Race and classic pictures

When Uncle Ken decided to call it a day

It was on this day in 1997 that Ken Tyrrell decided it was time to depart Formula 1, the legendary team owner selling his eponymous team.

Tyrrell Racing had been a fixture of the world championship for over three decades. It made its maiden appearance at the 1966 German Grand Prix with drivers Jacky Ickx and Hubert Hahne and embarked on its first full season in 1968.

Jackie Stewart spearheaded the campaign and claimed three wins that year and they went on to win the drivers and constructors championships in 1971 which saw Stewart win six of the 11 races. He stayed with the team until 1973. Stewart went on to win two more titles while the team was runner-up in the following two seasons, and third in 1974 and 1976.

However by the end of 1997 Ken Tyrrell had decided it was time to call it a day. The Tyrrell F1 team was sold to British American Tobacco and Craig Pollock to create British American Racing, with the news breaking on December 2.

At the time Tyrrell called it "the most difficult decision I've ever had to take."

But his legacy in the sport has been upheld by those who took on Tyrrell's competitive spirit: after BAR, the team evolved into Honda, then the 2009 championship-winning Brawn GP, and finally its current iteration as the record-breaking Mercedes squad.

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.