Simtek Research was established in August 1989 by Nick Wirth, Max Mosley, and Donald Hughes as a cost-effective design and development consultancy for motorsport clients. Initially operating from Wirth's home with a single employee, the company grew rapidly and established a facility including a wind tunnel on the Acres Industrial Estate in Banbury, Oxfordshire. Clients included the FIA, the Ligier F1 constructor, and numerous Formula 3000 and IndyCar teams.
In 1990 Simtek designed a Formula One car for BMW, which was exploring a works F1 entry. The project was cancelled and BMW instead entered the German Touring Car Championship in 1991, with Simtek engineers involved in the effort. The BMW F1 car design was subsequently updated and sold to Andrea Moda Formula for the 1992 season. When Mosley became FIA president in 1992, he sold his share in Simtek to Wirth.
Nick Wirth decided in August 1993 to enter Formula One with his own team for the 1994 season. Triple world champion Jack Brabham became a shareholder, and his son David Brabham was signed as one driver. Austrian veteran Roland Ratzenberger, who had been racing in Japan, secured the second seat. Charlie Moody, a former Leyton House manager, was appointed team manager.
Simtek secured Ford HB V8 engines from Cosworth and MTV Europe as title sponsor. Wirth's original design had included active suspension, but the technology was banned before the season began, forcing a reversion to a conventional passive design named the S941. The car was heavy, used a manual gearbox while rivals had semi-automatics, and the Ford HB engine was less powerful than those available to the front-running teams. With only 35 employees — 10 percent of Ferrari's headcount — Simtek was operating on a skeleton staff.
The season opened badly. Brabham qualified last and Ratzenberger failed to qualify at the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the third round, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, tragedy struck. During Saturday qualifying, Ratzenberger dislodged his front wing on an out-lap and rejoined the circuit without stopping. Attempting to secure his qualifying position, he began a flying lap; at the Villeneuve curve the wing failed catastrophically at approximately 310 km/h. Ratzenberger suffered a basal skull fracture and was killed instantly. It was the first driver fatality at a Grand Prix weekend in 12 years. The following day Ayrton Senna was also killed in the race itself.
Despite the devastating loss of their teammate, David Brabham chose to race in tribute to Ratzenberger. "For Roland" was painted on the airbox of the surviving car, and the team resolved to continue the season. At Monaco, the team entered a single car; the second grid slot was painted with the Austrian flag in memory of Ratzenberger.
As the season progressed, Simtek stabilised. After a string of single-car entries and retirements, Jean-Marc Gounon drove to ninth place in France — the team's best finish of the season — partly aided by high attrition among faster cars. Domenico Schiattarella and Taki Inoue completed the year as the second driver rotated to accommodate pay drivers. Simtek ended 1994 without a championship point but with its competitive standing relative to Pacific improving steadily.
Wirth designed a new chassis for 1995, the S951, fitted with the more modern Ford ED V8 engine and former Benetton gearboxes. Jos Verstappen, seeking race miles after his incident-filled 1994 campaign at Benetton, replaced Brabham; Schiattarella retained the second seat. MTV Europe remained as title sponsor, paying in advertising airtime rather than cash, which Simtek then sold to other sponsors.
Argentina offered the season's brightest moment: Verstappen qualified 14th and ran sixth before a gearbox failure, while Schiattarella finished ninth to match the team's best result. However, behind the scenes the financial situation was deteriorating. After Monaco, Wirth revealed the team had accumulated six million pounds of debt and that a promised major backer had pulled out. Attempts to recruit fresh sponsorship failed.
Simtek did not appear at the Canadian Grand Prix while Wirth sought funding. The search was unsuccessful. Prior to the French Grand Prix, Simtek Grand Prix went into voluntary liquidation; the receivers Touche Ross were called in. The collapse of the racing team dragged Simtek Research into bankruptcy as well. Forty-eight jobs were lost and the team's assets were auctioned, with the two S951 chassis selling for £18,000 and £16,000 respectively.
Simtek's story is inextricably linked with the 1994 San Marino weekend and Roland Ratzenberger's death. The team's decision to continue racing after losing Ratzenberger, and to operate without a point throughout two seasons, reflects the conditions faced by the smallest and least-funded teams in 1990s Formula One. Nick Wirth went on to found Wirth Research and later served as technical director at Virgin Racing, where the VR-01 became the first F1 car designed entirely by computational fluid dynamics without wind tunnel testing.