Every sport has its own drama. It is inevitable. We cannot have sports and not have drama. Over the years, whether the teams, the governing body or the actual athletes, will get into some drama and that will make things difficult for everyone, at least for a period of time. Drama often passes relatively quickly, but it is never forgotten.

We like to remember drama so that we can get fictional points on online forums, or rather, more seriously, so that we can use it as a warning on how to model our behavior and standards going forward.

Here are some interesting controversies in Formula 1.

The Senna/Prost Rivalry

At the time, in 1989, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were driving for McLaren. Teammates means nothing, apparently, as these two were fierce rivals. They competed even when they shouldn’t. The 1989 Japan Grand Prix saw them racing head to head, with Prost overtaking Senna, almost wiping both of them out. Senna won the race after a pit stop, however, was disqualified later, and Prost ended up winning.

Well, Senna got the title back in 1990, which was even better because Prost went to Ferrari, and was beaten by once teammate and now full-time rival.

Hamilton Vs Verstappen

The two are competing racers, one driving for Mercedes, the other for Red Bull. At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2021, the two were neck to neck, with Hamilton overtaking Verstappen and leading for a long time. Between lap 52 and 58, Nicholas Laifi crashed and forced a safety car onto the track.

This messed with the natural order of things and it ended up with a Verstappen victory, with fresh tires and a collective gasp from the F1 world. The two drivers were tied at 369.5 points prior to the race. The win cemented Verstappen as the 2021 champion.

Schumacher 1997 Controversy

Schumacher is a great racer, but is known for his very aggressive and dangerous movements, which led other racers to potential peril. At the 1997 Grand Prix, the last race of the season, Schumacher was neck and neck with Jacques Villeneuve. The Canadian attempted to overtake Schumacher, leading to Schumacher trying to push Villeneuve out of the race. This backfired and Schumacher lost control and ended up not only getting stranded but also being stripped of the 1997 standings. 

Every sport has its controversies and these are the most interesting F1 controversies.