Motorsport: the quest for the gentleman. The sport or how you win is as important as the victory itself. A world built on concepts such as honor, sportsmanship and respect for your rivals.
Well, maybe once. Perhaps when it was a sport populated entirely by wealthy aristocrats just for a leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll instead of an uphill battle for the top spot.
The sport may not be as civilized as it once was, but it’s still very rare to see runners punching each other.
This little incident between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton from the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix is the closest you get these days:
But it was not always so. Here are seven times F1 drivers have seen the red fog descend…
7. Hunt vs. Marshal (Part 1)
Motorsport marshals know they have a dangerous job when they sign up. With Formula 1 cars speeding past them at 200 miles per hour, anything can happen. But the one thing they’re probably not expecting is getting a right hook from one of the runners.
But that’s what happened to Ernie Strong at Mosport in 1977 when James Hunt crashed after colliding with McLaren teammate Jochen Mass. Hunt is helped out of the car, looking a little dazed and confused, before turning around and punching poor Ernie, who is knocked down. your feet on impact.
“How did I feel? Ernie said later. “Injured, taken by surprise – did it really happen?” He added: “If I told him anything, I don’t remember. Hunt gave me a ‘Sorry old man’ and went back to the pits…
6. Irvine x Senna
Everyone knows this story by now. Arrogant young upstart Eddie Irvine – in his first Grand Prix, mind you – beat the great Ayrton Senna at the 1993 Japanese GP en route to a point for sixth in Jordan.
After the race, a furious Senna, instigated by his old friend Gerhard Berger, met Irvine in Jordan’s welcome pit to give the Ulsterman a piece of his mind. “You drive like an idiot! You’re not a racing driver, you’re an idiot! he said to Irv the Swerve, before throwing a punch at him. Eddie fell off a table and a paddock legend was born.
Here is Irv’s take:
5. Schumacher vs. Coulthard
These two were never able to fight in that incident at Spa in 1998 – but only because there was a sea of McLaren and Ferrari workers among them.
Schumacher was comfortably leading in the pouring rain in Belgium when he hit DC’s back as he tried to turn a corner.
The German was so furious he drove to the pits with only three wheels on his car, then jumped out and stormed into the McLaren garage to confront Coulthard, ignoring a Ferrari team member who tried to stop it. He accused Coulthard – who wisely kept his helmet on at all times – of “trying to kill me” before being coached by Jean Todt.
4. Mansell vs. Senna
“When a man grabs you by the neck, I don’t think he came to apologize.”
Ayrton Senna was right – Nigel Mansell was furious after the duo fell at Spa in 1987.
“I walked up to him, grabbed him by his overalls, and pushed him against the wall,” Mansell later said. “He was wearing baggy overalls at the time and I pulled the zipper past his chin to just below his nose. ‘Next time you do that,’ I said, ‘you’ll have to do a much better work.
He later added that Senna hit him “several times” in retaliation, but claims he “didn’t feel anything”. It was the accident that infuriated Mansell so much:
3. Hunt vs. Marshals (Part 2) and Depailler
Usually what makes the stuntman, James Hunt was furious when Patrick Depailler pushed him into the armco at Monaco in 1975.
He jumped off his Hesketh and the marshals tried to get him off the track and out of harm’s way. But determined to argue Depailler, he turned and waved an arm at one of the marshals, so when Depailler’s Tyrrell reappeared, he waved his fist at him like an angry schoolteacher who surprised boys spraying crude graffiti on the side of the gymnasium. . Not done.
2. Serra x Boesel
They are not two of the most famous F1 drivers in history, but these two Brazilians had arguably the strongest hits in F1 at the Canadian Grand Prix in 1982.
Chico Serra thought Raul Boesel blocked him in qualifying and went to face him after the session. It starts with a world-class finger movement, before descending into what combat experts would call a “huck”. Also note how Boesel uses the classic Coulthard method to maintain his helmet.
1. Picket x Salazar
He had to be number one.
F1’s most famous brawl came after leader Nelson Piquet arrived to round up Eliseo Salazar at the 1982 German Grand Prix at Hockenheimring and the pair collided, putting them both out.
An apoplectic Piquet jumped up and started throwing fists, legs and whatever he could find at the hapless Chilean, who clearly knew he had messed up and didn’t even try to defend himself.
This one also takes first place thanks to a superb – and extremely rare – boxing comment from Murray Walker: “And take that! Oh my God!”