3 times F1 drivers refused to race in a Grand Prix

F1 drivers are usually the compliable kind. They don't cause too much fuss, and more often than not, do as they're told. That is why, even though there have been question marks over F1 races being held in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the drivers have participated in these controversial races.

However, there have been rare occasions where drivers have refused to race. The reasons varied, from monetary disagreements to the prevailing geopolitical climate, or even for changes to rules that drivers did not agree with.

In this piece, we'll take a look at three occasions in which F1 drivers refused to race at a particular Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel (F1 Russian GP 2022)

The most recent case of a driver refusing to race took place just a few weeks back when the global climate changed for the worse. Russia invaded Ukraine, and as a result, was the target of global sanctions.

F1is a sport that keeps itself away from politics. But due to the presence of a prominent Russian sponsor in one of the teams and with the Russian GP being an integral part of the calendar, it got embroiled in the issue.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and took a stand against the war between Ukraine and Russia. Vettel said that if F1 decided to go ahead with the race in Russia, he will not take part in it. At the moment, the race in Russia has been effectively canceled with F1 looking for alternatives.

Ayrton Senna (F1 San Marino GP 1993)

Ayrton Senna and McLaren's partnership was one of huge success. However, the ending to the partnership was not the prettiest, to say the least.

Senna dominated the sport from the moment he joined McLaren in 1988. The McLarens produced at the time were a class apart and Senna enjoyed a great deal of success.

However, by 1993, McLaren's stronghold on the championship looked all but over. Williams had become the gold standard and the legendary partnership between McLaren and Honda had come to an end.

Senna, not happy with the car given by McLaren, had negotiated a unique contract where he would be paid $1 million every Wednesday before a race weekend, otherwise he would not race.

McLaren, short on cash at this point, agreed to such a deal for the season.

Things came to a head at the San Marino GP after Senna did not receive the money by Wednesday.

It was found that McLaren had duly sent the money and it was only because of an inefficient banking system at the time it got delayed and was received by Thursday. Only once the money was received by Senna, did he agree to race and reached the track by Friday night of the race weekend.

Niki Lauda (and the rest of the grid)

Niki Lauda had just returned to F1 in 1982 and it was during this time that FISA (similar to FIA of now) decided to put together a few new clauses for the drivers' licenses.

The clauses were not agreeable to any of the drivers. One of them was that 'drivers will not be able to negotiate with the teams in the future'. Or, in other words, the teams and FISA will decide amongst themselves which driver will go to which team.

The drivers, led by Niki Lauda, staged a protest against this and opted not to take part in the race at Kyalami. After a lot of deliberation, the officials finally caved in and agreed to go back on the directives in the new license agreement.