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In F1, success is not a given. You can put in money, you can add resources, and you can have the right people in place, even then sometimes it does not happen. In the history of the sport, there have been multiple such constructors that were touted to be successful in F1 but spectacularly failed to live up to the expectations.
In this piece, we will take a look at 5 of these teams that were touted to succeed in F1 but ended up failing miserably.
#1 BMW Williams (2000-2005)
BMW Williams was a supposed marriage made in heaven. Williams dominated the 1990s to such an extent that the driver stopped mattering to the team. The team had Mansell, Prost, Hill, and Villeneuve, all 4 different champions driving for the same team.
The team was on the backfoot in 1998 when Renault decided to pull out. For the 1999 season, in came BMW and with it the prospect of future success with the German giants. The success, however, was not to be as the partnership was formed during the dominant Schumacher-Ferrari era and the team could not match the level on which the Italian team operated. Other than being the outside contender for the title in 2003, the team failed to achieve what it set out for.
#2 Toyota (2002-2009)
Toyota is considered, even in modern-day F1, as a team that is an example of how not to be successful in F1. The Japanese constructor came to F1 with a lot of hype and a ridiculous investment behind it.
Toyota was, for a chunk of its stay in F1, one of the biggest spenders in the paddock. The team spared no expense in setting up facilities and putting all the right things in place.
What it did not do, however, was focus on the basics. The team simply did not have the right personnel that could propel it to the top in F1. No design expert had a proven track record, nor did the team have a driver that could be touted as a future world champion.
Because of this, after almost a decade of fruitless investment, Toyota decided to pack its bags and leave the sport at the end of the 2009 season.
#3 Jaguar F1 (2000-2004)
Jaguar was one of the more spectacular failures by any American team in Formula 1. Ford created the team by buying Jackie Stewart's "Stewart GP" in 1999. It was given the name Jaguar to promote Ford's premium car company in the sport.
The team hired the services of Eddie Irvine, the runner-up in the championship in 1999. It also hired the services of F1 legend Niki Lauda to help improve the prospects of success in the sport.
During its time in F1, the team will also have a certain Mark Webber drive for the team, but when it came to results, there was nothing to show for it. There were just 2 podiums in the 5 year period and a best finish of seventh in the constructors' championship.
#4 BMW (2006-2009)
BMW's sojourn in F1 is one of the biggest "what-if" stories in Formula 1. The team always showed the potential of being capable to fight for and even winning races. It showed the maturity of understanding that success in Formula 1 does not come overnight. Yet, it was this meticulous nature that somehow went against it.
After a failed stint with Williams, BMW decided to do it all by itself as it joined hands with Sauber in 2006. While the year was transitional, it helped the team develop a foundation. In subsequent seasons, BMW will make strides forward, and by 2008, was a potent title contender with Robert Kubica driving for the team.
The results were surprising for the team. Instead of making the most of the momentum, however, BMW stuck by its plan of focussing on the 2009 season and stopped the development of the car in 2008. As a result, Kubica fell out of contention in 2008 and the 2009 car did not live up to the expectations of the team. Amid the global recession, the team left the sport with no championships to its name.
#5 McLaren Honda (2015-2017)
There aren't too many teams that have been hyped as much and then have failed as spectacularly as McLaren Honda did in the Turbo-Hybrid era. Honda announced its return to the sport with McLaren in 2014. This gave rise to expectations of a return to the top of a combination that had achieved unprecedented success in Formula 1 in the late 1980s.
Yet, when the car was first rolled out on the track, the result was rather underwhelming as the Honda engine was nowhere near Formula 1 standards. While subsequent years showed improvement, it wasn't enough. After 2017, McLaren parted ways with the Japanese manufacturer after a relationship that could not yield even a single podium.
