Oddest ever F1 team names from Antique Automobiles to Life

F1 team names have been a big talking point in the off-season as two constructors underwent a rebrand for the 2024 campaign.

Red Bull’s sister squad AlphaTauri changed its operation to Visa Cash App RB, while Sauber ditched its Alfa Romeo guise to sign a title sponsorship with online casino company Stake and live streaming platform Kick.

Both caused much controversy in F1 and Autosport’s Alex Kalinauckas believes it should alarm the series because they are nothing more than a “branding exercise” for extra funds.

However, not all teams in F1’s history have had a title as illustrious as Ferrari, McLaren or Williams, so here are five of the oddest names to have entered a grand prix weekend since the championship’s inauguration in 1950.  

Antique Automobiles  

Antique Automobiles was a privateer team run by Colin Crabbe that entered a single car into 14 grands prix as part of the F1 world championship.

Crabbe was a famous dealer of historic racing cars, hence the name, and struck deals with other teams so that Antique Automobiles could rent one of their cars for whatever race it entered. 

The British outfit made its debut at the 1969 Race of Champions, but driver Roy Pike failed to start his Brabham BT23B due to a fuel pump failure. Antique Automobiles then made its F1 debut at the 1969 Monaco GP, where Vic Elford drove his Cooper T86 to seventh before competing in four additional grands prix for the team that year, but in a McLaren M7B.

Antique Automobiles was a pretty competitive outfit, too, as Elford scored points at the French and British grands prix to end the year 14th in the championship.

Antique Automobiles then signed rookie Ronnie Peterson, who would eventually win 10 grands prix in his career, for the 1970 season. However, Peterson ended that year point-less, with seventh on his debut in Monaco (points then only being awarded for finishers in the top six positions) being his best result in the March 701.

The team’s final race was the 1970 United States GP, where Peterson finished 11th, as Crabbe turned down the offer to run a privateer Ferrari 312 in 1971 and opted to call it…