We have previously gone over some of the many scandals of motorsport. However, there are more to cover.
From the well-known “Spygate” of Formula 1 to the lesser-known NASCAR’s “Spingate,” we will cover a variety of controversies.
Spygate (2007)
This involved McLaren as well as Ferrari and was one of the most iconic and dramatic scandals of all time.
It all began when a McLaren engineer, Mike Coughlan, received Ferrari technical documents from Ferrari engineer, Nigel Stepney. He then asked his wife to then copy all 780 sheets. This was to get a competitive edge on Ferrari. During the photocopying, a worker saw and reported it.
As a result of this McLaren was fined $100 million (the biggest fine in F1 history), and they were excluded from the 2007 championship with both engineers being fired and banned.
Crashgate (2008)
During the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr caused a crash on purpose.
This started when his teammate, Fernando Alonso, pitted early. The only way he could jump to P1 was if a safety car was deployed. Alonso had the biggest chance at scoring points for their team. Therefore, Piquet
swerved and made the SC come out.
After this scandal, the team Principal faced a temporary ban as well as the race engineer. Renault also had consequences and the reputation of Piquet never recovered. Alonso said he didn’t know anything about it.
Toyota’s Secret Add-On (1995)
During the 1995 WRC, Toyota used a secret Turbo Restrictor. This ultimately made the speed of the car much quicker than the others on track. It allowed more air as well as power to the engine. The team fooled officials as the additional tech couldn’t be seen unless fully disassembled.
When discovered, the team faced a ban for the entire year however, drivers were not blamed directly. The FIA president called it the most sophisticated cheat ever.
Spingate (2013)
During the qualifying race for NASCAR playoffs, Michael Waltrip Racing told one of his racing drivers to do something scandalous.
It was the last race. Tensions were increasing and so was desperation. This is why the racing team was pushing Clint Bowyer into intentionally spinning on the track and getting a caution. This was so that his
teammate (Martin Truex Jr) had a shot at the play offs.
Because of this, NASCAR gave the team a $300,000 fine, took away 50 points, and removed Truex from the playoffs. Bowyer denies that his spin was purposeful however, fans say that it was obvious.
Overall, there have been some wild controversies throughout motorsports history- some more public than others. Motorsports are always entertaining. If it isn’t the races we are watching, it is some
drama we are reading about.
Did we miss any of your favourite scandals? Let us know and read more blogs like this here!