There are many ways to participate in a Formula 1 race, but the one Hans Heyer chose is unique and probably unparalleled. For at the 1977 German Grand Prix, Heyer was the only driver ever to sneak into a Formula 1 race. Not being classified, the German slipped onto the Hockenheim track and completed nine laps.
Heyer seized the chaos at the start to jump onto the track and begin competing against Niki Lauda, James Hunt and Mario Andretti. The most incredible part is that by the time the stewards realized what was happening, Heyer had already retired due to a transmission failure. Almost 50 years later, Formula 1 includes Heyer in its official statistics.
Heyer seized the chaos at the start to slip into Hockenheim and complete nine laps
The story of Hans Heyer is one of the most epic, yet surreal, in Formula 1. At 34 years old, Heyer was a well-known touring-car racer, highly respected in Germany, but with zero experience in single‑seaters. The most he had done was two Formula 2 races, in which he finished sixth and seventh. Not bad, but scant.
Heyer had yet to shake off the sting of Formula 1, and in 1977 he decided it was his moment: he registered for the German Grand Prix, at Hockenheim, with an old Penske Ford-powered car funded by Willi Maurer, who would later found the F2 team that launched Stefan Bellof.
It was an obviously terrible idea, even his family opposed it. His experience with the Penske was limited to a few laps an hour before the race. There was only one problem: at that time more drivers entered than could actually race, so there had to be a qualifying session.
It was a session in which 24 drivers qualified for the race, and the rest were excluded. The big news that day at Hockenheim was that the great Emerson Fittipaldi did not qualify, and neither did the Spanish Emilio de Villota. There was another eliminated driver: yes, it was Hans Heyer, who finished 27th, half a second off the cut. Although he was not willing to take it so easily.
The day of the race Heyer went to the pits and started his car. Obviously, he could not be on the grid, but he had a plan. The start had to be given with a flag because the lights had broken down, and that only caused more chaos: several cars touched and retired. It was Heyer’s moment: without thinking twice, he accelerated, aimed for the pit lane and headed onto the track.
The crowd quickly realized what was happening, and began to cheer Heyer. But the stewards were too busy fixing the start mess. Nine laps passed, at nearly two minutes per lap in the vast Hockenheim, until the stewards realized that Heyer had somehow snuck into the race.
No one noticed that there were two Penskes in the race, so they couldn’t display the black flag to Heyer. It didn’t matter much, because the transmission of his Penske had broken and the German was stranded in a ditch in the Hockenheim forest. He was disqualified after retiring on the ninth lap.
Huschke von Hanstein was then the president of the German federation and stepped into the role of authority who would imposing an exemplary sanction on the driver. He proposed a five-race ban from Formula 1. A sanction that would have had no effect.
Obviously Heyer never returned to Formula 1, and many still wonder whether that counted as a participation. Formula 1 has made it clear: yes, Heyer appears in the statistics. As DQS (disqualified), but he appears.
Is there any better way to participate in a Formula 1 race?
Images | Formula 1
