F1's SLOWEST Qualifying Lap: The Story of the Life L190 at the San Marino Grand Prix

The Life F1 Team was a very short lived team. If Honda was the power of dreams, Life was the power of delusion. Thinking that a W12 engine was going to be the next big thing and trying to prove it to people.
The car was multiple tens of seconds off the pace to get out of pre-qualifying, but then a massive howler at San Marino etched the car into motorsport history for all the wrong reasons. So how did it go so slowly? Let's find out.
Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!
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[@AidanMillward]

I know people are going to be saying about Perry McCarthy at Monaco 1992, but when your team is actively trying to maim/kill/hurt/nuke you… yeah at least Life was trying to make the car competitive. 😅

[@Cnimail]

In one of the races of 1985's wikipedia page Ayrton Senna is listes as having recorded a time of over 1 hour I think, might be worth giving a look.

[@AidanMillward]

@@Cnimail timers must have always been ticking or something.

[@CrunchyMotorsport]

It is preferable if your team helps you to win, or at least wants to keep you breathing

[@MrSniperfox29]

At the 1995 Argentine GP, Andrea Montermini posted a 43 minute lap time in a session, and in the British Gp Mark Blundell posted a 55 minute lap time. I would guess they had issues on track and somehow passed the timing beam when they returned on a truck or something.

[@nert-13]

Video about this?

[@rickran1647]

Life F1: We did a 7:10 lap Sponsors: In the Nurburgring right? Life F1: … Sponsors: right?

[@TonyEmond]

"Yes... in the GP circuit..."

[@rodracer4567]

Life managed to convince people about the W12 alright. Convinced them that turning down that engine was the absolute right call.

[@AidanMillward]

If they’d had money and time they’d have got another 90-120hp out of it. Still wouldn’t have been enough though.

[@Ramtamtama]

@@AidanMillward an extra 90-120 bhp would've put it on par with the Judd CV and Ford DFR engines run by fellow DNQ and DNPQers.

[@tenno-heika1286]

@@Ramtamtama Perhaps it would have been better than the Subaru F12 used by Scuderia Coloni until mid season when they switched to a cheap V8 like Life did

[@SpectralUmbreon197]

3:11 There are 3 certainties in life (No pun intended): Death, Taxes, and Roberto Moreno being asked to drive for a backmarker team.

[@Ramtamtama]

it wasn't a glamorous job, but somebody had to do it and it made him happy

[@Gabbu_Plays]

and yet he still has a podium

[@SpectralUmbreon197]

That is true. However, that podium came with Benneton after EuroBrun bit the dust. That was really the only competitive ride Moreno had in F1.

[@CD-Gaming]

Swings and roundabouts, eh?

[@alecerdmann8505]

@@Gabbu_Plays and two wins in CART

[@TheSt1092]

Imagine the Life F1 up against the Ferrari F2004.

[@sneekeruk]

I was more thinking the Life against my first car, an (at the time) 22 year old 1 litre mini with 40bhp. I'm still pretty optimistic the mini would of won.

[@Jake-ln6zk]

The F2004 would lap the Life in a 1 lap race😂

[@r3uvsgaming]

that's like comparing a Koenigsegg to a Peel P50

[@ProStriker92]

With that livery, Life F1 looked like Ferrari "at home" version.

[@michaelkitchin9665]

Scuderia Italia went that route as well.

[@MatthewLewisAtlanta]

More like a Snapper Lawn Mower!

[@thegamester1426]

There’s a few funny stories about the life team that I remember. One is that when Giacomelli left the pits in Imola he heard weird noise coming from the engine, and that noise was the first time the engine was running on all 12 cylinders. Also, that breakdown after 400m was caused by the mechanics not putting any oil in the engine as a protest. Also, wouldn’t mark blundell’s Q2 time at the 1995 British GP be the slowest qualifying time ever at 56 minutes?

[@d00dEEE]

7:10 To put this in perspective, I could do an Imola-length race (~3 miles) on my good TT bike at an average of just under 30 MPH way back when I was in my 40s.

[@marklittle8805]

The W12 was a neat idea....and the VW/Bentley made it work but it was never gonna work in a sport where engines are light and small before they are powerful

[@astrofan8775]

tbh the Life-W12 is a "true" (original/aeronautical) W12, where as the VW/Bentley W12 is a completely different idea (one that i am a bit surprised that noone seemed to try before them, although i probably am missing something, not an expert on the matter). Basically the classic design (used by Life, coming from the early planes) has 3 banks of cylinders, which in a plane behind a propeller is not a problem, in part because you can just put the exhaust wherever you want, while in a car you can't do that, and as a result always have an intake (cold side) next to an exhaust (hot side). And you don't want that. The "modern" (imo the way it can actually work in a car, so "automotive") W-Engines are basically 2 V-Engines put together, making an engine with 4 banks of cylinders (that is why Life in their W12 had an engines 4 cylinders long, while the Bentley-W12 is only 3 Cylinders long). This makes it so that you have to route the inner exhausts either around the cooling at the front, or the drivetrain at the back of the engine, but you always have a cold side next to air or another cold side, which is what you want if you want any consistent or good performance. Add to that that the engine is basically mirrored, and as a result statically balanced (not neccesesarily in movement, that is another matter entirely), while with 3 banks one side was usually a bit heavier than the other, making it slightly lopsided, which is not good, especially for a performance-car (unless you're making a pure Oval-Racer, then that might actually be quite a good thing). A modern W-Engine will probably never be put in a short-distance or light-weight racer (or if it does, not well), but they can be a decent choice for quite a lot of performance driving, i think Bentley do still use them in their racing cars, which as far as i am aware a most certainly not Lifes, but in fact quite good.

[@charamia9402]

I genuinely enjoy these story time videos centered around obscure facts. It makes my inner nerdgeek happy😊

[@TheShockninja]

According to a mechanic for the Life team, it was actually planned that Mika Hakkinen would test the car (I forget where) at around the time after Jerez, which obviously didn't happen.

[@malliabird42]

Fun Fact - LeMans winning AF Corsa Hypercar team manager Antonello Coletta was a sporting director with Forti Corsa. Not a bad career progression

[@LJW1912]

The most sophisticated motorsports channel, whose patreon tagline is 'big up to the patreon massive' haha

[@tommytoofar]

East Side is best....

[@soundscape26]

Damn, you always come up topics I had no idea I needed to know about.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Feels like I’m following you all around the F1 KZbin sphere lol But you’re completely right love this channel lovely change from how toxic KZbin channels can be and so manny unusual stories

[@AidanMillward]

@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 I’ve always operated under the pretence of “here’s a thing I’m interested in, here it is, if you like it then cool. If you don’t then that’s fine, cos you can’t please everyone” Too many people are on the internet trying to be something they’re not.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@AidanMillward and we love this channel for it Close to 100k now you know what that means haha

[@soundscape26]

@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 Oh hey there. Yeah, I'm a big fan of the lesser known F1 (mostly) stories Adian digs up. Quality research. Just recently I name-dropped the channel to someone who was looking for this kind of more vintage material. As for the comments here yes, usually much more savvy than other channels like The Race or P1 which are solid channels but of course by being more mainstream attract all kinds of people. I enjoy some banter but sometimes the stupidity is just too much.

[@ElectoneGuy]

I'm not going to post a link, but there's a video on KZbin showing pre-qualifying in Montreal in 1990. It shows the various cars going by the pit straight and then you guessed it, the Life. A 1990 Ford Tempo would have been faster...

[@ronloomis9555]

Loved this story, one of your best From Minneapolis Minnesota U.S.A.

[@striderx8255]

Just to add to the hilarity, this car managed to be beat arguably the previous slowest lap ever clocked by Subaru Coloni at the season opener with Bertrand Gachot somehow clocking a 5:15.010. At least Coloni was saved from that embarrassment

[@leandrociarrapico9256]

According to Gachot himself, the clutch failed at the start of his only lap, and they couldn't fix it in time.

[@Kerhuz]

I remember rooting for these guys! As a kid all i wanted at the time was for SuperMonaco GP to be released next year with the ability to start in the Life Team and move up the ranks.

[@oceanman3996]

Awesome driving to complete the lap with those problems. I’m confident most drivers would quit but he kept going. Respect to 🇮🇹 From 🇦🇺

[@kurtisduke2685]

I loved minardi they were and still are one of my favourite F1 teams that ever existed and they gave us some of the gratest driver's Alonso,Raikkonen and so on.

[@gordonwallin2368]

Fun video, thanks. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@JohnSmithShields]

Great extra detail on episode 2. Well played Aidan.

[@cowcocky]

Maybe it’s time for a David Brabham episode? His name popping up regularly must be a sign.😉

[@IrishPartizan]

Roberto Moreno shows up......again. Fancy that.

[@stuartwelsford8909]

Terrific video

[@Cnimail]

ORIGINAL RFACTOR LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@AidanMillward]

it’s come in clutch several times over the years.

[@minibus9]

awesome video

[@corpsecoder_nw6746]

7:33-7:39 that realization is the funniest thing I've heard.

[@joewegen8928]

Just watched One life on the limit again and every time I watch it as a 15 year old now I remember why I loved it so much as a little 6 year old kid who wanted to convince my dad that I was gonna end up in F1. Even tho I‘m young time bloody flies

[@Tacko14]

Where did you see it? I’ve been looking for it, only saw it once

[@AidanMillward]

@@Tacko14 it’s on iTunes

[@joewegen8928]

@@Tacko14 I have it on DVD but it is on KZbin in English

[@TOFKAS01]

So what? That was a very good pole-position!!!...We are talking about the old Nuerburgring...in 1969....right?

[@reptongeek]

I saw the name of Marco Apicella who is known for having the shortest f1 career ever. Or was it someone else

[@MatthewLewisAtlanta]

Yes that's because he crashed at turn 1 in his only start.

[@cyberbeat11]

no it was Enst Loof. Ernst Loof had a mechanical 4 meters into the 1953 German GP

[@jimgraves4197]

Im sure James Hunt did some looooooong lap times courtesy of pulling over and having a kip to recover from a hangover.

[@mrkipling2201]

Or to have a beer, cigarette and quality time with his latest blonde !!😂😂

[@MillionaireWizard]

3:21 I'm surprised you forgot to bring up Rob Wilson, who was one of the drivers who was asked to replace Gary Brabham in the Life. And he said, to the shock of just about everyone, actually wanted to drive the car, especially if they[Life] expanded to a two-car line-up.

[@stuartwelsford8909]

And I would LOVE to buy you an ice cold beer!

[@MatthewLewisAtlanta]

It has been stated (perhaps in that Italian interview with the mechanics with. English subtitles or the interview with Ernesto himself that I roughly tried to translate using Google Translate?) that the car suffered a (surprise?!) breakdown during Giacomelli's lap and had to be towed in. The timing transmitters wire still active in the car so they kept recording as the car sat idle waiting on a tow and while the car was in tow back to the garage. So the car didn't technically make the lap under its own power. Still.... With that being said, it's *still* probably faster than the Life could have managed under its own power!!!

[@MrMcKane]

I have some autosport magazines from 1990. I'll see later on if I can find anything about the Lap time.

[@michaellakinloch5371]

I do enjoy the stories of the odd and obscure teams and drivers; they're colourful. I knew about most of this before -- the hole in the engine was new, and I'd like to know more -- but still liked it very much. I'd like to see something about the Dywa (or was it Dwya?) that turned up in practice at a British race one, driven by Piercarlo Ghinzani, described as a "self-steering device" I recall, and disappeared after that. The original Maki might be an interesting story.

[@Batters56]

I initially read this is as the slowest pole lap… might make an interesting video? I’m supposing it could also be be called the wettest qualifying that actually ran, but I’d be happy to find out!

[@Batters56]

Thanks

[@Minardimaniac]

At the 2017 Minardi Days GCM drove a M192 around Imola in first gear as a demonstration. Even this should have been a bit faster than those 7+ Minutes. Of course he didn't want to risk such a car by going quick considering his age.

[@MScotty90]

Finally, a record I can beat in the sim.

[@glockmat]

NGL, I can probably beat it driving backwards, 40 KMH

[@RACECAR]

I legitimately wonder if I can beat it in something slow and absolutely shocking to drive, just to drove that I could.

[@MScotty90]

@@RACECAR I might have to fire up AMS2 and give it a go in a Formula Truck.

[@CD-Gaming]

Screw on lap the Green Hell, I've a seen a car go round there twice in less time the Life went round San Marino ONCE! Technically speaking, I guess...

[@Mistertbones]

The Life F1 team, what a failure. Also, our old friend Roberto Moreno shows up.

[@LukeTansiongco]

Still among my favorite F1 cars ever

[@EddieVanAidan]

I reckon this car could take Eau Rouge flat. Actually who am I kidding it would break down before it got through La Source

[@BlueSkyBS]

Life wasn't the only W12 trying to get into F1. MGN was there, as well, but never made it to a race weekend. Sadly, for one Le Mans entry, it successfully ruined their entire campaign by, simply, refusing to fire up. A DNQ because their engine was doing its impression of an immovable lump of metal.

[@Hesitatedeye]

Ah Life how shit they must of have been if Aidan's Brazilian hero refused to drive for them. I am course referring to The Man, The Myth, The Meme Legend Roberto Moreno.

[@AidanMillward]

My Brazilian hero is Ronaldinho.

[@Hesitatedeye]

@@AidanMillward Remind me never to take you to Parkhead if that's your answer.

[@vanbaasten17]

Another cameo by roberto

[@Huseyincc]

If this video was under the 7 minutes it would be super funny

[@Mishima505]

I looked up what happened to Gary Brabham….and rather wish I hadn’t…

[@Mishima505]

@matthewschinazzi6594 utterly

[@karstenhanel8481]

Okay for the modern grand prix circuits this is true. But on long distance circuits like the old Nürburgring the times were much longer

[@F1Krazy]

What's funny is that Life weren't even the only team with a terrible 12-cylinder engine to set such a slow lap time that season. At the opening round in Phoenix, Bertrand Gachot recorded a time of 5:15.010 after his Coloni's gearbox broke during his first lap.

[@rars0n]

You are one of the rare channels that I like to listen to at 1x. I usually watch KZbin videos at 1.3x, or occasionally even as fast as 1.5x, but your delivery is just perfect as it is. An absolute pleasure to listen to.

[@upthebracket26]

The Bykolles of F1.

[@andrewbowen4544]

The Life went up Goodwood Hill Climb at FOS in 2009

[@Tacko14]

I can just see other drivers waking up early as well, just to be trackside and jeer :)

[@TommyGuns666]

I think rush hour traffic on Lake Shore Drive is faster than that lap LOL

[@pchico5035]

7:34 I can't talk about this team without laughing lol

[@TheGreekModeler]

Wtat about Perry McCarthys 34 Minutes lap time in Monaco 1992.

[@AidanMillward]

When half his car is salvaged to go on the other one, then it’s not really fair to compare. 😅

[@areasquirrel]

Whoa! Remake!

[@AidanMillward]

Not exactly. Just expanding on something that was in the original that I always found interesting.

[@areasquirrel]

​@@AidanMillwardWell, the bit about the lap possibly being logged because they did with Senna at Donington is interesting, hadn't thought of that.

[@AidanMillward]

@@areasquirrel it happened three years before senna. I think it’s cos there were no speed limits in the pit lane or as many sensors or trackers available so it was always timing.

[@Thebibs]

I miss Osella

[@redthezz]

Imagine a whole series run on Life W12 racing engines. "Annnnnnd the winner is...."

[@alecerdmann8505]

24 Hrs of Imola, except the same number of laps as the F1 Grand Prix.

[@llmkursk8254]

I wonder how well a proper W12 could work, if manufactured properly. The Life team comes across as a poor hodgepodge grasping for straws when the man holding them has run out, and it’s mostly a teething issue rather than any one fault.

[@rodclark5831]

The closing image of the car; it's intake made me smirk and look wee a bit closer. Check out the left rear looks like an additional 14 degrees of camber found its' way onto just that one corner. I hope that explains the + 5:50 lap time

[@goodwood-rc4nx]

last time a car took that long to do a lap is likely when Le Mans was a non tarmacked track

[@shadowguy128]

Imagine if the car took a hotlap around the Nurburgring 🤣🤣🤣

[@VonBlade]

Was Andrea Moda a shoe salesman or a mafioso with a different business front?

[@AidanMillward]

Why not both?

[@Kam1Kaz3NL77]

Life is Life....la-la-la-laaaa....lalala LIFE.......

[@RBenjo21]

I wonder if there’s some thing that if you crossed the timing beam it didn’t stop running? Rubens Barrichello did a “lap time” at Imola 1994 of 14:57.323 - not a clue how, given he ended the lap upside down. Mark Blundell did a lap at Silverstone 1995 in Q2 of 56:10.060. Again, no clue how.

[@samiraperi467]

Life and death of Life.

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

I guess Bruno took Tamburello WIDE OPEN?

[@nitrous36]

If you could give any failed F1 team a second chance, which one would it be and why?

[@heliumtrophy]

Yeah about Gary Brabham.....there's a lot of that going about.

[@AidanMillward]

Yeah. He managed to keep it surpressed for a time.

[@Milton_Valenzuela]

It didn't have the LIFE to sustain Racing Immortality

[@QwertiusMaximus]

Maybe the car would be faster if the driver got out and pushed.

[@pilotlasse]

3:40 Okay, now I wanna watch it somewhere. Is the full thing on the Top Gear youtube channel by any chance? Edit: that must have been very weird to look at at the time.

[@scsutton1]

It's on iPlayer.

[@azapro911]

Life. Isn't everythiiiii-ing.

[@tem0079]

Death by ads 🤬

[@DerGeraet205]

The fastest lap of F1 has been covered to death already, now the slowest lap too. Is there a way to find the middle between them for some sort of most average F1 lap ever?😂

[@potatogirlcultist19]

The fact this car had a Soviet Union flag on the car just makes it 100000 times funnier

[@tomast9034]

well i would be happy if i could design a car doing one full race without problems..even if the times would be ....bad

[@olivergambrell9763]

Just ask The Stig about the Italian salesman!

[@TonyEmond]

Imagine how bad a car had to be that Roberto Moreno wouldn't drive it.

[@elliot4805]

How is that even possible to be racing with the number 39

[@AidanMillward]

If a new team came along it was allocated the next number in sequence. Numbers only swapped if the championships swapped. When Williams won in 1980 they had numbers 27 and 28, this swapped with Ferrari who had 1 and 2. It’s why Ferraris had 27 and 28 for so long, and why Tyrrell had 3 and 4 despite winning nothing.

[@huyra8019]

Andrea moda moment

[@AJZulu]

Fking hilarious

[@Woodie-xq1ew]

I couldn’t keep a straight face listening to your nordschleife factoid so I’m not surprised you couldn’t keep a straight face saying it. It’s hilariously slow

[@fuller9x]

If you're going to talk about teams in a van with strong pornography and nothing but booze in the back, then you should do an obscure story on Hesketh Racing

[@DeMichel93]

1:01 why have you used a picture of Ferrari strategist?

[@Ramtamtama]

And, after this attempt, nobody entered F1 with more than 2 banks of cylinders, with no car qualifying that didn't have a V-angled motor. PS I average more than 26mph on the drive to Asda

[@dav1dd552]

perry mcharty did a 16 minute around monaco

[@buckfaststradler4629]

I'll bet none of the smart arses tittering here could go round Imola at all in any F1 car at any speed.

[@AidanMillward]

Yeah I could. 😎

[@buckfaststradler4629]

@@AidanMillward On a Playstation perhaps!

[@MAte925]

More like death as far as outcomes!

[@autdelux]

i love the mention that these slow teams had made deals with questionable companys while today almost all do this with crypto scam companys today and lets not forget aramco and others ^^

[@michaelklei6234]

You're faster on a bicycle

[@drivenbacon9354]

Bro imagine life the worst f1 team OAT and Yuji Ide the worst f1 driver OAT😂

[@marguskiis7711]

Car which had USSR flag on!

[@bensteward8937]

Wow. My 32 tonne truck I drive ar work is faster than an f1 car

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

AND my 38 foot Holiday Rambler RV! Of course, it relates to his last video about Dirty Diesel.

[@harblewarble6427]

This channel used to be good, wtf happened?!