Money woes, dire displays and a paddock arrest - 10 F1 teams who failed horribly
Not every team that enters Formula 1 is able to make a success of it. Here's a few teams who were gone, shortly after arriving...
Virgin/Marussia/Manor (2010-2016)
Virgin Racing were one of the three teams that entered F1 in 2010, and the one who lasted the longest.
Like rival newcomers Lotus, Virgin went through various changes in ownership and guises after initially being launched by Richard Branson.
The team was woefully uncompetitive initially but Ferrari junior Jules Bianchi proved to be a shining light in 2014, and a brilliant drive helped the then Marussia outfit secure their first points in Monaco.
But Bianchi suffered serious injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, from which he tragically died nine months later. Marussia ran a single car at the next race in Russia but failed to complete the rest of the season amid deepening financial woes.
The team was renamed Manor for 2015 after being rescued by Ovo energy boss Stephen Fitzpatrick. A further point was scored by Pascal Wehrlein in 2016 but it was not enough to beat Sauber in the championship, costing the team £30m in prize money. Manor collapsed in early 2017.
Lotus Racing/Team Lotus/Caterham (2010-2014)
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes acquired the rights to the Team Lotus name, which the team raced under, despite having no links to Colin Chapman’s famous F1 squad.
An experienced driver line-up of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli helped Lotus beat fellow new entrants Virgin and HRT to 10th place in the constructors’ championship in their first season.
Following a rebrand to Caterham in 2012, the team slipped to 11th in the championship in 2013 and 2014 despite refreshing their driver line-up and taking on new owners.
The slump hit Caterham hard financially and the team entered administration. After being forced to skip two races, Caterham returned to the grid at the season finale in Abu Dhabi thanks to a crowdfunding effort, before disappearing for good.
HRT (2010-2012)
The first Spanish team to race in F1, HRT spent three seasons struggling towards the back of the grid and failed to score any points.
A raft of drivers - including the likes of Bruno Senna, Karun Chandhok and Daniel Ricciardo - came and went, while there were several changes of ownership, but the team were never able to shake off the unwanted tag of ‘backmarkers’.
HRT ultimately went bankrupt at the end of 2012 after a bid to find a buyer failed.
USF1 (2010)
Team US F1, otherwise known as USF1, didn’t even make it onto the F1 grid.
The proposed team was granted entry to the 2010 season after being fronted by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, but their dreams of creating an American grand prix team ended before they truly got going.
Jose Maria Lopez and James Rossiter were even signed as the team’s drivers, but having struggled to get a car ready for the start of the season amid economic and funding challenges, the outfit closed down.
Super Aguri (2006-2008)
Super Aguri, founded by Aguri Suzuki, acted as an unofficial Honda B team during their short life-span as an F1 team for less than three seasons.
The team recorded a total of four points across 39 races, all of which were scored by Takuma Sato during the 2007 season.
Money troubles ultimately caused Super Aguri’s demise, with the team collapsing four races into 2008. The factory Honda squad followed suit at the end of the year due to the global financial crisis.
Lola (1997)
A full-fledged Lola team, backed by title sponsor Mastercard, had a brief and very unsuccessful F1 stint.
The Lola T97/30 chassis was based on IndyCar technology, built without a windtunnel and had next to no on-track tests after the design of the engine fell behind schedule.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lola failed to qualify for the first race of the season in Australia within the 107% rule, ending up an embarrassing 11 seconds off pole position.
After running into financial and technical problems, an immediate exit from the sport followed.
Forti Corse (1995-1996)
Success in Formula 3000 and Italian Formula 3 prompted Guido Forti to bring his team into F1, with support from Pedro Diniz’s sponsor Parmalat.
Forti’s FG01 was described as “a revised F3000 car” and proved outdated, overweight and well off the pace. Hopes of an improved 1996 campaign were dashed when Diniz signed for Ligier and took his sponsors with him.
The team’s budget was decimated and Forti did not survive the season, folding halfway through 1996.
Simtek (1994-1995)
One of two new entries for 1994, Simtek’s debut season was immediately overshadowed by tragedy on F1’s darkest weekend when Roland Ratzenberger suffered fatal injuries in a high-speed crash during qualifying for the third round of the season at Imola.
Brighter times appeared to lay ahead following the arrival of Jos Verstappen on loan from Benetton in 1995, but the team lasted just five into the new season before collapsing.
Potential backing was pulled by Japanese companies following the Kobe earthquake. Simtek subsequently went into voluntary liquidation and were forced to declare bankruptcy.
Pacific (1994-1995)
After winning every junior category they had participated in, UK-based Pacific Racing hit the big time when they entered F1 in 1994 as the renamed Pacific Grand Prix.
However, the success in lower formulas did not translate into F1. Their first season was a total disaster, with the team failing to score a point or even finish a single race.
A collaboration with Team Lotus for the following season barely improved the outlook, and after relying heavily on a series of pay drivers, Pacific withdrew from F1 at the end of the year due to financial struggles.
Andrea Moda (1992)
Founded by Italian shoe designer Andrea Sassetti, Andrea Moda participated in nine world championship grands prix in 1992.
The team qualified to start on one occasion, only for Roberto Moreno to retire just 11 laps into the Monaco Grand Prix with engine failure.
A combination of disorganisation and lack of budget left the team in disarray amid several sponsor withdrawals. Sassetti was arrested in the paddock for allegedly forging invoices, leading to his and his team’s eventual expulsion by the FIA.
