Pacific Racing was a British squad making its debut as a Formula One constructor in 1994. The team's name gave the car its designation: "PR" for Pacific Racing and "01" as the first entry. Pacific lacked a single primary sponsor throughout the season; the sidepods carried several different commercial names at various rounds, including Ursus.
Despite the car's engine being supplied by Ilmor — a company with Mercedes connections — the team could not escape the financial constraints that plagued many small new entrants to Formula One during this period.
The PR01's aerodynamic concept was rooted in work conducted by Reynard for a stillborn 1992 project. When Reynard concluded that car would not be ready in time, it sold the Enstone factory and entire programme to Benetton and the aerodynamic research data to Ligier and Pacific. Several experienced personnel were involved in the project, including Rory Byrne, who at that time had recently departed Benetton.
Pacific refined the Reynard aerodynamic data with what the team described as best-guess aero work, as the PR01 received none of the wind tunnel testing ordinarily required to develop a Formula One car. Track mileage prior to competition was also limited to only a few dozen miles. The lack of proper development meant the car carried fundamental aerodynamic problems that were never fully resolved. Planned major modifications after the accident at Imola did not materialise. The team did carry out some suspension modifications during the year and also introduced a low nose variant, but neither intervention was sufficient to bring the car into contention.
The PR01 was powered by a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V10 engine from Ilmor. The unit was approximately two years old by the time the 1994 season began, leaving it significantly underpowered relative to the leading cars. No upgrades were made to the engine across the season.
The PR01 competed at all sixteen rounds of the 1994 season, but both Belmondo and Gachot failed to pre-qualify or qualify on the majority of occasions. At the opening round in Brazil, Belmondo failed to qualify while Gachot made the grid but retired with an accident. Both drivers failed to qualify in Aida. Gachot qualified at Imola and reached the race before an oil-pressure problem ended his run.
Belmondo and Gachot both qualified at the Spanish and Monaco rounds — the only two races in which Belmondo made the starting grid. At the Canadian Grand Prix, Gachot qualified but was again struck by an oil-pressure failure. After Canada, neither driver qualified for any of the remaining ten races of the season. The team considered withdrawing from the championship to concentrate resources on developing their successor chassis, the PR02, but declined to do so as withdrawal would have incurred a significant financial penalty from the governing body.
The Pacific PR01 stands as an example of a Formula One project launched without the financial foundation needed to survive. Its origins in a Reynard project, the aerodynamic compromises forced by a lack of proper testing, and the protracted gestation that left the car a year out of date before racing combined to produce a car that was simply unable to compete. The team withdrew from Formula One at the end of the 1995 season after a second year with its successor, the PR02.