In F1’s long history, many teams arrived with hope and disappeared just as quickly. Rial Racing was one of those short-lived names, remembered more for its promise than its time on the grid.
The late 1980s was not kind to newcomers, it was a place ruled by giants, where budgets were growing fast and mistakes were punished immediately.
Rial Racing stepped into F1 as a small German team with big hopes. The project began in 1988, led by Günter Schmid, a familiar name in the paddock and among fans. He had already lived the F1 dream once with the ATS F1 team, and this was now his second attempt to make it work.
He believed the lessons were learned and expected better results and improved management in the second attempt.
The first time he entered F1, back in 1977, he bought assets from the American Penske team. The second time was very different. This time, he chose to build everything from scratch, creating the Rial Racing Formula One constructor and trying to do it all on his own.
However, what appeared on the grid was hard to miss. The car was painted in a deep blue and designed by former Ferrari engineer, Gustav Brunner.
Many fans quickly nicknamed it the ‘blue Ferrari‘, a label that followed Rial for the rest of its short life.
Rial Racing F1: One Car, One Shot
First season was built around simplicity, one car, one driver, and one clear target, survive and be competitive when possible.
We all know how competitive F1 was in 1988, especially with McLaren, who were the dominant team and had built one of the greatest cars in F1 history.
However, the F1 icon Andrea de Cesaris was Rial Racing driver for their first season, he was fast, and experienced driver.
Rial qualified for every race in 1988, and for a brand-new team, that alone felt like a small victory. Back then, only 26 cars were allowed to start a race, with pre-qualifying held on Friday mornings. Many teams struggled under those rules, like Osella, Coloni, and Eurobrun. But let’s be honest, Rial was far from being just another backmarker!
In the opening races, de Cesaris often had to bow out early. The Ford-Cosworth DFZ 3.5 engine under the hood had its limits, and mechanical failures reminded everyone that Rial was still a small team finding its footing in F1.
But it didn’t take long for Rial to make an impression. At Detroit, the sixth race of the season, de Cesaris tackled the tight and unforgiving street circuit. Rial Racing scored its first-ever Formula One points, a shocking result that suddenly had the tiny team mentioned alongside much bigger, more established names.
By the end of the season, Rial had scored three points and finished ninth in the constructors’ standings. For a debut year, it felt like proof that the team could grow. But the cracks were already showing.
Speed Without Security
The ARC1 had pace, but it was fragile, the most painful flaw was also the simplest, the fuel tank was too small.
Gustav Brunner had built the car as small and light as possible, hoping that its tiny, sleek shape would improve handling.
But the problem was, unlike McLaren’s turbocharged Honda-powered cars, which had advanced electronic fuel-management systems, Rial’s naturally aspirated Ford engine had no clever electronics to save fuel on the fly.
For comparison, Benetton used the same Ford engine but carried a 215-liter fuel tank, allowing them to push flat out in the race without worrying about running dry.
Yes, the ARC1 was quick, but those miscalculations cost the team dearly. Even when they were competitive and had a real chance at points, the tiny fuel tank made it almost impossible to finish the race properly.
Even so, there was belief that a second year would bring improvement.
When Expansion Went Wrong
For the new season, Rial decided to expand, two cars would now race under the team’s banner.
The ARC2 was introduced,
For 1989, Rial decided to expand. Two cars would now race under the team’s banner. The ARC2 was introduced, designed by Stefan Fober, the man who was at ATS F1 team years earlier.
However, the NO.1 driver for the team was Christian Danner, while several others rotated through the second seat.
From the outside, it looked like progress, but on track, it quickly became chaos.
The second car struggled just to make the grid. Pre-qualifying became a wall Rial could not climb, drivers came and went, confidence disappeared, and the team’s resources were stretched thin, with development stalling.
But still, there was one more moment of hope, at the US GP, Danner finished fourth, once again, Rial had matched its best result.
But it was not enough to change the direction of the season!
Better Than ATS, But for Less Time
Comparing ATS with Rial Racing, both teams created and owned by Gunter Schmid, Rial was more efficient than ATS.
In just two seasons, it scored almost as many points as Schmid’s previous team had managed across eight years.
However, retirements were frequent, mechanical problems never fully disappeared, and the 1989 expansion only made things worse.
Rial burned brighter than ATS, but it burned out faster!
The Decision to Walk Away
By the end of 1989, the reality was unavoidable for Rial Racing.
Again, money was running out, no sponsors, results were no longer improving.
A new car, the ARC3, was quietly being discussed, but Schmid had lost faith.
For Schmid, to continue would mean throwing more money into a project that could not keep pace with a rapidly changing F1 landscape.
Early in 1990, the decision was made, Rial Racing Team vanished, Schmid returned to focus on his wheel business., and F1 moved on without noticing.
Remembering Schmid and Rial Racing
After everything, Schmid deserves respect for taking on one of the most competitive arenas in motorsport history.
Yes, Rial Racing lasted only two seasons, and the results never fully matched their ambitions. But on the right day, under the right conditions, even a tiny private team could run near the front, and in doing so, they left their mark.
