The 10 worst engines in Formula 1 history!

1 BRM P75, 16 cylinder H 3.0L (4 GP, 9 points, 1 victory)

Only its miraculous victory thanks to Jim Clark and Lotus in the United States saved it from free-falling in the championship rankings. No one knew what the BRM engineers had imbibed when they came up with the P75 engine for the 1966 season. A proper white elephant with two 180° 8 cylinders with the two connected crankshafts, resulting in an unlikely H16! While it had honourable power, it was as fragile as peanut brittle. So frail was it, only Jimmy was able to finish a Grand Prix at Watkins Glen.

2Hart 415T, 4 cylinder in-line turbo 1.5L (63 GP, 28 points, 3 podiums)

In the early 1980’s, delving into turbocharger technology was a titanic challenge for major constructors such as Renault, Ferrari and BMW let alone a modest artisan like Brian Hart. Associated with Toleman in F2, the Brit followed the team in its move up to Formula 1 in 1981. He penned the under-powered and fragile 415T that suffered from massive turbo-lag. The inaugural season was a debacle. Fortunately with time it improved and nearly took a historic victory at Monaco in 1984 in the hands of Ayrton Senna.

3Alfa Romeo 415T, 4 cylinder in-line turbo 1.5L (0 GP, 0 points, 0 podiums)

Another four-cylinder disaster. Following the dismantling of its race team, Alfa Romeo wanted to make its official return to F1 in1987 as engine supplier to Ligier. But just a few weeks before the start of the season, René Arnoux made incendiary remarks in the media concerning the pitiful performance of the Gianni Tonti designed quattro cilindri. The carmaker’s top brass terminated the contract immediately and Ligier had to hastily fit Megatron, or rather rebadged BMW engines, into its JS29.

4Judd GV, V10 3.5L (20 GP, 5 points, 1 podium)

An engine builder as competent as Judd deserved more success in F1. While the CV and EV V8s occasionally shined with the diabolically quick Ivan Capelli at the controls of his Leyton House, the career of its 10 cylinder successor was nowhere near as successful. Only BMS Scuderia Italia managed to eke out a bit of success with a lucky third place for JJ Lehto at Imola and a Top 6 for Emanuele Pirro at Monaco in 1991. Apart from that, the cupboard was empty with just four GPs between Brabham and Andrea Moda a year later.

5 Ilmor LH10, V10 3.5L (32 GP, 12 points, 0 podiums)

Ilmor Engineering, whose kingpin Mario Illien was until not long ago an advisor for Renault Sport F1, enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with Mercedes in Formula 1. But the Brixworth-based company went it alone before being approached by the German giant. It was a long road to hoe with Leyton House (March) and Tyrrell scoring a mere handful of points in 1991 and 1992. While it had an evolution of the English V10, it was a lot worse for Pacific two years later, which on more than one occasion suffered the humiliation of not qualifying.

6 Zakspeed 1500/4, 4 cylinder in-line turbo 1.5L (51 GP, 2 points, 0 podiums)

Was Erich Zakowski overly optimistic when he launched his Zakspeed team in Formula 1? The German chose to design the chassis and engine in-house for 1985. It was a daring gamble but the Teutons were engineering marvels, most notably with the monstrous Ford Capri Group 5. But F1 is unfortunately another proposition. The super-charged four-cylinder, something the team was a specialist at, all too often expired in a plume of white smoke. At the same time that turbos were banned for 1989, Zakowski decided to move on. But it would not be the end of his sorrows…

7Yamaha OX88, V8 3.5L (2 GP, 0 points), and OX99, V12 3.5L (32 GP, 4 points)

Zakspeed thought he was doing himself a favour collaborating with Yamaha for 1988. The Japanese firm, known for its engineering savoir-faire, concocted the OX88 V8 in response to Cosworth which refused to use its novel five-valve per cylinder concept. A catastrophe: only two back of the grid qualifying results, as many retirements and a bevy of mechanical failures. After a year’s hiatus in the hopes of returning better armed, Yamaha was back with a bulky V12 that was first used by Brabham, then Jordan. Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell and Stefano Modena managed to score just a few points. In the end the Asians entrusted the development of a V10 to Judd that proved to be much more competitive.

8Porsche V12 3.5, V 12 3.5L (4 GP, 0 points, 0 podiums)

An imposture. Yes, that pretty much sums up the infamous Porsche V12 that briefly powered the Arrows’, sorry Footwork’s – in 1991. The British team and its drivers Michele Alboreto and Alex Caffi had high hopes with the return of the Stuttgart-based constructor to Formula 1. Their struggle was as painful as their disappointment. The German engine created from two ancestral V6s from the previous decade, was heavy and asthmatic. In the Peraltada corner in Mexico, four of them broke in practice! It was too much for Jackie Oliver’s men who switched to Cosworth for the remainder of the season.

9Subaru 1235, 12 cylindres à plat 3.5L (0 GP, 0 points, 0 podiums)

In putting its trust in a shady Italian subcontractor, Japan’s Subaru was duped like a common tourist! The archipelago was enjoying an economic upturn in the early 90s, and the Japanese firm entered F1 to promote its well-respected “Boxer” architecture. Subaru asked Carlo Chiti, the father of the Flat-12 Alfa Romeo, to design a flat 12-cylinder through his Motori Moderni outfit. After a brief test in a Minardi, it found its way into the Coloni of Bertrand Gachot for 1990. Down on power and wide as a ping pong table, never did the improbable engine allow the unhappy Frenchman to move on from pre-qualifying. At mid-season it was swapped out for a Cosworth V8.

10Life F35, W 12 3.5L (0 GP, 0 points, 0 podiums)

Finding the mechanical abomination wanted by Franco Rocchi at the top of our rankings is a no-brainer. The Italian engineer, who spent time at Ferrari, nevertheless wholeheartedly believed in the W12 concept of combining the compactness of a V8 and the power of a V12. Except that this theory never went further than the drawing board. Gary Brabham and Bruno Giacomelli suffered in the delusional Life, whose performance level was light years behind the competition. The sad red car finished most of its pre-qualifying sessions on the tow back to the garage. The W12 was replaced by a more conventional Judd engine, which too condemned the Life to a systematic Friday morning end at each GP meeting.

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