In the high-octane world of Formula 1, we are conditioned to expect perfection. We watch in awe as engineering marvels tear through asphalt at 200 miles per hour, piloted by athletes with reflexes sharp enough to dodge a raindrop. These are the gladiators of the modern age, backed by billion-dollar teams, legions of data analysts, and the finest mechanical minds on the planet.

It is often called the “Pinnacle of Motorsport.” But as any longtime fan will tell you, there is a delicious irony hidden beneath the carbon fiber and champagne: sometimes, the smartest people in the room do the absolute dumbest things

A recent viral compilation has reignited the conversation around the sport’s most head-scratching failures, proving that no amount of downforce can compensate for a momentary lapse in brain function.

From World Champions forgetting how traffic lights work to legendary teams forgetting to bring tires to a pit stop, the history of F1 is peppered with moments so bizarre they border on slapstick comedy.

The Champions Are Not Safe

Perhaps the most comforting takeaway for the average viewer is that even the gods of the sport are capable of rookie errors. Take Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion and arguably the greatest driver of his generation. In the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, while leading the championship fight, Hamilton committed a sin that would fail a teenager on their driving test: he ignored a red light.

As the safety car brought the field into the pits, a queue formed at the exit. Kimi Räikkönen, sitting in his Ferrari, stopped dutifully at the red light. Hamilton, presumably in a trance of competitive focus, barreled into the back of the stationary Ferrari, ending both of their races on the spot. To add insult to injury, Nico Rosberg then slid into the back of Hamilton. It was a multi-car pileup in a parking lot, caused simply because one of the world’s best drivers forgot to look forward.

Then there is the case of Kimi Räikkönen, the “Iceman.” Known for his cool demeanor, Kimi provided one of the most comical visuals in the sport’s history during the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. After running wide, he attempted to rejoin the track via an auxiliary access road he recalled from years prior. The problem? The gate was locked. Millions of viewers watched as a Formula 1 World Champion drove down a dead-end street, performed a clumsy U-turn in the dirt, and sheepishly drove back the way he came. It was a moment of relatable confusion that humanized a man usually seen as a robot.

The Chaos Agents: Maldonado and Grosjean

No discussion of “Low IQ” moments is complete without paying homage to the chaos agents of the mid-2010s: Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean. Maldonado, a race winner whose speed was only matched by his unpredictability, earned a reputation for finding barriers where none seemed to exist.

The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix serves as a prime example of his “torpedo” style. Exiting the pits on cold tires, Maldonado simply forgot to brake for Turn 1, T-boning Esteban Gutiérrez and flipping the Sauber car entirely upside down. It was a terrifying crash caused by a clumsy misjudgment. But perhaps even more baffling was his behavior in China that same year, where he crashed while adjusting settings on his steering wheel. He was so focused on the buttons that he simply drove off the road—a literal case of distracted driving at 100 mph.

Romain Grosjean, before his heroic survival in Bahrain 2020, was dubbed a “first-lap nutcase” by fellow driver Mark Webber. His tendency to trigger massive pileups, such as the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix start where he launched over Fernando Alonso’s head, resulted in a race ban. It was a stark reminder that in F1, a lack of spatial awareness doesn’t just ruin your race; it endangers everyone around you.

The Bizarre Tragedy of Taki Inoue

While modern drivers suffer from momentary lapses, the 1990s gave us Taki Inoue, a driver whose luck was so bad it circled back around to being impressive. Inoue holds the dubious distinction of being run over by safety vehicles—twice.

In Monaco 1995, while his car was being towed, the safety car crashed into him, flipping his footwork chassis upside down. Later that year in Hungary, after his engine caught fire, Inoue jumped out to help marshals. In a rush to grab a fire extinguisher, he stepped into the path of the arriving medical car, which struck him and knocked him to the ground. Seeing a driver run over by the very people sent to save him remains one of the most surreal and “dumb” sequences of events ever broadcast.

Ferrari: The Strategists Who Forgot How to Count

In recent years, the mantle of absurdity has shifted from the drivers to the pit wall. Scuderia Ferrari, the most historic team in the sport, endured a nightmare 2022 season that played out like a comedy sketch.

The compilation highlights the sheer panic of the Dutch Grand Prix, where Carlos Sainz pulled into the box for a pit stop, only to realize the mechanics had forgotten the tires. For ten agonizing seconds, the car sat on jacks while crew members scrambled to find the missing rubber. It was a logistical failure so fundamental it left commentators speechless.

Later that season in Brazil, during qualifying, Ferrari sent Charles Leclerc out on intermediate (wet) tires while the track was dry, sabotaging his session. When he came in to fix the mistake, the team didn’t have the new tires ready. The look of resignation on Leclerc’s face became a meme for a generation of Tifosi who could only laugh to keep from crying.

The Modern Era: Stroll and Doohan

The legacy of the “Low IQ” moment is alive and well in the current era. Lance Stroll, driving for Aston Martin, continues to perplex fans. The video notes his 2024 crash in São Paulo, where, on a wet track, he spun during the formation lap. In a panic to rejoin, he drove his car directly into a deep gravel trap, beaching it before the race even started. It was an unforced error of the highest order.

Furthermore, the cautionary tale of Jack Doohan (referred to in the video’s timeline) serves as a reminder of the technical complexities of modern F1. Failing to manually close a DRS flap at Suzuka—a corner taken flat out—led to a high-speed shunt that bruised both his chassis and his ego. In a sport where buttons control aerodynamics, a thumb slip can be as dangerous as a brake failure.

The Human Element

Why do we love these moments? Why do we share clips of Vittorio Brambilla crashing after winning the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, punching the air so hard he lost control of the steering wheel?

It is because these moments shatter the illusion of robotic perfection. They remind us that inside the helmet, there is just a person—stressed, overwhelmed, and capable of making the same silly mistakes we make in a parking lot. Whether it is forgetting to brake, getting lost, or tripping over a tire, these “Low IQ” moments ground the sport in reality.

Formula 1 will always be about precision, engineering, and speed. But as history shows, it is also about the chaos of human error. And frankly, the sport is all the better for it. As long as the engines are running, there will be drivers ready to provide us with head-scratching moments that leave us asking: “What on earth were they thinking?”