The Life F190, also known as Life L190, is a Formula One car designed by Richard Divila and Gianni Marelli for the Life team, which participated in 14 Grands Prix during the 1990 season before withdrawing after the Spanish Grand Prix. Initially driven by Gary Brabham, who was later replaced by Bruno Giacomelli, the car was essentially a repurposed First Racing chassis. It proved to be highly ineffective, with Life's drivers never managing to pre-qualify, often being significantly slower than their competitors. The team's attempt to use an unconventional W12 engine turned out to be particularly misguided.

Engineer Franco Rocchi, who had been working at Scuderia Ferrari since 1949, left the company in 1980 to start developing a new racing engine with a W configuration. This was an unusual choice since V engines are typically used in major racing series. However, Rocchi was convinced of the viability of his idea. Theoretically, a W12 engine should be shorter and more flexible than a V12 engine. Rocchi's engine was completed by mid-1989, and Rocchi claimed that it weighed 140 kg, compared to the 155 kg Cosworth engines.

The late 1980s in Formula One saw a ban on turbocharged engines, leading teams using such engines to switch to naturally aspirated ones. Several new engine suppliers entered Formula One during this time, including Ilmor, Judd, Lamborghini, and Yamaha, while Carlo Chiti supplied underperforming Motori Moderni B12 engines to teams like Minardi and Scuderia Coloni. Meanwhile, Renault and Honda were developing V10 engines for Williams and McLaren, respectively.

In this context, Italian businessman Ernesto Vita became interested in Rocchi's engine. Hoping for a quick profit, Vita bought the rights to the W12 engine from Rocchi and tried to sell it to other teams. Vita believed that the unique engine would attract sponsors, but this did not happen, and most experts and international corporations doubted the engine's success. Vita then decided to establish the Life Racing Engines team and use the unconventional engine himself. The team's name, Life, came from the founder's surname, which means life in Italian.

Vita decided not to build his own car but to use an existing one. To that end, he purchased a car from the First Racing team. First Racing, founded by former racing driver Lamberto Leoni, debuted in Formula 3000 in 1987, and in 1988, with drivers Pierluigi Martini and Marco Apicella, the team achieved good results. In 1989, Leoni planned to enter his team in Formula One. To design the car, Richard Divila, a former employee of teams like Fittipaldi Automotive, was hired. To keep costs down, the car was based on a Formula 3000 vehicle, the March 88B. However, during the development of the model, Divila left First Racing to join Équipe Ligier.

The FIRST F189, equipped with a Judd engine, was ready by the end of 1988 and was unveiled during the Memorial Attilio Bettega. Tests conducted by Gabriele Tarquini, who was set to drive for First Racing in 1989, revealed that the rolling chassis was poorly constructed and that the car was unsafe. Additionally, the car failed mandatory crash tests before the season, preventing First Racing from competing in Formula One. Divila told the First Racing management that the car was a time bomb, highlighting issues with the gearbox, suspension, chassis, and steering column, and warned potential drivers against driving the F189. He also took legal action to dissociate his name from the project, stating that the car would be good, but only as an interesting flowerpot.

Without money, a compliant car, or tires (Pirelli and Goodyear refused to supply them), Leoni abandoned plans to participate in Formula One and returned to Formula 3000.

The Life W12 engine featured three rows of four cylinders each – two rows in a V configuration and one positioned vertically between them. This setup was unusual since W12 engines typically have four rows of three cylinders. Theoretically, this engine should have been as compact as a V8 while generating as much power as a V12. However, the Life W12 engine turned out to be a failure, producing only 470 bhp (350 kW; 477 PS) – over 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) less than its competitors (some sources claim the Life engine produced just 360 bhp (268 kW; 365 PS) compared to the 700 bhp (522 kW; 710 PS) Honda V10 engine in McLarens). The engine, designated as the Life F35, was thus the weakest power unit in the 1990 season. Before the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Life engines were replaced with Judd V8 engines which produced around 600 bhp (447 kW; 608 PS).