28 replies to this topic

[Atreiu]

(regardless of near miss cause)

 

- Indy 2000;

- Barcelona 2001;

- edited: Nurburgring 2003;

- Suzuka 2006, 

- Interlagos 2007;

- Interlagos 2008;

- etc.

 

What would your lists look like?

 

Feel free to add non F1 races too.

 

http://plus.autospor...a-1-nearmisses/

Edited by Atreiu, 20 February 2014 - 21:50.

[ollebompa]

Would it be allowed for you to share the ones listed in the article to non subscribers?

[Atreiu]

I'm not sure, but they did leave some good ones out. Including Indy 2000 and Suzuka 2006, which I considered so odd I had to create the thread, hehe.

Edited by Atreiu, 20 February 2014 - 21:02.

[Andrew Hope]

[ollebompa]

I think Mansell stalling the engine in Canada 1991 on the last lap when almost a lap ahead would fit.

[fisssssi]

I'm not a subscriber, but I will never forget Hungary 1997. Even now it makes me sad to remember it.

[scheivlak]

(regardless of near miss cause)

 

- Indy 2000;

- Barcelona 2001;

- Hungaroring 2003;

- Suzuka 2006, 

- Interlagos 2007;

- Interlagos 2008;

- etc.

 

What would your lists look like?

 

 

 

Barcelona and Suzuka are excellent examples but Hungaroring 2003?  

 

I was thinking about Hungary 2008!

 

Interlagos 2007 and 2008 are of a completely different nature than the subject of the article (not individual races, but the outcome of the championship), and Indy 2000 happened way too early in the race.

 

I was glad that the article had a few good and often overlooked examples like Prost in Austria 1982 and the bizarre finish of the 1964 Belgian GP - the 1968 Belgian GP had a quite comparable outcome BTW!

Edited by scheivlak, 20 February 2014 - 21:48.

[senna da silva]

Italy 1988

[Ross Stonefeld]

From the OP only Barcelona 2001 is really a near miss. The others I can't even remember what the issue was. Alonso dominated Hungary 2003. The Ferraris had no problems at Interlagos 2007 and 2008, etc.

[Atreiu]

Barcelona and Suzuka are excellent examples but Hungaroring 2003?  

 

I was thinking about Hungary 2008!

 

Interlagos 2007 and 2008 are of a completely different nature than the subject of the article (not individual races, but the outcome of the championship), and Indy 2000 happened way to early in the race.

 

I was glad that the article had a few good and often overlooked examples like Prost in Austria 1982 and the bizarre finish of the 1964 Belgian GP - the 1968 Belgian GP had a quite comparable outcome BTW!

 

 

Sorry, I was thinking Nurgurgring 2003! Hungaroring 2008 was a very tough blow as well. Slipped my mind.

[dweller23]

Nurburgring 2003? There wasn't much there, Williams deservedly won that race.

 

I'm not a subscriber but I immediately thought about Hungary 2008 which, in the long run, cost Massa the championship. Then I thought about Hungary 1997.

 

Depailler in South Africa 1978 - lack of fuel + a bad behaviour from lapped Rebaque gave it to Peterson.

 

And how about France 1977 - comparable with disappointment of Hungary 1997...

 

But the biggest near miss of history of all motorsports must be 1998 WRC season finale and Carlos Sainz' drama. I know it's fairly fresh and I surely don't know about many situations from the past (especially from non-F1 motorracing), but I can't imagine anything beating that.

[scheivlak]

But the biggest near miss of history of all motorsports must be 1998 WRC season finale and Carlos Sainz' drama. I know it's fairly fresh and I surely don't know about many situations from the past (especially from non-F1 motorracing), but I can't imagine anything beating that.

OT - but I somehow remember a pretty recent Indy 500 last turn drama as well..............

[Atreiu]

Nurburgring 2003? There wasn't much there, Williams deservedly won that race.

 

I'm not a subscriber but I immediately thought about Hungary 2008 which, in the long run, cost Massa the championship. Then I thought about Hungary 1997.

 

Depailler in South Africa 1978 - lack of fuel + a bad behaviour from lapped Rebaque gave it to Peterson.

 

And how about France 1977 - comparable with disappointment of Hungary 1997...

 

But the biggest near miss of history of all motorsports must be 1998 WRC season finale and Carlos Sainz' drama. I know it's fairly fresh and I surely don't know about many situations from the past (especially from non-F1 motorracing), but I can't imagine anything beating that.

 

Nuburgring 2003 cost Kimi a lot of points in a very close WDC battle, which is why I included it.

Maybe it wasn't exactly a near miss, being before the race reached its half point, still it goes to my collection.

[dweller23]

Wouldn't be that Nurburgring 2005, though?

 

OT - but I somehow remember a pretty recent Indy 500 last turn drama as well..............

Oh, but there were couple of those - I believe Scheckter did the same a few years earlier. And then there was 1967 Indy as well...

[OvDrone]

Well...

 

 

oh, ahm...

 

 

wait, erm...

 

 

yeah. ok.

 

One does spring to mind rather quickly:

 

 

and

 

 

and

 

 

and

 

there was this epic last corner crash from Melandri in his young 125cc years in that blue #13 racer, sometime around '98, '99. I can't find it anywhere. #help

 

and

 

Massa 2008, Hungary. Wait. I know. Didn't deserve it. But those mechanical failure EMOTIONS!

 

 

and... wait what?

 

 

and

 

for some reason this always comes to mind...

 

 

Late 90's F1, the feels...

 

I agree with F1 Indy 2000 and Barcelona 2001. McLaren was a nightmare for those race steals in the '00 - '05s.

Edited by OvDrone, 20 February 2014 - 22:22.

[noikeee]

Well I'm not very knowledgable of the specifics but I've read a few times Chris Amon was the all-time great specialist on these.

[OvDrone]

I feel a 'best eva last lap and/or uber Amon-ish heartbreak moment' thread on the horizon. This and/or a merger with this thread.

 

So tough to think of proper DNF last lap gash-bags for some odd reason.

[Nemo1965]

I already posted this headline in the website-error thread. The title of the original Autosport article is just plain dead wrong. 

 

Formula 1's most painful near-misses

 

A 'near-miss' is an accident or harm that, at the last moment, is avoided. Like: 'Webber had a near-miss in Valencia when he flipped over Kovalinen.' Or: 'Alonso had a near-miss in Rio.' 

 

So the most painfull near-misses...those are the accidents that you managed to avoid... and yet, still were painfull??? 'Oh, I could have had such a lovely accident. But I had a near-miss. I'll never get over it.'

 

 

Complete nonsense.

 

Near-victories, that is what we are talking about.

[scheivlak]

Well I'm not very knowledgable of the specifics but I've read a few times Chris Amon was the all-time great specialist on these.

As mentioned in the article.

[ensign14]

I've defended Autosport and Motor Sport in the past for list articles, but this one was, I'm afraid, lacking in any imagination or insight.  10 minute knock-off.  And most of them were not heartbreakers in the true sense.  Someone who has four world titles has a late retirement?  Be still, my heart.

 

For some more interesting near-misses, I'd throw in Canada 1989.  That race could have gone to Derek Warwick in an Arrows, or, even more remarkably, Nicola Larini in an Osella.  Or Long Beach 1983 - Jarier got impatient when he was in the prime spot to take a win in a car that didn't score a point all year.  Indeed Jumper could go down for his Lotus substitute stint in 1978 when he led imperiously before a not-his-fault retirement.

 

Then there's John Love at South Africa 1967, but for a full tank of fuel he would have been a part-time winner.  Oliver at Canada in 1973, probably stymied by an idiotic safety car deployment.  Salo at Germany in 1999, taking one for the team.

 

And Capelli at France 1989, about eight miles short of an unlikely win in a March; would have been their first in 13 years.  Had Gugelmin's March not suffered a more serious problem, he might have held Prost up a little more; it wouldn't have taken much.

 

So, there you go, a quick set of near-misses that actually had some meaning - someone who never won losing their best chance of winning.

[ensign14]

Outside F1, the biggest near miss is JR Hildebrand.  I was watching that in mouth-fallen-open disbelief.  No problem with the previous 799 turns.  Biggest choke-job in sporting history.

 

Another one is Le Mans 1969, a candidate for the greatest race in history, Larrousse/Herrmann passed on the final lap by Ickx/Oliver.  Although both of them went on to win, so the real heartbreaker was the Lees/Kelleners/Boutsen Toyota in 1998, as they were 23/24ths of their way to a win when it broke down.  Instead it went to Porsche (again) - and even worse it wasn't the one with Wollek driving.  Indeed, Wollek also missed out in 1995, when he came 2nd in a car entered by another Le Mans stalwart Yves Courage; would have been a win but Andretti binned it and threw away a number of laps.  They lost the race by 1.

[OvDrone]

And Capelli at France 1989, about eight miles short of an unlikely win in a March; would have been their first in 13 years.

Edited by OvDrone, 20 February 2014 - 23:42.

[Spillage]

For some more interesting near-misses, I'd throw in Canada 1989.  That race could have gone to Derek Warwick in an Arrows, or, even more remarkably, Nicola Larini in an Osella.  Or Long Beach 1983 - Jarier got impatient when he was in the prime spot to take a win in a car that didn't score a point all year.  Indeed Jumper could go down for his Lotus substitute stint in 1978 when he led imperiously before a not-his-fault retirement.

Jarier had some remarkable bad luck in his career, whatever his shortcomings. He took pole for the first two races in 1975, but in Argentina his car failed on the way to the grid and in Brazil a fortnight later he retired from an unassailable lead just eight laps from the end. I believe a similar thing happened to him in a non-championship race that year as well.

 

Another good one is Kyalami in 1978, where rookie Riccardo Patrese led easily for the brand-new Arrows team until it broke just fifteen laps from the finish. There was another near miss at the end as well when Peterson nicked what would have been Depailler's first win off him on the last lap.

 

Reutemann's best shot at winning his home GP in 1974 was spoiled three laps from the end when the engine started playing up and he fell back to seventh from a comfortable lead.

 

Perhaps Nurburgring '99 is another good one? Both Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher lost what should have been a win through no fault of their own after very strong drives - in Frentzen's case it probably cost him a fleeting shot at a World Championship. Not forgetting Fisichella spinning away from his first win as well. Similar to Monaco '82 - I think I read somewhere that Giacomelli was in tears after losing that one.

Edited by Spillage, 21 February 2014 - 00:22.

[Jejking]

Suzuka 1998 crushed me, i was much younger back then but that chase was huge and there was definitely more to come. Nurburgring 1999 is in exceptional example, 3 or 4 leaders dropped away!

[PayasYouRace]

 

And Capelli at France 1989, about eight miles short of an unlikely win in a March; would have been their first in 13 years.  Had Gugelmin's March not suffered a more serious problem, he might have held Prost up a little more; it wouldn't have taken much.

 

 

1990

 

 

 

Another good one is Kyalami in 1978, where rookie Riccardo Patrese led easily for the brand-new Arrows team until it broke just fifteen laps from the finish. There was another near miss at the end as well when Peterson nicked what would have been Depailler's first win off him on the last lap.

 

 

 

Maybe the OP should have listed the ones in the article so we wouldn't have repeats like this.

 

For the record:

 

Moss, Monaco 1959

G Hill, Monaco 1962

Clark, Monao 1963

 

Gurney, McLaren and G Hill, Belgium 1964

 

Clark, South Africa 1962

Clark, Mexico 1964

 

Amon, Canada 1968

 

Brabham, GB 1970

 

Peterson, Spain, Sweden and Netherlands 1973

 

Watson, France 1977

 

Jabouille, Brazil 1980

Arnoux, GB 1981

Prost, Austria and Dijon 1982

Warwick, Brazil 1984

 

Patrese and Depailler, South Africa 1978

D Hill, Hungary 1997

 

Jones, Germany 1981

Prost, Germany 1987

 

Mansell, Hungary 1987

 

de Cesaris, Belgium 1991

 

Mansell, Monaco 1992

 

Alesi, Italy 1995

 

Coulthard, Canada 1997

Hakkinen, GB and Nurburgring 1997

 

Montoya, Germany 2001

 

Kimi, Nurburgring 2005

 

Vettel, Bahrain and Korea 2010 and Valencia 2012

Edited by PayasYouRace, 21 February 2014 - 08:24.

[ensign14]

Time is an illusion.  Lunchtime doubly so.

[Jerem]

Magny-Cours 2002.

[ANF]

I already posted this headline in the website-error thread. The title of the original Autosport article is just plain dead wrong. 

 

Formula 1's most painful near-misses

 

A 'near-miss' is an accident or harm that, at the last moment, is avoided. Like: 'Webber had a near-miss in Valencia when he flipped over Kovalinen.' Or: 'Alonso had a near-miss in Rio.' 

 

So the most painfull near-misses...those are the accidents that you managed to avoid... and yet, still were painfull??? 'Oh, I could have had such a lovely accident. But I had a near-miss. I'll never get over it.'

 

 

Complete nonsense.

 

Near-victories, that is what we are talking about.

The dictionaries say you're right – and wrong.
http://www.oxforddic...iss?q=near miss
http://www.merriam-w...onary/near miss
http://www.ahdiction...tml?q=near miss

[Spaceframe]

Austria 1984 was another near-win miss - although a bit in reverse...

 

As I recall it, Lauda lost some gears towards the end and consequently began lapping several second slower than previously. Piquet, in second position, assumed that the Austrian master was slowing down deliberately to cruise to the flag and reduced his own pace accordingly. Some five seconds or thereabous per lap, if my memory

 

After the race, Lauda revealed what really caused his slower pace, and a horrified Piquet realized he'd out-foxed himself due to his his experience of Lauda's approach to race strategies.

 

And the consequense for the championship? Well, Lauda beat Prost to the title by half a point, so had Piquet kept his original pace for another two laps to see whether Lauda had any answer, Prost could've retired a five times world champion....