Biggest Scandals in Formula 1 History
The sport of Formula 1 racing is no stranger to scandal. The pressure and international nature of Formula 1 has created a level of mystery and intrigue usually found in spy novels instead of the world of sports. Scandals, feuds and the politics that happen in the pits are as much a part of the Formula 1 world as passes on the track.
Recently, the Ferrari team labelled the decision by race officials to only punish Lewis Hamilton for passing the safety car during the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain as a “scandal” since Hamilton was able to hold on to second place. However, that decision pales in comparison to some of the scandals that have rocked the Formula 1 world in recent years.
Crashgate: One of the most shocking incidents in Formula 1 history ruined careers and almost destroyed a legendary team. After being fired in 2009 by Renault, Nelson Piquet Jr. alleged that he had been told to crash on purpose during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by race officials in order to bring out the safety car – a development that benefited his teammate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win the race. Piquet Jr. claimed that Renault managing director Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds had hatched the plan in order to put Alonso in a position to be ahead of the field when the safety car came out.
Renault initially announced plans to sue Piquet Jr. for making false allegations. However, mounting evidence (including leaked radio conversations involving the principals of the Renault team before and after the Singapore Grand Prix) implicated the Renault team. Briatore and Symonds left the team with Briatore being banned for life and Symonds receiving a five-year ban (the bans were later reduced). Renault lost many sponsors and was also run out of the sport, while Piquet Jr. left Formula 1 for NASCAR.
Spygate: One of the most cloak and dagger affairs in Formula 1 history came in 2007, when McLaren, Ferrari and Renault were tangled in a protracted scandal involving corporate espionage. The allegations centred on a former Ferrari employee and a senior McLaren engineer, who were alleged to have passed on sensitive information about Ferrari’s cars to McLaren. In addition, Renault was alleged to have been in possession of confidential information about McLaren’s cars.
Ultimately, the whole deal was exposed when the wife of the McLaren engineer had the misfortune to take the sensitive documents to a copy shop who happened to employee a clerk who was a massive Ferrari fan – and recognized that something was amiss. The scandal led to court cases in England and Italy along with a protracted FIA investigation. Eventually, McLaren was fined $100 million and were excluded from the 2007 constructors’ championship.
Jos Verstappen’s Fire: During the 1994 German Grand Prix, Benetton driver Verstappen was lucky to walk away with minor burns after his car was engulfed in flames during an accident while refuelling after the fuel nozzle did not connect to the car properly. Investigations into the pit fire had an unexpected result: the manufacturer of the refuelling equipment discovered that the fuel valve did not close properly because it was blocked. This happened because a filter meant to filter out foreign bodies had been removed, allowing fuel to flow about 12.5 per cent faster into the fuel tank.
It was not the only scandal to hit the Benetton team in 1994. Several rival teams accused Benetton of using illegal methods to speed the refuelling process. In addition, drivers such as Ayrton Senna accused Benetton of using illegal traction control methods and other banned computerized control devices to aid their teams.
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