Grand Prix Rejects

As we're all generally feeling a little grumpy, as evidenced in the Open Letter thread, and I feel like well the Rejects that make this site have been forgotten about, it's time for a little Reject appreciation!

All you have to do is post a sentence or two about why you like a certain a reject (reasons dont necessarily have to be, ahem, realistic ). Particularly humourous posts will be appreciated! .

Go! Go! Go!

As you can see in my avatar, I really like the story of the Connew team. Probably the smallest constructor which ever entered Formula 1, the team consisted only of four engineers, a truck driver, and the race car drivers. They built the car in their spare time, in a small garage in London. But they managed to turn up for two World Championship Grand Prix, and some non-championship ones. And given the teams small size, the car was surprisingly competetive, compared to cars like the Maki.

Andrea Moda are my favorite Reject Team. Their antics could liven up any season dominated from the 1992 season that they were in to the current Vettel era. Jamie and Enoch's profile on Andrea Moda is always a fantastic read.

Life were my favourite reject team because the engine sounded alright and it was mighty fast and reliability was just a poncey word.

I really like Midland and Spyker, and I'm not exactly sure why. They then became Force India and I stopped caring as much. Weird

I also bought Enrique Bernoldi's Arrows in 1:18 scale recently. It's sitting right above my desk in my dorm

roblomas52 wrote:Life were my favourite reject team because the engine sounded alright and it was mighty fast and reliability was just a poncey word.

Uhh...clearly you are going by a different definition of fast.

Favourite teams? Simtek and Mastercard Lola. Great liveries, and Lola just had reject written all over it.

And favourite reject drivers? Hmm, Lella Lombardi, Davica Galica, Desire Wilson, Giovanna Amati. When I first saw the thread title, that's the direction I thought the thread was going in... / /

I actually flat out supported HWNSNBM after watching him in the first F1 race I can recall,the 2004 Australian Grand Prix. Imagine my seven-year old excitement when he scored that point.

And I squeed with delight when I realized who HWNSNBM was on joining this forum. And I don't squee that much.

roblomas52 wrote:Life were my favourite reject team because the engine sounded alright and it was mighty fast and reliability was just a poncey word.

If the Life Racing Engines team actually had had any sponsorship or even better, an engine customer, reliability would have been a Ponzi word

Witnessing Perry McCarthy go through Eau Rouge in the Andrea Moda in person trackside surely got to be my favourite F1 Reject moment.

However, watching Markus Winkelhock leading some laps on debut at the Nürburgring in wet conditions for Spyker was awesome, too, for a lot of different reasons.

I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

good_Ralf wrote:

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

Perhaps it was an ironic joke...

Yannick wrote:
Witnessing Perry McCarthy go through Eau Rouge in the Andrea Moda in person trackside surely got to be my favourite F1 Reject moment.

Not sure how I managed to miss you mentioning this before, but WOW!


My favourite reject team is probably Simtek. Not sure why, I think I just liked their livery and MTV sponsorship and have a lot of sympathy for them regarding Ratzenberger. Super Aguri are up there too, I obviously have a far better memory of them than Simtek as I was only born in 1989 (I still remember some of the '94 & '95 seasons!).

In terms of drivers, Andrea Montermini has got to be up there for having the perfect hat-trick of F1 drives; Pacific, Simtek and Forti! But my absolute favourite has to be Yuji Ide! Never has a driver been so out of his depth in F1!

good_Ralf wrote:

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

Underlying proof that sarcasm will never, ever work on the internet

Teams: Onyx, it's merely a typo of mine that created the user name.
Drivers: Vern Schuppan, Bobby Rahal, Kevin Cogan, and Yannick Dalmas are amongst my favorites.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:

good_Ralf wrote:

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

Underlying proof that sarcasm will never, ever work on the internet

If it wasn't for the fact that i'm currently posting from my phone, i'd have posted Leonard Hofstadter's Sarcasm Sign.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:

good_Ralf wrote:

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

Underlying proof that sarcasm will never, ever work on the internet

I guess that it is extremely difficult to express something that is so heavily dependent on visual and audio gestures that are inevitably lost when we consider a medium that, by its nature, prevents those physical clues from being expressed.

pi314159 wrote:As you can see in my avatar, I really like the story of the Connew team. Probably the smallest constructor which ever entered Formula 1, the team consisted only of four engineers, a truck driver, and the race car drivers. They built the car in their spare time, in a small garage in London. But they managed to turn up for two World Championship Grand Prix, and some non-championship ones. And given the teams small size, the car was surprisingly competetive, compared to cars like the Maki.

And there is a charm to the Connew story that countless millions in advertising revenue can never hope to capture (even if the spat between Connew and Surtees, with Surtees apparently accusing Connew of stealing parts and materials from his former employers to make his own car, does take some of the shine off of the story).

mario wrote:

pi314159 wrote:As you can see in my avatar, I really like the story of the Connew team. Probably the smallest constructor which ever entered Formula 1, the team consisted only of four engineers, a truck driver, and the race car drivers. They built the car in their spare time, in a small garage in London. But they managed to turn up for two World Championship Grand Prix, and some non-championship ones. And given the teams small size, the car was surprisingly competetive, compared to cars like the Maki.

And there is a charm to the Connew story that countless millions in advertising revenue can never hope to capture.

And the photo in the article in this thread shows that they were even prepared to spread the word about the Capricorn 1 project!

takagi_for_the_win wrote:

good_Ralf wrote:

takagi_for_the_win wrote:I can't stand Toranosuke Takagi.

I thought you couldn't stand Shinji Nakano... It's in your interests on your profile page

Underlying proof that sarcasm will never, ever work on the internet

mario wrote:I guess that it is extremely difficult to express something that is so heavily dependent on visual and audio gestures that are inevitably lost when we consider a medium that, by its nature, prevents those physical clues from being expressed.

True, although the fact that my avatar is Takagi, my username revolves around him, my sig has a reference to him in and I have posted (on a fair few occasions) about my bizarre fandom for him might've made it slightly obvious I was being sarcastic

Explaining sarcasm. Greatest idea ever.

From the F1 website's poll this week

THE BIG QUESTION
Which of these Indian drivers impressed you most during their time in Formula One racing?
Narain Karthikeyan
23.16%
Karun Chandhok
32.63%
Can't decide
44.21%

I voted for Karthikeyan

It is impossible to dislike Luca Badoer.

Because Nürburgring 1999.

This wrote:Explaining sarcasm. Greatest idea ever.

Sarcasm?

I know it's sarcasm, i'm just continuing the joke.

FullMetalJack wrote:

This wrote:Explaining sarcasm. Greatest idea ever.

Sarcasm?

I know it's sarcasm, i'm just continuing the joke.

A sarcastic use of the word sarcasm? How sarcastic!

dr-baker wrote:

FullMetalJack wrote:

This wrote:Explaining sarcasm. Greatest idea ever.

Sarcasm?

I know it's sarcasm, i'm just continuing the joke.

A sarcastic use of the word sarcasm? How sarcastic!

Just quit with the "sarcasm".

Favourite of all time is Perry McCarthy, but I'm guessing I would not be alone in that.

I love the Andrea Moda story, it's just so ridiculous.

My favourite reject team would have to be Simtek, but it always leaves me feeling a bit sad as they had so much potential. A good designer in Nick Wirth, two decent drivers in Brabham and Verstappen (although not at the same time of course), an internationally recognised sponsor in MTV. It could have been so different for them.
I also believe that of all the reject teams, their car was the best looking.

Leyton House wrote:Favourite of all time is Perry McCarthy, but I'm guessing I would not be alone in that.

I love the Andrea Moda story, it's just so ridiculous.

My favourite reject team would have to be Simtek, but it always leaves me feeling a bit sad as they had so much potential. A good designer in Nick Wirth, two decent drivers in Brabham and Verstappen (although not at the same time of course), an internationally recognised sponsor in MTV. It could have been so different for them.
I also believe that of all the reject teams, their car was the best looking.

Thank you.

But in all seriousness I have seen Simtek being called one of the worst teams in the history of the sport, which of course is uneducated rubbish. As you can tell from my name, Simtek is also my favourite reject team for pretty much the reasons you listed, and of course for giving Taki Inoue his debut.

Simtek wrote:But in all seriousness I have seen Simtek being called one of the worst teams in the history of the sport, which of course is uneducated rubbish.

Seriously? They were many, many times better than MasterCard Lola, USF1 and Andrea Moda, al worse for different reasons. They were just very, very unfortunate.

dr-baker wrote:

Simtek wrote:But in all seriousness I have seen Simtek being called one of the worst teams in the history of the sport, which of course is uneducated rubbish.

Seriously? They were many, many times better than MasterCard Lola, USF1 and Andrea Moda, al worse for different reasons. They were just very, very unfortunate.

They are the kind of people who judge based on statistics alone without looking at the context. They would even call HRT one of the worst teams, despite the fact that they look extremely well-organised and professional compared to the likes of Life and Andrea Moda.

Simtek wrote:

dr-baker wrote:

Simtek wrote:But in all seriousness I have seen Simtek being called one of the worst teams in the history of the sport, which of course is uneducated rubbish.

Seriously? They were many, many times better than MasterCard Lola, USF1 and Andrea Moda, al worse for different reasons. They were just very, very unfortunate.

They are the kind of people who judge based on statistics alone without looking at the context. They would even call HRT one of the worst teams, despite the fact that they look extremely well-organised and professional compared to the likes of Life and Andrea Moda.

I once saw a list of the worst teams in motorsport (not just F1) which included Arrows. Yes. Arrows.

tommykl wrote:I once saw a list of the worst teams in motorsport (not just F1) which included Arrows. Yes. Arrows.

Are you by any chance referring to this nonsense?

Simtek wrote:

tommykl wrote:I once saw a list of the worst teams in motorsport (not just F1) which included Arrows. Yes. Arrows.

Are you by any chance referring to this nonsense?

That very one.

tommykl wrote:

Simtek wrote:

tommykl wrote:I once saw a list of the worst teams in motorsport (not just F1) which included Arrows. Yes. Arrows.

Are you by any chance referring to this nonsense?

That very one.

That is a shocking list. Even if I suggested MasterCard Lola as a bad team above, even they have extenuating circumstances - they were forced into a rush job. Given an extra year to prepare, as was intended, they could only have done better. But of course, I'm talking to the converted who know. Arrows and Simtek (and even Lola) do not deserve a place on the list. MasterCard deserves a place, as does Andrea Moda.

A lot of people call Andrea Moda the worst team ever, but I'm not sure I agree.
They qualified for a race after all, and I do wonder if with their (although outdated) Nick Wirth chassis, Judd engines and competent drivers, if without their 'eccentric' team boss the basic ingredients were there for something better.
Life on the other hand had a deathtrap chassis, engine that never ran properly if it started at all, and frequently more than 30 seconds away from prequalifying - I'd have to give them the prize.
I guess it depends on whether you consider 'worst car' to be the same as 'worst team', as the Andrea Moda hijinks have never been equaled.
What do we all think?

Leyton House wrote:A lot of people call Andrea Moda the worst team ever, but I'm not sure I agree.
They qualified for a race after all, and I do wonder if with their (although outdated) Nick Wirth chassis, Judd engines and competent drivers, if without their 'eccentric' team boss the basic ingredients were there for something better.
Life on the other hand had a deathtrap chassis, engine that never ran properly if it started at all, and frequently more than 30 seconds away from prequalifying - I'd have to give them the prize.
I guess it depends on whether you consider 'worst car' to be the same as 'worst team', as the Andrea Moda hijinks have never been equaled.
What do we all think?

Andrea Moda also had some pretty bad luck as well, especially when their truck got stuck in a blockade at the '92 French GP. It kinda makes you wonder, how these teams would've got a lot further in F1 if they had some luck on their side...

Leyton House wrote:A lot of people call Andrea Moda the worst team ever, but I'm not sure I agree.

I guess it depends on whether you consider 'worst car' to be the same as 'worst team', as the Andrea Moda hijinks have never been equaled.
What do we all think?

Well, in F1, the two concepts are tighly linked, so I tend not to separate them, but I can understand your perspective on the issue.

I think that the slowest team is not the same as the worst team.

Slowest team is a team which has an awful chassis like Life,Eurobrun and Coloni.

Worst teams are team mismanaged,like Andrea Moda.

Indeed. The Andrea Moda was a decent chassis, but the team was horribly mismanaged. This doesn't mean that Life, for example won't be included either, because going for an in-house W12 is mismanagement in and of itself