111 replies to this topic

[Borko]

What were the worst races you have seen by a certain driver in F1? You can include drivers from the past.

Let's start with drivers from the current grid;

Alonso - he has been my favorite driver for years, but in the first half of 2008 season I really started to question is he such a good driver like everybody thought.. He was incredibly bad in Monaco, Canada, France and especially in Germany.. Germany 2008 has to be the worst race of his career - unsuccesfull overtaking moves, overtaken a few times, ran wide, spun. Awful race.

Vettel - has to be Monaco 2009.. He was very slow, held up everbody and than crashed

Hamilton - I'd say Fuji 2008.

Raikkonen - Hungary 2006. His best chance to win that year, started from pole, but he was so slow in the second stint, lost the lead and then crashed into Liuzzi.

Schumacher - China 2004 or Hungarian GP this year

Edited by BorkoF2012, 10 August 2012 - 23:47.

[rossbrawn]

Schumacher - China 2004 or Hungarian GP this year

China GP 2005, is and was his worst in my opinion.

IIRC, didn't he and Albers collide on the parade lap?

Edited by rossbrawn, 10 August 2012 - 23:47.

[dav115]

What were the worst races you have seen by a certain driver in F1? You can include drivers from the past.

Let's start with drivers from the current grid;

Alonso - he has been my favorite driver for years, but in the first half of 2008 season I really started to question is he such a good driver like everybody thought.. He was incredibly bad in Monaco, Canada, France and especially in Germany.. Germany 2008 has to be the worst race of his career - unsuccesfull overtaking moves, overtaken a few times, ran wide, spun. Awful race.

Vettel - has to be Monaco 2009.. He was very slow, held up everbody and than crashed

Hamilton - I'd say Fuji 2008.

Raikkonen - Hungary 2006. His best chance to win that year, started from pole, but he was so slow in the second stint, lost the lead and then crashed into Liuzzi.

Scumacher - China 2004 or Hungarian GP this year

Yeah that really was a shocker. Dropped it in T1 in (qualy?), dropped it coming onto the back straight during the race, Maldonado'd one of the Jaguars into the hairpin at the end of the back straight, meanwhile Barrichello cruised to victory...Tbh the way he lost the rear in two fast right handers that weekend I'm convinced there was something wrong with either the rear suspension or the diff, but either way it was a painful race to watch as an MSC fan. Whether or not it was more painful than his China 2005 antics I don't know...

[Borko]

Yes he lost the car in turn 1 in qualifying..

[rossbrawn]

Yeah that really was a shocker. Dropped it in T1 in (qualy?), dropped it coming onto the back straight during the race, Maldonado'd one of the Jaguars into the hairpin at the end of the back straight, meanwhile Barrichello cruised to victory...Tbh the way he lost the rear in two fast right handers that weekend I'm convinced there was something wrong with either the rear suspension or the diff, but either way it was a painful race to watch as an MSC fan. Whether or not it was more painful than his China 2005 antics I don't know...

Schumacher and the Chinese GP, are definitely not the best of friends .

[Borko]

Massa - Silverstone 2008. Embarrassing for a driver. Spun 5 times I think? And finished two laps down in the fastest car.

Edited by BorkoF2012, 10 August 2012 - 23:59.

[dav115]

Massa - Silverstone 2008. Embarrassing for a driver. Spun 5 times I think? And finished two laps down in the fastest car.

To be fair, Raikkonen span quite a few times in that race too and he's got some of the best car control I've ever seen, so there must have been something wrong with the Ferrari that day. IIRC it was to do with the throttle maps they had available, but who knows...There have been some absolute stinkers from Massa these past few years though, that's for sure...

[KavB]

From recent memory I'd say

Alonso - Monaco 08: It was just a sloppy drive fuelled by pure frustration.

Hamilton - Bahrain 08: Poor start, and an unnecessary crash into Alonso.

Raikkonen - Australia 08: Multiple spins while fighting through the pack, unlucky to have an engine failure but slightly fortunate to pick up a point still.

Button - Canada 12: Was at the back for the entire race while his teammate won.

Vettel - Monaco 09: Just a poor drive really.

[Jimisgod]

- Vettel -

Monaco 2009
Belgium 2010
Germany 2011

- Hamilton -

Australia 2009 (Bad qualifying, lying to stewards)
Italy 2010 (all 2 corners of it)
Monaco 2011
Canada 2011
Hungary 2011
Belgium 2011

- Alonso -

Brazil 2003 (Ignoring yellows, almost killed himself)
Canada 2005 (unforced error, crashed into wall from lead while under no pressure)
Hungary 2005
Canada 2007 (The famous Sato overtake...)
Belgium 2010

- Schumacher -

China 2004
China 2005
China 2010
Canada 2010
Hungary 2010
Singapore 2011 (Went backwards, then crashed)
Hungary 2012

- Raikkonen -

Hungary 2006
Europe 2007
Monaco 2008
Singapore 2008

Edited by Jimisgod, 11 August 2012 - 17:58.

[BigCHrome]

Turkey 2010 for Vettel. It takes a lot of effort to screw up a 1-2 for your team but he did it.

[Alfons]

Alonso - 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, had he not lost it there and scored points he would been champion in Brazil .
2003 Italian Grand Prix , after his pole and win in Hungary , he spun in qualifying ,started last and then took off literally by ramming into someone at the start


Vettel -
2011 German Grand Prix , spun by putting a wheel on the grass while chasing Alonso . Ran wide fighting with Hamilton in the initial stages of the race and then again with Alonso.
2011 Hungarian Grand Prix , again in the rain he lost his composure in the opening laps.

Schumacher - Jerez 97

Webber
2012 Hungarian Grand Prix
2010 Korean Grand Prix

Button
2012 Canadian Grand Prix, 2012 Spanish Grand Prix , 2012 Monaco Grand Prix ( not to be able to overtake a Caterham was shocking )
2010 Korean Grand Prix

[Kingshark]

Alonso
Hungary 2005
Canada 2007
Germany 2008

Hamilton
Italy 2010
Monaco 2011
Canada 2011

Vettel
Monaco 2009
Belgium 2010
Germany 2011

Button
Korea 2010
Malaysia 2012
Monaco 2012
Canada 2012

Schumacher
Malaysia 2003
China 2004
China 2005

Edited by Kingshark, 11 August 2012 - 06:14.

[gillesthegenius]

Alonso - Canada 2007
Hamilton - Suzuka 2011
Vettel - Nurburgring 2011
Raikkonen - Monaco 2008
Button - Korea 2010
Webber - Abu Dhabi 2010
Schumacher - China 2004

[Jejking]

To be fair, Raikkonen span quite a few times in that race too and he's got some of the best car control I've ever seen, so there must have been something wrong with the Ferrari that day. IIRC it was to do with the throttle maps they had available, but who knows...There have been some absolute stinkers from Massa these past few years though, that's for sure...

Dry setup is the word you're looking for

[Trust]

To be fair, Raikkonen span quite a few times in that race too and he's got some of the best car control I've ever seen, so there must have been something wrong with the Ferrari that day. IIRC it was to do with the throttle maps they had available, but who knows...There have been some absolute stinkers from Massa these past few years though, that's for sure...

Raikkonen was chacing Hamilton on cold tyres and spinning, while Massa was just cruising around and spinning. Big difference, IMO.

[Kingshark]

About Silverstone 2008; at the end of the first stint I remember Raikkonen catching Hamilton a rate of 1 second/lap before Ferrari screwed over his strategy and he lost like 50 seconds of total time (7 seconds off the pace laps + an extra stop) and a lot of track position. In my opinion, if it wasn't for that Kimi would've finished at least 2nd. The Ferrari wasn't that bad, Massa was just disastrous in that race.

Though as for Raikkonen's worst drive, you can't look passed Monaco 2008 really.

Edited by Kingshark, 11 August 2012 - 08:56.

[Anderis]

Let me think for a moment.

Hamilton: Bahrain 2008

Webber: Australia 2011

Alonso: Canada 2007 (AFAIR he went out of the track in T1 at least 4 times), Germany 2008, Monaco 2008, Great Britain 2010

Massa: earlier Hungary 2006 and Great Britain 2008, but too much in last 3 years.

Rosberg: Monaco 2008

Button: Korea 2010

Vettel: Malaysia 2009

[Andromeda]

About Silverstone 2008; at the end of the first stint I remember Raikkonen catching Hamilton a rate of 1 second/lap before Ferrari screwed over his strategy and he lost like 50 seconds of total time (7 seconds off the pace laps + an extra stop) and a lot of track position. In my opinion, if it wasn't for that Kimi would've finished at least 2nd. The Ferrari wasn't that bad, Massa was just disastrous in that race.

Though as for Raikkonen's worst drive, you can't look passed Monaco 2008 really.

I still want to know if Raikkonen could've won that race as that McLaren really came alive when the rain showed up McLaren 2008 was probably the strongest McLaren has ever been in the wet weather. Also wasn't Monaco 2008 the race Raikkonen rammed into the back of Sutil near the closing stages of the race?


Vettel - Turkey 2010 (I think I'm trying to attract the Autosport hornets or wasps)

Massa - Silverstone 2008 was that a record for the most amount of spins by one driver in a race?

Alonso - I haven't been watching F1 enough to actually give a good pick on this one maybe Japan 2007?

Webber - Korea 2010 easily very likely would've been the WDC 2010 champion had he not crashed out.

Hamilton - Almost all of 2011 (I cant really pick a particular race)

Button - Malaysia 2012

Edited by Andromeda, 11 August 2012 - 09:21.

[encircled]

Vettel - Belgium 2010
Hamilton - Brazil 2007
Alonso - Canada 2007
Webber - Valencia 2010
Button - Canada 2012
Glock - Hungary 2012
Raikkonen - Malaysia 2009
Schumacher - Hungary 2012
Maldonado - Monaco 2012
Senna - Belgium 2011
Massa - Britain 2002/2008
Rosberg - Singapore 2009

Edited by encircled, 11 August 2012 - 14:25.

[Jimisgod]

Raikkonen - Malaysia 2009

I'd blame the team for 90% of the failure that day.

[encircled]

I'd blame the team for 90% of the failure that day.

True, but it was still a bad race.

[Jimisgod]

As already said, Brazil 2003, Canada 2007, Japan 2007, Monaco 2008 and Belgium 2010 were all bad driving by Alonso, and only 2008 has a slight excuse of "bad car".

Edited by D.M.N., 12 August 2012 - 15:55.
remove "The road to Trollsville is that way. :down: " and quote

[rossbrawn]

Belgium 2010 (the entire weekend) was a shocker for Alonso.

[TFLB]

Button's worst race must be this year's Monaco gp. He was slow, was stuck behind a Caterham for ages, made several mistakes, and ended up crashing.

[discover23]

I am surprised no one has mentioned Schumacher at Silverstone 03.. He was just super slow that day..

[1Devil1]

I am surprised no one has mentioned Schumacher at Silverstone 03.. He was just super slow that day..

Than Barichello had bad races 90% of his races he started with ferrari. Schumacher got the 4th place. It was not his best race but we are talking about the worst races of a driver and this really far away from that

[P123]

A lot of these 'bad races' seem to be based on one incident, where mostly the driver was having a very good race- e.g, Alonso in Brazil '03 or Hamilton in China '07.

[scheivlak]

Schumacher got the 4th place. It was not his best race but we are talking about the worst races of a driver and this really far away from that

Indeed, he had to stack behind Rubens in the pits after that Irish guy induced the safety car, that cost him a few places. It wasn't a great race from Schumi, but not comparible to e.g. China 2004, China 2005, Hungary 2010 and Hungary 2012.

[scheivlak]

As already said, Brazil 2003, Canada 2007, Japan 2007, Monaco 2008 and Belgium 2010 were all bad driving by Alonso, and only 2008 has a slight excuse of "bad car".

Brazil 2003 was a brilliant race until his stupid brain fade at the end. Japan 2007 was not a bad race, he just took a risk too many.

Like Canada 2007 and Monaco 2008, Hungary 2005 was rather bad. He was maybe unlucky in the first corner, but he didn't have the speed either in the entire race.

Edited by D.M.N., 12 August 2012 - 15:55.
remove part of deleted quote

[Disgrace]

Rosberg: Brazil '06.
Raikkonen: Australia '08.
Webber: Malaysia '04.
Kovalainen: Australia '07.
Alonso: Hockenheim '08.
Hamilton: Canada '11.
Button: Korea '10.
Schumacher: Singapore '10.

[Jimisgod]

Brazil 2003 was a brilliant race until his stupid brain fade at the end. Japan 2007 was not a bad race, he just took a risk too many.

Like Canada 2007 and Monaco 2008, Hungary 2005 was rather bad. He was maybe unlucky in the first corner, but he didn't have the speed either in the entire race.

The brainfade was in the race, hence it was a bad race. You can drive around up front all day, but if you make an unforced error and stick it in the wall, it is a bad race and bad driving. Alonso had already clashed with Vettel and spun before crashing out from 10th in Fuji, 2007, he was never a match for Hamilton that day. Ignoring yellows is so stupid it cancels out any prior pace in Brazil, 2003.

Edited by Jimisgod, 11 August 2012 - 12:53.

[jrg19]

[joshb]

Off the top of my head:

Alonso- Canada 2007- just very ragged and made more errors in one race than he's made in entire seasons recently.
Hamilton- Suzuka 2011- Hobbled in qualy, but off the pace in the race and ended up meeting Massa again.
Vettel- Monaco 2009- Off the pace all weekend, burned his tyres in 4 laps and crahsed a bit later on.
Webber- Australia 2010- Seemed over eager to get a result at home, made several errors (although pit strategy went against him too), crashed into Hamilton near the end too.
Button- Korea 2010- Slow in qualy and nowhere in the wet, over a minute behind his teammate only beat the 'new teams'
Schumacher- China 2005- All over the place, crashed on his sighting lap, and crahsed in the race too i think. Hungary ran it close though
Raikkonen- Australia 2008- Error strewn, went off chasing Glock's toyota and then spun out near the end
Massa- Silverstone 2008 for his spins or Malaysa this year (almost lapped by Alonso). Also Brazil 2002 where he spun trying to pass..... Webber's Minardi!

[Borko]

Alonso was bad in Canada 2007 but it's not close with Hockenheim 2008. In Canada maybe he was a little bit unlucky with SC but everything he did at Hockenheim was his own fault. His worst race by far.

[Seanspeed]

It was a fantastic performance, though.

[halifaxf1fan]

Schumacher - Jerez 1997, diabolical failed attempt to win the championship by way of crashing out his competitor. Lost all championship points for 1997.

Hamilton - Italian 2010, mental weakness under pressure as his avoidable crash into Massa ended his championship.

Vettel - Turkey 2010, collided with his teammate and was unable to continue. A Redbull one/two finish was ruined.

Alonso - Japan 2007, pushing to hard caused a crash into wall and cost him the 2007 championship.

Raikkonen - Monaco 2012, self inflicted lack of practice resulted in qualifying half a second behind his teammate and a dismal 9th place result.

Webber - Korea 2010, unforced error going wide and crashing into the wall ruined his championship hopes.

Edited by halifaxf1fan, 11 August 2012 - 14:07.

[OfficeLinebacker]

A lot of these 'bad races' seem to be based on one incident, where mostly the driver was having a very good race- e.g, Alonso in Brazil '03 or Hamilton in China '07.

Alonso's '03 incident was bad enough to cover several races IMHO

[selespeed]

Alonso's '03 incident was bad enough to cover several races IMHO

yeah...his 3rd best result of the 03 season...

[Disgrace]

Massa- Silverstone 2008 for his spins or Malaysa this year (almost lapped by Alonso). Also Brazil 2002 where he spun trying to pass..... Webber's Minardi!

Massa - Silverstone 2008. Embarrassing for a driver. Spun 5 times I think? And finished two laps down in the fastest car.

Massa was just disastrous in that race.

Massa: earlier Hungary 2006 and Great Britain 2008, but too much in last 3 years.

Massa - Silverstone 2008 was that a record for the most amount of spins by one driver in a race?

Massa - Britain 2008

I must disagree with this popular opinion, as the performance wasn't really all that surprising given he did the same in 2002. Warning: annoying music in the video.

[encircled]

I must disagree with this popular opinion, as the performance wasn't really all that surprising given he did the same in 2002. Warning: annoying music in the video.

Ok, you got me.

[Jimisgod]

yeah...his 3rd best result of the 03 season...

Funny how flouting the yellow flag rules and endangering safety is considered less bad than being off the pace by some on here.

Dumbest move of his career and easily could have ended it. Why several cars were able to sneak past without issue but Alonso went firing in at race speed is entirely his own fault.

[Disgrace]

It is a question of interpretation. That is clearly among his worst errors, but does an isolated incident make that his worst race? I don't think they're necessarily the same, and that's not a justification for the error.

Edited by Disgrace, 11 August 2012 - 14:53.

[Konsta]

I must disagree with this popular opinion, as the performance wasn't really all that surprising given he did the same in 2002. Warning: annoying music in the video.

That has got to be the worst race by anyone, anywhere. Kudos to him for carrying on entertaining people though

[PretentiousBread]

I'd blame the team for 90% of the failure that day.

Then why wouldn't you extend Hamilton the same courtesy for China 2007?

[Amin]

Alonso - Canada 2007
Webber - San Marino 2005
Vettel - Monaco 2009
Hamilton - Monaco 2011
Raikkonen - Monaco 2008
Button - Korea 2010
Schumacher - China 2004
Massa - Britain 2008
Kovalainen - Italy 2009

[Jimisgod]

Then why wouldn't you extend Hamilton the same courtesy for China 2007?

Yeah, you are correct there. Amended.

[as65p]

Funny how flouting the yellow flag rules and endangering safety is considered less bad than being off the pace by some on here.

Dumbest move of his career and easily could have ended it. Why several cars were able to sneak past without issue but Alonso went firing in at race speed is entirely his own fault.

Don't be so melodaramatic. Calling it a 'move' you make it sound as if he did it on purpose trying to kill himself and as many other people as possible. It was still only a mistake. Quite some drivers have been caught for speeding under yellows, and more will in the future. It happens.

[OfficeLinebacker]

yeah...his 3rd best result of the 03 season...

You know how it went down, right? By ignoring double waved yellows he plowed into the area where a serious wreck had occurred and destoyed the tyre barrier so bad they had to red flag the race and it was abandoned. There was massive confusion as far as how the race results would be calculated (was it the last lap before the red flag or two laps before?) He was actually injured and missed the podium ceremony.

He happened to be running in a high position at the time but it has to be one of the most boneheaded moves, with one of the most disastrous results, of the decade.

[SpaMaster]

^ Also, bizarrely ended up benefiting from the red flag he himself caused. Normally, it would have been a DNF with no points. Crashed drivers should have been classified behind the cars still running, and then the red flag back-calculating rule should have been applied. Did Webber get points as well? Edit: Just saw that he just finished out of points at P9.

Edited by SpaMaster, 11 August 2012 - 19:53.

[rossbrawn]

Did Webber get points as well?

He didn't.