In Formula 1, for every success story, there are many teams that tried but didn’t do well.

8 Min Read

GPFans looked back at F1’s 70-year history and found 10 teams that had a much harder time than they expected.

To make our list, we chose teams that competed in 20 or more races because it wouldn’t be fair to include teams that raced in fewer events.

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Coloni

Coloni made their debut in 1987 with Nicola Larini driving in the Italian Grand Prix, but he didn’t qualify. In 1988, Gabriele Tarquini drove for them and managed to finish four races. However, over the next three seasons, the team struggled to qualify or even pre-qualify for races.

Between 1989 and 1991, Coloni entered 47 races but only managed to actually compete in five of them. The team was sold at the end of 1991 and became Andrea Moda Formula in 1992, which was banned by the FIA for the last four races of that season.

Osella

After starting in Formula 2 with Eddie Cheever winning three races in 1979, the team owner, Enzo Osella, decided to enter Formula 1 in 1980. It’s amazing that the Italian team lasted until 1990.

They couldn’t get big sponsors or famous drivers, so they had to run the team with very little money. Because of this, they only scored seven points in 132 races and didn’t qualify for an additional 40 races.

Lotus Racing/Team Lotus/Caterham

Running with a license from Lotus Cars owner Proton, Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes started the team as Lotus Racing in 2010. They changed the name to Team Lotus in 2011, and then to Caterham from 2012 to 2014 when they lost the license.

Even though they had good drivers like Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, the team didn’t score any points in 94 races over five seasons. Their best finish was 11th place by Vitaly Petrov in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. The team eventually went out of business.

Hispania Racing/HRT

Like Lotus Racing, a Spanish team joined F1 in 2010 when the sport wanted to boost the number of cars after losing Toyota and BMW due to the global credit crunch.

This team gave Daniel Ricciardo his first chance to race in F1 when he was loaned from Toro Rosso for half a season in 2011. However, their cars mostly stayed at the back of the pack. Out of 56 races without scoring any points, Vitantonio Liuzzi managed the team’s best result with a 13th place finish in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix.

Minardi

It was a bold move for the team to compete in F1 from 1985 to 2005, racing in 340 events before Red Bull bought them out. They became Toro Rosso first, and now they’re known as AlphaTauri.

During their years in F1, the team faced many challenges. They did manage to score a few points in 1993 and ’94, but overall, they struggled to score points, only earning a total of 38 throughout their time in the sport.

Automobiles Gonfaronnaises Sportives (AGS)

AGS participated in 80 Formula 1 races. They struggled to get through pre-qualifying in 47 attempts and completed only 22 races. Their first car in 1986 used parts from F3000 and Renault F1, but it failed to finish either race it entered.

The next year, 1987, was their best season with eight race finishes. They even scored a point in the last race of that year.

However, the team faced constant changes in leadership, which didn’t help. From the middle of the 1989 season onwards, they struggled to even qualify for races. Eventually, the team shut down in 1991, with two races left in the season.

ATS

ATS entered Formula 1 with promise in 1977, scoring a point in their debut using a Penske Racing PC4 chassis. However, from 1978 onwards, their fortunes dwindled. In just one season, they used seven different drivers, including future champion Keke Rosberg, which highlighted their instability.

For six seasons, ATS relied on the reliable Ford Cosworth DFV engine. However, in pursuit of more power, they switched to turbocharged BMW M12/13 engines. While these engines improved their qualifying speed, they suffered from reliability issues. BMW eventually stopped supplying engines due to negative publicity, leading to ATS folding. They ended their F1 journey with just eight points from 101 races.

Forti

Forti, despite its short stint in F1, is still remembered. They competed in 28 races without scoring any points and weren’t even classified in the constructors’ standings in both seasons. Initially successful in F3000, Forti moved to F1 in 1995 with significant backing from Brazil, hiring Pedro Diniz. However, like many teams, they struggled with reliability issues. Diniz left after 1995 due to financial problems, and legal disputes forced Forti to withdraw from F1 in 1996.

Pacific

Pacific, another example, joined F1 in 1994 with a car based on outdated Reynard 1991 plans. By then, these plans no longer met regulations, leading to poor performance and no race finishes in 1994. They slightly improved in 1995 but decided to return to F3000 due to ongoing challenges.

Zakspeed

Zakspeed made a bold move from DRM to F1 in 1985 but faced immediate difficulties, retiring from most races. Their best result came in 1987 with a fifth-place finish in San Marino. However, after the turbo era ended in 1989, Zakspeed struggled with an uncompetitive Yamaha engine and eventually left F1 after failing to qualify for many races.

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