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Before we begin...

What makes a great grand prix? That’s the rather tricky question we had to ask ourselves in order to compile this list.

The hardest thing about ranking material such as this is each and every one will mean a different thing to a different person. Some favour certain races due to pure emotion, laden with memories of attending events with loved ones and friends, taking in the sights and sounds and seeing their heroes go to battle up close.

Others will be more impressed by certain historical significance, milestone achievements or virtuoso performances – a race won by over a minute may not sound enthralling, but it can be when the circumstance, skill and endeavour are appreciated. And then there’s the reason we all fell in love with this sport, the simple thrill of seeing cars duelling wheel-to-wheel, man and machinery intertwined and pushed to the limit in the simple endeavour of being the fastest. Within this list you’ll find examples of all of this; from flat-out thrashes to defining moments, nail-biting title deciders, dramatic twists, photo finishes, surprise winners, feats of endurance and so much more.

Will you agree with our choice and order? Probably not. In any exercise such as this, there is no definitive list – because there can’t be. Our top 75 is based on opinion, nothing more, designed to be a bit of fun and to spark good-natured debate among fans of the world’s greatest sport.

So turn the page, delve in – and whatever you do, don’t take it too seriously.

Writers Key: DS, Damien Smith; NSR, Nigel Roebuck; SA, Simon Arron; PF, Paul Fearnley; ACH, Alex Harmer; RL, Robert Ladbrook

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37. 1957 British GP: the first world championship win for a British car

July 20, Aintree

Brooks had long given up his Vanwall for team leader Stirling Moss; now he joined the massed crowd in crossing his fingers. Surely this would be the first world championship GP victory for a British car?

The driver-share scheme had been pre-arranged, with Brooks’ unquestioning blessing. Tony had been stuck in bed just a week before Aintree, after his Aston Martin Le Mans shunt. He’d survived a heavy DBR1 rolling on him, yet here he was a month later outpacing the great Moss in practice. But across a GP distance? That was a different matter.

Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss celebrating

Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss celebrating

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Brooks was running fifth when the call came. Moss had charged past Jean Behra’s Maserati to build a strong lead, only for a misfire to thwart his progress. Now on lap 26 Tony hauled his aching limbs from the cockpit to switch – and Stirling set off on another signature charge.

At half-distance the gap to Behra was a full minute, with Mike Hawthorn, the third Vanwall of Stuart Lewis-Evans and Peter Collins between them. But soon Collins would be gone, his Lancia-Ferrari suffering a water leak, then Behra’s Maserati engine detonated – and Hawthorn picked up a puncture on the debris. Vanwall was back in the lead!

Moss was by Lewis-Evans before they’d even passed the giant grandstand, and now the tension began to rise. Nerves tightened further when Lewis-Evans slowed with gear-linkage problems, but Great Britain would not be denied today.

For Moss, Aintree ’55 had been special, but this was something else again. Instead of foreign silver he’d done it in his beloved British Racing Green. DS

Results

1st Tony Brooks/Stirling Moss (Vanwall), 3hr 6min 37.8sec, 86.80mph
2nd Luigi Musso (Lancia-Ferrari)
3rd Mike Hawthorn (Lancia-Ferrari)
Pole position Moss (Vanwall), 2min 00.2sec, 89.85mph

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39. 1967 Dutch GP: birth of the DFV legend

June 4, Zandvoort

The race itself was hardly thrill-a-minute, but that’s irrelevant: this was a ‘great’ grand prix for what it represented. Cosworth’s Double Four Valve V8, the most successful and important engine in F1 history, arrived in a blitz of fastest practice times and a stunning debut race victory.

What’s more, Colin Chapman’s all-new Lotus 49 to which it was bolted relied on the DFV for more than just power. For the first time, both chassis and engine were mated as one, the DFV’s block now a fully integrated stressed member. Once again, Chapman had changed everything.

The arrival of a true game- changer, the Cosworth DFV

The arrival of a true game- changer, the Cosworth DFV.

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Perhaps true justice would have awarded Graham Hill this historic win. After all, he’d carried out the development tests in 49/1. Indeed, it was Graham who set the practice pace while team-mate Jim Clark lost learning time in newly minted 49/2 with a hub failure. But despite taking a commanding lead from the start, Hill’s DFV failed him, broken teeth on camshaft driving gears changing the passage of fate. Clark, catching up for lost time, played himself in and then struck, passing Jochen Rindt and Jack Brabham on consecutive laps. As Jenks described in Motor Sport, from there he “just motored relentlessly into the distance”.

Hill’s failure was more indicative of the short-term frustrations of the DFV in that ‘summer of love’. But for now, the significance of Clark’s peerless performance was clear to all: a new F1 superpower was born. DS

Results

1st Jim Clark (Lotus-Ford), 2hr 14min 45.1sec, 104.40mph
2nd Jack Brabham (Brabham-Repco)
3rd Denny Hulme (Brabham-Repco)
Pole position Graham Hill (Lotus-Ford), 1min 24.6sec, 110.86mph

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40. 1954 Swiss GP: Flawless Fangio clinches championship

August 22, Bremgarten

That all changed in 1955, when the Swiss authorities banned circuit racing in the wake of the Le Mans disaster and implemented a ban that endured for 63 years until Formula E got clearance in 2018 (although hillclimbs along mountain passes in the meantime were absolutely fine, obviously).

“The 1954 race would be an appropriate swansong – not so much a nail-biting classic but a showcase for Juan Manuel Fangio’s gift”

Located to the north of Bern, Bremgarten was a long, challenging, tree-lined track and there was no reason to think it might be consigned to history within the year. As it turned out, the 1954 race would be an appropriate swansong – not so much a nail-biting classic but a showcase for Juan Manuel Fangio’s gift.

The Argentine led at the start, his Mercedes heading Froilán González’s Ferrari and Stirling Moss’ Maserati. The Englishman soon moved up to second, but the leading Silver Arrow was fast becoming a shiny dot ahead. Mike Hawthorn picked his way through the field to hold second for a while, but a sticking throttle delayed him and oil pump failure eventually sidelined his Ferrari. Moss retired for the same reason, allowing González to reclaim second, but such were mere details on a day when Fangio drove without flaw. He won by almost a minute and in the process clinched his second world title.

Today, a motorway bisects parts of the old track: fragments exist still, but clues to their glorious past are a touch scarce. SA

Results

1st Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes-Benz), 3hr 00min 34.5sec, 99.20mph
2nd José Froilán González (Ferrari)
3rd Hans Herrmann (Mercedes-Benz)
Pole position González (Ferrari), 2min 39.5sec, 102.10mph

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41. 2012 Brazilian GP: Vettel fights back for third title while Button wins last F1 race

November 25, Interlagos

Vettel was chopped by team-mate Mark Webber, dropped to seventh and then spun at Turn Four following contact with Bruno Senna’s Williams. The Red Bull was damaged, but driveable.

Lewis Hamilton led initially, but rain soon hit and triggered a series of tyre stops – although Jenson Button and Nico Hülkenberg stuck with slicks and pulled well clear as the track dried. Hülkenberg led when the safety car was deployed on lap 23, because of track debris.

When the race resumed the top two headed Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel, who had been flying in the wet (despite iffy aero balance in the bruised Red Bull). Hamilton passed Button on lap 31, then led after Hülkenberg endured a half-spin. Back came the German, though, and when it rained again he was quicker… though his efforts to recapture the lead ended in a collision that eliminated Hamilton’s McLaren. Cue a drive-through…

Fernando Alonso hands on head Ferrari

That left Button clear of the Ferraris – and second would be enough for Alonso only if Vettel finished eighth or lower, which never looked likely.

The German partially lost his radio at half-distance: he could hear his crew but not reply. He pitted on lap 52, for mediums, but returned two laps later because of rain. The team wasn’t expecting him and had no inters prepared. He remained seventh, though, which became sixth when he passed Michael Schumacher. The title was his. “In terms of stress,” said Red Bull’s Christian Horner, “I’ve never known a race like it.” SA

Results

1st Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes), 1hr 44min 19.66sec, 114.25mph
2nd Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
3rd Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Pole position Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes), 1min 12.458sec, 133.02mph

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70. 1965 Monaco GP: Hill the master with Hawkins in harbour

May 30, Monte Carlo

Graham Hill and his young BRM team-mate Jackie Stewart had dominated the early stages of a race that was missing both Jim Clark and Dan Gurney, who were on duty at the Indianapolis 500. But as Hill shot out of the tunnel on lap 25, there was Bob Anderson’s Brabham crawling towards the chicane with a driveshaft problem. Hill took to the escape road in avoidance, resuming in fifth “with a very black and angry look on his face and his moustache bristling,” as Denis Jenkinson put it.

“Hill rejoined with a very black and angry look on his face and his moustache bristling”

Now for the comeback. Ahead of him, Stewart threw away hopes of a first GP win by spinning on to the pavement at Ste Devote, leaving Lorenzo Bandini’s 12-cylinder Ferrari ahead of Jack Brabham and John Surtees’ V8 Prancing Horse. Stewart had rejoined in fourth, but soon allowed his BRM team leader past. Hill was on a mission.

Brabham took the lead from Bandini, but a broken rev counter would eventually contribute to a blown Climax engine. By lap 50, half-distance, Bandini led once again from Surtees, but Hill was right with them. The unstoppable Hill went on to pass both red cars and set a new lap record on his way to a third Monaco win on the trot. Had he been there, even Clark might have struggled to hold him back. DS

Graham Hill steps out of car 1965 Monaco GP

Results

1st Graham Hill (BRM), 2hr 37min 39.6sec, 74.37mph
2nd Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari)
3rd Jackie Stewart (BRM)
Pole position Hill (BRM), 1min 32.5sec, 76.05mph

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42. 1957 Pescara GP: Moss supreme on perilous street track

August 18, Pescara

Races had been staged close to the Adriatic town since the 1920s, but it hadn’t featured on the calendar during the world championship’s first seven seasons. In 1957, however, the sport had been forced to recalibrate following the Suez Crisis and motor racing’s governing body needed willing promoters. The Dutch and Belgian GPs had been cancelled at short notice, after the organisers asked participating teams to accept reduced appearance money – a request twice declined. There was a risk that the calendar might be reduced to six grands prix – Argentina, Monaco, France, Britain, Germany and Italy – plus the Indy 500, so Pescara was gratefully embraced. It would be the first time two world championship races had taken place in one country during the same season.

“Moss enjoyed such control that he had the luxury of being able to pit for some precautionary oil and, at least as useful, a glass of water…”

Motor Sport contributor Richard Williams wrote a fine book on Pescara ’57, The Last Road Race, and spoke to several participating drivers. “It was fantastic,” Tony Brooks told him, “a real race circuit. To me, grand prix racing is road racing and anything less than that is nothing like as rewarding or satisfying. It was a great challenge.”

Jack Brabham was a little less effusive. “I thought it was horrible,” he said. “Those road courses were bloody dangerous and nasty, nearly all of them, and Pescara was the worst.”

Stirling Moss crossing the line at Pescara GP

Moss was a cut above and withstood the heat to win for Vanwall, before taking a much-needed drink

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The race may have featured a repeated series of laps, as had all such events since the 1906 Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France, but the track’s length and character meant it had something of the spirit of bygone city-to-city contests.

Ferrari was effectively absent as a works entity: the Scuderia had been under pressure since that year’s Mille Miglia, when the Alfonso de Portago/Ed Nelson Ferrari 335S left the road, killing its crew and nine spectators. There had since been endless legal complications and Enzo Ferrari saw no purpose in adding another home race to his team’s itinerary. He did, though, loan a car to Luigi Musso, so that the Italian could defend second place in a championship already won by Juan Manuel Fangio. The Argentine was present in one of 10 Maserati 250Fs, with the works Vanwalls and Coopers completing the 16-car entry.

Fangio took pole from Moss, but Musso led initially from the outside of the front row. Moss moved ahead on lap two – and stayed there for the best part of three hours in the marathon event.

Stirling Moss drinking after race win

The fierce heat swiftly took its toll, Brooks (Vanwall) and Jean Behra (Maserati) retiring with engine failures while Stuart Lewis-Evans (Vanwall) lost time with a couple of tyre failures. Musso remained second until the 10th of the 18 laps, when his engine seized: he’d been leaking oil for a while and created a slick that caused Fangio to spin and damage a wheel.

The champion rejoined after pitting, but Moss continued in a parallel universe and won by more than three minutes as he moved up to second in the points table at Musso’s expense. Such was his control that he had the luxury of being able to pit, on lap 13, for some precautionary oil and, at least as useful, a glass of water… SA

Results

1st Stirling Moss (Vanwall), 2hr 59min 22.7sec, 95.69mph
2nd Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati)
3rd Harry Schell (Maserati)
Pole position Fangio (Maserati), 9min 44.6sec, 87.87mph

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43. 1961 French GP: Baghetti takes stunning win on F1 debut

July 2, Reims

By the time he came to Reims for his first world championship GP start, he had twice represented Ferrari in F1, winning non-championship events in Syracuse (where he overcame strong opposition) and Naples (which was a bit more of a stroll). Despite his 100 per cent record, though, he wasn’t strongly fancied in France – not least because there were three other Ferraris, handled by Richie Ginther plus title contenders Wolfgang von Trips and Phil Hill. While Hill took pole ahead of von Trips and Ginther, Baghetti lined up 12th, on row five.

Hill led initially from Ginther and von Trips, but Stirling Moss took third for a period while Ginther recovered from a spin. Behind the leading quartet, Baghetti formed part of a slipstreaming group of seven drivers, with the Porsches of Dan Gurney and Jo Bonnier, the works Lotus 21s of Jim Clark and Innes Ireland, Graham Hill’s BRM and Bruce McLaren’s Cooper. Moss gradually slipped back into this maelstrom after slowing with fading brakes.

Ferrari had issued instructions that von Trips should lead, but a failed head gasket sidelined the German after 18 laps. Hill then took over until he spun and stalled, rejoining a lap in arrears, while failing oil pressure stopped Ginther.

The slipstreaming mob was now fighting for the lead and it eventually boiled down to a two-way scrap between Gurney and Baghetti. The American was ahead exiting Thillois for the final time, but Baghetti was handily placed in his tow and ducked out to complete a hat trick.

It was also his last major F1 success. DS

Results

1st Giancarlo Baghetti (Ferrari), 2hr 14min 17.500sec, 119.85mph
2nd Dan Gurney (Porsche)
3rd Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax)
Pole position Phil Hill (Ferrari), 2min 24.900sec, 128.16mph

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44. 1981 Monaco GP: Villeneuve wrestles recalcitrant Ferrari to victory

May 31, Monte Carlo

Didier Pironi qualified his 126 CK 17th, which was a more accurate barometer of the car’s potential, while Villeneuve was 2.476sec faster. It was a bit like putting a steroidal Triumph Herald on the front row.

It looked as though the French-Canadian’s qualifying cameo would count for little, though, with Nelson Piquet’s Brabham-Cosworth streaking away from pole position and controlling the race very comfortably. At least, he did once it eventually began.

Shortly before the scheduled start, a blaze had broken out in the Loews Hotel: it was swiftly put out, but the fire brigade’s extinguishant leaked through the floor and landed on the road below… which also doubled as the Monaco tunnel. “And that,” said Murray Walker, as the camera zoomed in, “is a very wet patch of water…”

It took about an hour before conditions were declared adequately dry, but the wait didn’t appear to faze Piquet. Later in the race, though, a couple of slower cars would…

After a moderately clean start – only two drivers failed to complete the opening lap, Mario Andretti and Andrea de Cesaris having collided at the exit of Ste Devote – Villeneuve held second initially, but didn’t waste much time trying to defend against Alan Jones when the Williams closed in. He allowed the Australian room down the inside at Mirabeau – not much, but just enough – and Jones later complimented his adversary’s sound racecraft. He felt that Villeneuve would have gone off or broken his car if he had invested too much energy trying to keep the much more effective Williams at bay.

Gilles Villeneuve sits on Ferrari

That sound judgment would be rewarded in due course. On lap 54, Piquet – aware that Jones was edging closer – came up behind Eddie Cheever’s Tyrrell and Patrick Tambay’s Theodore, both of which had previously been lapped. Rather than wait as Cheever sliced past Tambay, the leader allowed his line into Tabac to be compromised and slid straight into the Armco, his race run.

That left Jones with a sizeable advantage over Villeneuve, but then his Cosworth began to misfire. He had time to pit without losing his lead, but an airlock had developed in his fuel system and there was no quick fix. He rejoined only a few seconds clear of Villeneuve… and with his DFV still faltering. With four laps to go the Ferrari took the lead as they raced towards Ste Devote, the springboard for one of Villeneuve’s finest and least likely victories. Jones and Jacques Laffite (Ligier) completed the podium, while Cheever and Marc Surer (Ensign) completed the top six – a fine result for the Swiss, who had to progress through pre-qualifying before being allowed to take part in the rest of the meeting.

Pironi? He plugged on to finish fourth, more than a lap in arrears. SA

Results

1st Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari), 1hr 54min 23.380sec, 82.03mph
2nd Alan Jones (Williams-Cosworth)
3rd Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Matra)
Pole position Nelson Piquet (Brabham-Cosworth), 1min 25.710sec, 86.44mph

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45. 1983 USA GP West: Watson takes record win from 22nd on the grid

March 27, Long Beach

They lined up in close company, though, John Watson 22nd and Niki Lauda 23rd…

Tambay led into the first corner as Keke Rosberg separated the Ferraris, the Finn thumping Arnoux’s front-right wheel in the process. Rosberg then spun a couple of corners later, but lost a place only to team-mate Jacques Laffite.

Keke Rosberg hunts the Ferrari before their clash

Rosberg hunts the Ferrari before their clash.

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Tambay continued to lead, using his Ferrari’s straight-line speed to repel the nimbler Williams-Cosworths (Rosberg ahead once again after slicing cleanly past Laffite). On the 26th lap, however, Rosberg dived inside Tambay at the hairpin and tipped the Ferrari into a spin. Rosberg then collided with both Laffite and Jean-Pierre Jarier’s Ligier before the lap was out, leaving Laffite at the head of the field from Riccardo Patrese’s Brabham and the two McLarens, which worked brilliantly in race trim and had carved through the field. Lauda was now ahead, but Watson passed him on lap 31.

John Watson 7 McLaren in US

John Watson wins USA GP

Watson won and set a record that may never be beaten

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The McLarens moved up again when Patrese slid wide in his endeavours to usurp Laffite, but Watson showed how it should be done on lap 45. Lauda followed suit and the McLarens romped home well clear of Arnoux, the only other driver to finish on the same lap as Laffite slowed with tyre wear. An eventful sign-off, then, as Long Beach prepared to abandon F1 in favour of CART… SA

Results

1st John Watson (McLaren-Cosworth), 1hr 53min 34.889sec, 80.62mph
2nd Niki Lauda (McLaren-Cosworth)
3rd René Arnoux (Ferrari)
Pole position Patrick Tambay (Ferrari), 1min 26.117sec, 85.07mph

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46. 1984 Portuguese GP: Lauda claims title by half a point from Prost

October 21, Estoril

The Austrian led the championship by 3.5 points coming into the season finale – the first Portuguese Grand Prix since 1959 – and to take the title Prost needed to win with Lauda third or lower, finish second with Lauda fifth or lower or third with Lauda outside the points. It was all going swimmingly, too.

Pole qualifier Nelson Piquet was slow away, but Prost dropped behind Keke Rosberg (Williams) and Nigel Mansell (Lotus), although it took only until lap nine for the Frenchman to work his way to the front. At that stage, Lauda was still mired in the top 10’s lower reaches and France appeared destined to crown its first world champion.

As the race wore on, though, and Prost pulled away, Lauda made steady progress, picking his way through the pack with a succession of passing manoeuvres, mostly under braking for turn one.

By the time he’d made it up to third, on lap 33 of 70, he was half-a-minute behind the second-placed Mansell and the title looked more distant still. The Lotus later began leaking brake fluid, however, and on lap 51 Mansell lost time with a spin. Next time around he spun again, handing McLaren a one-two and giving Lauda the title by half a point – the tightest margin in championship history. SA

Results

1st Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG Porsche), 1hr 41min 11.753sec, 112.18mph
2nd Niki Lauda (McLaren-TAG Porsche)
3rd Ayrton Senna (Toleman-Hart)
Pole position Nelson Piquet (Brabham- BMW), 1min 21.703sec, 119.09mph

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47. 2017 Azerbaijan GP: Ricciardo comes through chaos to reign supreme

June 25, Baku

Three safety cars, a red flag, the high drama of a hot-headed Sebastian Vettel ramming Lewis Hamilton, and then a stunning finish… few who saw it can forget the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

2017 Azerbaijan GP, Baku

Hamilton led away from pole as chaos reigned behind him when Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas came together and Max Verstappen’s engine broke signalling him to scald back to the pits “Yep, here we go again… f***”. Then behind the resulting safety car Vettel hit the rear of Hamilton as he backed the pack up, the Ferrari driver then pulling alongside and deliberately hitting the Mercedes broadside in anger, feeling he’d been brake-tested by the British driver. Then the twin Force Indias collided, forcing a red flag as debris littered the track.

Lance Stroll does shoey with Daniel Riccardo

Hamilton continued to lead at the restart until his headrest worked loose and he was ordered to pit to have it secured, handing top spot to Vettel, but only until he was handed a 10-second stop-go for his antics behind the safety car. Through all this came Daniel Ricciardo, who had himself been forced to stop on lap six to have debris cleared from the brake ducts of his Red Bull. That left him as low as 17th, but he made progress amid the chaos to run third before trouble befell the two leaders. Perhaps just as bizarrely, despite his first-turn clash and stop to repair a puncture, Valtteri Bottas then managed to drag past Lance Stroll’s Williams on the run to the line to snatch second by 0.1sec as two cars that had been consigned to the pits early on found themselves first and second, with Stroll taking his first podium, and enduring a ‘shoey’ in celebration. Some turnaround. RL

Results

1st Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing-Tag Heuer), 2hr 03min 55.573sec, 92.07mph
2nd Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3rd Lance Stroll (Williams-Mercedes)
Pole position Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1min 40.593sec, 133.49mph

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48. 1964 Mexican GP: Surtees wins F1 title on last lap

October 25, Mexico City

Clark needed to win with Hill no higher than third, while second would suffice for Hill, irrespective of other results. Second might be enough for Surtees, so long as Clark was behind him and Hill – who had to drop one score, with only a driver’s best six results counting – finished no higher than third.

Got all that?

As was the custom throughout the early Sixties, Clark led away from pole with Dan Gurney (Brabham) running second ahead of Hill and Surtees’ team-mate Lorenzo Bandini. Surtees was back in fifth – and seemingly out of title contention.

Gurney, Surtees, Clark and Hill converse

Gurney, Surtees, Clark and Hill converse

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John Surtees in victory with Stirling Moss

Surtees in victory with Moss

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Hill’s chances were then partially torpedoed by Bandini, who ran into the BRM, spinning it around and damaging its exhaust pipe at the expense of the car leaking a few bhp. Clark looked ever more likely a champion… although with a few laps to go his Climax V8 began to leak oil.

“Surtees became the first – and so far only – competitor to secure world championships on both two wheels and four”

On the penultimate lap the leader was forced to park with a seized engine and the advantage passed to Hill, but only until Ferrari gave Bandini a signal to slow and let Surtees through. While Gurney swept to victory, Bandini complied during the final lap and, for the sake of one point, Surtees became the first – and so far only – competitor to secure world championships on both two wheels and four. In the space of a lap and a half, the title had changed hands three times. SA

Bandini rams Graham Hill around

Results

1st Dan Gurney (Brabham-Climax), 2hr 09min 50.320sec, 93.32mph
2nd John Surtees (Ferrari)
3rd Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari)
Pole position Jim Clark (Lotus 33-Climax), 1min 57.240sec, 95.40mph

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49. 1962 South African GP: Hill seals first title after Clark misfortune

December 29, East London

By the last round at East London each had won three grands prix apiece and Hill was ahead on points due to the BRM’s greater finishing record – but only just, due to the system of dropped scores. Whoever won the race would win the title.

Clark started from pole with Hill alongside him and it was the Scot who took the lead on the first lap. From there he built up an unassailable lead of the type F1 would become accustomed to over the next few years. Under the circumstances the unflappable Hill did well to build up a huge gap of his own over the chasing pack – the Coopers of Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs were fighting closely with Jack Brabham – but there was nothing he could do about Clark.

The two circulated far apart for 61 laps until the Lotus started to leak oil. Clark stopped and the mechanics found that a locking washer had not been fitted, causing a two-inch bolt to fall out and allow oil to spray over the exhaust. Whatever the result now, Hill would be champion.

The BRM crew couldn’t relax just yet though, as there was still a race to be won and Richie Ginther’s sister car had suffered an engine problem. No such troubles plagued Hill though, and as he crossed the line the demons of BRM’s ’50s mediocrity were exorcised and one of history’s most popular champions was crowned. ACH

Results

1st Graham Hill (BRM), 2hr 08min 3.3sec, 93.59mph
2nd Bruce McLaren (Cooper-Climax)
3rd Tony Maggs (Cooper-Climax)
Pole position Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax), 1min 29.300sec, 101.40mph

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50. 2000 Belgian GP: Fearless Hakkinen pass seals victory over Schumacher

August 27, Spa-Francorchamps

Qualifying at Spa threw up a few surprises, namely the Jordan of Jarno Trulli and the Williams of rookie Jenson Button splitting the two title rivals on the grid. But early in the race the interlopers clashed, setting up a showdown.

Rain started to fall and Schumacher caught Häkkinen hand over fist until the latter spun, handing over the lead in the process. Schumacher’s lead grew to almost 12 seconds, but it wouldn’t last. As the track dried Häkkinen came back with a vengeance until, with only four laps to go, he caught his quarry through Eau Rouge.

Mika Hakkine sprays Michael Schumacher

As they raced down the Kemmel Straight it looked like a done deal. That is until Schumacher abruptly closed the door at 190mph, taking off a chunk of the McLaren’s front wing in the process, something that would bring on strong words from the Finnish driver after the race.

Häkkinen backed off for a few corners and then renewed his attack. Catching Schumacher at the same spot, they came upon Ricardo Zonta’s BAR in the centre of the track. Schumacher went left, Häkkinen dared to go right. Zonta had no idea the McLaren was even there but left enough room, unwittingly becoming part of one of the most audacious lead changes the sport has ever seen.

Exactly what Häkkinen said to Schumacher after the race may never be known, but for once he got his point across directly. His rival couldn’t help but take note. ACH

Results

1st Mika Häkkinen (McLaren-Mercedes), 1hr 28min 14.494sec, 129.53mph
2nd Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
3rd Ralf Schumacher (Williams-BMW)
Pole position Häkkinen (McLaren-Mercedes), 1min 50.646sec, 140.87mph

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51. 1989 Japanese GP: Prost crowned after controversial Senna clash

October 22, Suzuka

“I want to win the championship by winning the race, and I’ve told the team there’s no way I’m going to open the door any more – I’ve done it too many times…”

Prost was ever the master of set-up, his focus on race day. In the morning warm-up he was quicker than Senna, and immediately before the formation lap got his mechanics to remove a Gurney flap from his McLaren. With overtaking so difficult at Suzuka, Alain wanted to be quick in a straight line.

At the start he left everyone breathless, and drove a stupefying opening lap. After a dozen laps he was more than five seconds up on Senna, and even when he hit traffic, where Ayrton was usually demonstrably quicker, the gap barely reduced.

Over the long haul, though, Prost’s lead was gradually whittled away: with six laps to go Senna lunged down the inside at the chicane, his right-hand wheels across the pit lane entrance, then on the grass, as he forced his way alongside Alain.

Prost indeed ‘did not open the door’, as he had promised before the start. Locked together, the two McLarens came to a halt in the middle of the track, both engines dead.

Alain at once climbed out, but Ayrton waved for a push – to which he was entitled, given that his car was in ‘a dangerous place’. Problem was, he allowed himself to be shoved into the escape road, and although this was no longer ‘a dangerous place’, he got a push start, and rejoined the race.

After stopping for a new nose, Senna caught and passed Alessandro Nannini’s Benetton and took the chequered flag, apparently the winner. Later, though, he was disqualified, and thus Prost was the world champion of 1989.

The whole scenario happened in front of me, and I walked back with Prost. “I couldn’t believe he tried it on that lap,” he said, “because he was so far back – he’d been closer the lap before. At first I didn’t realise he was trying to overtake me, but at the same time I thought, “There’s no way I’m leaving him even a one-metre gap…”

“The chicane was the only place I could pass,” said Senna, “and somebody who should not have been there closed the door…” Quite why Prost ‘should not have been there’, no one quite understood, but that was Ayrton. NSR

Results

1st Alessandro Nannini (Benetton-Ford), 1hr 35min 06.277sec, 121.73mph
2nd Riccardo Patrese (Williams-Renault)
3rd Thierry Boutsen (Williams-Renault)
Pole position Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda), 1min 38.041sec, 133.68mph

Special Issue Contents Archive - Motor Sport Magazine
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52. 1976 British GP: Hunt wins – then doesn't – after crowd threatens to riot

July 18, Brands Hatch

Niki Lauda was on pole with Hunt alongside; it had long been obvious that the championship would be a two-horse race between them, but only if Hunt could shed his bad luck and get in the game. Hunt had won two grands prix to Lauda’s four after the former was reinstated as winner in Spain.

At the start Clay Regazzoni, in the second Ferrari, got alongside Lauda at the top of Paddock Hill but lost it and the pair made contact. Hunt, immediately behind, was tagged by Clay’s car as it rolled backwards, flew into the air and crashed down, breaking the McLaren’s suspension.

“The delay gave McLaren time to patch up the car, and now fearing a riot the organisers felt they had no choice but to let it race”

The race was red-flagged and the damaged cars made their way back to the pits. Hunt took a shortcut down an escape road, saving him valuable time. As the cars were being repaired in the pits, things looked bleak for McLaren. There was no way it could get the car out before the officials reformed the grid and Hunt had hurt his hand in the accident. When the cars came out without Hunt, the crowd began to respond.

In the sweltering Kent heat jeers rained down on the officials as bottles, cans and anything the crowd had to hand was thrown onto the track. The chant rose: “We want Hunt.”

The delay gave McLaren time to patch up the number 11 car, and now fearing a riot the organisers felt they had no choice but to let it race. The restart went off without a hitch. Lauda led Hunt for 45 laps but could never pull out a significant gap. The McLaren was not in perfect shape after the shunt, even with the repairs, but got better as the race went on and as Lauda began to have trouble with his gearbox, Hunt pounced. He increased his lead all the way to the finish while Lauda nursed his car home in second.

James Hunt shirtless

All seemed well after the race, but Ferrari had a plan brewing. Two months afterwards, with three races to go and Hunt only five points behind Lauda, the Italians protested the results of the British Grand Prix, saying that because Hunt had used an escape road and therefore not completed the lap, he had not done the full race distance. The FIA agreed and Hunt now found himself 17 points behind.

Now thinking himself out of the running the Brit drove sublimely without any pressure in the next two races, winning them both. Being disqualified might just have given Hunt the boost he needed to win the title. ACH

Results

1st Niki Lauda (Ferrari), 1hr 44min 19.663sec, 114.25mph
2nd Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell-Ford)
3rd John Watson (Penske-Ford)
Pole position Lauda (Ferrari), 1min 19.350sec, 118.59mph