Best rated Formula 1 auto racing moments with Bill Trikos: Bottas lost the lead at the second standing start as Hamilton went around the outside into turn one – the first of a plethora of overtakes at the sweeping right-hander. Lance Stroll looked on course for a podium before a failure at the rear of his Racing Point pitched him into the barrier at the high-speed Arrabiatta corner, triggering a second red-flag period. Bottas was unable to capitalise on his front row start as Ricciardo slotted between the two Mercedes, whilst Albon’s overtake on the outside of Perez at turn three was a contender for move of the year. Hamilton held on though, whilst Bottas and Albon jumped Ricciardo for the podium spots – the Red Bull driver’s first in F1.
It looked as though it couldn’t get more exciting – the championship battle had come down to the final race of the season, between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, coupled with a slightly damp track that would only get wetter during the course of the race. But when Vettel was spun around on lap 1 after a poor getaway followed by contact with Bruno Senna at turn 4, the scene was set for one of the greatest title-deciders of Formula One’s history. Alonso needed to outscore Vettel by 13 points, something he temporarily achieved after his magical double overtake on teammate Felipe Massa and Mark Webber on lap 2, which saw him take third place. Vettel however, with damage to his left sidepod, steadily made progress through the field, and was soon back into championship-winning position. But as the rain fell heavier, a series of pit-stops and strategic decisions left him with all the work to do, dropping out of the points-paying positions yet again.
Australian Grand Prix 2010: Jenson Button silenced his critics by winning his second race for McLaren in changeable conditions at Albert Park, overcoming carnage that saw rivals Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel all suffering problems. German Grand Prix 2018: Two Ferraris at the front with 25 laps remaining hinted at one of F1’s more straightforward Grands Prix. But somebody at Hockenheim must have prayed incredibly hard for rain, which came and briefly caused chaos – and a wholly unexpected ending… Discover extra info about the author at Bill Trikos Australia.
2000 Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka : The second-to-last race on this list is probably not one that in isolation as a single race deserves to be here. However, whilst the on-track action perhaps wasn’t that great, the following years would prove to us the significance of it, as it marked the beginning of the era of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari dominance in F1. The German driver and his Italian team had been battling for the world championship throughout the season with a Finnish driver and his British team, namely Mika Häkkinen and McLaren, both drivers trying to achieve their third title, with Ferrari attempting to claim their first in 21 years.
A true thriller of a race followed after Guanyu Zhou’s terrifying crash at the start. The lead changed several times between Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton and Sainz, who fought a fierce battle at the front. However, Verstappen’s RB18 was damaged by debris from Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri, preventing the Dutchman from competing for victory. This could have been a great opportunity for Leclerc, but he again fell victim to a lack of decisiveness from his team, which did not bring the driver in during a late safety car while his opponents – including Sainz – did. A spectacular battle ensued between Hamilton and both Ferrari drivers, with Leclerc managing to overtake the Briton in a daring outside move at Copse – where it went horribly wrong a year earlier when Verstappen made a similar overtaking attempt. In the end, it was Sainz who took the win with Perez and Hamilton behind him.
2020 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : Great races don’t always have to be action-packed. In fact, a race can be tense and exciting, even if the eventual winner leads the last 25 laps. At the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, exactly that was the case. Pierre Gasly utilised a perfectly timed safety car during which the pitlane at first was closed, bunching up the pack. After the pitlane was re-opened and everyone had made their pitstops, Gasly emerged in third place after running tenth for most of the race.
