RAM Racing was a British Formula One racing team which competed during the racing seasons of 1976 to 1985. The team entered other manufacturers' chassis from 1976 to 1980, then ran March's team from 1981 to 1983, only entering a car entirely their own in 1984 and 1985. They scored no championship points.

The team was formed in 1975 by Mike Ralph and John Macdonald, with RAM derived from their names. After running Macdonald in a GRD in British Formula Three, they entered Alan Jones in a Formula 5000 March for 1976.

They also bought a pair of Brabham BT44B Formula One cars, and entered the 1976 World Championship, running Loris Kessel and Emilio de Villota for the Spanish Grand Prix, where neither qualified. However, both Kessel and another pay-driver, Patrick Nève, qualified for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Jac Nellemann, Damien Magee, Lella Lombardi and Bob Evans all making appearances in the cars. There were few finishes, and the pay-drivers meant the team were frequent non-qualifiers.

For 1977, Boy Hayje drove a RAM-entered March with little success, and a second "rent-a-car" did no better later in the year when driven by Andy Sutcliffe, Mikko Kozarowitzky or Michael Bleekemolen. However, they had some success running Guy Edwards in the Shellsport Group 8 Championship in Britain, finishing 2nd overall. For 1978 the team switched to the British Aurora Formula One series, with Edwards placing 4th overall that year in a March, and 5th overall the following season in a Fittipaldi F5A. For 1980, RAM made an investment in a pair of 1979-spec Williams FW07s, with Emilio de Villota winning the title. Sponsorship included American men's magazine Penthouse. They then entered one of these cars for Rupert Keegan in the British Grand Prix. Kevin Cogan and Geoff Lees would guest in another car in the last two rounds, but their best finish was Keegan's 9th place at the United States Grand Prix.

1981 saw RAM manage and run the returning March Grand Prix team, with Derek Daly and Eliseo Salazar driving. However, non-qualifications were frequent, and the team failed to score any points, Daly's 7th place at the British Grand Prix being their best result.

The combination stayed together for 1982, landing backing from Rothmans, and the new March 821 saw design work from a young Adrian Reynard. With veteran Jochen Mass to lead the team, backed up by Raul Boesel, hopes were high, but it was another disappointing year. Mass took 7th place at the Detroit Grand Prix, but as the car proved to be slow he lost motivation, and focused more on sports car racing with Porsche. From the German Grand Prix, Keegan took over the car, but RAM March once again failed to score points.

1983 saw the RAM name make itself onto the chassis for the first time, with Dave Kelly's RAM March 01 design. Salazar returned to drive the main entry, while a second car for Jean-Louis Schlesser was fielded at the French Grand Prix as a one-off. Salazar scored a 15th place in the season opener, but the bulky car struggled to qualify. Financial reasons saw the team skip the Detroit Grand Prix, while they only made the Canadian Grand Prix due to fielding local driver Jacques Villeneuve, Sr. and attracting some Canadian sponsorship. Kenny Acheson then took over for the rest of the season, only qualifying once, at the season-closing South African Grand Prix, where he took the team's best result of the year, 12th and last.

Penske competed in the Formula One World Championship as a chassis constructor from 1974 to 1977 and as a works team from 1974 to 1976. Although the cars were built at the British base in Poole, the works team held an American licence. Excluding the Indianapolis 500, Penske is, along with the All American Racers, one of only two American constructors to have achieved a win in a Formula One race.

In 1973, Penske purchased the facilities of small racing car manufacturer McRae Cars Ltd in Poole, Dorset in the UK. McRae Cars had been founded by New Zealand racing driver and constructor Graeme McRae, a designer and competitor in the F5000 racing formula. Starting with just six employees, Penske appointed his then Porsche Can-Am team manager, Swiss Heinz Hofer, as F1 manager, and Geoff Ferris as chief engineer/designer. Rounding-out the F1 team was Karl Kainhofer, Penske's long-standing chief mechanic and engine builder, who joined the UK operation in mid 1974

In the 1974 Canadian Grand Prix Penske presented  their own works team and own chassis, the Penske PC1, a standard tub built around a Cosworth DFV engine and a Hewland gearbox. Donohue took the car to 12th place on its debut.

ram01

The RAM 01, also known as the RAM March 01, is an open-wheel Formula One race car built by British team and constructor RAM Racing in 1983.

The 01 was the first car built by the British team to participate in the 1983 Formula One world championship.

Designed by Dave Kelly, the car was equipped with a 530-hp Ford Cosworth DFY V8 powertrain with 390 N⋅m of torque, which drove the rear wheels through a five-speed Hewland FGA manual gearbox. The chassis frame, an evolution of that of the March 821, was of the aluminum monocoque type, while the braking system was composed of four ventilated disc brakes. The suspension consisted of double wishbones and shock absorbers with coil springs.

With constant driver changes Eliseo Salazar, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Jacques Villeneuve, Sr., and Kenny Acheson, the team only managed to qualify twice, in the first and last races of the season.

The 01 was also used for the first two races of the 1984 season, fitted with a Hart 1.5 litre turbocharged engine.

Astonishingly, the team pressed on into 1984. The partnership with March was dissolved, and RAM attracted sponsorship from Skoal Bandit. Two RAM 02 cars, with Hart turbo engines, were entered for Formula Two champion Jonathan Palmer and Philippe Alliot. Kelly's new design was disappointing, and the cars were frequent back-markers, and Palmer's 8th place in the opening Brazilian Grand Prix was their best result of the year (and of all time). Indeed, the team drew more notices for the crashes their drivers were involved in.

ram02

The RAM 02 was an open-wheel Formula One race car, designed, developed, and built by British team and constructor RAM in 1984.

The RAM 02 is shod with Pirelli tyres and was powered by a Hart 415T 1.5-liter straight-4 turbocharged engine, producing roughly 600–800 hp depending on the boost. It differs from its predecessor, the RAM 01, by its monocoque where carbon fiber replaces aluminum. Its carbon fiber and Kevlar monocoque chassis was designed by Dave Kelly and Sergio Rinland.

 The RAM02 is  easily recognized by its dark green livery, as it was sponsored by the tobacco brand Skoal Bandit.

Despite its sleek look, the car struggled with reliability. It failed to score any championship points, largely due to frequent engine and turbo failures.

Alliot remained for 1985, with Manfred Winkelhock entered in the second car, and a new RAM 03 designed by Gustav Brunner. Winkelhock put in some improved qualifying performances, but actual results were still thin. Winkelhock's death in a sports car event in Canada in the summer was a blow to the team, and Acheson was recalled briefly, before the team slimmed down to a single entry. They missed the final two rounds altogether. Skoal withdrew their backing at the end of the year, the team's best result having been Alliot's 9th place, again at the opening Brazilian Grand Prix.

ram03

The RAM 03 was an open-wheel Formula One race car, designed, developed and built by British racing team and constructor RAM, to compete in the 1985 and 1986 Formula One world championship. It was designed by Gustav Brunner and Sergio Rinland. It featured a slimmer, more aerodynamic carbon-fiber monocoque compared to its predecessor.

It continued to use the Hart 415T 1.5L turbocharged straight-4 engine, which produced roughly 750 hp.

The main drivers were Manfred Winkelhock and Philippe Alliot. After Winkelhock’s tragic death in a sportscar race later that year, he was briefly replaced by Kenny Acheson.

The car was notoriously unreliable, finishing only one race the entire season (9th place at the Brazilian GP).

In 1986 an updated version called 03B was introduced and was driven by New Zealander Mike Thackwell during the pre-season testing for the 1986 season held at Jacarepaguá.

Later in 1986 one of the 03 chassis was converted into a Formula 3000 car, the 04. The car contested a number of races in the 1986 Formula 3000 championship.

The team planned to enter a single updated RAM 03 for Mike Thackwell (who had stood in for Palmer at the 1984 Canadian Grand Prix) for the 1986 season, but the funds could not be found, and the team folded over the winter of 1985. The team would have raced as car #9 for 1986 otherwise, per the FIA entry list.