Formula 1, often described as the pinnacle of motorsport, is a high-stakes arena where glory is pursued at unimaginable speeds and under relentless pressure. It is a world that demands precision, courage, and, ostensibly, a baseline level of respect and sportsmanship between competitors, as drivers are, after all, risking their lives every time they take to the track. Yet, history is riddled with moments where the pursuit of victory—or vengeance—has shattered this fraternity. These are the infamous instances when sportsmanship didn’t just falter; it vanished completely, leaving behind a legacy of controversy, betrayal, and calculated ruthlessness.
From deliberate crashes to calculated team orders and even outright race fixing, these “0% sportsmanship” moments provide a fascinating, albeit dark, look into the human element of a highly technical sport.
The Ultimate Betrayal: Race Fixing and the Crashgate Scandal
In the pantheon of F1 scandals, few have resonated with the cold-blooded shock of Crashgate. The 2008 Singapore Grand Prix should have been a normal result: a brilliant, early-season win for two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso. However, a year later, the world learned the horrifying truth: the race was fixed.
The scandal centered on Alonso’s teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr., who, in the race, crashed his Renault deliberately at Turn 17. This timed incident, carried out under the explicit orders of Renault boss Flavio Briatore and chief engineer Pat Symonds, brought out the safety car. Critically, back in 2008, cars were prevented from pitting until the entire field had lined up behind the Safety Car. Alonso, having made a premature pit stop just before the crash, was suddenly catapulted into the effective lead once the race restarted.
This was not a mistake; it was real race fixing. Piquet Jr. later revealed the plot in 2009, confirming he had crashed on purpose. While Alonso’s win stood, the repercussions were massive: Briatore and Symonds were suspended from F1, revealing the shocking extent to which a team was willing to manipulate the rules and endanger a driver to secure a victory. The event remains a scar on the sport’s reputation, a stark reminder that poor sportsmanship can sometimes cross the line into outright illegal manipulation.
The War of Legends: Prost vs. Senna, Parts I & II
No rivalry captures the essence of cutthroat competition and escalating personal animosity quite like that between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Their duel for the 1988 title was relatively civil, but the following two years saw sportsmanship tossed aside entirely in their championship showdowns at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
The feud boiled over during the 1989 season. Heading into the penultimate round in Japan, Prost was close to securing his third title. In the race, Senna made a desperate dive-bomb into the Casio Triangle chicane. Prost, determined not to yield, refused to move out of the way, resulting in a collision that forced him to retire on the spot. Senna was able to rejoin, delivered a stunning recovery drive, but was subsequently disqualified for cutting the chicane while trying to return to the track. The ruling allowed Prost to secure the championship a race early, but the Brazilian felt cheated, believing the Frenchman and the establishment had conspired against him.
Senna vowed revenge, and exactly one year later, he delivered. In the 1990 Suzuka title decider, their roles were reversed: Senna was now on the verge of winning the championship. After qualifying on pole, Senna was furious to find himself lining up on the inside, which was the dirtier side of the track—a highly unusual position. His request to move the pole position to the clean line was denied. Vowing to exact revenge for the 1989 clash, Senna backed up his promise. After losing the lead to Prost off the line, Senna deliberately drove into his rival at the very first corner, Turn 1. Both retired on the spot, handing Senna his second world championship in one of the most brazen acts of calculated aggression in motorsport history.
The Schumacher Maneuvers: Taking Out the Competition
If Senna defined the aggressive pursuit of victory, Michael Schumacher made the ruthless elimination of rivals his signature. The seven-time champion became known for crossing the so-called ‘red lines,’ particularly when a championship was on the line.
The first incident came in the 1994 season finale at the Adelaide Grand Prix. Schumacher led title rival Damon Hill by a single point. In the race, Schumacher made a rare mistake, brushing the barrier after missing his braking point in the Eastern Terrace. Hill saw his opportunity and moved to pass the German’s Benetton. Instead of yielding, Schumacher took an unexpected action, deliberately turning in and crashing into Hill’s Williams. Schumacher retired immediately. Hill attempted to continue but the damage to his suspension forced him out as well. The double retirement meant Schumacher secured his maiden title, but the deliberate nature of the move earned him heavy fire.
Three years later, he attempted a repeat. In the 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez, Schumacher held a one-point lead over Jacques Villeneuve. In the race, Villeneuve went for a move into the challenging downhill Dry Sack corner. In a chilling echo of 1994, Schumacher deliberately opened up his steering angle and crashed into the side pod of Villeneuve’s Williams. Like before, Schumacher slid into the gravel and retired. This time, however, his plan failed. Villeneuve, despite picking up damage to his battery mount, was able to continue and finished third to win his first title. The sportsmanship violation was so flagrant that Schumacher was later disqualified from the entire 1997 championship for his deliberate attempt to compromise a rival.
Modern Rivalries: Payback, Blocking, and Team Order Debacles
While the days of title-deciding collisions are largely behind us, modern F1 has had its own share of “0% sportsmanship” drama.
In the cutthroat world of intra-team rivalry, few moments are as toxic as Fernando Alonso blocking Lewis Hamilton during qualifying for the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren boss Ron Dennis had established an agreement that the drivers would alternate track positions in qualifying. Rookie Hamilton, having defied an order to swap positions on the cooldown lap, entered the pits ahead of Alonso. In an act of pure frustration and spite, Alonso, having overtaken his teammate to enter the pits first, remained stationary for an unnervingly long time, deliberately preventing Hamilton from setting a crucial second flying lap. Alonso scored pole but was handed a five-place grid penalty for impeding his teammate, an act that further escalated the team’s already poisonous internal tensions.
More recently, the video highlights a Max Verstappen ‘NASCAR style payback’ on George Russell during the final laps of the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix. After a poor strategic call by Red Bull, Verstappen dropped back. Following an on-track incident where Russell forced him off the track, Verstappen was told to hand the position back to Russell, fearing a potential penalty. Instead of simply letting him by, the Dutchman slowed down on the approach to Turn 4 and deliberately rammed his front left into the side pod of Russell’s Mercedes. While he avoided a black flag, the clear act of NASCAR-style retaliation earned him a 10-second penalty and three penalty points.
Beyond the personal feuds, team orders have repeatedly violated the spirit of fair competition. The most infamous example is the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, where a dominant Michael Schumacher was already waltzing to the title. Teammate Rubens Barrichello started on pole and led all but one lap, looking set for a popular win. Yet, with nine laps remaining, Barrichello received the devastating radio message: “Rubens, let Michael pass for the championship”. Barrichello slowed down right at the finish line on the final lap, handing the completely unnecessary win to Schumacher. The crowd erupted into audible boos, and although Schumacher attempted to mollify the fans by giving the trophy to his teammate on the podium, the act was widely condemned as corporate overreach that sacrificed the competitor’s spirit for the sake of an already guaranteed title.
A decade later, another Red Bull incident cemented team orders as a topic of controversy: “Multi 21, Seb” at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix. Red Bull issued the code “Multi 21,” instructing Mark Webber (Car 2) and Sebastian Vettel (Car 1) to reduce engine mapping and maintain their track positions (Webber leading Vettel). Webber was leading the race comfortably. However, Vettel decided to ignore the team’s orders. He attacked and passed an unsuspecting Webber, who was running on a lower engine map and had no way to defend his position. Vettel won by over four seconds, but the betrayal was palpable. In the cool-down room, a visibly upset Webber uttered the three immortal words to his teammate: “Multi 21, Seb”. It was a moment of blatant insubordination and poor sportsmanship towards a teammate who was following the rules.
Finally, the sheer heat of the moment can also lead to the abandonment of sportsmanship, such as the post-race exchange between Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso at the chaotic 2007 European Grand Prix. After a sudden rain shower turned the Nürburgring into a slippery mess, Alonso passed Massa for the lead with four laps to go. The pair went side-by-side, and Massa’s left front tire made clear contact with Alonso’s right side pod. In parc fermé, the Spaniard pointed to the rubber mark on his car for the cameras. The Brazilian took the gesture unkindly, and the two immediately got into a heated exchange, demonstrating that even after the flag falls, hard feelings and temper can override respect.
These moments, while regrettable, underscore the intensity of Formula 1. When millions of dollars and a place in history are on the line, the drive to win can strip away every shred of sportsmanship, leading to unforgettable, shocking, and sometimes unforgivable acts.
