Worst Team In F1 History

[Andrew Kitson]

Yep, them too but they have done it fairly quietly in comparison, no egg on faces. Remember all the glitz at the BAR launch and Adrian Reynard saying they will win in their first year?

[Chatters]

I think Colini (was it Colini? The team with the yellow cars in the late 80s/early 90s) would rate up there too, for sheer lack of performance and bad ideas.

[bauble]

Andrew. the thread is about GP cars not WC particularly, so I still claim the Pearce Martin (for, which thanks, ensign 14) Unless the Inter Trophy was not for F1 cars!

[bauble]

Say Kipper, if Sassetti was 'big in footware', what size would that have been?

[Alan Raine]

Others I have thought of are:

Maki, a Japanese effort that was a bit of a disaster.

Token, which was a nice looking machine, but didn't get very far.

Chris Amons own effort had potential but did very little.

Techno who were very good in F2, were pretty poor in F1.

Lyncar also built an F1, but was very short lived.

I think the biggest problem with all these teams is that the were trying to race on a shoestring, which isn't the way to go F1.

Lolas effort has been mentioned, but I think they were stuffed by the sponsor Mastercard and never really stood a chance.

My vote has to go Life - weren't they going to develop a W9 engine!!!????

As aside one of the Forte Corses is being used at a Racing Drivers School in UK

[kipper]

Originally Posted by bauble

Say Kipper, if Sassetti was 'big in footware', what size would that have been?

Never mind, I knew what I meant.

Originally Posted by Alan Raine

Maki, a Japanese effort that was a bit of a disaster

I have read that Jan Lammers tested a restored Maki a few years back and thought that the car was fundamentally OK, but needed substantially more development than the what the team could afford.

[TimD]

Originally Posted by Rob29

Worst must be an italian device called a Dwya which I think failed to quaify for a Aurora F1 race.-never entered a WC race.

Spooky - just this morning I picked up an entry list and found myself wondering "what on earth is a Dwya?"

Never heard of the thing before, and now it comes up again in this thread. Has anyone got anything else on it?

[ss_collins]

Lola built cars in 1995 and 1997 (see chassis history section).

The 1997 effort was not stuffed by Mastercard really though that is the commonly held belief, but that is another story that will be told in the not too distant future

DAMS-Reynard of 1995 looked pretty ropey but never attempted to race the GD-01 though its gearbox ended up in the '95 minardi and the '96 Dome.


Scalabroni's Asiatech never made it beyond a windtunnel.

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by kipper

I have read that Jan Lammers tested a restored Maki a few years back and thought that the car was fundamentally OK, but needed substantially more development than the what the team could afford.

Isn't that why half these teams failed?

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

The 1997 effort was not stuffed by Mastercard really though that is the commonly held belief, but that is another story that will be told in the not too distant future

Is this a subject you will be writing about?

[Ryo28]

Originally Posted by Alan Raine

Doe's anyone remember the Eiffeland. Basically it was a March 721 (I think) but the team were sponsored by the Eiffeland, the Caravan Manufacturer. They thought as they built it would be a good idea to gain advantage by building new bodywork around the driver (using Caravan Technology?) and it had a big mirror on a post in front of the driver, which basically blocked his view.

Was it any good - no it was total rubbish!!!!

http://www.racingsportscars.com/f1/1...-06-04-006.jpg

A good article on the Eifelland on F1 Rejects.com here

(and also articles on pretty much every other team on the poll!)

Originally Posted by Chatters

I think Colini (was it Colini? The team with the yellow cars in the late 80s/early 90s) would rate up there too, for sheer lack of performance and bad ideas.

Thats Coloni, their cars weren't always yellow, they switched to a messy white/blue scheme for 1989/91 (and failed to qualify for all 16 races in '91 - perhaps the worst full season by any team ever...)

Its amazing how many of these teams Roberto Moreno drove for - AGS in '87, Coloni in '89, Eurobrun in '90, Andrea Moda in '92 and Forti in '95 (one of the few drivers who can say that Minardi was among the best teams he drove for in F1!)

[Alan Raine]

I only ever saw it at Brands and it looked awful but those earlier pics of it are weird!

[ss_collins]

Alan - yes its is covered in detail in my next book which is being put together at the moment, theres a untold story about the T97/30's. And some other cars.

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by kipper

I have read that Jan Lammers tested a restored Maki a few years back and thought that the car was fundamentally OK, but needed substantially more development than the what the team could afford.

Doug Nye quotes Howden Ganley (in History of GP Car 1966-85) that at the 'Ring it was feeling quite good. Then it fell apart...

There were two Makis; the white one that Ganley had, which was at least plausible-looking (the F101A?) and was developed into the blue one for Fushida to have a go with, and a darker bue one for Tony Trimmer to try at Japan in 1976 (F102A?). This latter looked spectacularly awful, as if it were a bitza based on an F3 tub or something.

Originally Posted by TimD

"what on earth is a Dwya?"

It's actually Dywa and developed by Dydo Monguzzi. Appears to have been an OK looking F5000 transformed into an horrendous F1 attempt in 1979 (Autosport apparently reported that it could not hold on to a straight line) and with the sidepods stripped brought out again in 1983 for F1 and 1985 as the Monte Carlo F3000 (with some Fulvio Ballabio involvement - he called it Monte Carlo to get some funding).

I've seen pics here & there culled from Italian magazines of it in various guises, but not the 1979 version.

[Alan Raine]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

Alan - yes its is covered in detail in my next book which is being put together at the moment, theres a untold story about the T97/30's. And some other cars.

That should be interesting as there were lots of rumours around at the time about how it was being funded and that the Mastercard deal was very complicated - I await publication!

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by ss_collins

Alan - yes its is covered in detail in my next book which is being put together at the moment, theres a untold story about the T97/30's. And some other cars.

Let us know when it is out.

[ghinzani]

Originally Posted by ensign14

This latter looked spectacularly awful, as if it were a bitza based on an F3 tub or something.



It's actually Dywa and developed by Dydo Monguzzi. Appears to have been an OK looking F5000 transformed into an horrendous F1 attempt in 1979 (Autosport apparently reported that it could not hold on to a straight line) and with the sidepods stripped brought out again in 1983 for F1 and 1985 as the Monte Carlo F3000 (with some Fulvio Ballabio involvement - he called it Monte Carlo to get some funding).

I've seen pics here & there culled from Italian magazines of it in various guises, but not the 1979 version.

Theres a thread on Atlas nostalgia about the Dywa with plenty of pics, if you are interested. I was unaware it was revised for F1 in 83 though, where did they intend to run it? Ballabio revised it as the horrific Monet Carlo 001. He later "developed" the Mig Le Mans car.

The Maki that Trimmer tried to drive in Japan in 76 was not allwed to practice, I think the Monocoque (looking somewhat like a mid 80s F3 car, was held on to the rear end by two tiny ears of metal that would have given way in the slightest crash. Trimmer was a brave man and I think efforts were made to transfer him into a Shadow at that meeting - what a shame his years of hard work were'nt rewarded then.

My choice would be the Monteverdi era Onyxs - an absolute criminal waste of a very tidy F1 car, and a real shame for the hard working people from Littlehampton. Anyone seen the red one in Peter Monteverdis museum that he modified? Its bizzare!

[vaughan jones]

merzario,rebaque,connew,brp,scirroco,de tomaso,jbw, a lot of cars never made it.

[bauble]

The stillborn Sascha-Gordine from 1950's France, the 2.5 litre Bugatti driven by Maurice Trintignant in the 1956 French GP it's only race (ret.)
Arrows/Footwork contested 382 GP's and never won a single race they also may have set a record by using no less than 11 different makes of engine in their history.

[Chatters]

382?!

[GTRMagic]

Too many dungheaps, not enough selection opportunities

Footwork Arrows FA12 Porsche anyone? Embarassment to all...

[Razor]

Worst team, Minardi.

[ensign14]

Minardi actually led a lap once...

[Chatters]

A Minardi finished 5th!

[Howard Wood]

Grand Prix I know and technically not F1 but the most ignominious failure was the V16 BRM. Announced with much fanfare in 1946, not race ready until May 1950 and with the budget, access to technology and build resources that should have made it a world beater.

The car and team failed completely, its only major win being a heat win in a non championship race at Albi in 1953 at the very end of the 4.5/ 1.5 litre formula when everone else was concentrating on their new 2.5 litre cars for the following season.