F1 driver was disqualified after deciding to start race he wasn't allowed to enter

A Formula 1 driver was once disqualified from a Grand Prix that he was not allowed to take part in.

This month, the 2026 F1 season began with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Perhaps as expected, Mercedes dominated as George Russell won the race ahead of teammate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

On Sunday, the Chinese Grand Prix will take place around the Shanghai International Circuit, with Antonelli starting on pole ahead of Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

Prior to qualifying, Russell continued his fine start to the 2026 season as he won the Sprint race ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton.

The Brit said of his victory: "Actually, this is pretty fun in the end'! A lot of strategy at play and how you do the overtakes. It’s not easy.

"I hope it was a fun race to watch – usually the Sprint races are pretty boring – and then I got everything under control, [then there was the] Safety Car, but really happy to win. Ferrari again seem to be offset in Qualifying but really close to us in race pace, so ultimately we probably need to find a bit of improvement for the race."

Back in 1977, racing driver Hans Heyer decided to enter the German Grand Prix, which was held at Hockenheim.

Heyer was mainly a touring-car driver but qualified 27th in a 25-car field for the 1977 German Grand Prix.

Despite not qualifying, Heyer took his chance to take part in the race after a crash caused chaos at the start of the event.

However, Heyer's race lasted just nine laps as a gearbox failure stopped his progress.

At that point, race control realised that Heyer had entered the race illegally, therefore disqualifying him from the Grand Prix.

Apart from F1, Heyer also took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the European Formula Two Championship.