6 Teams Who Never Won a Constructors Championship

Many manufacturers have graced the Formula One stage and gone. While some have been successful, others… not so much. They say that you either have in you or you don’t. The following teams had it in them all along but almost always fell short of winning the constructors championship.

1. BMW – Sauber

Looking at Sauber’s performance this (or last) season, any human new to Formula 1 will confidently say that Sauber must be a new entrant. “It will be long before they (Sauber) can be competitive.” is a common phrase. But their form today should not be used to draw any conclusions about their history.

BMW Sauber was a serious competitor back in 2007 and 2008 season. The team secured second and third positions respectively. BMW’s exit after 2009 saw a serious decline in the team’s performance and they have struggled since. When Honda returned to revive legendary McLaren-Honda, fans had hoped for a similar deal from BMW with Sauber. Disappointing as it is, BMW still shows little interest in the sport. As a result, BMW-Sauber remains without a constructors championship to its name.

2) Force India

Spyker, bought out by Vijay Mallya and Michael Mol, gave birth to Force India in 2007. It was the third buy-out for the team, Initially, our one of the favourite midfield-runners, Jordan GP.  In their first season in 2008, the team displayed no improvement from Spyker’s 10th place in 2007. But following that, the team has constantly improved and established themselves as favourite mid-runners.

The team secured 4th place in 2016, behind the top running trio, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull. Looking at their growth charts, we just might witness the team stepping onto the top of the ladder. The Force India team have been dark horses behind the big 3 in the constructors championship for the past 2 seasons,

3) Jordan GP

Jordon GP was born in early 1990’s by Eddie Jordan. The idea came after his team, Eddie Jordan Racing won many lower divisions in the sport, like F3000. In it’s first year, 1991, the team secured 5th in the constructors standing. Although Jordan GP was predicted to be competitive in the mid-field, the team struggled for the next two seasons, finishing 11th and 10th in 1992 and 1993 respectively.

Formula 1 legend, Michael Schumacher debuted with Jordan GP. Though he did not complete the only race he ran with the team, it can not be taken away from Jordan GP. Jordan GP gained pace in the later half of 1990’s. The team ran with good drivers behind its car’s wheels including 1996 Champion Damon Hill (1998-99). The team churned out best results in 1998 and 1999, ranked 4th and 3rd respectively. Had the team continued, fans would have loved to see them on the top.

4) Honda Racing F1

Honda, best known for being a major engine supplier for the sport, decided to enter as an independent constructor in 2005. They partnered with BAR, the team for which Honda supplied engines in 2005. BAR stayed with the team for 2006 and took exit as the season came to an end. From then on, Honda participated for two seasons. In all, the team competed in three seasons, 2006-08 with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in the cockpits. In 2009 the team was caught out and re-branded as Brawn GP which later evolved into now defending champions Mercedes GP.

At the start of the three year stint, in 2006, the team showcased mediocre performance, despite showing great promise in pre-season testing. At the end of 2006, the Japanese team found itself in 4th Position. But the team went only down after that. Securing 8th and 9th in the following two seasons. With the history that Honda has with the sport, it is more than a ‘justified’ want to see Honda win someday.

5) Ligier

Ligier entered Formula One in 1976 season, finishing in 5th place. The team was very quick to climb to third and then second in 1979 and 1980. Beyond that, the team remained fairly in-competitive. The best result since was 4th (1981) and 5th (three times-83,93,95). At any other season, the team found itself in thee lower half, at end too. It was even not awarded any position (due to old rules of F1) at four occasions.

Perhaps the most exciting win, for which the team is famous, came at Monaco’96. The team took its first win in over a decade, and first win at Monaco for the entirety of its career. It is safe to assume that this miracle of a win has a greater role to play to get Ligier on this list than their performance early in their career. Ligier could have been something in the constructors championship. 

6) Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo has never been famous for Formula 1. For good measure the reason is the team’s disastrous participation in the sport in 1979-85 seasons. The team constantly retired from races but did see a better position than 8th just once in 1983 (6th). It is in fact been said that they produced ‘the worst cars ever seen in F1.’ So why are they in this list? Well for the perforce they showcased before there was even an award for constructors. They had two driver champions, in 1950 and in 1951. It is also the only team (Along with Maserati) to have won drivers championship but not constructors.

So why is Maserati not on the list? Well, though Maserati has the same overall statistics, they never returned to the sport. Alfa Romeo came back and participated even though they could not live the former glory. We want to see Alfa Romeo come back and participate line in the early fifties (and not like 79-85). Now, Alfa Romeo are returning to F1 to partner the Sauber F1 team. Can they propel the Sauber team up the constructors championship?