The story of F1's most famous 'taxi rides'

The Singapore Grand Prix has delivered countless memorable moments over the years – from the unique challenge of racing at night, to the city-state’s intense humidity, the infamous “Crashgate” scandal, and even giant lizards wandering across the track.

Among those memories, however, one incident still stands out as one of the most unusual sights ever seen at Marina Bay.

Cast your mind back to 2013, when the stranded Red Bull driver Mark Webber hitched an unusual lift back to the pits with his pal Fernando Alonso. Straddling half his leg into the Ferrari cockpit, Webber hung on to the car’s T-cam mount and enjoyed the ride back as Alonso reached speeds of up to 65mph around the circuit.

The ‘taxi’ ride was reminiscent of old motor sport memories, like when Ayrton Senna climbed onto Nigel Mansell‘s Williams at the 1991 British Grand Prix and gave us one of the sport’s most iconic moments between the two legends.

This also wasn’t the first time Webber and Alonso had been involved in such an unorthodox mode of transportation back to the pits, having been in the reverse role at the end of the 2011 German Grand Prix. It was Alonso who rode on the side of Webber’s car, after the Ferrari driver stopped in a bid to ensure he had enough fuel in the tank for an FIA sample.

Although several people applauded the sportsmanship, the incident resulted in Webber receiving a 10-place grid penalty for the following race in Korea.

Webber had stopped on the final lap with an engine issue, as fire dramatically erupted out the back of his Red Bull due to a water leak a few laps prior, while his team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, took the race victory. After pulling to a stop at Turn 7, Webber was forced to watch on the sidelines before he waved down Alonso for the ride.

“I saw all the guys arriving,” Webber said about the cool-down lap. “Kimi [Raikkonen] stopped as well. I thought Kimi, Jenson [Button] or Fernando [might give me a ride back]. I got two out of the three, but Kimi left. Fernando waited, I jumped on, job done.

“They were just the guys I thought of that might want to do an Aussie lift.”

Alonso pulled onto the racing line, with both Mercedes surprised to see the stopped car as they came around the blind corner. Nico Rosberg darted to the left, whereas Lewis Hamilton was forced right and onto the kerbs in order to pass.

“I was doing my in-lap, came around the corner and Fernando was there, and I was really shocked,” Hamilton told the media at the time. “I went to the right of him, but if Mark had been walking across where I went then I would have run him over. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“It’s good for the fans to see and, as long as it’s done in a safe manner and you don’t stop on the racing line, then maybe it should be allowed for the future. There have been times where I’ve driven past someone else who has stopped and I’d wished I’d stopped,” Hamilton added.

Webber had previous offences before his Singapore reprimand

Explaining Webber’s Singapore penalty

At a glance, you might think it was only Webber who was sanctioned for the event, but both drivers were given reprimands for their involvement. Reprimands are a warning for drivers, and less severe than a traditional penalty.

Webber was told off for walking onto the track without permission, whereas Alonso was given the same slap on the wrist for stopping and causing a reaction behind.

The problem for the Red Bull driver was that he had two previous reprimands to his name that season; one for causing a collision with Rosberg in Bahrain and another for ignoring yellow flags during the first free practice in Canada.

As per the 2013 FIA regulations, if a driver received three reprimands in a single season, they were given a 10-place grid drop at their next event. Therefore, Webber’s ‘track invasion’ meant he reached the limit and was penalised as a result, and not for the incident itself.

“For @alo_oficial [Alonso] and me to receive reprimands for our actions after the race it is comical to say the least,” Webber stated on Twitter at the time. “Great moment, and fans loved it.”

Drivers like Jenson Button got involved, with the former GPDA director saying he was “disappointed to see the penalties” and that “acts of sportsmanship should not really be punished”.

The reprimand system was also updated in 2022, with five offences needed before a penalty. That wasn’t enough leeway for AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda though. He was slapped with a 10-place grid drop for the 2022 Italian Grand Prix for his on-track antics.

When was the last ‘taxi ride’ in Formula 1?

Vettel is the most recent driver to have received a lift on a cool-down lap, when his fellow compatriot Pascal Wehrlein stopped his Sauber at the 2017 Malaysian Grand Prix. Vettel, who finished the race for Ferrari in fourth, was hit by the Williams of Lance Stroll after the chequered flag and suffered significant damage to the rear-left of his car.

Neither driver was blamed for the unusual coming-together, but Vettel remained adamant that rookie Stroll was at fault.

Other notable examples

As well as Webber and Alonso, Mansell and Senna, and Vettel and Wehrlein, there have been countless times when drivers have helped each other out on their return to the garages.

One of the first times this happened was in Dallas for the 1984 United States Grand Prix, when Jacques Laffite offered the sidepods of his FW09 to two of the all-time greats. Both Niki Lauda and Alain Prost had issues with their McLarens in the final laps of the utterly bonkers race, before jumping on top of Laffite’s car – the Frenchman showing up to the race day proceedings in pyjamas to protest the early warm-up time of 7:45am!

If you thought two was plenty, Nelson Piquet welcomed three aboard when he drove Philippe Alliot, René Arnoux and Stefan Johansson back to the pits after the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix. It looks like something Red Bull would try and do as a high-profile stunt, but that was just how things went back in that unmissable era of F1.

Another favourite has to be Jean Alesi‘s ride upon the top of Michael Schumacher‘s Benetton at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix. It was an unforgettable end to his only Formula 1 victory, something that he achieved on his 31st birthday, after his Ferrari had run out of fuel on his victory lap.

Taxi rides proved ever popular in the 1990s, with the German Grand Prix hosting an abnormally large number over the decade. Gerhard Berger gave Ivan Capelli a ride at Hockenheim back in 1991, Rubens Barrichello hitchhiked with David Coulthard at the same track in 1995. Alesi gave team-mate Berger a lift back to their Benetton garage in 1996, with Giancarlo Fisichella straddling the top of Schumacher’s Ferrari for the 1997 edition of the event.