In the early years of the Formula One World Championship, team orders were legal and accepted. In 1955, Juan Manuel Fangio of Mercedes allowed his teammate Stirling Moss to win the British Grand Prix at Aintree, finishing less than a second behind.
The 1964 season concluded dramatically when Lorenzo Bandini moved aside for John Surtees during the Mexican Grand Prix, enabling Surtees to secure the World Championship. In the 1979 German Grand Prix, Clay Regazzoni was instructed by Williams not to challenge teammate Alan Jones for the lead. Jones’s status as the number one driver at Williams lasted until 1981, when Carlos Reutemann ignored team orders at the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the 1982 French Grand Prix, René Arnoux defied Renault’s instructions to yield to teammate Alain Prost. During the 1983 South African Grand Prix, the Brabham-BMW team asked Riccardo Patrese to cede the race win to Nelson Piquet if it would secure Piquet the driver's championship. Patrese again waved his Williams teammate Nigel Mansell through at the 1992 French Grand Prix.
In the late 1990s, media coverage of team orders became more prominent. At the 1997 European Grand Prix, Jacques Villeneuve, having already secured the title, was asked by his engineer to let the McLaren cars pass. The 1997 Japanese Grand Prix saw Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine start with a light fuel load to hold up the Williams cars, benefiting teammate Michael Schumacher.
At the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, McLaren drivers David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen exchanged positions at the end of the race to honor a prior agreement. The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix saw the two Jordans of Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher unexpectedly leading after a collision. Ralf was ordered not to overtake Hill.
At the 1999 German Grand Prix, Mika Salo, substituting for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, was leading when he was told to allow teammate Eddie Irvine to pass. Irvine ultimately lost the championship that year.
The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix generated media attention when Rubens Barrichello was ordered to allow Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to win, with the order issued just before the finish line. Later that year, at the United States Grand Prix, Schumacher appeared to return the favor by giving Barrichello the win by a record-small margin. At the 2002 French Grand Prix, the Arrows team instructed drivers Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi to deliberately fail to qualify.
Following the 2002 season, the FIA banned "Team Orders that could influence the outcome of a race," though they were sometimes still implemented discreetly. This was sometimes achieved by subtle radio messages, such as at the 2010 German Grand Prix, where Felipe Massa was told that Fernando Alonso was faster.
The most controversial use of team orders during the ban occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The Renault F1 team orchestrated Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash, which allowed teammate Fernando Alonso to win the race. A subsequent investigation resulted in penalties for Renault and team personnel.
At the end of the 2010 season, the FIA acknowledged that the team orders rule was ineffective and removed it from the sporting regulations as of 2011.
At the 2012 United States Grand Prix, Ferrari incurred a grid penalty by breaking the seal on Felipe Massa’s gearbox. At the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel was criticized for passing teammate Mark Webber.
The 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix saw Mercedes order Valtteri Bottas to yield to Lewis Hamilton. At the 2018 German Grand Prix, after Sebastian Vettel crashed, Hamilton inherited the lead with teammate Bottas behind. Bottas was told to hold position. At the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari ordered Charles Leclerc to hold position. Two races later, at the Chinese Grand Prix, team principal Mattia Binotto instructed Leclerc to let Vettel pass.
At the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, Red Bull ordered Sergio Pérez to give up his lead to Max Verstappen. Pérez expressed a desire for an explanation. At the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, Max Verstappen refused team orders to let Pérez pass.
The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix saw McLaren order Lando Norris to cede his lead to Oscar Piastri after Norris had undercut Piastri during pit stops. The 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix sprint race saw McLaren order Piastri and Norris to switch positions.
Team orders also occur in NASCAR, not only between drivers who drive for the same team, but also between drivers who drive for teams who happen to have the same manufacturer. The 2013 Federated Auto Parts 400 saw an elaborate scheme involving multiple teams vying for playoff positions, resulting in rule changes. The 2019 Ford EcoBoost 400 also involved team orders, leading to penalties for several teams. The 2020 Xfinity 500 saw Joe Gibbs Racing subject to investigation for a team order message directed to Erik Jones. The 2022 Bank of America Roval 400 also saw controversy surrounding Cole Custer’s behavior, resulting in penalties.
While not commonly used, team orders in MotoGP have gained notoriety in recent seasons. Examples exist in earlier times, such as the 1968 season finale.
Team orders have also been observed in other motorsports, such as the 1976 Rallye Sanremo and the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.