Revealed: Formula 1's fastest failure

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel might feel aggrieved at not taking their 2017 Formula 1 title challenge all the way, but they are nothing compared to the fastest failures in grand prix racing's history.

World championship-winning Formula 1 cars have to be fast, that is obvious. But sometimes that is not enough to get the job done.

Often when a team produces the fastest car, it can be confident of winning the drivers' and constructors' championships. And yet some of the potentially most dominant F1 machines have failed to deliver, particularly in the days when cars were less reliable.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Fleet with his wife and two children.