Torrente vs Jelf: Inside the F1H2O Zhengzhou Clash

A heated confrontation between three-time F1H2O World Champion Shaun Torrente and British driver Ben Jelf at the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou has sparked controversy online following an on-water dispute that escalated into a physical altercation in the pits.

The incident occurred on Friday, October 10, 2025, after practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix, and was captured on video. Both drivers have now released their accounts of what transpired, presenting starkly different versions of events that unfolded both on the water and on land.

Blue cards were issued to both Torrente and Jelf for their conduct. The controversy has since played out across social media, with footage published on F1H2O’s Instagram page and competing narratives from both drivers.

Shaun Torrente’s Account

The American driver posted a video explanation addressing the incident, beginning with a pointed reference to the practice session context:

“Everything I’m about to tell you, he’s admitted to. We had a hearing, we both got blue cards. He’s admitted to this, so it’s not like I’m saying that he did something that he didn’t already admit to. I’m only going to say what he mentioned.”

“He decided he was upset with me during free practice. That’s right – we’ll talk about practice. We ain’t talking about qualifying, we ain’t talking about a race. We’re talking about practice.”

“He says I messed up his good lap, and I didn’t know this at the time. OK, I didn’t know I messed up his good lap.”

Torrente then described what he says happened on the water:

“So next thing I know, I’m getting wet down because I’m off the side going slow and he cuts in front of me, wets me down. Then a few minutes later, I’m running down the backside long straight going to what would be turn one, technically. And he looks like he’s exiting the race course and he comes over, wide open, and tries to cut me off at that buoy until I lift. And as soon as I lift, he takes a right and pulls off the exit lane.”

The confrontation then moved to the pits, according to Torrente:

“Ben Jelf: ‘Man, you messed up my good lap.’ ST: ‘So now we’ll talk about practice? Practice? Yeah, you did it twice, man. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were capable of making a good lap! My bad!'”

“He puts his hands on me and tells me to fuck off. To which I go, ‘No! You fuck off!’ Then he punches me.”

Torrente used a powerboat racing class analogy to characterise the incident:

“Now keep in mind, this punch – I got to put it in boat race terms, there’s only one thing I really know that well. This punch is about the level of… So like, let’s just say Formula One is the best driving. Let me just say, you know, this guy’s here. Let’s just say Formula One’s the best. So as a punch, a Formula One punch would be like Mike Tyson, right? This punch he gave me was like, I don’t know, like GT-15.”

The three-time champion then explained why he was particularly upset about the on-water actions:

“So based on this punch, I understand why he decided to get all bent out of shape about practice and use his boat as a weapon – which for me is where you cross the line. See, I’ve almost given my life for this sport. I love this sport. It’s really dangerous. So when someone starts using their Formula One boat to run my Formula One boat off the race course on purpose during practice, that’s what costs a lot for me. That’s why I was upset.”

Torrente concluded: “Looking back on it now, I shouldn’t have been that upset because you got to understand who you’re dealing with. So it is what it is, we’re going to move on.”

Ben Jelf’s Response

The British driver provided a detailed written response to Powerboat News, presenting a dramatically different account of both the on-land confrontation and the events that preceded it.

The Pits Confrontation

“You can see what happened on the video that F1h20 posted. Unfortunately it doesn’t show that Shaun approached us in a rage and several times he was asked to go away and calm down and that we’d talk when he was in a better frame of mind. It also doesn’t show the audio of what was being said by Shaun. I kept stepping back as he was getting closer and closer to me and shouting and jabbing his finger at me, until I was provoked into pushing him away from me. He then attempted to headbutt me with his helmet on so I more forcefully pushed him away. I did not ‘hit’ him as he accused.”

“He then started yelling that he was going to ‘finish me’ because I’d hit him etc… and that’s when he was pulled away.”

The Disciplinary Process

Jelf described what happened at the UIM hearing:

“I thought nothing more of it until I was called to a disciplinary meeting. The reason for the disciplinary meeting was because Shaun and the Victory Team had made an official complaint that I hit Shaun for no reason and attacked him in the pits.”

“Shaun gave his version of events that denied that he had done anything wrong and that basically I had attacked him for no reason and that the reason he was angry is that I had dangerously run him off the course during free practice and used my boat as a weapon against him.”

“I then gave my version of events on land (as described above) which Shaun again denied and insisted never happened. At that point a member of F1h20 staff entered the meeting with the footage that has been published. Thankfully this proved beyond all doubt that I was telling the absolute truth and Shaun had massively lied to everyone, even his own team manager and all of the UIM officials.”

On-Water Admission

Unlike Torrente’s account, Jelf admitted to deliberately disrupting his rival’s lap:

“I then explained that I had ruined Shaun’s lap deliberately and explained that the reason why I did it was because he had done it to me several times previously to me in the same session. This does not excuse my decision to retaliate, which I deeply regret and have apologised several times for, but it is the reason it happened.”

However, Jelf strongly disputed Torrente’s claims about dangerous driving:

“So with me being mature and admitting my mistake, Shaun has now changed tactics and accused me of using my boat as a weapon. Thankfully, the footage from both my front and rear cameras that will shortly be published completely discredits Shaun’s accusations of me being ‘dangerous’ on the water as I couldn’t have been further away from him if it tried. But what it does show is that the only real dangerous driver in all of this, is in fact Shaun himself.”

Apology and Accountability

Jelf emphasised his willingness to take responsibility:

“Regardless, I was open and honest in the meeting and apologised for my behaviour on land and water several times. I apologised directly to Shaun and made a gesture to shake his hand. He gave me a dirty look and walked out of the meeting in a rage.”

“Both of us were issued Blue Cards for our behaviour which I accepted. Shaun is still under the illusion that he didn’t deserve his, but that’s typical.”

“As far as I am concerned, I have cleared my conscience and apologised. He has yet to do the same but I know he is incapable of taking accountability for his own actions and behaviour.”

Strong Words for Torrente

Jelf did not hold back in his criticism of the American champion:

“For me, after this meeting the matter was closed, until he published his response on social media yesterday which rather than giving a straight account of what happened, he again resorted to his dishonest narrative and attempted to manipulate the facts, all whilst trying to belittle me to make himself look better (fail).”

“He has now on two occasions publicly lied and completely discredited himself. The level of his dishonesty and underhand manipulation is astounding and so is his level of arrogance.”

The British driver then referenced Torrente’s disciplinary history:

“For a driver that was banned from racing for dangerous driving while still on a provisional super licence and more recently had to miss a race because he had collected too many yellow cards also for dangerous driving, not taking into account the amount of crashes he has had all while using HIS boat as a weapon, I won’t loose any sleep over his opinion of me. I’ll take my ONE yellow card that I’ve received in my 15 years of racing and sleep well at night.”

Jelf concluded with a defiant statement:

“He thinks he can just throw his weight around and be aggressive towards people. He’s done it countless times to other drivers but he is used to people just taking it from him and he usually just gets away with it. Well not this time….”

“I won’t accept or enable his immature behaviour and more importantly for me, not only will what we publish prove what I have said, it will also expose him for the compulsive liar that he is. He is an embarrassment to his team and more importantly, he is an embarrassment to himself.”

The Controversy Continues

The incident has exposed deep tensions between the two drivers and highlight the complexity of the dispute.

Jelf’s admission that he deliberately ruined Torrente’s lap as retaliation contrasts with Torrente’s claim that he was unaware of any infraction. Meanwhile, Torrente’s allegations of dangerous driving using a boat “as a weapon” are disputed by Jelf, who promises that camera footage will vindicate his version of events.

The public nature of the dispute, playing out across social media and now in detailed driver statements, represents an unusual level of transparency into the often-private world of F1H2O. With Jelf promising to release onboard camera footage and both drivers maintaining their positions, the controversy surrounding the Zhengzhou incident appears far from resolved.

Whether this incident marks the end of their dispute or merely the beginning of an ongoing rivalry remains to be seen.