As there are over 650 Unraced F1 projects from the period 1885 – 2020 I decided before to publish articles of unraced projects per year. This is easier for you to see which attempts happened a specific year. Of course, it is easier for me as well as researching and writing an article takes a lot of time, which I don’t always have. If you are interested in one of the summarized attempts perhaps, I can give you more info about it. This is the summarized overview of the Unraced projects in 2005.
BAR 007B
In 2006 the Formula 1 was only te be raced with V8 engines, this meant that most of the teams gave up one of their 2005 cars to be fitted with the V8 engine. In the late season BAR came with the 007B, which was fitted with the Honda RA806E V8 engine for the 2006 season. Anthony Davidson was the main test driver for this car.
Ferrari F2004M-V8
The Scuderia used one of the F2004 cars, from 2004, to be fitted with their new V8 engine for the 2006 season. Ferrari already started testing with their V8 engine in the summer of 2005. Which meant they were far ahead on some other companies at that time. Marc Gene did most of the testing at Vallelunga and Fiorano with the F2004M-V8.
Irvine Racing – Minardi
Eddie Irvine retired from the Formula One at the end of the 2002 season. During the Monaco Grand Prix of 2005 the rumours appeared that Eddie Jordan was to place a bid on the Jordan Grand Prix Team. The team he drove for in the past. The deal did not pass as the team asked for much more money.
Irvine Racing – Jordan
Only a few months later at Hockenheim Eddie Irvine was linked to make a bid on the Small Italian team Minardi. Paul Stoddart confirmed towards the media that he and Eddie Irvine were in speaking terms regarding to the sell-out of Minardi. The only problem was, that he had to pay 20million dollar as deposit before serious talks could be held. The Russian billionaire Roustam Tariko backed Irvine. Eventually Red Bull acquired Minardi. Rebranding it to Toro Rosso.
Jordan-Toyota EJ15B-V8
At the time Jordan was ready to test the Toyota V8 engine the team, the name changed to Midland F1. In 2006, the Toyota V8 engine would power the Midland MF1. Besides testing the engine it was also used to proof the restricted Cosworth V10 engine had more power than the V8 engines. The team was wrong in that.
McLaren-Mercedes MP4-20B
McLaren was one of the first teams that already tested with the 2006 engines in the summer of 2005. Like Ferrari, McLaren had an advantage on the engine. The car had the known orange test livery of McLaren. Pedro de la Rosa mostly tested with the MP4-20B.
Preston Racing
Preston Racing was the only rumoured new team in the Formula One. The Australian Mark Preston told several media outlets that he was working on a Formula One debut. To set up his own team, and to arrive on 2005 or 2006 on the grid already. Preston used to work for the folded Arrows F1 Team, and later worked for the McLaren team. Mark told the media that it would be a challenge to secure the amount of money needed. However, there was already interest in the team. As well, he looked for an empty F1 facility in Leafield. The only place was the former Arrows place. Which was from Menard Engineering Ltd.
Sauber-BMW C24B
The Sauber-BMW C24B was the first BMW car to appear on the track. The Sauber C24B was fitted with the BMW V8 engine. In first instance, Nick Heidfeld only used the car, as he would be one of the drivers. Later Jacques Villeneuve tested with the car as well, when he continued his contract with the team.
Toyota TF105.5
was the test car for the Toyota team in 2005 to test their new V8 engine. The car only did some testing as their 2006 challenger was already completed.
Williams-BMW FW27B
The Williams BMW FW27B was the car, which would be fitted with the BMW V8 engine. As far as I know Williams had the option on the BMW engine in 2006. However, BMW decided to take over the Sauber F1 Team. Which made the Williams-BMW FW27B unwanted. Priaulx and Pizzionia.
Williams-Cosworth FW27C
The Williams-Cosworth FW27C was fitted with the Cosworth V8 engine. Which the team would use during the 2006 season. The car was tested many times during the pre-season testing and winter testing.
