Following success in Formula 2, Matra initially intended to power its F1 car with its own V12 engine. However, Ken Tyrrell, who managed the Formula 2 team, was impressed by the Cosworth DFV’s performance in 1967 and persuaded Matra to build a car designed to accommodate this engine. This led to a dual-pronged approach: Matra Sports would run the V12-engined MS11 as a works entry, while Tyrrell would field the V8-engined MS10 under the Matra International banner.
The car’s most innovative feature was its use of aviation-inspired structural fuel tanks. These tanks allowed for a lighter chassis – approximately 15 kg lighter than competitors – while maintaining, or even improving, structural strength.
The Matra MS10 was built around the Cosworth DFV engine. Its most distinctive technical element was the implementation of structural fuel tanks, drawing on techniques used in aviation engineering. These tanks contributed to a significant weight reduction without compromising chassis rigidity.
Jackie Stewart, having raced for Tyrrell’s Formula 2 Matra team, signed to drive for them in Formula 1 for 1968 after two unsuccessful years with BRM. He initially raced the interim MS9 at the South African Grand Prix, qualifying third before retiring due to engine failure. After injuring his wrist in a Formula 2 race at Jarama, Stewart was replaced by Jean-Pierre Beltoise for the Spanish Grand Prix, where Beltoise debuted the MS10, setting the fastest lap and finishing fifth. Beltoise subsequently switched to the works MS11, and Johnny Servoz-Gavin drove the MS10 at the Monaco Grand Prix, before a recovered Stewart took over the car for the remainder of the season.
Throughout the season, the team experimented with aerodynamic devices, specifically front and rear wings. At the Italian and United States Grand Prix, Stewart raced the MS10 with a high, suspension-mounted wing – a design that would later be outlawed following accidents involving Lotus drivers at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. The car was even fitted with two high wings, one at the front and one at the rear suspension, during the 1969 South African Grand Prix. At other races, such as during Stewart’s dominant win at the German Grand Prix, the MS10 was raced with a lower wing configuration. A second MS10 was built and raced by Servoz-Gavin in the later part of the season.
By the end of 1968, Stewart had secured three World Championship race wins and the non-championship International Gold Cup, finishing second in the World Championship. Matra International finished third in the Constructors' Championship. The car continued to race in 1969, securing a win at the South African Grand Prix and a third-place finish at the BRDC International Trophy, before being replaced by the championship-winning Matra MS80.
The FIA considered the MS10’s structural fuel tanks to be unsafe and decided to ban them for the 1970 season, mandating the use of rubber bag-tanks instead.
In 1969, 9 points were scored using the MS10 before it was replaced by the championship-winning Matra MS80. The MS10’s experimentation with aerodynamic wings, though ultimately leading to a ban on high-mounted wings, contributed to the rapid development of aerodynamic devices in Formula One during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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