The seven most controversial US Grand Prix in Formula 1 history

The United States Grand Prix — as well as all the other Formula 1 races in America that may not have earned the “USGP” title — has been a regular feature on the F1 calendar since the sport’s very first season in 1950. The only problem? Things haven’t always gone to plan.

In fact, the US Grand Prix has regularly been riddled with controversy, be it due to weather, fights with sanctioning bodies, or internal team spats. Today, we’re going to look at the eight most controversial races in F1 history.

1961 US Grand Prix

Just two months before the 1961 US Grand Prix — the first ever at Watkins Glen — no one was quite sure if the race was actually going to take place.

The permanent course we now know as Watkins Glen International was built in 1956 and had played host to plenty of races — but event founder Cameron Argetsinger had always hoped Formula 1 would join the fray.

Between 1958 and 1960, the track played host to Formula Libre races — or, formula-style races with far fewer rules than F1. These events served as a kind of test of the track to see if F1 may be able to compete there, and heading into 1961, F1 expressed its interest… somewhat.

See, F1 was interested , but it wasn’t ready to commit Watkins Glen to its calendar until just six weeks before the event. Within that time, Argetsinger was tasked with constructing a new pit complex within that time to satisfy international standards. Thankfully, the track earned the all clear, but not without ample stress.

Oh, and on race day, one key driver was notably absent: American and recently crowned World Champion Phil Hill.

Hill had been crowned champion at the previous race, albeit under tragic conditions. His Ferrari teammate and closest rival for the title, Wolfgang von Trips, was involved in a crash that threw him into the Monza crowd, killing both the driver and multiple spectators.

Ferrari opted against traveling to America, denying Hill his victory lap in his home country.

1964 US Grand Prix

Ferrari was at the center of another controversy marring the 1964 Grand Prix. Enzo Ferrari had become entrenched in a massive dispute with the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI).

Ferrari introduced the 250LM for its endurance racing programs, but the ACI felt that the car hadn’t hit homologation standards — meaning that Ferrari hadn’t constructed enough 250LM-like models for public sale.

Enzo Ferrari was irate. He felt he’d been snubbed by the ACI, and as a result, he forfeited his team’s competition license. Doing so also technically excluded the Scuderia from racing in the final Formula 1 race of the season at Watkins Glen.

Of course, Ferrari wasn’t exactly prepared to leave F1. Instead, a four-car fleet of Ferraris turned up entered by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team, which meant that instead of being painted red in honor of Italy’s national racing color, they were painted blue and white in honor of America.

1975 US Grand Prix

The 1975 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was involved in ample amounts of financial controversy just as the race weekend began.

Just before the F1 circus headed to America, the Canadian Grand Prix had been cancelled. The race’s organizers packed their bags and headed off to upstate New York with a writ to freeze the USGP’s prize fund. The Canadian GP organizers felt they’d had the rug pulled out from under them, and they wanted compensation.

The organizers of Watkins Glen were forced to take $130,000 out of the ultimate prize fund to pay for shipping costs as a result of the Canadian fiasco. With the title already decided and a long trip to America for European-based operations, many declined to show up.

1984 Detroit Grand Prix

Up at the front of the field, the 1984 Detroit Grand Prix was a pole-to-win feat of dominance for Brazilian racer Nelson Piquet — but when it came to rounding out the podium, we ran into controversy.

Shockingly, the Tyrrell-Ford team of Martin Brundle and Stefan Bellof were two of the standouts of the race despite an otherwise mediocre season up until that point. Bellof retired on Lap 34, but Brundle made waves by finishing second.

But the podium ceremony had barely concluded when word began to circulate: The Tyrrells seemed to be illegal. Officials had found impurities in the water injection system, and lead balls in the rubber bag that held the water.

Initial testing showed that the water in the system contained hydrocarbons, and even though later testing contradicted that finding, Tyrrell was still disqualified from gaining points for the remainder of the year.

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1984 Dallas Grand Prix

Everyone has seen the iconic clip of an exhausted Nigel Mansell collapsing from exhaustion as he attempted to push his broken Lotus-Renault across the finish line, but the Dallas Grand Prix overall was a mess.

The organization of the race was fraught with problems as promoters clashed with the FIA, and as the weekend progressed, the track surface began disintegrating. Bernie Ecclestone didn’t want to disappoint the 90,000 fans in attendance and instructed teams to race despite the oppressive heat and the broken track.

The race was such a disaster that F1 never returned to Dallas.

2005 US Grand Prix

The starting grid of the 2005 United States Grand Prix contained exactly six cars after what may be one of the most infamous race weekends in all of F1 history.

F1 had organized a Grand Prix to take place on an infield road course at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the events had been compelling, but 2005 raised a serious issue: Cars with Michelin tires were facing massive failures while taking the final banked turn of the circuit.

Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier spoke with FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting to request that the cars be slowed down, and that Michelin tires weren’t able to withstand more than 10 laps at a time.

The FIA had no interest in changing the track layout at such a late date, and it also rejected all other suggestions, such as turning the race into a non-championship event.

Finally, Michelin-shod cars opted against starting the race, while the three Bridgestone teams lined up for a six-car race. With so few cars, fans were irate, and the event’s reputation was tarnished.

2023 US Grand Prix

Yes, one of the most controversial US Grand Prix of all time took place just last year. It was the first sprint race weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, and drivers had raised concerns with the abrasive, bumpy nature of the track.

Those concerns were vindicated when, after Sunday’s Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were both disqualified from their top-10 finishing positions as a result of excessive wear on their skid blocks.

Ferrari and Mercedes protested, arguing that the excessive wear could be pinned on the excess racing action that took place throughout the weekend, but the FIA wouldn’t hear it. Their disqualifications stood.

At the very least, Americans were able to celebrate local racer Logan Sargeant’s first and only points finish, as he was promoted to 10th place due to those DSQs.

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