Famous F1 cheats of the past

Back in the early 1980s, when the weight limit of a Formula One car was 580kg, those teams that hadn’t yet been able to get hold of the newfangled turbo engines were faced with a real problem. Outgunned by around 150 horsepower, they had to find a way to compete. Their solution was ingenious – but on the cusp of illegal. They built their cars up to 60kg under the weight limit but installed huge water tanks that took advantage of a rule that allowed replenishable fluids to be added after the race. They claimed the water tanks were for water-cooled brakes, ran the race with them empty, then filled ’em up after the race – bringing the cars up to the regulation weight.
After this loophole was closed, a later refinement of a similar principle allowed a team to run significantly underweight for most of the race and then make a late refuelling stop. As well as fuel, lead pellets were injected into the tank to bring the weight up to the required post-race level.
Moveable aerodynamic devices were banned from Formula One in the late 1960s, but in 1978, Brabham turned up at the Swedish Grand Prix with its “fan car”. A huge fan at the back sucked the car into the ground. The fan was a moveable aerodynamic device, but its designer argued that the primary function of the fan was for engine cooling and any aerodynamic benefits were incidental. The fan car won its one and only race but was subsequently banned.