When F1 Gets Nasty: Worst Incidents of Cheating in Formula 1

Cheating in Formula 1: The Worst Episodes of Cheating in F1 History

Cheating in F1 is not exactly common, but not exactly rare. Pushing the boundaries of what’s legal in a Grand Prix, on and off the track, has long been part of the sport.

The complex technical nature and fiery competitive arena of Formula 1 has always pushed drivers and teams to explore every possible avenue to gain an advantage over their rivals, and this has led to cases of cheating throughout F1 history.

The huge prize money on offer in F1, the considerable stakes for manufacturers, sponsors and drivers mean that the temptation to bend the rules is never far away.

Sometimes individuals have taken their competitive nature too far - leading to some of sports’ most shocking attempts to deceive the rule-makers.

Secret Fuel Tank (2005)

The British American Racing (BAR) team took an innovative approach to weight restrictions that was very clearly on the wrong side of the regulations.

A second, hidden fuel tank was discovered after the San Marino Grand Prix of 2005.

The fuel was used as ballast - in other words, to change the weight distribution of the car so that it had better balance and was easier to control.

It also allowed the cars to run under the minimum weight limit of 600kg during the race, before filling up the second fuel tank during the car’s last pit stop.

BAR were disqualified from the San Marino race (drivers Jenson Button and Takuma Sato had finished 3rd and 5th respectively) and banned from the next two races, in Spain and Monaco.

There was no doubt that this was illegal and BAR were fortunate to avoid a harsher penalty.

The team was bought out by its engine supplier Honda just 5 months later.

Crashing on purpose (2008)

‘Crashgate’ brought the entire world of Formula 1 into disrepute, tarnishing F1’s first ever night race.

Nelson Piquet Jr (son of three-time world champion Piquet Snr) was struggling in his first season of F1. Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso had outscored him 38 points to 13 when the sport arrived in Singapore.

Under pressure from team boss Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds, Piquet was convinced to ‘lose control’ of his car on purpose, slamming into the wall on lap 14.

Fernando Alonso, starting 15th after an issue qualifying, was told to pit just before the crash happened.

He benefited hugely, as other cars were not permitted to pit once the safety car had been deployed due to one of F1’s strangest rules, leaving cars at risk of running out of fuel or taking a penalty.

Alonso went on to win the race. Without Piquet’s crash, finishing in the top 10 was only a remote possibility.

It was almost a year later, when Piquet was sacked by Renault, that the dark truth was finally revealed.

Briatore and Symonds were immediately sacked by the team and suspended from any F1 involvement.

Piquet was granted immunity for cooperation with the authorities, but never raced in F1 again. Alonso was allowed to keep the win.

Stealing a Rival’s Information (2007)

‘Spygate’ was an unprecedented saga that dictated the outcome of the World Championship.

Ferrari’s Nigel Stepney passed 780 pages of confidential Ferrari technical information to McLaren’s Mike Coughlan, with explicit details around the car design. 

Coughlan’s wife photocopied the documents at a shop in Woking. A shop employee saw the documents in the process, became suspicious, and alerted the F1 authorities.

Initially McLaren were cleared of any wrongdoing, but after new evidence emerged, McLaren were issued a £100 million fine - the largest fine in sporting history - and removed from the constructors championship.

Both Coughland and Stepney were received from their roles with McLaren and Ferrari respectively.

The full story of exactly who was involved and aware at certain points has never been made fully clear.

However, there were email threads involving McLaren boss Ron Dennis and drivers Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and reserve Pedro De La Rosa.

Hamilton and Alonso were allowed to keep their points, but their fierce inter team rivalry meant that both drivers missed out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by a single point.

Taking your Rival Out (1994 & 1997)

Michael Schumacher will forever remain a giant in the pantheon of F1’s greatest drivers. 

Behind the glory of 91 race wins and 7 world titles, though, a truly ruthless streak saw the German push the boundaries too far - with mixed results.

Schumacher was leading the 1994 world championship by a single point from rival Damon Hill, going into the last race of the season in Australia.

Whilst leading from Hill, Schumacher ran wide and hit the wall, terminally damaging his car.

Hill darted down Schumacher’s inside and the German, knowing that he was imminently retiring, turned in on his rival.

Schumacher’s car catapulted off Hill’s front wheel and ended up in the wall. But in doing so, Hill’s suspension was also terminally damaged, forcing him to retire and securing Schumacher his first world title.

There’s no doubt that, under today’s rules, Schumacher would have been stripped of the title for deliberately causing a crash.

Three years later in Jerez, Schumacher was a single point ahead of Jacques Villeneuve, again at the final race of the season.

Two thirds into the race, Villeneuve was trailing Schumacher, but made a daring move on the inside. Schumacher once again turned in, clearly hoping to damage both cars and secure him the world title.

This time it backfired.

Schumacher bounced off Villeneuve and beached himself in the gravel. Villeneuve was able to continue and finished 3rd - enough to secure the 1997 world title.

The FIA (F1 governing body) took a dim view of Schumacher’s actions and disqualified him from the entire championship.