Formula 1's 75-year history is filled with iconic cars, but also some spectacular failures. Among them, the Life F190 stands out as arguably the worst. Its chaotic journey began with an ambitious engine concept and ended in a comedic, yet tragic, collapse.
Why it matters: The Life F190 serves as a cautionary tale of ambition unmoored by practicality, highlighting the immense challenges of entering and competing in Formula 1. Its story is a vivid example of how not to build a racing team.
The W12 Engine Vision: The car's origins trace back to Franco Rocchi, a former Ferrari engineer. Rocchi envisioned a W12 engine that offered V12 power in a compact V8 size. He claimed it was nearly 15kg lighter than a Cosworth equivalent, seemingly perfect for F1's shift to naturally-aspirated engines in 1989. While Honda, Renault, and Ford opted for V10s, and Ferrari for a V12, Rocchi's W12 stood alone.
Birth of an Ill-Fated Team: Italian businessman Ernesto Vita backed Rocchi's engine. When no existing F1 team showed interest in the untested W12, Vita took the drastic step of creating his own team, Life F1, from scratch. He acquired a chassis from First Racing, a team that had itself failed to enter F1, complete with manufacturing defects. With a bare-bones crew, Life was ready for the 1990 season.
A Pre-Qualifying Nightmare: The early 1990s F1 season featured pre-qualifying sessions for teams not guaranteed a spot. Life's performance was immediately disastrous.
- Phoenix 1990: Gary Brabham, son of Sir Jack, managed a lap 35.8 seconds slower than pole, but narrowly avoided being the slowest due to another car's failure.
- Brazil 1990: Brabham's car retired after just 400m because mechanics, unpaid, had not filled the engine with oil.
- Brabham urged Vita to switch to a reliable Judd V8, but Vita refused, leading Brabham to quit.
From Bad to Worse: Veteran driver Bruno Giacomelli replaced Brabham.
- Imola: Giacomelli's car suffered oil and water pump failures, forcing him to crawl around the track, resulting in a 7-minute pre-qualifying lap.
- Monaco: Despite a monumental effort, he was still 14 seconds off the fastest pre-qualifier.
The Inevitable Collapse: Vita desperately sought investors, even approaching the collapsing Soviet Union, a deal that predictably fell through. For the Portuguese Grand Prix, Vita finally allowed the Judd V8 to be installed, but it made no difference. After the Spanish GP, Bernie Ecclestone reportedly nudged Vita to fold the team, bringing an end to the Life F1 saga. The early 90s saw many hopefuls like Onyx, Andrea Moda, Coloni, AGS, and EuroBrun meet similar fates, all undeniably in over their heads.