2. Andrea Moda
Enzo Coloni’s efforts were serious, as they helped to launch drivers like Gabriele Tarquini. However, when he decided to leave, Andrea Sassetti, the man who was great at creating shoes, bought the remnants of the team. Managing a F1 team was not his forte, it would seem. In 1992, the team arrived in South Africa with boxes full of parts, but without a new car. They brought Coloni’s old one.
FIA determined that as a new team, Andrea Moda had to pay a US$ 100,000 tax and compete in his own car, which was not ready at the time. The same situation happened in Mexico, after which the original pair of Enrico Bertaggia and Alex Caffi was separated. Roberto Moreno and Perry Mccarthy replaced the two.
A new Judd V10 engine powered chassis was committed to Nick Wirth and was ready by the third Grand Prix of the season, Interlagos, when Moreno almost had the chance of completing a full lap. Perry McCarthy was only able to see it from the boxes. At the Monaco, Moreno shined even with poor equipment, and went ahead of prequalifying, putting the S921 on the grid.
Starting dead last, he ran as high as the 19th place, but had to abandon the race on lap 11. The Italian team at least had a GP start in their lifespan. With little spare parts and no budget whatsoever, hard reality kicked in ant the car was never again in the hands of the Brazilian. McCarthy hardly had the chance to complete any laps as the chaos continued until the race in Belgium. Local authorities arrested Sassetti because of financial concerns, and the team was expelled by the FIA so as not to stain the image of the sport.
