EPIC FAIL
LIFE F1
WORDS: SAM PHILIP
There are bad years, and then there’s this. Life F1, 1990. Not only the worst season in the history of motorsport, but the worst season in the history of any sport.
It started with a W12 engine designed by ex-Ferrari engineer Franco Rocchi, and a mysterious Italian businessman named Ernesto Vita. As F1’s turbo era came to an end in 1988, Vita – for reasons unclear – became convinced Rocchi’s unusual W12 was the perfect fit for the new naturally aspirated 3.5-litre regulations. He commissioned Rocchi to build him a race W12, certain the orders would immediately come pouring in from the big F1 teams.