Larrousse

Larrousse Formula One wasn’t just another team on the grid; it was a bold French motorsport adventure that packed podium highs to scandalous lows into just eight seasons. Founded in 1987 by businessman Didier Calmels and ex-racer Gérard Larrousse under the banner Larrousse & Calmels, the team was headquartered in Antony, on the southern outskirts of Paris. Calmels’ dramatic fall from grace (he was imprisoned for the murder of his wife) left Larrousse as the sole figurehead, and from then on, the team carried only his name.

The squad soldiered on until 1994 before financial collapse forced it off the grid. But in those years, Larrousse managed a highlight reel that included a podium finish at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, a reputation for pluck and perseverance, and more off-track chaos than some teams manage in a lifetime.

Formula One Years

The Lola Era: 1987–1991

At launch, Larrousse & Calmels leaned on British constructor Lola, commissioning a chassis called the LC87 (internally Lola’s T87/30), penned by Eric Broadley and Ralph Bellamy. Power came from the trusty Cosworth DFZ V8, and the team entered in the underpopulated normally aspirated category.

The maiden season in 1987 saw just one car for Philippe Alliot, before Yannick Dalmas joined late in the year. With a three-year Lola deal secured, Chris Murphy was poached from Zakspeed to aid Bellamy, while the future beckoned with a switch to Lamborghini V12 engines in 1989.

In 1988, the team recruited star designer Gérard Ducarouge, formerly of Renault and Lotus. But by spring 1989, Calmels was forced out after his imprisonment, and the team rebranded simply as Larrousse.

The 1989 season mixed stability and turbulence. Alliot stayed, while Dalmas, recovering from Legionnaires’ disease, was dropped mid-year. His seat rotated between rookie Éric Bernard and ex-Tyrrell veteran Michele Alboreto. That same year, Larrousse sold half the team to Japan’s Espo Corporation, paving the way for Japanese driver Aguri Suzuki to partner with Bernard in 1990. A move south to Signes, near the Paul Ricard circuit, capped the period of transformation.

And then came glory. In 1990, against the odds, Larrousse’s small team produced its best-ever season. Despite battling through pre-qualifying, Suzuki thrilled his home fans with a spectacular third place at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix — the team’s first and only podium. Sixth in the 1990 Constructors’ Championship cemented Larrousse’s best year, even though storm clouds soon gathered.

First, Lamborghini jumped ship to Ligier. Then the FIA accused the team of misrepresenting their chassis as self-built when Lola had done the design and construction. It was an administrative misstep rather than outright cheating, but the punishment was brutal: Larrousse lost its 1990 championship points. The blow was softened by the fact they kept the associated prize money and, mercifully, escaped pre-qualifying the next year.

In 1991, with Lamborghini gone, Larrousse struck a deal with Brian Hart for engines. But Espo’s withdrawal left the finances shaky. The car had flashes of pace but was plagued by unreliability. Suzuki scraped a sixth place in Phoenix, Bernard scored another in Mexico, but a terrifying crash at Suzuka sidelined him with a badly broken leg. The drama didn’t end there: Belgian driver Bertrand Gachot, freshly released from jail after an altercation with a London taxi driver, returned for the final race in Australia.

By mid-season, debts mounted. Central Park, a Japanese company, invested, but the team lost Ducarouge and failed to pay both Lola and Hart. Merger talks with fellow French team AGS fizzled out. Trouble was brewing.

The Venturi Experiment: 1992

With survival on the line, Larrousse brought in Robin Herd (ex-Fondmetal) to design a car, and sold 65% of the team to French sports car maker Venturi. Lamborghini engines returned, with Bertrand Gachot and Ukyo Katayama behind the wheel.

On track, 1992 belonged to Williams, but Larrousse did snatch a single point when Gachot finished sixth at Monaco. Unfortunately, the teammates collided twice that year — in Canada and Japan — underlining a season of tension.

Off track, things got darker. In September, Venturi sold its stake to Comstock, led by Rainer Walldorf — later revealed as Klaus Walz, a wanted man tied to multiple murders across Europe. His story ended in cinematic fashion: a nine-hour gunfight with police in a German hotel after throwing a hand grenade during a raid. It was just another bizarre twist in Larrousse’s chaotic history.

Building Their Own: 1993–1994

In 1993, Larrousse finally fielded an in-house chassis, though the results were underwhelming. Drivers Philippe Alliot and Érik Comas collected only two points finishes. Japanese driver Toshio Suzuki briefly filled in for Alliot, bringing some extra sponsorship for the season’s flyaway races.

The following year brought yet another overhaul. With Lamborghini gone and Peugeot choosing McLaren, Larrousse reverted to customer Ford HB engines, far behind the cutting-edge Ford Zetec-R that powered Benetton to wins. Partners appeared in the shape of Fast Group SA, led by Ferrari dealer Michel Golay and ex-F1 driver Patrick Tambay. Sponsorship came from Belgian brewer Alken-Maes, painting the cars in Tourtel alcohol-free beer green, with occasional Kronenbourg red-and-white liveries.

Behind the wheel, Olivier Beretta joined Comas. Reliability was dreadful, but Comas still picked up two sixth-place finishes at the Pacific and German Grands Prix — the latter in a race that saw only eight cars make the finish. As money dried up, the team shuffled through drivers, including returning veterans Alliot and Dalmas, plus rookies Hideki Noda and Jean-Denis Délétraz.

Larrousse also found itself tangled in the infamous Benetton refuelling fire scandal of 1994. When fuel rig supplier Intertechnique asked them to remove a safety filter, the team reported it to the FIA. Benetton, caught doing the same without permission, ended up at the heart of the controversy.

The Collapse: 1995

Robin Herd designed a new car for 1995, but funds ran out before it could be built. Larrousse appeared on the entry list, with Comas named as a driver, but survival hinged on a merger. Options included a return to Lola (still unpaid from earlier collaborations) or partnering with DAMS, who had an unused Reynard-designed F1 chassis. Talks with DAMS boss Jean-Paul Driot collapsed, leaving Larrousse scrambling.

The backup plan was to update the old LH94 to new regulations while waiting on potential French government funding, compensation for the Loi Evin ban on tobacco and alcohol sponsorship. Gérard Larrousse sold majority control to Laurent Barlesi and Jean Messaoudi, who had tried and failed to launch their own team.

Driver rumours swirled — Comas, Emmanuel Collard, Elton Julian, Éric Hélary, Christophe Bouchut, and Éric Bernard were all mentioned — but the team never made it to the grid. Government money didn’t arrive, Ford refused to supply engines without payment, and promised sponsorship from Petronas evaporated without race appearances. Legal battles with Tambay and Golay piled on the pressure.

By the time the 1995 season began, Larrousse skipped the early rounds and then withdrew entirely. Gérard Larrousse talked of returning in 1996, but lawsuits and the scale of the collapse made that impossible.

The fall of Larrousse drew a wider crisis for French motorsport: AGS had already disappeared, and Ligier had fallen into foreign hands under Flavio Briatore and Tom Walkinshaw. For a nation that had once dreamed of F1 glory, the loss was heavy.

Larrousse Formula One World Championship Records

First entry	1987 San Marino Grand Prix
Constructors	Lola Venturi Larrousse
Races Entered	127
Constructors’ Championships	0
Drivers’ Championships	0
Race victories	0
Podiums	1
Points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
Final entry	1994 Australian Grand Prix

Larrousse Championship Results

Year	Chassis	Engine(s)	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
Lola
1987	LC87	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8		BRA	SMR	BEL	MON	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	ESP	MEX	JPN	AUS	3	9th
			Yannick Dalmas														9	14	5*
			Philippe Alliot		10	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	6	6	Ret	Ret
1988	LC88	Ford Cosworth DFZ 3.5 V8		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	0	NC
			Yannick Dalmas	Ret	12	7	9	DNQ	7	13	13	19	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	11
			Aguri Suzuki															16
			Pierre-Henri Raphanel																DNQ
			Philippe Alliot	Ret	17	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	12	9	Ret	Ret	14	9	10	0	NC
1989	LC88B LC89	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12		BRA	SMR	MON	MEX	USA	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	1	15th
			Yannick Dalmas	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ	DNQ
			Éric Bernard							11	Ret
			Michele Alboreto									Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	DNPQ	DNQ	DNPQ
			Philippe Alliot	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNPQ	16	Ret	9	6	Ret	Ret
1990	LC89B LC90	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	11	6th^
			Éric Bernard	8	Ret	13	6	9	Ret	8	4	Ret	6	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
			Aguri Suzuki	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	7	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	14	6	3	Ret
1991	LC91	Ford Cosworth DFR 3.5 V8		USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN	AUS	2	11th
			Éric Bernard	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNQ
			Bertrand Gachot																DNQ
			Aguri Suzuki	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret	DNQ
Venturi
1992	LC92	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12		RSA	MEX	BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS	1	11th
			Bertrand Gachot	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	DSQ	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	18	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
			Ukyo Katayama	12	12	9	DNQ	Ret	DNPQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	17	9	Ret	11	Ret
Larrousse
1993	LH93	Lamborghini 3512 3.5 V12		RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	JPN	AUS	3	10th
			Philippe Alliot	Ret	7	Ret	5	Ret	12	Ret	9	11	12	8	12	9	10
			Toshio Suzuki															12	14
			Érik Comas	Ret	10	9	Ret	9	Ret	8	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	11	Ret	12
1994	LH94	Ford HBF7/8 3.5 V8		BRA	PAC	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS	2	11th
			Olivier Beretta	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	DNS	Ret	Ret	14	7	9
			Philippe Alliot											Ret
			Yannick Dalmas												Ret	14
			Hideki Noda														Ret	Ret	Ret
			Érik Comas	9	6	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	6	8	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	9
			Jean-Denis Délétraz																Ret