Five times F1 season-openers were dogged by controversy

The 2026 Formula 1 season kicks off next weekend and has already been shrouded in controversy before a wheel has been turned in anger. 

Much of the build-up to the 2026 F1 season has been dominated by chatter about a loophole in the new engine regulations that rivals believe Mercedes has exploited. 

Amid talk of potential protests at next weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, F1’s governing body the FIA has acted to close the grey area regarding compression ratio limits by proposing a mid-season rule change. 

The drama and noise surrounding the engine row got us thinking about other controversial openings to F1 seasons. 

Here are five times F1 seasons began in contentious circumstances…

Drivers go on strike in South Africa  

In one of the most bizarre weekends in F1 history, drivers refused to race at the 1982 season-opening South African Grand Prix. 

The drivers, led by Niki Lauda, were angered by changes being imposed by FISA regarding the new Superlicence conditions. Drivers took strike action and hunkered down in a hotel conference room, insisting they would not take part in the race at Kyalami. 

Having initially resisted pressure from the teams and the governing body to race, a late compromise was reached and the race ultimately went ahead as planned, sparring the blushes of everyone involved. 

The drivers were fined between $5,000 and $10,000 and handed suspended race bans, however, these penalties were later reduced by the FIA Court of Appeal, which criticised FISA’s handling of the dispute. 

2009 'lie-gate' scandal 

The 2009 Australian Grand Prix descended into controversy after McLaren was found guilty of misleading race stewards. 

Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from third place and was stripped of his points for his part in the scandal which became known as “lie-gate”. 

The then-reigning world champion said he was ordered to give misleading evidence by McLaren’s sporting director Dave Ryan during the FIA hearings, which related to a late safety car incident. 

Hamilton finished fourth on the road after Toyota’s Jarno Trulli overtook him while behind the safety car. Hamilton was promoted up to third after the stewards handed Trulli a 25-second time penalty for breaking the rules. 

McLaren lied about whether it had given Hamilton instructions to deliberately let Trulli overtake him while under safety car conditions. 

Ugly cars and ‘too quiet’ engines

One of the biggest engine overhauls in F1’s history took place in 2014 as teams swapped out 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8s for 1.6-litre V6 turbo hybrid power units. 

This proved to be a hugely controversial move, with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone making headlines by saying he was “horrified” by the lack of sound from the new generation of cars. 

The 2014 cars were widely criticised for sounding significantly quieter and being less aggressive than the previous V8s, and were even likened to vacuum cleaners and lawnmowers by fans. 

There were disparaging comments from an aesthetic standpoint, too. The noses were particularly controversial as they featured ‘anteater-style’ appendages to meet new, lower, and narrower safety regulations. 

These were branded by many as being some of the most ugly F1 cars in history. 

Three into two doesn’t go 

Sauber ended up having too many F1 drivers at the start of the 2015 season in one of the most unusual storylines the sport has ever seen. 

The 2015 Australian Grand Prix began with a legal battle over Giedo van der Garde’s position in the team. Signed as Sauber’s reserve driver to Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, van der Garde claimed to hold a valid contract to compete. 

Van de Garde turned up in the Sauber garage in Melbourne with his overalls on and ready to race, but the team only had two cars and two other drivers already signed up. 

An Australian court ruled van der Garde had the right to drive for the team in 2015, but he never raced after the matter was resolved following a financial settlement with Sauber. 

‘Tracing Point' cause a stir with 'Pink Mercedes'

Ok, so technically this was not a controversial season-opener per say, but more of a general controversy that dominated pre-season and several months in the COVID-19 affected 2020 campaign. 

The Racing Point team (now Aston Martin) caused a stir in pre-season testing when its 2020 challenger broke cover on track looking suspiciously like the 2019 Mercedes. 

The similarities led rival teams to label the RP20 a ‘pink Mercedes’, while fans dubbed Racing Point ‘Tracing Point’. This led to protests by the Renault team, with the FIA ruling that Racing Point had in fact illegally copied elements of the 2019 championship-winning Mercedes. 

Racing Points was docked 15 constructors’ championship points and handed a €400,000 fine. Crucially, however, Racing Point was still allowed to race the ‘Pink Mercedes’, much to the anger of its rivals.