Your Favourite Race

teabagyokel

#dejavu
Valued Member
I assume as F1 fans, we all have a race we remember particularly fondly for whatever reason. Maybe it is a keystone win for a particular driver, maybe it is a crazy wet race or a has a dramatic fight for the lead.

There are many reasons to have a favourite race, and I'd like to open up the floor to discuss why your favourite race is yours.

Mine? Here we go:

2003 Brazilian Grand Prix

Back in 2003, there was a real sense of hope that Formula One was moving out of the era of Schumacher's dominance. McLaren had won the two opening races with an update of their 2002 car, and we waited with baited breath for the new McLaren too.

The Curva du Sol was wet. Soaking wet. They raced for a bit, then someone went straight on and the race was neutralised again. It caught out Schumacher and it caught out the whole field really.

What this created was a situation where Barrichello, having butchered most of the Safety Car restarts, could hope to end his home curse, leading the race from Coulthard. But the luck was not to be Barrichello's, of course. He, of all things, ran out of fuel.

Coulthard pitted at the wrong time, and then FIsichella of Jordan, apparently innocuously, passed Raikkonen. And with the monster crashes of Webber and (idiotically) Alonso, the Jordan won and promptly set itself on fire. Then it didn't win. Then it did.

It was Jordan's last stand, it was Fisi's first win after years of being the bridesmaid. It was a remarkable, fun, Sunday evening in front of the TV. And it is my fondest F1 race to remember.

How about you?
 
It's also where we got our name from!
My favourite race(s) that I watched live, firstly Canada 2011 for all the drama, China 2011, and most of the 2011 season! Abu Dhabi 2010, more tense than exciting, Canada 2012, Valencia 2012 but my overall favourite must be my first ever race and many more people's favourite race and Brazil 2008.
It had everything, drama, a title battle and it was even won at the last corner, of the last lap, of the last race, even comedy from Ferrari mechanics, how much more excitement do you want from a race! And just to top it off, Hamilton won the World Championship and Massa won the race, but it was sensational!
 
Excellent timing TBY! Rather fittingly I would have to say that Germany 2008 is definitely a favorite of mine. It had just about everything a dry race can throw out there.

- Glock's mega-shunt
- Strange McLaren strategy
- Renault "lucking" into their strategy with ominous implications for the future
- Hamilton's chase for the lead from well-back
- Overtaking for victory

I remember this day like it was yesterday. The race was shown in The States on tape-delay, so I was forced to avoid all (internet) media for a couple hours after the race was over. I was happily rewarded. Hamilton was so fast that day. Coming off Silverstone, you knew it had to be his championship.
 
Monaco 1982 for all those leaders retiring in the last lap of the race and James Hunt's "Well we've got this ridiculous situation where we're all sitting by the start-finish line waiting for a winner to come past and we don't seem to be getting one!"
Monaco 1996 It was one of my first races (they somehow stick in your head more than those that happened only two years ago or something) and simply because only three guys finished the race and everything was crazy.
Brazil 2003 (everything has been said)
Brazil 2007/2008 Amazing season finales
Europe 2012 I would never have thought that Valencia could provide any sort of an entertaining race. But this year's race was absolutely stunning.
 
Japan 2005

Where do i start?

Saturday started with rain and qualifying was a total mix up in order. It was Toyota's Ralf Schumacher who found himself on an unlikely Pole position with Raikkonen, Alonso and Schumacher starting outside the top ten.

The race

The race started with Schumacher jr storming into the lead with Giancarlo Fisichella getting ahead of Jenson Button for second off the line. Sato and Barrichello in the opening corner crashed out. On lap 2 Juan Pablo Montoya ended up crashing out bringing the safety car out. Schumacher snr, Alonso and Raikkonen all storming through from down the order. Alonso overtook Klien by cutting the final chicane, a lap later he had to give the position back. Somewhere during the race Alonso made one of the most sensational F1 overtakes ever on Michael Schumacher around the 130r corner. Raikkonen and Alonso then pulled identical moves as each other on Michael Schumacher into turn 1 during the race aswell. After some brilliant strategy from the Renault and Mclaren teams Alonso and Raikkonen ended up coming through the field and finished 3rd and 1st respectively. Raikkonen's move on the last lap of the Grand Prix is one of the most winning rememberable overtakes in my memory by overtaking Giancarlo Fisichella for the win. The podium ended up with Raikkonen on the top step with Fisichella and Alonso joining him on the podium. Probably the best race i've watched and still buzzing 2 months after the Grand Prix as i couldn't believe what i'd seen. To this very day i still watch it on the internet thanks to you tube.
 
Spa 2008 - Hamilton and Raikkonen's battle was so exciting I was shouting at the TV like a madman...

Germany 2008 - Keke explained it perfectly

Australia 2010 - Brilliant action throughout the field with some excellent overtaking moves

Canada 2010 - Completely unpredictable, great overtaking moves for the lead and anyone could have won

China 2011 - A fantastic race where the winner was made to work, Hamilton also did his overtaking outside the DRS zone
 
# 1 - Suzuka 2005.....Raikkonen's breathtaking charge through the field after starting from 17 place, and his last lap pass to take the lead and win from Giancarlo Fisichella, is something that I'll never forget

# 2 - Brazil 2008.....Lewis showed the heart of a true champion by never giving up after losing 5th place to Vettel, but still continued to push very hard until the end. This enabled Hamilton to pass Glock to retake 5th, on the last lap, in the last turn to secure him the 2008 WDC.......the most exciting ending to help determine the winner of a WDC.
 
Monza, 1967--Clark at his absolute best, coming from a lap down to take the lead. Shame he lost the lead by running short of fuel
 
European Grand Prix 2007 - Nurburgring. EXTREMELY wet, with at one point about six cars spinning off into the sand at turn 1 - some simultaneously. Race was red flagged so bizarre that at one point Markus Winkelhock lead the race by over 1 minute. After everything settled down, Massa and Alonso had a great battle, bumping into the hairpin with Alonso overtaking Massa. Alonso would go on to win. As an American F1 fan, this was an equally awesome race because it was Scott Speed's last race and I could not wait to get that crap factory out of F1, giving American drivers a bad name (Michael Andretti did enough of that already).

The European Grand Prix in Valencia this season was equally, if not even greater.

I also need to mention the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix - went there on my honeymoon and it was the first time (but not last) my wife attended an F1 race with me.
 
From sheer edge of your seat excitement, I think it is hard not to mention Brazil 2008, 2009 was also exciting, and for similar reasons, although not a great race, Japan 1996 was a moment that I will remember.

Hungary 1997 was another one of the exciting races.

I must admit though, I find it hard at my age to remember specific races, certain moments stick out for me, the races I have mentioned above have a theme which I am sure is not too hard to spot!
 
Spain 1986... the very first race I watched lights to flag... it didn't take me long to figure out that not all finishes would be that close... a hot dusty day... and huge chase by Mansell on fresh rubber just fails to head Senna at the start finish...

Italy 1987... Senna in the active suspension yellow cigarette packet Lotus didn't pit for tyres and after all was said and done was leading Piquet by half a dozen or so seconds... Nelson was not making huge headway... I thought Ayrton was going to pull off an improbable victory until he tried to lap the peerless Piercarlo Ghinzani in the Ligier-Megatron... and slid off at Parabolica... managed to chase down Piquet to two seconds of the lead... I remember the call was that there was oil on the track dropped by Ghinzani...or it could have been Brundle in the Zakspeed whose gearbox let go on that lap...

Germany 2009... Webber breaks his duck... after nearly burying Barrichello in the pit wall off the start... survives the drive through for that incident...and still wins...(with a little help from a wide Ferrari or BMW Sauber holding everyone up on old tyres...)

Japan 2007... crazy wet race... (who would have known we would be getting several like this a season 5yrs on... and Webber soldiering on in the old RBR with a podium / chance of a win beckoning...

Lap 41 / 67 safety car...Lewis: "When we were behind the Safety Car for the second time I was constantly on to my engineers, telling them to tell Red Bull to get Mark [Webber] to make a bit more of gap between us. I couldn't go any faster because of the Safety Car ahead of me. Then one time Mark just appeared alongside me braking hard.". Behind them Vettel made an awful mistake, and ran into the back of Webber, leaving bits of Red Bull all over the place. It was such an awful mistake that Vettel returned to the pits and wept. And rightly so. Webber went to the medical centre. It had been a bad weekend. It had started at 03.00 on Sunday morning when he started throwing up. He missed the drivers' parade because he was feeling so sick. But he took the start and five laps into the race threw up inside his helmet. But on he went and there he was with a chance of glory and then... Webber should have been the one weeping. "If he was bigger than me I would probably have hit him," Mark admitted.

Belgium 1997... as frustrating (from a competition p.o.v) as it got to be watching Schumacher dominate F1 for several years, how can you not appreciate how good he was this Sunday...(a bit like watching the first City / United game last season... you just wanted City to score more goals because it was all over as a contest...)

There is no doubt at all that the three laps which were run behind the Safety Car at the start of the race gave the intermediate users an advantage because the wet-users would have left them for dead while there was standing water on the circuit, but one has to say that it seemed prudent at the time not to let the field go in those conditions. When the Safety Car pulled off there was still enough water lying about to allow Jacques Villeneuve to stay ahead for the first lap but then the intermediates began to look like the right choice. Schumacher passed Alesi at La Source at the start of lap 2 and then tiptoed past Villeneuve in Rivage. "With Jean it was fairly tight," Schumacher admitted later. "I decided I was going to take the line and he saw the situation and just moved over. Jacques knew that he didn't have a chance to keep me back with the kind of tires he was using and he was quite fair and stayed on his line."

As soon as he was ahead Michael lit the afterburners on his Ferrari and disappeared into the distance. The gap went from 5.8secs on the first lap ahead to 16.9s on the second, 22s on the third and 28s on the fourth. By the time he had completed nine racing laps he was a minute ahead and could have stopped to let a busload of nuns across the road and still have been ahead by the time he reached the pits...
 
There have been a lot but for me I guess the 1992 British GP stands out. I was there and I was one of only a handful not supporting Mansell. I stood on the grass banking between Abbey and Bridge proudly waving my Lotus flag and cheering as Mika made it too 6th place. Senna span off just to the right of us and there was loads of action in front of us. A great day out. I'm sure that there were more but for the time being I think this is my choice.
 
I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet. But Monaco '92 was the race that got me hooked on F1.

Mansell was destroying everyone that season and clearly leading at Monaco only to end up with a puncture. He pitted and caught back up to the slower McLaren of Senna. If that had been any other driver Mansell would have breezed by and taken the victory but that battle in the closing laps will always live in my memory.

Honourable mention to Spa 98 too!
 
Here's five others that no-one's mentioned yet:

Dallas 1984
Canada 1989
Britain 1995
Europe 1999
Monaco 2004
 
Back
Top Bottom