Ligier F1 Team

Équipe Ligier (French: [e.kip li.ʒje]) is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. The team was founded in 1968 by French former rugby union player and former Formula One driver Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer.

In 1994, de Rouvre sold the team to Flavio Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw. Other organisations bidded to purchase Ligier, including Alain Prost and a consortium consisting of Hughes de Chaunac and Philippe Streiff, with the support of the similarly Renault-powered Williams F1 team, who intended to turn Ligier into a 'junior' team.

In 1995, Ligier switched from the Renault engines as they had been passed/sold on to the Benetton team, the reason given was because Flavio Briatore had purchased the team and had persuaded Renault to switch the supplies to the defending champions in light of Michael Schumacher testing a Renault-powered Ligier car late into the 1994 season which convinced Renault to support Benetton along with Michael. Ligier's replacement engine supplier was Mugen-Honda, who in previous seasons with Footwork and Lotus did not initially have the best reliability. The switch to Mugen-Honda engines was not without controversy, as the contract was originally intended for the Minardi team. Though the engine was less reliable than the previous Renault engine, the 1995 season turned out to be surprisingly successful for the team while allowing them to score points on a more consistent basis combined with securing 2 podiums for the season, Martin Brundle securing 3rd place at Belgium and Olivier Panis securing 2nd at the last race of the season in Australia.

The Ligier name last appeared in Formula One at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix. Although Ligier was expected to be part of the 1997 season with the Ligier JS45, on 13 February 1997, the team was sold to Alain Prost and became Prost Grand Prix.

Équipe Ligier (French: [e.kip li.ʒje]) is a motorsport team, best known for its Formula One team that operated from 1976 to 1996. The team was founded in 1968 by French former rugby union player and former Formula One driver Guy Ligier as a sports car manufacturer.

In 1994, de Rouvre sold the team to Flavio Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw. Other organisations bidded to purchase Ligier, including Alain Prost and a consortium consisting of Hughes de Chaunac and Philippe Streiff, with the support of the similarly Renault-powered Williams F1 team, who intended to turn Ligier into a 'junior' team.

In 1995, Ligier switched from the Renault engines as they had been passed/sold on to the Benetton team, the reason given was because Flavio Briatore had purchased the team and had persuaded Renault to switch the supplies to the defending champions in light of Michael Schumacher testing a Renault-powered Ligier car late into the 1994 season which convinced Renault to support Benetton along with Michael. Ligier's replacement engine supplier was Mugen-Honda, who in previous seasons with Footwork and Lotus did not initially have the best reliability. The switch to Mugen-Honda engines was not without controversy, as the contract was originally intended for the Minardi team. Though the engine was less reliable than the previous Renault engine, the 1995 season turned out to be surprisingly successful for the team while allowing them to score points on a more consistent basis combined with securing 2 podiums for the season, Martin Brundle securing 3rd place at Belgium and Olivier Panis securing 2nd at the last race of the season in Australia.

The Ligier name last appeared in Formula One at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix. Although Ligier was expected to be part of the 1997 season with the Ligier JS45, on 13 February 1997, the team was sold to Alain Prost and became Prost Grand Prix.