The S921's design had been purchased from Simtek Research, a company led by Nick Wirth. Simtek had originally created the machine in 1990 as a proposed entry vehicle for BMW's contemplated Formula One program, which ultimately did not proceed. When Italian shoe designer Andrea Sassetti acquired the Coloni F1 team in September 1991 — renaming it Andrea Moda Formula — his staff acquired and updated the old Simtek-BMW design. Two chassis were built. The car was fitted with Judd V10 engines, though these were not in place in time for the start of the 1992 season.
The team's troubled 1992 campaign began before the S921 even ran competitively. At the season-opening South African Grand Prix, Sassetti arrived with a modified Coloni C4B chassis for Caffi and Bertaggia, but the team was excluded from the event for having failed to pay the mandatory $100,000 deposit required of new championship entrants. At the Mexican round, the team appeared with its equipment but the cars remained unfinished and neither ran.
Roberto Moreno gave the S921 its first competitive run at the Brazilian Grand Prix, where he attempted but failed to pre-qualify. Perry McCarthy — who had previously tested for Williams and would later gain wide recognition as The Stig on the BBC's Top Gear — received his FIA Super Licence in time for the Spanish round, but the car expired a short distance down the pitlane in its first attempt.
The season's one genuine competitive highlight came at the Monaco Grand Prix. Moreno successfully navigated the pre-qualifying session and then qualified the S921 in 26th place on the grid — the only time a Moreno or McCarthy-driven Andrea Moda car would make the race grid. He managed to climb as high as 19th before retiring on lap 11 with engine failure.
The pattern of near-total failure continued throughout the remainder of the season. At the Canadian Grand Prix, the team was without engines because Sassetti had neglected to pay Judd; a borrowed motor from Brabham allowed Moreno a few laps but he failed to pre-qualify. The team missed the French Grand Prix entirely because its truck was stuck in one of the French truckers' blockades — a delay that had been successfully navigated by every other team on the grid.
McCarthy's treatment by the team deteriorated steadily. He was sent out on wet tyres on a dry track at the British Grand Prix and at the Hungarian round was released from the pit lane only 45 seconds before the end of the pre-qualifying session, making a competitive lap time impossible. The FIA formally warned the team to make meaningful efforts to run McCarthy's car or face expulsion.
At the Belgian Grand Prix, with Brabham having withdrawn and the entry list dropping to 30 cars, pre-qualifying was eliminated and both Andrea Moda cars were guaranteed entry into qualifying proper. Moreno qualified 13% slower than pole; McCarthy, who was involved in an accident during his session, was 22% slower. Neither car was allowed to start the race. In the same weekend, Sassetti was arrested in the paddock on allegations of forging auto part invoices.
On 8 September 1992, the FIA World Motor Sport Council expelled Andrea Moda Formula from the remainder of the season, citing the team's failure to operate "in a manner compatible with the standards of the championship or in any way brings the championship into disrepute." The team was refused entry to the Monza paddock for the Italian Grand Prix. The S921 finished last in the 1992 Constructors' Championship with no points scored.
The Andrea Moda S921 and the team that ran it have become enduring symbols of Formula One at its most chaotic. Perry McCarthy later wrote about his experiences with the team, and the episode was widely catalogued in Formula One retrospectives on the sport's worst entries. In October 2023, a documentary film titled Last and Furious — The True Story of the Andrea Moda Formula was presented at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, revisiting the team's extraordinary single season. In 2021, Motorsport Week ranked Andrea Moda Formula second on its list of the ten worst teams in Formula One history.
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