A preview of Tyrrell's 1997 Grand Prix season can comfortably carry the lead "And then, there was one ..."

Italy has Ferrari as its bastion in F1. For 1997, England sends Team Tyrrell into the fray for its thirtieth season in the Grand Prix wars. Ferrari draws its heritage back to pre-war days, when Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Auto Union and Mercedes built their challengers from scratch for love of the sport, national pride and the glory of the marque. Tyrrell is the original "garagiste". It is the first constructor solely dedicated to the production of F1 cars. Unlike its cousins - Cooper, Lotus, Brabham, McLaren and March - Tyrrell never produced a chassis for the junior formulae. Their 001 was F1's first Cosworth kit-car, and won the World Championship for Jackie Stewart in 1971. An excellent follow-up to the Stewart/Tyrrell 1969 championship success with the Matra MS80-Ford. In its first five years of Grand Prix competition, Team Tyrrell won 27 races (26 with JYS, 1 with Cevert) and three World Championships.

After Jackie Stewart's retirement, the story becomes quite different. One which must make for a very haunting tale around the post-Schumacher Benetton campfire. In its last 24 years of Grand Prix competition, Tyrrell has scored exactly five wins. Never more than one in a single season, none since 1983 and none without Cosworth DFV power.

Tyrrell has acquired engine deals with Renault, Honda and Yamaha, failed to deliver results, and had to revert to "customer Cosworth-Ford's." Tyrrell has enjoyed title sponsorship from Elf, First National City Traveler's Checks, Candy Electro-Domestici, Benetton, Data General, Braun and Nokia, only to lose each and in the interim carry the colors of "Tyrrell Blue." Tyrrell's have been piloted by the likes of Depallier, Pironi, Cheever, Bellof, Brundle, Alesi, Modena, Blundell and Salo. Tyrrell has accomodated paying journeymen the likes of Sullivan and Nakajima. After the Stewart era, only one Tyrrell driver, Scheckter, has gone on to win the World Championship. Only two, Peterson and Alboreto, have gone on to challenge for a Championship each finishing second.

For 1997, Tyrrell returns to a familiar formula. It will run customer Cosworths, without title sponsorship, driven by Mika Salo, an unproven, though promising talent and Ukyo Katayama, a paying journeyman with adequate skills. For the second time in its history, Tyrrell will arrive at the first race of the season as the weakest team in the field. The previous occasion - 1984 - ended ignominiously with the team excluded from the championship for adding lead pellets to its fuel, allowing its DFV powered cars to run underweight for the majority of the race distance against the vastly more powerful turbo opposition. Tyrrell, the first of the "kit-car" teams, is now the last.

Arrows is bulking up to be a major player under Tom Walkinshaw. Minardi, part-owned by Flavio Briatore, is to run Hart engines. Sauber has secured "cavalini rampanti." Stewart will come aboard with factory Fords. Lola will run its own Al Melling V-10's. Forti is likely to remain dormant. This leaves Tyrrell as the sole entrant with customer V-8's.

Team Tyrrell has survived fallow years thanks to a group of private backers and, one suspects, FOCA benefits in part tied to the "historical value" of the name. With all good will in the world, 1997 stands to be another. Long-time F1 fans are as comforted by the participation of Ken Tyrrell and the second oldest team in the Championship, as they are by the participation of the first, Ferrari. It is said, F1 would not be F1 without Ferrari. What would it be without Tyrrell? A question to ponder this season while watching the scrum at the front of the field and the roller-coaster ride of the mid-fielders.