The contrasting fortunes of 1993's bottom six F1 teams

In the first of a series of features looking back at the 1993 motorsport season 30 years on, we examine the fortunes of the six teams at the rear of the Formula 1 grid. From gaudy colour schemes to arguably the shortest F1 career of all time, there was plenty of intrigue among the battle not to finish last.

After a brief swell in numbers in 1989’s Formula 1 season, which resulted in 20 teams stuffed into the entry list, recession and a creep forward in professionalism had ensured that 1993’s grid had shrunk to a far more manageable 13 teams. This ensured that the Friday morning rigmarole of pre-qualifying, necessitated in 1992 by Andrea Moda’s ill-fated stint as a constructor, had been consigned to the history books.

The departure of Andrea Moda, Brabham, and Fondmetal part-way through the previous season, along with March’s disappearance despite factoring on the 1993 entry list, resulted in 26 cars lining up for the Kyalami season opener.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake Boxall-Legge Autosport’s Technical Editor. Having studied Automotive Engineering with Motorsport at the University of Hertfordshire, West Country-born Jake's original ambition was to design racing cars. During a year between studies in which he accidentally rekindled a love of writing, he took up a Master's in Motorsport Engineering at Oxford Brookes. Halfway through his master's year, he was offered a place on the Autosport Academy, conducting occasional freelance duties before becoming the press officer for Formula 2 and GP3 in 2018. Autosport offered him a return to the fold later that year to serve as its Technical Editor. His voice appears on a number of videos and podcasts, and can often be found writing about terrible Formula 1 cars in excruciating detail. In his spare time, Jake enjoys baking and blames his failure to make it past the Great British Bake-Off interviews on his tenuous grasp on choux pastry. His dream is to open a brunch cafe - and his willingness to make outrageous puns in inappropriate situations has earned him the contempt of his colleagues.