From infamous title deciders to home race heartbreaks – 7 of the most dramatic disqualifications in F1 history

After a chaotic season opener in Australia, the Chinese Grand Prix also featured its fair share of drama – with a significant amount of this occurring post-race, when it was confirmed that not one, not two, but three drivers had been disqualified from the classification.

Only moments after the news arrived that Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly had been removed from the results for car weight breaches, Lewis Hamilton was then hit with the same punishment due to the rear skid block on his SF-25 being under the minimum thickness required in the technical regulations, marking a shock double disqualification for the Scuderia.

This is not the only occasion in F1 history where a result has been taken away in dramatic circumstances, however. We’ve been taking a look back at some of those previous incidents, ranging from the loss of a home podium on debut through to wins being nullified hours – or sometimes months – after the chequered flag…

EXPLAINED: Why Hamilton, Leclerc and Gasly were all disqualified from the Chinese Grand Prix – and the fine margins involved

George Russell, 2024 Belgian Grand Prix

While Hamilton faced his third career disqualification (more on which later) in Shanghai, the Briton was one of those to inadvertently benefit when his former Mercedes team mate, George Russell, was disqualified from last year’s Belgian Grand Prix.

Russell had seemingly pulled off a sensational victory at Spa-Francorchamps by nursing his tyres to the finish line on a one-stop strategy, despite being chased by Hamilton behind on fresher rubber right to the end.

While an elated Russell initially celebrated his victory, a Technical Delegate’s Report released soon afterwards confirmed that the British driver’s car had been found to be 1.5kg below the minimum weight as set out in the technical regulations during post-race checks.

After the matter was referred to the stewards, Russell was stripped of his result and the win subsequently went to Hamilton.

2024 Belgian Grand Prix: Watch the last lap in full as Russell holds off Hamilton to cross the line in P1

Michael Schumacher,1994 British/Belgian Grands Prix

Michael Schumacher entered Round 8 of the 1994 season at Silverstone as the Championship leader – but this position looked to potentially be at risk following a dramatic fallout from an incident that occurred before the race was even properly underway.

During the formation lap, Schumacher overtook title rival Damon Hill in a move that earned him a five-second stop/go penalty. When he did not serve this in the given time, the German was shown the black flag and returned to the pits.

As the Benetton squad continued to discuss the punishment with officials, Schumacher was instructed by his team to serve the stop/go penalty and rejoin the race. He went on to finish in second place but was later disqualified for ignoring the black flag – as well as receiving a two-race ban.

The team again appealed and, while the outcome of this was pending, Schumacher continued to race. This saw him take victory in Belgium – before then being disqualified again, this time for excessive skid block wear on his car. This marked the last occasion that a winning driver had been hit with a DSQ prior to Russell’s aforementioned incident at the same venue 30 years on.

As for that appeal over the Silverstone result, this was ultimately upheld, which resulted in Schumacher serving his ban across the Italian and Portuguese Grands Prix – but the German still went on to clinch the first of his seven Drivers’ Championships later that season.

28 AUG 1994: MICHAEL SCHUMACHER OF GERMANY COMES OUT OF A RIGHT HAND BEND IN HIS BENETTON FORD — Schumacher initially took victory in the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix but was later disqualified, marking his second DSQ of the season

Juan Pablo Montoya, 2004/2005 Canadian Grands Prix

Disqualifications are thankfully relatively rare for most drivers – but Juan Pablo Montoya seemed to have something of a curse following him at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, having achieved the unusual feat of back-to-back DSQs across two editions of the Canadian Grand Prix.

The first came during the Columbian’s final season as a Williams driver in 2004 where, after lining up in fourth on the grid, he completed a solid day for the squad by taking fifth place, with team mate Ralf Schumacher scoring a podium in third.

BEYOND THE GRID LEGENDS: Juan Pablo Montoya’s race for the 2003 championship

Both drivers, however, subsequently had their results taken away due to a brake infringement on their cars, an issue that also affected both of Toyota’s challengers.

Montoya’s misfortunes in Montreal continued in 2005 following his switch to McLaren. Having stayed out on track when most of the field pitted during a Safety Car phase, the driver from Bogota made his stop one lap later – but soon found himself under investigation for exiting the pits when the red light was showing, an offence he was ultimately black-flagged for.

MONTREAL, CANADA - JUNE 12: Juan Pablo Montoya of Columbia and McLaren retires from the Canadian — Montoya was disqualified from the Canadian Grand Prix for a second time in 2005, having been shown the black flag for exiting the pit lane under a red light

Lewis Hamilton, 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix (Qualifying)

As previously mentioned, Lewis Hamilton’s removal from the results of the Chinese Grand Prix marked his third disqualification after a race, with his previous occurring in 2009 (Australia) and 2023 (United States). Perhaps his most dramatic DSQ, however, came post-Qualifying when F1 visited Sao Paulo in 2021.

Entering into the event, Hamilton was chasing down Max Verstappen’s lead in an increasingly tense title battle. But – with Qualifying taking place on Friday as part of the Sprint format then in place – drama hit when the Briton was disqualified after the session owing to a DRS infringement, stripping him of P1 on the grid for the 100km dash.

TECH WEEKLY: The key reasons behind Leclerc and Hamilton’s disqualifications – but do Ferrari have a headache with the SF-25?

This meant that Hamilton started from the very back for the event – but a drive that has gone down in Sprint lore saw the World Champion carve his way through the field to claim a stunning fifth place.

Come race day, Hamilton lined up in P10 after taking a five-place grid drop for using additional power unit elements – and this time took his recovery drive right through to victory, passing rival Verstappen to seal a hard-fought win.

THROWBACK: Every Hamilton overtake at the 2021 Brazilian GP

Ayrton Senna, 1989 Japanese Grand Prix

Perhaps one of the most infamous disqualifications in F1 history took place at Suzuka in 1989, an incident that not only affected the outcome of the World Championship in that season but arguably had an impact on the one that followed.

The fierce intra-team rivalry that had been brewing at McLaren between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna came to a head during the penultimate round on the calendar, the Japanese Grand Prix, where the pair controversially collided on Lap 47 of 53 as they fought for the lead.

While Prost was immediately out of the race, Senna rejoined and seemingly kept his championship hopes alive by taking victory – only for this to be nullified later on when the Brazilian was disqualified for cutting the chicane when he returned to the track post-collision.

Prost subsequently sealed his third Drivers’ crown – but fast forward another 12 months and Senna was clearly determined to not let history repeat itself when F1 returned to Suzuka for another title showdown. On this occasion, it was Prost – now at Ferrari – who lost out in a similarly controversial clash between the former team mates, handing Senna his second World Championship.

Prost vs Senna: How the infamous Suzuka 89 clash unfolded

Daniel Ricciardo, 2014 Australian Grand Prix

After being promoted from Toro Rosso to replace the retiring Mark Webber at Red Bull, Daniel Ricciardo’s debut weekend for the team at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in 2014 got off to a promising start.

Qualifying saw Ricciardo line up on the front row of the grid alongside polesitter Lewis Hamilton, the Australian outperforming his World Champion team mate Sebastian Vettel – who was back in 13th – in the process during the first weekend of the turbo-hybrid era.

Things got even better come race day when the new Red Bull driver claimed his first-ever podium in second place, delighting the watching fans by becoming the first Australian to stand on the rostrum at a home F1 championship event.

But that joy turned to despair in the hours after the chequered flag had fallen, when Ricciardo was disqualified after his RB10 was found to have exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow rate. A subsequent appeal by Red Bull was unsuccessful – meaning that the wait goes on for a local driver to finish on the podium at the Australian Grand Prix.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 16: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Infiniti Red Bull Racing — Ricciardo looked to have claimed his debut podium at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix – only to be disqualified later on

James Hunt, 1976 British Grand Prix

Most of the above examples have seen drivers and teams deprived of their results either during or soon after a Grand Prix has ended – but James Hunt’s disqualification from the 1976 British Grand Prix took a whopping two months to be confirmed.

In front of his adoring home fans at Brands Hatch, Hunt’s race looked to be over following a Lap 1 incident that resulted in a red flag, the Briton having stopped his McLaren on track rather than bringing it back for the restart.

While this would initially suggest that he was out of the Grand Prix, the decision was made to allow Hunt to take the start when the action resumed amid fears of potential crowd trouble should he not be able to participate. From there the home favourite later overtook championship rival Niki Lauda to seal a popular victory.

Other teams protested the result post-race and, as Ferrari pushed on with their appeal in the weeks that followed, the decision was made two months on that Hunt would be disqualified, handing the win to Lauda in a year defined by the dramatic title fight that played out between the two – one in which Hunt would ultimately triumph.