1993 - Footwork (Arrows)

In the period between Derek leaving and returning to Arrows, the team tried Porsche works engines (failure!) and was sold to the Japanese Footwork concern (the late 80s and early 90s being a time of Japanese obsession with the sport).

1993 saw Derek partnered by Aguri Suzuki, one of the better Japanese Drivers at that time, with Mugen V10 engines (the ex-Honda engine used to great effect by McLaren). Active suspension came during the season via TAG (McLaren), however, the car seemed very inconsistent as Derek's qualifying performances ranged from 7th at Spa and Suzuka (these two circuits representing an excellent barometer of driver skill...) to 22nd at Kyalami. Infact, Derek was on course for some points at Suzuka until he was unceremoniously dumped off the circuit at the final chicane by one Eddie Irvine (Jordan Hart), who on his grand prix debut was proving to be quite a stir... According to Eddie, however, Derek had almost run him off on the previous lap at the 130R corner! Eddie finished his day in 6th place and followed this by being punched by Ayrton Senna for daring to unlap himself during the race...!

Derek hit the headlines at Hockenheim with a spectacular shunt in the Sunday morning warm up. Derek hit a Lola at high speed in treacherous conditions and skated along the track, eventually coming to rest, upside down, in a gravel trap! Derek, as ever, got on with things and raced later that day...

Derek saved one of his best performances of the season for Silverstone to finish 6th with a final points finish in 4th place at the Hungaroring. By the end of 1993 Footwork decided that F1 was no longer viable given a downturn in the Japanese economy - the team (sort of) became Arrows again for 1994 on a substantially reduced budget with no room for Warwick. Younger drivers (preferably with sponsorship) were clearly more attractive. There were some rumours of continuing in 1994 but nothing substantial.

Therefore, at the end of 1993 Warwick bowed out of Formula 1 racing. The dream was over...

My own opinion on the '93 season (courtesy of hindsight...) was that while Derek easily proved that he had the pace to continue in F1, it was always going to be difficult to build Footwork Arrows into a team that could win races - especially within a timescale that Derek could reasonably expect to still be competing at the highest level. That said, he probably would have been very competitive in 1994 following FIA's decision to ban a number of driving aids such as traction control etc...

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