The F1 Teams That Lasted a Single Season
Dozens of constructors entered Formula One and vanished within a year. Here are the one-season teams and what went wrong.
31 August 2026
Ambition on a shoestring
For every Ferrari or McLaren there are dozens of constructors that entered Formula One, failed to qualify or ran out of money, and disappeared inside twelve months.
Life Racing Engines, 1990
Life built its own W12 engine and never once got through pre-qualifying. It withdrew before the season ended.
Andrea Moda, 1992
Andrea Moda Formula started a single race all year, when Roberto Moreno qualified at Monaco. The team was excluded from the championship for bringing the sport into disrepute.
Pacific, Simtek, Forti
The mid-1990s privateers arrived just as testing budgets and aerodynamic development costs exploded. None survived two full seasons of competitive spending.
What the pattern shows
Survival in Formula One has always depended on a works engine deal, a manufacturer owner or a title sponsor deep enough to fund development. The teams with none of the three rarely saw a second winter.
Every constructor entry, including the short-lived ones, is catalogued in the all-time team register and the constructors index.