The world of motorsport is inherently chaotic, and the results of different cars on a given race weekend are not always representative of the skill, technological expertise, motorsport gears, and talent involved in the operation.
However, in the world of motorsport, perhaps no team in history has had a more chaotic story than the infamous Andrea Moda, sometimes considered to be the worst Formula One team in history.
The story begins with two men, Andrea Sassetti and Enzo Coloni. Mr Coloni had run a largely unsuccessful F1 team for years, struggling to even reach qualifying during a time when up to 40 cars were competing to get on the grid.
He ultimately managed to sell his team in 1991 to Mr Sassetti, owner of Italian shoe company Andrea Moda, who quickly arranged for a Dallara gearbox and a Judd engine to be used in the existing Coloni cars.
However, problems began almost immediately. In a situation that would end up repeating itself in F1 over a decade later, FIA officials had determined that Mr Coloni had not sold the team after all (and therefore its entry into F1) and therefore Andrea Moda would have to register as a new team.
Worse than this, they would have to use a new car design, as two teams were (at that time at least) not allowed to run the same car as each other. He bought the designs from Simtek’s Nick Wirth and as a result missed the first two races of the season.
This did not make drivers Alex Caffi and Enrico Bertaggia very happy, so Mr Sassetti quickly fired them, replacing them with Roberto Moreno and future Stig from Top Gear Perry McCarthy, who could not be replaced due to a rule regarding driver changes.
The entire season, except for Mr Moreno miraculously managing to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix, was a disaster, with frequent mechanical issues, Perry McCarthy nearly being killed by broken parts and driving a dry track on wet tyres, and two races where either the engines or entire team did not make it.
In the end, the baffling team’s pointless run ended after the Belgian Grand Prix, when Mr. Sassetti was arrested on fraud allegations and the team was disqualified for bringing the sport of Formula One into disrepute.