Footwork entered 1993 in an uncertain position. The team, operating out of Bicester, had spent the previous season without the major resources needed to compete consistently in the midfield, and the FA13 had delivered limited returns. Rather than begin 1993 with an entirely new design, the team initially ran the FA13B — an updated version of the existing chassis — for the season's first two races before introducing the FA14 as a more substantial development step.
Derek Warwick returned to Formula One after a two-year break during which he had achieved considerable success in sports car racing, winning both the 1992 World Sportscar Championship and the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot. His experience and race-winning pedigree made him a valuable asset for a team seeking consistency and technical feedback. Suzuki, who had been with the team in 1992, continued in his role as the second driver.
The FA14's debut came at the European Grand Prix at Donington Park, a race notable for heavy rain and a high attrition rate. Neither Warwick nor Suzuki finished that opening outing, and early results reflected the car's mixed pace. Suzuki endured a particularly difficult run through the latter portion of the calendar, recording seven consecutive retirements as reliability problems accumulated.
Warwick, however, extracted some creditable results. He finished sixth at his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and then achieved his final Formula One points finish with a fourth place at the Hungaroring in Hungary — a result that underlined the car's potential when it ran reliably. It was the last championship point Warwick would score before his retirement from Formula One at the season's end.
Suzuki's trajectory through the year told a different story. Despite the retirement streak and a difficult opening at Donington — where he qualified at the back of the grid — his form recovered markedly. At the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuki qualified sixth, ahead of Warwick, and was running fifth before a gearbox failure ended his race. In the final round at Adelaide, he finished seventh.
A notable technical development came after the British Grand Prix. From Silverstone until the end of the season — when such systems would be banned — the Footwork FA14s ran with active suspension. The team had purchased a copy of the TAG Electronics active suspension system developed for and used by McLaren, effectively giving Footwork the same 1993-specification system as the top team.
The 1993 season proved to be the last full Formula One campaign for both drivers. Warwick retired from the series at the end of the year, having scored his final point at the Hungaroring. Suzuki subsequently drove brief stints for Jordan and Ligier in later seasons before also leaving Formula One. For 1994, Footwork replaced them with Christian Fittipaldi and Gianni Morbidelli.
The FA14 occupies a quiet place in 1993 Formula One history as a car that improved meaningfully across a season without ever challenging the midfield leaders. The adoption of the McLaren-specification active suspension system was a pragmatic move that reflected the resource constraints Footwork operated under, and it gave the car a degree of technical sophistication that was not always reflected in results. The retirements of both Warwick and Suzuki after the season closed a chapter in the team's driver history.