FIA banned F1 team for life after its owner was arrested in the paddock

The FIA banned a team for life after an incident where the owner was arrested at the paddock.

Formula One has some of the most advanced cars and technology, which keeps getting better as the years progress. McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes have won Constructors Championships in recent years for their good performances.

However, in the past there have also been constructors that did not do a great job in building a car. Ownership in F1 is also vital and there are some great examples of this as well - but in 1992 a team was shut down and effectively banned from the sport because of poor car construction. The owner was also arrested in the paddock while preparing for one of the races on the calendar.

Andrea Moda driver Roberto Moreno at the Belgian Grand Prix (Photo by Pascal Rondeau/Getty Images)

Andrea Moda Formula lasted less than a year

Andrea Moda Formula was owned by famous Italian shoe designer Andrea Sassetti - who was arrested in the paddock at the Belgian Grand Prix.

However, there was a lot that happened before that incident near the track.

Sassetti initially had bought the Coloni F1 team in 1991 after a torrid patch in the previous four years, having only qualified for 14 of the 82 races in that time.

The management changed the name to Andrea Moda, but the fortune of the team would remain the same.

Controversy surrounded Moda from the first race itself as they failed to pay the $100,000 deposit, which new teams were required to do, and therefore didn't race.

Following this, in the next round, Sassetti fired his drivers Alex Caffi and Enrico Bertaggia as they complained about the situation regarding the cars.

Sassetti then went on to bring British driver Perry McCarthy to the team for the Brazilian Grand Prix, but the team failed to qualify there as well.

Andrea Moda did not see the F1 grid for the race until the Monte Carlo, but their driver Roberto Moreno only managed a 19th place finish.

Perry McCarthy was with the Andrea Moda Formula One team [Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images]

What happened at the Belgian Grand Prix?

Five more races led to no qualifications and it eventually culminated in a major incident at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The team had been trying to get rid of McCarthy but were not able to do that due to FIA regulations. Early in the Belgian Grand Prix, the Brit driver suffered a high speed crash.

On the same weekend as the crash, Sassetti was arrested in the paddock for allegedly forging invoices relating to auto parts for his team's cars.

The FIA immediately issued an indefinite ban on the team citing the reason of bringing the sport to disrepute.

While Sassetti tried to return back to the Monza race, they were denied entry into the circuit. McCarthy did not participate in F1 after the unfortunate accident, but made appearances on BBC's Top Gear and also offered commentary for F1 races.