188 replies to this topic

[Risil]

Except this was a case of inexperience instead of bad luck. The restart that cost him the lead was due to the knowledge that Luyendyk and Fittipaldi had gained from many oval races. And he also brushed the wall with eight laps to go in his attempt to catch back up to these same two drivers in the closing stages. I think luck had nothing to do with it.

Luyendyk's last-minute move round the outside there was incredible.

Edited by Risil, 20 October 2015 - 12:27.

[josepatches]

Alonso getting stuck behind Petrov and Vettel winning WDC in 2010 should qualify for 'Couldn't script it' moment.

https://www.youtube....h?v=pfI3r4Wog-E

r

Last race of the year. 4 drivers can win the title. After the start Michael spin in the second corner and another car crash with him,safety car, webber pit after he touch the wall, alonso do the same to cover position, he is not able to overtake Petrov in 40 laps, Vettel win the WDC.

It was a great movie with a happy ending

[Jvr]

1998 Rally of Great Britain

 

Tommi Makinen and Carlos Sainz headed into the final round of the 1998 WRC season battling for the championship. However, Makinen crashed on oil early in the event, seemingly handing the championship to Sainz. But, incredibly, only several hundred metres from the finish, Sainz suffered a car failure. It handed the championship to Makinen by two points.

 

 

So, over to you. Have I overlooked something that is even better than all of these? Let me know.

Clad you included that into the OP.  That would also be my number one choice as well since the situation lasted over several days with Mäkinen retiring so early and Sainz retiring only a half a kilometer away from the victory.

[sopa]

In 2003, when Fisichella's Jordan-Ford was a genuine backmarker car all season long, basically a Minardi in terms of performance, suddenly somehow won the Brazilian Grand Prix. I still think this is perhaps the worst car to win an F1 race - certainly for decades as far as I can remember. But somehow it still won, with weather, tyres, strategies and crashes all playing its part!

[Dan333SP]

In 2003, when Fisichella's Jordan-Ford was a genuine backmarker car all season long, basically a Minardi in terms of performance, suddenly somehow won the Brazilian Grand Prix. I still think this is perhaps the worst car to win an F1 race - certainly for decades as far as I can remember. But somehow it still won, with weather, tyres, strategies and crashes all playing its part!

 

I was going to say the Ligier in '96, but looking at Q/R results, the Jordan was definitely a marginally inferior car even to that Ligier. I guess I forgot just how far Jordan fell from its peak in '99/00 when they made very competitive cars and had multiple podiums.

[TomNokoe]

Someone explain to me at the start of the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix how Raikkonen was going to win that championship. He was last at one point.

[SophieB]

I hope people will forgive this one as it is an example of the darker side of F1. I thought of it when thinking of stuff that has happened at American GPs past and I didn't include it because it was too sad for a goofy build up thread. However, I felt bad at not expressing it in some way because these things are part of it all too, woven as deeply into the fabric of the sport's tapestry as the famous victories and funny moments.

 

And so this story is about events which unfolded over the 6-7th October 1973, the weekend of the US GP at Watkins Glen. It was planned to be an emotional weekend for the Tyrrell team but few knew it. Their star driver, Jackie Stewart hadn't made it public but he planned to announce his retirement after the race. It had been a glittering career and he was planning to step down at its peak. It was to be his one hundredth race and he was going knowing he was already champion for the season, a feat he had already achieved on two other occasions. A feat, at the time of writing not achieved before or since by any other British driver. And yet it had not been a career unmarked by professional and personal sadness. He had seen some of the finest drivers of his generation die, in his view unnecessarily and way before their time, due to lax safety standards at circuits, including close friends Jim Clark and Jochen Rindt. He had stubbornly fought to improve this, and though he had made himself something of a marked man in the process, he had made achieved much in this area too.

 

But for now, he felt the time had come to move on from racing, and time for his team mate to become instead the talisman of the team, the charismatic and talented French driver whose talent he had nurtured as his protege and who he would later describe as a brother. He and his team planned to announce this to the world after Jackie's last race. It never happened. Neither driver raced at Watkins Glen that Sunday. Cevert crashed on Saturday, dying in the circuit of his only race victory in an armco barrier, like so many others before. Jackie got back in his own car out to try to make sense of the accident and when he satisfied himself that he understood it to be a tragic driver miscalculation leading to a fatal loss of traction, he retired from the sport. That was it. Tyrell did not run a car on Sunday out of respect for Cevert's death and so Jackie Stewart retired on 99 race starts. 

 

Ahead of qualifying, Jackie had discussed with Ken Tyrell about how if Stewart was winning on Sunday it miht be a good idea to let Cevert through, a powerful gesture  to mark the symbolic handover within the team. According to Jackie's autobiography, Francois Cevert never knew of the plan, because he didn't know Jackie was retiring, nor that he was lined up to be Stewart's replacement.  Sport - and life - can be very cruel.

[Marklar]

I hope people will forgive this one as it is an example of the darker side of F1. I thought of it when thinking of stuff that has happened at American GPs past and I didn't include it because it was too sad for a goofy build up thread. However, I felt bad at not expressing it in some way because these things are part of it all too, woven as deeply into the fabric of the sport's tapestry as the famous victories and funny moments.
 
And so this story is about events which unfolded over the 6-7th October 1973, the weekend of the US GP at Watkins Glen. It was planned to be an emotional weekend for the Tyrrell team but few knew it. Their star driver, Jackie Stewart hadn't made it public but he planned to announce his retirement after the race. It had been a glittering career and he was planning to step down at its peak. It was to be his one hundredth race and he was going knowing he was already champion for the season, a feat he had already achieved on two other occasions. A feat, at the time of writing not achieved before or since by any other British driver. And yet it had not been a career unmarked by professional and personal sadness. He had seen some of the finest drivers of his generation die, in his view unnecessarily and way before their time, due to lax safety standards at circuits, including close friends Jim Clark and Jochen Rindt. He had stubbornly fought to improve this, and though he had made himself something of a marked man in the process, he had made achieved much in this area too.
 
But for now, he felt the time had come to move on from racing, and time for his team mate to become instead the talisman of the team, the charismatic and talented French driver whose talent he had nurtured as his protege and who he would later describe as a brother. He and his team planned to announce this to the world after Jackie's last race. It never happened. Neither driver raced at Watkins Glen that Sunday. Cevert crashed on Saturday, dying in the circuit of his only race victory in an armco barrier, like so many others before. Jackie got back in his own car out to try to make sense of the accident and when he satisfied himself that he understood it to be a tragic driver miscalculation leading to a fatal loss of traction, he retired from the sport. That was it. Tyrell did not run a car on Sunday out of respect for Cevert's death and so Jackie Stewart retired on 99 race starts. 
 
Ahead of qualifying, Jackie had discussed with Ken Tyrell about how if Stewart was winning on Sunday it miht be a good idea to let Cevert through, a powerful gesture  to mark the symbolic handover within the team. According to Jackie's autobiography, Francois Cevert never knew of the plan, because he didn't know Jackie was retiring, nor that he was lined up to be Stewart's replacement.  Sport - and life - can be very cruel.

What makes the whole context even more tragic: one of the greatest talents in motor racing, Roger Williamson, was lined up to race alongside Cevert at Tyrell the next season - he died 2 months before Cevert.

[Collombin]

I had heard that Gerry Birrell was a strong possibility, but he suffered an accident just as horrific as Cevert's in June of 1973.

[SophieB]

What makes the whole context even more tragic: one of the greatest talents in motor racing, Roger Williamson, was lined up to race alongside Cevert at Tyrell the next season - he died 2 months before Cevert.

Yes, there's lots I've not included that's either strange, disturbing or just desperately sad, I just find the whole thing very upsetting, it's one of those things that plays on my mind if I let it

[Lipp]

In 2003, when Fisichella's Jordan-Ford was a genuine backmarker car all season long, basically a Minardi in terms of performance, suddenly somehow won the Brazilian Grand Prix. I still think this is perhaps the worst car to win an F1 race - certainly for decades as far as I can remember. But somehow it still won, with weather, tyres, strategies and crashes all playing its part!

Verstappen should have won that race with an even worse car, but he ran into a river and the car stalled in an instant...

[MikeV1987]

[Oho]

Clad you included that into the OP.  That would also be my number one choice as well since the situation lasted over several days with Mäkinen retiring so early and Sainz retiring only a half a kilometer away from the victory.

 

Actually strictly speaking that's not true. True enough Sainz retired very close to the finish line of the last special stage but if I correctly recall he had well over hundred kilometers to drive to the actual finish line without being eligible to receive assistance.

[Vitesse2]

I had heard that Gerry Birrell was a strong possibility, but he suffered an accident just as horrific as Cevert's in June of 1973.

We often talk of Tom Pryce, Tony Brise and Roger Williamson being the three members of the lost generation of British drivers. Despite never driving in F1, I'd rate Gerry just as highly.

[DarthWillie]

Verstappen should have won that race with an even worse car, but he ran into a river and the car stalled in an instant...

It stalled because he crashed into a wall, like a lot of people that day

[superdelphinus]

Surprised no one has listed Brazil 2012. All Vettel had to do was finish fourth no matter where Alonso finished (having finished on the podium in the prior 6 races), or make sure he outscored Alonso by 12 points. And after lap one, he is dead last with a heavily damaged car/exhaust and Alonso is third.

That season was weird because the whole thing was basically false until vetted was wdc at the end. Even when alonso was leading the standings deep into the season (or at least past halfway) it was completely inevitable that red bull would get the starship sorted out and be untouchable.

[nob1980]

For me, the 2012 F1 season is the last season that was really intense. 30 years after the epic 1982 season, I really thought at some time of the year, history could repeat with a wdc winning only a single race that year. The first 7 races had 7 different winners, including a sensational victory for Williams in Spain. Six teams won a grand prix that season and there could have been victories for Sauber and maybe even Force India with a little more luck. In the last round of the championship, Vettel had all the luck on his side at a crash each other car hadn't survived.

[paulrobs]

Easy one for me this one. Others have mentioned it too. Australian GP 2006. Mansell looking comfortable and then his tyre blows on the straight. Couldn't believe it then. Still can't believe it now whenever I see a clip or footage of it. I was up watching the race live and hoping that he was going to bag his first championship. He seemed to have it in hand, driving within himself, driving for the points he needed. Only for lady luck to step in. Sat there in disbelief for a long time, thinking how cruel sport could be and what rotten luck and who the hell writes scripts like this

 

The other one that really sticks in my mind and again I couldn't believe what I was seeing was the Australian GP in '94. Schumacher leading with Hill hunting him down lap after lap. The camera is on Hill and then suddenly cuts back to Schumacher who looks to have gone off. Later we see he has hit the wall. Hill arrives at speed and doesn't know Shumacher had gone off, dives for a gap on the inside and Schumacher steers across into him. I simply could not believe what I'd seen. Hill had forced a mistake out of Schumacher and didn't get the chance to reap the benefit

Edited by paulrobs, 22 October 2015 - 16:31.

[Dan333SP]

Easy one for me this one. Others have mentioned it too. Australian GP 2006. Mansell looking comfortable and then his tyre blows on the straight. Couldn't believe it then. Still can't believe it now whenever I see a clip or footage of it. I was up watching the race live and hoping that he was going to bag his first championship. He seemed to have it in hand, driving within himself, driving for the points he needed. Only for lady luck to step in. Sat there in disbelief for a long time, thinking how cruel sport could be and what rotten luck and who the hell writes scripts like this

 

 

 

'86

[Dan333SP]

That season was weird because the whole thing was basically false until vetted was wdc at the end. Even when alonso was leading the standings deep into the season (or at least past halfway) it was completely inevitable that red bull would get the starship sorted out and be untouchable.

 

I had that same feeling for the entire season, but when I saw SV turned around facing the back half of the grid as they streamed towards him at high speed on lap 1 in Brazil, I really thought they'd finally blown it and he'd have to retire. I finally let myself think Alonso would steal the title. Well, that didn't work out so well for me.

Edited by Dan333SP, 22 October 2015 - 16:48.

[StraightEdge]

That got me thinking of Dan Wheldon wearing helmet with roulette wheel painted on it before his fatal crash

[TheUltimateWorrier]

Both Button and Hamilton visiting the wrong team for a pit stop. It's just lucky both times they hadn't already passed their teams!

[Henri Greuter]

I was reminded by these script thanks to posting within another thread:

 

 

It took luck for sure, Alan Jones having car difficulties but Gilles Villeneuve winning at Monaco 1981 with a turbocharged car with probably the worst chassis of the field on a track that was rated to be anti-turbo if there ever was one in the series.

 

And if we're busy, the following race at Jarama, Villeneuve leading` the train of 5` in the last quarter of the race, again on what was deemed to be an anti-turbo track.....

 

 

Henri

[MLC]

How about the entire 1966 season? At the first race of the season at Monaco it looks like an easy win for Scott Stoddard before he crashes with his teammate, Pete Aron, whilst trying to lap him. Aron goes into the water. Then as Stoddard is recovering in hospital, Aron gets fired and starts an affair with his former teammate's wife. While these two are missing races, Ferrari's lead driver (Jean-Pierre Sarti) starts racking up the wins. Eventually Stoddard returns to the cockpit and his winning ways, despite being amped up on painkillers. Aron, who has been working as a TV commentator, gets a ride with the Yamura team and starts to find success. He even wins a race by crossing the finishing line with his car on fire! The season comes to a climax at Monza with four drivers still with a mathematical possibility for the championship. In the race Sarti, the odds-on favorite, stalls his car at the start and has to work his way through the field. He then suffers a fatal crash when his car goes off the banking. Ferrari pulls its other car from the lead, thus denying any hope for the young Nino Barlini. This sets up a last lap photo-finish where Aron just edges Stoddard for the win and the WDC.

 

You just can't script something like.... wait, I guess they did script this.

[nob1980]

Most people probably might remember the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in the 2008 season as the race with the debut win for Sebastian Vettel, being the youngest GP winner and so on.

 

What I really liked at this victory was the fact that the STR won the race, therefore actually the former Minardi team was the winner. An achievement, Minardi unfortunately didn't reach in all their 20 years in F1. As far as I can remember, most of the team members were the same as in the time before they were called STR. So, what a great joy and satisfaction must it have been for them to finally win a GP, especially as this was the home GP at Monza, the Holy Grail for the Italians.

 

And this victory was no lucky punch, except for nearly the whole weekend was wet. They really deserved it and were the fastest on the track, and what also helped: SV is quite a gifted driver, I grant.

 

Interestingly, it was the little STR that took the debut win for Red Bull

[Martijn]

To be honest I do sometimes wonder if there isnt some sort of puppetmaster influencing the races a bit. Like, in a subtle way, pushing in a certain direction kind of thing. 

- Take Maldonado's one and only Williams victory, right on Frank's 70s Birthday. Perfect gift!

- Lotus were struggling in autumn 2015 for survival, and look! an unlikely podium for Grosjean at the perfect time. 

- Vettels recent victory giving him a nice platform to commemorate Jules Bianchi with the "you would have been at Ferrari...". Felt fake. 

- Mercedes' "inexplainable" loss of form in Singapore reeks of a set up too... they predict laptimes to a 1/100th second with 800 engineers...

- McLaren losing the 2007 with 2 drivers a single point behind eventual winner Kimi, right when the Spygate saga would make it "inappropriate" for McLaren to win.

- 

- 

more as i think of them ;) 

Edited by Martijn, 24 October 2015 - 23:03.

[Atreiu]

MotoGP Sepang 2015...

Totally unbelieveable.

[byrkus]

In 1968, team Lotus loses its no1 driver in a tragic accident. Graham Hill, his teammate, then wins at Spanish GP.

 

26 years later, Graham's son Damon does the same for team Williams - also at Spanish GP...

[Risil]

- Lotus were struggling in autumn 2015 for survival, and look! an unlikely podium for Grosjean at the perfect time.

 

That team has been struggling for survival since 2008.

[Henri Greuter]

To be honest I do sometimes wonder if there isnt some sort of puppetmaster influencing the races a bit. Like, in a subtle way, pushing in a certain direction kind of thing. 

- Take Maldonado's one and only Williams victory, right on Frank's 70s Birthday. Perfect gift!

- Lotus were struggling in autumn 2015 for survival, and look! an unlikely podium for Grosjean at the perfect time. 

- Vettels recent victory giving him a nice platform to commemorate Jules Bianchi with the "you would have been at Ferrari...". Felt fake. 

- Mercedes' "inexplainable" loss of form in Singapore reeks of a set up too... they predict laptimes to a 1/100th second with 800 engineers...

- McLaren losing the 2007 with 2 drivers a single point behind eventual winner Kimi, right when the Spygate saga would make it "inappropriate" for McLaren to win.

- 

- 

more as i think of them ;) 

 

 

In that line of thinking:

 

A few whcih have been mentioned already but still worth to mention another time if we think about conspiracies for the sake of something.

 

`King' Richard Petty being winnless for a while after his 199th victory and of all things, he wins 200th with president Ronald Reagan within the crowd. It was the King's last ever victory too .......

 

- Alesi winning his one and only F1 race in Ferrari 27 at Montreal on his birthday.

 

- Ferrari winning Monza 1988 with a double victory, the first event for the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of `Il commendatore` and eventually the only race that season McLaren didn't win. (Were the cars illegal because of carrying a bit  ore that the maximum 150 liters of fuel to make that possible????)

 

 

Henri

[karl100589]

In that line of thinking:

A few whcih have been mentioned already but still worth to mention another time if we think about conspiracies for the sake of something.

`King' Richard Petty being winnless for a while after his 199th victory and of all things, he wins 200th with president Ronald Reagan within the crowd. It was the King's last ever victory too .......

- Alesi winning his one and only F1 race in Ferrari 27 at Montreal on his birthday.

- Ferrari winning Monza 1988 with a double victory, the first event for the Scuderia Ferrari after the death of `Il commendatore` and eventually the only race that season McLaren didn't win. (Were the cars illegal because of carrying a bit ore that the maximum 150 liters of fuel to make that possible????)


Henri

Actually someone on YouTube did an entire video on 'too good to be true' NASCAR moments:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=1wQrgYaXLew

[garoidb]

 

- Alesi winning his one and only F1 race in Ferrari 27 at Montreal on his birthday.

 

 

In that vein, we could also mention Patrick Tambay winning the San Marino Grand Prix in 1983 in Ferrari #27, one year after the controversy between Gilles and Didier. Patrick also won the 1982 German Grand Prix the day after Didier's career ending crash.

 

Ferrari #27 also won the only other Belgian Grand Prix to be held at Zolder after 1982, driven by Michele Alboreto. 

 

Perhaps Mario Andretti's pole position for Ferrari at Monza in 1982 after all the turmoil is the real "couldn't script it" moment.

[EightGear]

The last stage of WRC Rally Catalunya today.

[Henri Greuter]

In that vein, we could also mention Patrick Tambay winning the San Marino Grand Prix in 1983 in Ferrari #27, one year after the controversy between Gilles and Didier. Patrick also won the 1982 German Grand Prix the day after Didier's career ending crash.

 

Ferrari #27 also won the only other Belgian Grand Prix to be held at Zolder after 1982, driven by Michele Alboreto. 

 

Perhaps Mario Andretti's pole position for Ferrari at Monza in 1982 after all the turmoil is the real "couldn't script it" moment.

 

 

 

Nice ones Garoidb, 

 

henri

[paulrobs]

'86

 

Oops 

[paulrobs]

'94 San Marino GP at Imola sticks in my mind for all the wrong reasons. No-one could ever have scripted a weekend like that. Just got worse through the weekend and then the race itself...

[Hamandeggs]

Kumaī Kobayashi getting on the podium at the 2012 Japanese gp..... guy was great value for his teams

[paulrobs]

While I'm on it who would have scripted a Maldonado win, followed by a fire in the pit garage, driving for a team that had been struggling to fight it's way back on to the top step?

[eronrules]

1996 monaco gp

 

winner: Olivier panis

car: Ligier -Mugen honda JS43

 

actually, 4 cars finished the race 

 

 

and ... 1998 Beligium Grand Prix