26 F1 teams you may not know existed

Through out history there have been many racing teams that have managed to make it to the top category, Formula 1. However, getting to the top is one thing, and a whole different one is staying there. Some, like Ferrari and McLaren, have managed to do so, some others have not been able to stay, but they are remembered for their achievements or inovations, Tyrrel and Brabham qualify in that sector. However there are some others that didn’t even get that. Some teams that have been simply forgoten. Here I will show you a list of 26, yes 26 F1 teams that you probably haven’t heard of.

THEODORE

Theodore Racing was an constructor from Hong Kong, founded by a magnate called, you guessed it, Theodore. They participated in 51 GPs from 1976 to 1983. They had a notable driver who happened to be Keke Rosberg

Andrea Moda

You may think you have bad luck, well you have seen nothing yet. Andrea Moda was an Italian team with created by Italian designer Andrea Sassetti, the team was unable to start in the first race of the 1992 season because the payment for the new season wasn’t made, it couldn’t race in Canada because the engines were not yet paid for, missed the French Grand Prix due to a truckers’ strike. The team owner was arrested in the team’s paddock during the Belgian Grand Prix.

ARROW

No, their name wasn’t created as a nod to the silver arrows. The Arrow Formula One team was created by five people (the name comes from their initials). They didn’t win any races or Championships and never finished above the fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, the team’s best results are five second places.

ATS

The ‘original’ ATS (Automobili Turismo e Sport) was set up by a couple of angry Ferrari engineers who left the company. The car ended up being a copy of the Ferrari 156 and was already useless by the time it raced. They participated in 5 races, finishing only 1 of them.

Pacific GP

After a successful career in lower formula clases, Pacific’s founder Keith Wiggins thought it was time for his team to step up to Formula One. The team made its debut in the 1994 season but its two pilots only qualified for two races and didn’t finish either one. After the 1995 season ended, the team picked up their stuff and got back to Formula 3000.

Forti Corse

Forti Corse’s Formula One history is pretty similar to Pacific’s: it was quite successful in lower formula but bit more than it could chew with Formula One. The team debuted in 1995 and went bankrupt in 1996.

Kojima

In 1976, with Formula 1 heading to Japan for the first time, the team decided to make an F1 car to enter their home race. The car was surprisingly competitive, and was famously wrongly credited with having set the fastest lap in the race. The following year Kojima built a new car for the Japanese GP which again performed well, but they refused to race outside of Japan and the fact there wasn’t another Japanese GP until 1987 meant that was it for the promising team.

Larrousse

No, it has nothing to do with the dictionary. Founded by Gerard Larrousse, the Larrousse F1 team made its debut in 1987, using chassis built by Lola. However, the best result was third at Suzuka, in 1990, when Larrousse cars were powered by Lamborghini engines. The team left F1 in 1995.

Ligier

French team Ligier started well: two podiums in the first season (1976) and several wins in each of the following five. However, after 1982 their only win was at the 1996 Monaco GP. At the end of the 1996 season, the team was bought by Alain Prost and renamed to Prost GP.

Prost GP

Which bring us to the next team. Just like Ligier, the “new” team performed well in their debut season, 1997, but the best result was a second place at the 1999 Austrian Grand Prix. The team would eventually go bankrupt right before 2002, mainly due to Alain Prost not finding sponsorhip for the new season.

Martini

No, this is a different Martini to the drinks company. Martini had an established record in F3 in the 70s and, like many others did, decided to have a go at F1. Results were not really something to celebrate, a pair of 9th places was the best a young René Arnoux was able to get.

Merzario

Can you see where this is going? no? well, neither the driver. Arturo Merzario was a Ferrari driver who decided to set up his own team when he couldn’t find a seat anywhere else. The team had as many DNQs as retirements. The car only finished one race. They were out in 1980. At least we now know where the inspiration for the Fast and Furious flip car comes from.

Minardi

Minardi was an Italian team founded by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in F1 from 1985 until 2005 with little success, however getting a lot of suport from fans. In 2001, to save the team, Minardi was sold to a businessman who ran the team for five years, selling it to Red Bull in 2005 who renamed it Scuderia Toro Rosso. And we all know where that went.

March

March Engineering began operations in 1969. Its four founders were Max M, A lan R ees, Graham C oaker and R obin H erd. They raced in 207 races from 1970 to 1992. Wining a total of 2 races

Onyx

Onyx were just another one of the teams that gave F1 a go in the late 80s and early 90s without success. In their first year in 1989 the drivers failed to qualify 17 times, but incredibly managed to finish 5th in France and score a podium in Portugal. Speaking of redemption.

Osella7Fondmetal

The Italian team didn’t achieve any notable results during a 12-year existence. They abandoned more than half of all GPs raced and its drivers only managed to score points on two occasions. Before 1990, the team was bought by an Italian metalwork magnate and renamed after his company, Fondmetal. But the team still didn’t score any points and after the 1992 season. The Fonds for the Metal were over and they left Formula One.

Penske

Penske entered the Formula One World Championship from 1974 to 1976. Although the cars were built at the British base in Poole, the team held an American licence. They held a total of 313 victories. Non of them in F1 though.

Rebaque

Team Rebaque was a Mexican Formula One team initially using cars bought from Team Lotus, before finally building a car of their own. The Rebaque HR100. The team qualified to race on 19 occasions, and achieved one World Constructors’ Championship………………………. point.
Their best finish was sixth at the 1978 German Grand Prix.

Scarab

American constructor Scarab was a successful sportscar manufacturer and decided to try Formula 1 in 1960. Besides an unreliable engine, the team’s biggest problem was that they designed a front-engined car at a time when everyone was building rear-engined cars. The standard continues until this day for most American race cars.

Scuderia Italia

Italian steel magnate Giuseppe Lucchini founded Scuderia Italia in 1988. The team raced with Dallara chassis until 1992 and its main achievements were two podiums. At the end of the season Scuderia Italia merged with another struggling team, Minardi. Everyone considers this, the end of Scuderia Italia’s adventure in Formula One, after just five years.

Simtek

Simtek made its Formula One debut in 1994, being also involved in constructing wind tunnels and chassis for other teams. The team didn’t get any notable results and is mostly known for Roland Ratzenberger fatal crash during qualifiers for the San Marino Grand Prix. Surely not something they were proud of.

Spirit

Spirit was basically set up as a team for Honda to use as a test-bed for their upcoming turbocharged F1 engines. After a successful debut season in Formula 2 the car was modified to meet F1 regulations and the team joined halfway though 1983. Honda had bigger ambitions and left to Williams. Spirit decided use Hart engines for 1984, but money ran out three races into 1985 and the only thing left, was their “Spirit”.

Tecno

Tecno was its name, but there was nothing technological in it. They came into F1 in 1972 and it was a disappointment, the drivers had to share the only car, achieving nothing significant. The following year Tecno signed Chris Amon and designed a new car, in which Amon didn’t fit. He managed to score the teams only point with the old car, but the rest of the season was a disaster (the new car never actually raced, maybe “retro” would have been a better name). Team left in 1973.

Token

Token’s first race was at Spa with Tom Pryce as its driver in his first race, but failed to finish. The team then missed several races and Pryce went off to join Shadow. Token returned with different drivers towards the end of the season with a best finish of 14th, but money ran out and that was it.

Lola

Chasis designer debut was set for the 1998 season, but its main sponsor, MasterCard, put pressure on the team to enter competition one year earlier. You would expect a team like Lola to have a good result right? WRONG. The results were tragic, to sum it up it made Lola the team with the shortest history in the competition, the only proof of their existance are the qualifiers in Australia.

Modena F1/Lamborghini

Modena Team was a Formula One team from Italy that raced a single season in 1991. The team had a rather confusing history, and is often referred to as the “Lambo” or Lamborghini team because of its connections to the Italian automotive manufacturer. It competed in 16 GP but scored no Championship points. After this, Lamborghini decieded to stay as far from F1 as possible, which continues to this day.

That was it guys, did you knew these teams existed? Are there any other I missed? leave it in the comments. I hope you liked it and sorry for my bad puns:)

F1Trooper out.