About the Car
Brabham BT52 is the 1983 F1 season championship winning car. Driven by Ricardo Patrese and champion Nelson Piquet.
It was the first turbocharged F1 car to help a driver win a championship. Its power and torque figures were also a mystery. It varied between qualifying and race configurations, because regulations did not limit engine changes. So teams were able to push an engine for a couple laps in qualifying.
Practically unlimited engine power meant that the BT52 ran at high boost pressures. In later seasons the same BMW engine would produce upwards of 1300 horsepower - this figure seems to increase everytime you search for it so take it with a grain of salt. As always with turbocharged F1 cars they were run with limited boost pressures in race conditions and would be a compromise between pace, reliability and fuel consumption.
The BT52's sidepod design is unique. Starting behind the driver unlike in the previous 82 season where the car appeared much wider - a trademark of the ground effect era. As ground effect was banned in 1983, constructors had to completely rethink their approach to aerodynamics.