how an F3000 outfit stepped up to the big leagues and took an F1 podium in its first season is no less dramatic than it was in 1989. But Onyx's initial demise was just as swift - and even more dramatic - as its rise

It's a tale involving a snake, laundry bags stuffed with Belgian francs, a Porsche set on fire in downtown Brussels and the search for a bazooka.

Yet the most remarkable thing about the Onyx squad's maiden season of Formula 1 in 1989 was the success it enjoyed with a car that didn't turn a proper lap prior to the first race weekend. Imagine a team stepping up from Formula 2 today and making it onto the podium in year one after building up its machinery in the pits at Melbourne. Yet Onyx did the equivalent of that just over 30 years ago after making the move from Formula 3000.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.