Over the 76-year history of F1, some incredibly strange things have happened which aren’t easy to believe. However, for a sport as dynamic as F1 with a rulebook that changes every year, it is to be expected that some moments would be of finding loopholes, while other moments would be completely unimaginable.
Some recent examples would be when, at the 2021 Hungarian GP, Lewis Hamilton was the only driver on the starting grid while others pitted and at the 2021 Belgium GP, when half points were awarded without a single racing lap taking place due to inclement weather.
Let’s have a look at 5 weird but true moments that took place in the history of F1.
#5 Ayrton Senna takes pole position from the pitlane after “out of body” state lap – 1988 Monaco GP
Ayrton Senna got into the flow at the 1988 Monaco GP, consistently pushing the limits during the qualifying before eventually setting a lap time 1.427 seconds faster than his teammate Alain Prost. It would only be in the middle of the session that Senna realised how hard he was pushing the limits, before he eventually slowed down and parked the car in the pit lane midway through qualifying.
The F1 legend explained the experience as an “out of body” state. Despite parking up midway through the session, the lap time was enough to take pole position by nearly one and a half seconds.
#4 Michael Schumacher wins the race in the pitlane – 1998 Silverstone
The seven-time F1 champion was given a 10-second penalty at the 1998 British GP for passing a driver under the safety car. It was the last lap of the race, and Schumacher hadn’t served the penalty.
On the last lap, Schumacher entered the pit lane and crossed the chequered flag, which was before his pit box, and then served the penalty, hence crossing the line in P1 and winning the race.
McLaren protested against the same, but since Michael Schumacher and Ferrari followed the rulebook, the win stood. For the very next race, changes were made to the rulebook by the FIA.
#3 Hans Heyer’s ‘illegal’ outing during F1 race: 1977 German GP
Hans Heyer failed to qualify for the 1977 German GP at Hockenheim. However, Heyer illegally joined the grid after sneaking into the grid and starting from the back. It was only after a few laps when his gearbox gave up, and he had to retire, that it was noticed that he ‘illegally’ joined the race.
After the race, Hand Heyer was disqualified from the actions, becoming the only driver in the history of the sport to have a DNQ, DNF and DSQ at the same F1 race.
#2 Taki Inoue got hit by a safety car & a medical car during the 1995 season
F1 currently has very strict safety car, medical car and recovery vehicle regulations, especially after Jules Bianchi’s tragic crash. However, back in the day, the rules weren’t as strict, and Taki Inoue was hit by a safety car twice during the 1995 season.
At the 1995 Monaco GP during a practice session, after Inoue’s car got stalled due to a mechanical failure, he was stuck on the track. While sitting on the track inside his car, he was hit by the safety car, which flipped his Arrows into the barrier.
At the Hungarian GP later that year, Taki Inoue’s engine died on Lap 14 and started smoking. Inoue got out of the car to grab a fire extinguisher from a trackside marshal. While returning to the car, he was hit by the medical car and launched into the air.
#1 Only 6 cars started the 2005 US GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
At the 2005 US GP, 14 cars, all of which were on the Michelin tyres, retired from the race after the formation lap due to safety concerns. As a result, only six cars lined up on the grid for the race start, including the Ferraris, Jordan and Minardi, the ones who were running Bridgestone tyres.
The resurfacing of the IMS meant Michelin had underestimated the stress, and hence openly advised teams that the tyres wouldn’t last more than 10 laps.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi
