82 replies to this topic

[alframsey]

How are we all coping with the down time? Not long left now though, just have to keep it together until then.

 

During the time we've had off I have been rewatching old seasons, started with 2022 and went backwards, was watching the races in full and its been pretty time consuming haha. What I did realise though is how lucky we were in the 2009-2013 period to have had three and occasional four teams in with a shout of victory and, also, for all the moaning of poor racing back then it was actually pretty good. I didn't watch much of the 2014-2020 season as I still remember them quite clearly and only revisited the best races of that period.

 

Anyway, my question - any seasons people recommend me watching pre 1997? I've started watching the sport in 97 and for whatever reason I haven't watched any seasons from before then.

 

So what are the really great seasons, the ones every fans should watch in full? Doesn't have to be pre 97, can just discuss what we think are the greatest ever from any period. Just the pre 1997 is my personal blind spot.

 

Sorry for the long winded and probably waffling post.

 

Thanks everybody!

[PayasYouRace]

I’d imagine you’ll get a lot of suggestions of 1986. Widely considered one of the best ever and probably easily watchable.

I’ll always big up 1996. But that might just be me.

[OvDrone]

[Risil]

1989-91 was the best three-year sequence in the history of Grand Prix racing. It had everything, which is to say it had Senna, Prost and Mansell at their best and most characteristic. It also had an extraordinary balance of high manufacturer investment and overgrown F3000 teams occasionally having their day.

 

1984 rewards a revisit, like 1996 it was entertaining and competitive even though one team won almost all the races.

[SenorSjon]

1986 was just before my time.

1996 was quite meh if you had no stake in Williams.

1998 had some great races between Mika and Michael.

2000 was very tense as well.

[Beri]

1982 might very well be up there despite its tragedies. It was a stunning season where the powers shifted more than once.

[alframsey]

A brilliant season, recently rewatched it and its better than I remembered. Every single one of them had moments of brilliance. Webber's greatest failure.

[alframsey]

Thats brilliant, got some already I can dive into. Will either work forwards from the earliest suggestion. I have really enjoyed going back through older seasons (even if they are relatively recent so as the memories aren't too far away). I've taken away a different appreciation from those years, ways I couldn't appreciate in my all out support for Lewis at the time.

 

1989-91 was the best three-year sequence in the history of Grand Prix racing. It had everything, which is to say it had Senna, Prost and Mansell at their best and most characteristic. It also had an extraordinary balance of high manufacturer investment and overgrown F3000 teams occasionally having their day.

 

1984 rewards a revisit, like 1996 it was entertaining and competitive even though one team won almost all the races.

I will go and watch those three seasons then, I have never watched much of Senna beyond those moments seared into the fabic of F1. Its criminal really how little I know or have seen of the earlier days of our sport.

[Risil]

Not every race was a classic (though the period starts with one of the best at Rio) but there are so many stories and rises and falls and heroic/ignominious failures. 

 

One other thing I'd suggest is that if you're going back before the mid-nineties it can be worthwhile trying to get hold of primary sources like contemporary magazines or yearbooks. They can add a lot of colour and texture to what could be quite perfunctory TV broadcasts. Though Murray Walker and James Hunt tried their best.

[Risil]

Something else I've been wondering about / trying to track in my mind is at what point the wet Grand Prix races become more interesting than dry ones. I say this having gone back to look at the 1989 Canadian and Australian Grands Prix. The first one I found mostly just confusing and hard to understand, and the second was incredibly dull for 75% of the race once everyone who was going to crash out has crashed out and the rest are cruising around far apart from each other and just trying to get the race finished.

 

I think probably 1993? That's the year that famously started with four dramatic rain-affected races, and from then on classic races in bad weather became the rule rather than the exception.

[alframsey]

Not every race was a classic (though the period starts with one of the best at Rio) but there are so many stories and rises and falls and heroic/ignominious failures. 

 

One other thing I'd suggest is that if you're going back before the mid-nineties it can be worthwhile trying to get hold of primary sources like contemporary magazines or yearbooks. They can add a lot of colour and texture to what could be quite perfunctory TV broadcasts. Though Murray Walker and James Hunt tried their best.

I'd not thought about doing that, this whole thing has legs and gives me more than enough to get my teeth into. 

 

About wet weather racing, I don't know when the cross over was but we have definitely seen it go the other way more recently where wet races are poor. Mainly because they just don't run in proper wet conditions.

[taran]

I'd suggest 1983. Beautiful cars and three teams gunning for the title.

1984 was a complete boorfest in comparison.

 

1986 was indeed a glorious year.

 

I have to admit feeling that 1988-1996 was a slog as one team usually dominated. Either McLaren or Williams, neither team I find particularly sympathetic so it was just watching race after race hoping someone else would win.

 

1997-2000 were also great seasons with drama and title fights. Then from 2005 onwards, the fun restarted again.

[Jovanotti]

Obligatory ChatGPT answer:

Some of the most memorable seasons include the 1988 season, when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had a fierce battle for the championship, and the 1976 season, when James Hunt won the championship in dramatic fashion. Additionally, the 2019 season, in which Lewis Hamilton won his 6th World Championship, was also considered by many as one of the best due to the close competition and numerous memorable moments.

No ****ing clue how 2019 got in there 

Edited by Jovanotti, 03 February 2023 - 13:44.

[Sterzo]

I realise the OP was asking about televised seasons, but if you are into books, mags and reading (and if anything I prefer them to TV in spite of their limitations) then I'd recommend starting in 1895, and working your way forwards. 1907 was pretty good...

[Cliff]

No matter how it ended, nothing tops '21 for me. The most intense title fight ever from beginning to the end with nearly every race a battle between the 2 contenders. Most other seasons It's clear 1 car wins this weekend, the other car wins this weekend and there would hardly be any on track wheel to wheel combat between the contenders. 21 was just different.

[CrashPad]

Having been watching actively since 2001, I would say my favourites are:

-2007

-2010

-2021

-2012

 

2022 promised a lot but failed to deliver 

[Cornholio]

I'm not going to suggest a particular season as all the best ones already have been, although one tip - and it may not be for everyone, and also requires a Forix subscription, is to follow along the race (easier if watching from two-monitor PC like I do) with Forix's "Classification @ lap" data, which tends to be available for pretty much every race from the early-80s, although only sporadic races before that. It's probably redundant for more modern seasons with the live timing tower on screen, but for earlier ones that only flashed up the top 6 gaps every few laps at best, I found it helped me engage much more with the races, track battles that weren't necessarily being televised, plus little things like seeing just how the McLarens did what they did at Long Beach '83, or Prost at Kyalami the year before, stuff like that. Plus gave me more of an appreciation of how things worked during the refuelling seasons particularly.

Edited by Cornholio, 03 February 2023 - 14:18.

[pacificquay]

1986 has to be ruled out because of the death of Elio de Angelis

[Risil]

I realise the OP was asking about televised seasons, but if you are into books, mags and reading (and if anything I prefer them to TV in spite of their limitations) then I'd recommend starting in 1895, and working your way forwards. 1907 was pretty good...

You're envisioning quite a big project there!

If anyone is thinking of time travel in a literary sense, in Motor Sport magazine DSJ's coverage of 1954-1958 is wonderful. He's young and not at all jaded at this stage (although he pretends he is) and so much happens in Grand Prix and sports car racing as the world left over from interwar racing transforms into a more professionalized and concentrated form. The era needed someone with Jenks's perspecacity and romanticism to unravel it and I think it was a high point for writing about motor racing.

[messy]

For me 1997 was THE classic, iconic, perfect season of F1.

Murray Walker and Martin Brundle
Schumacher wringing the Ferrari's neck
Williams final glory season
Slick tyres
Exciting young drivers and new teams
Some classic wet weather races
Controversy in spades
Unpredictable races
Reliability issues affecting races
Drama off the track
Damon and Arrows
An iconic finale at Jerez

Etc.

Edited by messy, 03 February 2023 - 15:08.

[aportinga]

1988-1991 Was just classic despite domination from McLaren.

- Watching Ferrari chip away at McLaren.

- 1988 Monza - if you are a tifosi this one was one of the best with two great Scuderia drivers!

- 1990 Mexico was simply the greatest last few laps of any race in F1 I have seen with Berger and Mansell.

- The Prost 1989 hit at Suzuka that brought in so much controversy that it made AD21 look like spilt milk.

- The Senna 1990 hit at Suzuka.

 

1992-1993 - Begining of the end for a generation - but wait there is more!

- Prost, Mansell, Senna, Piquet, Patresse coming to an end.

- Schumacher mixing it up with the sports best.

- Benetton moves forward/Mclaren loses Honda

 

1995

- Total epic domination by Schumacher

- Oh that Ferrari 412 T2!!!

- Alesi wins at Canada

 

2021

- Bad calls on both sides made it interesting throughout the season.

- Great battle through the season

- Finally someone taking it to Merc (and he's Dutch)

[jonpollak]

Seconded Messy.

I worked 7 races that year including the finale.

 

The after party at the hotel was hysterical.

 

Jp

[ensign14]

1989-91 was the best three-year sequence in the history of Grand Prix racing. It had everything, which is to say it had Senna, Prost and Mansell at their best and most characteristic. It also had an extraordinary balance of high manufacturer investment and overgrown F3000 teams occasionally having their day.

1962-4.  Clark, Hill x2, Surtees, Brabham, Gurney, BRM winning the title...

[noriaki]

For three year periods I would go for 1981-83 - the big characters of the era may have been less monumental than in Risil's suggestion of 1989-91, but the racing was generally much closer, more unpredictable, and technologically, there was almost a unique situation with turbos and non turbos having very different strengths/weaknesses!

Edited by noriaki, 03 February 2023 - 15:55.

[KWSN - DSM]

1982 might very well be up there despite its tragedies. It was a stunning season where the powers shifted more than once.

 

I was about to write that, for all that was wrong that season, for the losses to the sport, it was a great season, part of F1 is the Gladitorial aspect, which is why 1976 deserve a watch as well.

[midgrid]

I'd like to mention 1985, which tends to get overshadowed by the Prost-Lauda championship fight the season before and the Prost-Mansell-Piquet-Senna championship fight the season after.

 

Although the "championship story" of the season between Prost and Alboreto ultimately fizzled out before the final race, the first three-quarters or so of the season were quite close between them.  However, the main attraction of this season was how open it was: unlike 1984, when the McLarens were mostly dominant in race pace; or 1986, when the top results were almost monopolised by the Big Four drivers, eight drivers and five teams won Grands Prix, and less competitive teams overall such as Renault, Ligier and Arrows finished on the podium.  In a world of increasing turbo domination, it was possible for teams to make large strides throughout the season as they developed their packages (e.g. Williams, Ligier), but also for the normally-aspirated Tyrrells to be competitive on the right kind of circuit.

 

In addition, some other points of interest:

• The final participation of Renault as an all-French works team, and Alfa Romeo as a genuine works team rather than a branding exercise.
• The final race on the old Kyalami, the old and long version of Paul Ricard, old Zandvoort, Monaco without the slow harbourfront chicane, and Silverstone without the slower Woodcote chicane (hence Keke Rosberg's longstanding qualifying lap average speed record).
• The first race at Adelaide.
• Tyre war between Goodyear and Pirelli.
• The emergence of Senna and Mansell as genuine frontrunners and future championship contenders.
• Brabham's effective final year as a "big team" before the 1986 disaster.
• Niki Lauda's final season.
• Lots of underdog teams at (but not always) the back: Tyrrell, Minardi, Zakspeed, Osella, Spirit.
• Toleman going from not being able to enter the beginning of the season to setting a pole position with Teo Fabi.
• A fully turbocharged field racing around Brands Hatch!

All in all, something of a transitional year from the extreme openness of the early 1980s to the domination of Honda by the end of the decade, when the authorities were recognising that the turbos were too powerful and dangerous but before they had started to phase them out, and the last hurrah of some famous names with new ones replacing them.

[F1Frog]

Allow me to give a top ten:

 

For me the greatest season ever was 1976. Maybe it didn't have quite as many classic races as some other seasons but the whole Hunt vs Lauda championship battle was by far the greatest in history, the story behind it was simply wonderful and the film 'Rush' presents this very well. There were other highlights such as the six-wheeled Tyrrell, but really it is the story of Niki Lauda and James Hunt and the thrilling conclusion at the Japanese Grand Prix that makes it the best season of all time.

 

But it was nearly beaten in 2021, because really the two things that are required for a classic season are a great title battle and lots of exciting races, and 2021 had both of those in abundance. The two best drivers on the grid slugging it out, and so many classics including battles between the two of them in Bahrain, USA, Brazil etc, and other drivers getting involved in the thrillers of Hungary, Silverstone and Russia, while there was also some exciting controversy (Silverstone, Spa, Monza). Despite the abominations of the sprint races and DRS, and the disgusting behaviour of fans on social media, I would have awarded this the title of greatest season ever if it weren't for the fact that Michael Masi totally lost the plot from around Brazil onwards, and the final lap was such a farce that it took away from the entire championship. So despite being a fantastic season up to that point, 2021 only gets second place.

 

Next I would have 1981, arguably the first season of the modern era of Formula 1 as that is when it became a more defined thing. Again, you had the entertaining title battle between Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann, although this time they weren't the strongest drivers on the grid. That accolade instead fell to Alan Jones with a brilliant season deserving of the championship, while Alain Prost was also outstanding and Gilles Villeneuve continued to be the most exciting driver on the grid and put in one of the greatest race performances of all time in the Spanish Grand Prix, holding off faster cars for the entire race, while his Monaco qualifying lap was also one of the best ever. In general all the races were extremely watchable, but the FISA/FOCA wars were going on.

 

In fourth place would be 1958, a season totally dominated by Stirling Moss yet somehow he didn't win the championship! It started with his fantastic win in the amazing race in Buenos Aires in the Rob Walker Cooper, and over the rest of the season there were plenty more extremely entertaining races such as Spa-Francorchamps where the top three of Brooks, Hawthorn and Lewis-Evans all had problems on the final lap Silverstone and Nurburgring where Peter Collins and Tony Brooks respectively put in outstanding drives to victory. In Porto, Moss magnanimously stood up for his rival, Mike Hawthorn, and got him reinstated into second after an unfair disqualification. Then Monza was a brilliant race as Brooks hunted down and passed Hawthorn to keep Moss' title hopes alive, while in Morocco Moss dominated but Hawthorn passed his teammate for second and the title. The downside of the season is obviously the tragic deaths of Luigi Musso, Peter Collins and Stuart Lewis-Evans, otherwise it would be higher.

 

Next I would have 1986, the year that Alain Prost beat the scrapping faster Williams pair of Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet to win the title in a classic showdown in Adelaide, but all season there was the fascinating four-way scrap for supremacy between Prost, Mansell, Piquet and Senna, and most races were very entertaining.

 

Number six on my list is 2012, the year which included a brilliant championship battle between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in the far less competitive Ferrari, who put in one of the all-time great season performances to keep in contention and the painfully unlucky Hamilton also starred. The problems with tyres also caused major shake-ups to the pecking order, with wins for Nico Rosberg, Kimi Raikkonen and most surprisingly, Pastor Maldonado. Romain Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez also had races where they looked like winning. The Malaysian GP was one of the best races ever, as was the season finale in Interlagos. The downside is that it often looked a little artificial.

 

Also worthy of a mention is 1997, a great season amongst the most dire era in Formula 1 history, as Michael Schumacher was so far ahead of the rest and refuelling ruined the racing. It was a classic battle between a good driver in an excellent car and a fantastic driver in a good car, which ended in controversy but the right outcome as Villeneuve was victorious, while the season also included near-wins for Arrows with Damon Hill, and standout performances from Barrichello for Stewart, Trulli for Prost, Fisichella for Jordan. If the racing had been a bit better it could have been higher.

 

Similar to 1986, the four-way title-battle in 2010 was also an all-time classic between Vettel, Alonso, Webber and Hamilton with Button also competitive, and it was also the only season in the last 30-odd years not to have either of the two great evils of recent F1, DRS and refuelling. Perhaps there weren't an abundance of classic races but the season finale in Abu Dhabi was very tense and entertaining.

 

Ninth on the list comes 1961, a battle between two fairly average drivers in a dominant car, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips in the sharknose Ferrari. However, the season was made brilliant by Stirling Moss' remarkable victories in Monaco and the Nurburgring in a clearly inferior Lotus, while the French GP at Reims was also a classic as Giancarlo Baghetti won on his (championship) debut on the final corner. The non-championship races also provided the first evidence that Jim Clark was going to be one of the greatest drivers ever. The downside of the season is, obviously, the title being decided by the death of von Trips in Monza.

 

And completing the list is 1971, a season dominated by Jackie Stewart because of relatively little opposition rather than because he had a dominant car, making it an impressive season performance, while there were also lots of classic races such as the Jacky Ickx vs Pedro Rodriguez battle in the wet race in Zandvoort and the crazy slipstreamer of Monza, won by Peter Gethin. Ronnie Peterson also had a great season in the March.

 

 

I will also mention the worst season of all time, 1994. The season started with the introduction of refuelling, and then Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were both killed in Imola during an era when this was no longer commonplace at all, while there were plenty of other serious accidents. Then the season contained the most undeserving championship victory in Formula 1 history as Benetton and Michael Schumacher cheated in so many ways, most seriously the illegal launch control, but also removing the safety filter in the refuelling rig, excessively wearing down the plank to get more downforce. The FIA couldn't prove their crimes so settled for over-punishing Schumacher for minor incidents all season, but it wasn't enough as finally Schumacher took out Damon Hill deliberately in the Adelaide finale to be champion. An absolute train-wreck of a season from start to finish. 

Edited by F1Frog, 03 February 2023 - 18:46.

[Afterburner]

Then [1994] contained the most undeserving championship victory in Formula 1 history as Benetton and Michael Schumacher cheated in so many ways, most seriously the illegal launch control, but also removing the safety filter in the refuelling rig, excessively wearing down the plank to get more downforce.

I've read about all of these for years, and as far as cheating is concerned, they're all myths. The Benetton ECU contained the code for the traction control system used the year prior, but there was no way to access it using the car, much like how unused assets are found in the files of console video games but cannot be viewed on the console—the menus necessary to access it had simply been commented out to prevent the code from being accessible from inside the car. This is a common practice in coding. There was also nothing in the rules that said the refueling rigs needed a fuel filter, and the presence or absence of the filter had nothing to do with the fire in Hockenheim (this was extensively tested by the team prior to removing the filter). The plank being worn down only happened in Spa and was due to Schumacher running over a kerb early in the race; the wear wasn't consistent and he was thrown out for what were gashes in the plank.

Steve Matchett's book Life in the Fast Lane goes into more detail on all of these. What happened in Adelaide was borderline, but the team wasn't cheating; they were simply better. 1995 proved it as much as anything.

[BlackCat]

For me it was 1976 of course (but in my opinion the film makes Superrat a bigger hero he really was at that time).

And I liked 1980 too.

[George Costanza]

I think the 2000 season has to be up there.

[Rediscoveryx]

I'd like to mention 1985, which tends to get overshadowed by the Prost-Lauda championship fight the season before and the Prost-Mansell-Piquet-Senna championship fight the season after.

Although the "championship story" of the season between Prost and Alboreto ultimately fizzled out before the final race, the first three-quarters or so of the season were quite close between them. However, the main attraction of this season was how open it was: unlike 1984, when the McLarens were mostly dominant in race pace; or 1986, when the top results were almost monopolised by the Big Four drivers, eight drivers and five teams won Grands Prix, and less competitive teams overall such as Renault, Ligier and Arrows finished on the podium. In a world of increasing turbo domination, it was possible for teams to make large strides throughout the season as they developed their packages (e.g. Williams, Ligier), but also for the normally-aspirated Tyrrells to be competitive on the right kind of circuit.

In addition, some other points of interest:

• The final participation of Renault as an all-French works team, and Alfa Romeo as a genuine works team rather than a branding exercise.
• The final race on the old Kyalami, the old and long version of Paul Ricard, old Zandvoort, Monaco without the slow harbourfront chicane, and Silverstone without the slower Woodcote chicane (hence Keke Rosberg's longstanding qualifying lap average speed record).
• The first race at Adelaide.
• Tyre war between Goodyear and Pirelli.
• The emergence of Senna and Mansell as genuine frontrunners and future championship contenders.
• Brabham's effective final year as a "big team" before the 1986 disaster.
• Niki Lauda's final season.
• Lots of underdog teams at (but not always) the back: Tyrrell, Minardi, Zakspeed, Osella, Spirit.
• Toleman going from not being able to enter the beginning of the season to setting a pole position with Teo Fabi.
• A fully turbocharged field racing around Brands Hatch!

All in all, something of a transitional year from the extreme openness of the early 1980s to the domination of Honda by the end of the decade, when the authorities were recognising that the turbos were too powerful and dangerous but before they had started to phase them out, and the last hurrah of some famous names with new ones replacing them.

You beat me to it. 1985 is probably the most underrated season of them all. Most likely due to the lack of a clear title fight. But there were plenty of classic races (Estoril, Imola, Silverstone, Zandvoort to mention a few) and an incredible ”depth at the top”. In hindsight, it was one of those seasons when you’d have like nine potential winners ahead of the weekend, and four or five strong candidates even after qualifying.

[Collombin]

Most likely due to the lack of a clear title fight. But there were plenty of classic races

I don't think the first part matters much when it comes to choosing an old season to visit or revisit. Far more important for there to be lots of good races.

[PlatenGlass]

While 1986 is the classic championship battle, the years preceding it are generally better for individual open races. I've watched BBC coverage for pretty much all races from 1979 onwards and they're mostly very good up to that point. 1984 is the main exception but even then the McLarens didn't generally dominate from start to finish and with Lauda generally qualifying in the pack, he had to fight his way through.

I'd say that 1987 starts the decline slightly and things don't really reach the level of 1979 to 1986/7 for an extended period again.

[Rediscoveryx]

I don't think the first part matters much when it comes to choosing an old season to visit or revisit. Far more important for there to be lots of good races.

Exactly

[lustigson]

The first that comes to mind is 2007: on-track action, off-track shenanigans, and an unlikely but lovable champion. 

 

Also thinking of 1994, with all its drama.

 

And 2010 with four drivers still (mathematically) in the hunt for the title come the finale.

[noikeee]

I'd like to mention 1985, which tends to get overshadowed by the Prost-Lauda championship fight the season before and the Prost-Mansell-Piquet-Senna championship fight the season after.

 

Although the "championship story" of the season between Prost and Alboreto ultimately fizzled out before the final race, the first three-quarters or so of the season were quite close between them.  However, the main attraction of this season was how open it was: unlike 1984, when the McLarens were mostly dominant in race pace; or 1986, when the top results were almost monopolised by the Big Four drivers, eight drivers and five teams won Grands Prix, and less competitive teams overall such as Renault, Ligier and Arrows finished on the podium.  In a world of increasing turbo domination, it was possible for teams to make large strides throughout the season as they developed their packages (e.g. Williams, Ligier), but also for the normally-aspirated Tyrrells to be competitive on the right kind of circuit.

 

In addition, some other points of interest:

• The final participation of Renault as an all-French works team, and Alfa Romeo as a genuine works team rather than a branding exercise.
• The final race on the old Kyalami, the old and long version of Paul Ricard, old Zandvoort, Monaco without the slow harbourfront chicane, and Silverstone without the slower Woodcote chicane (hence Keke Rosberg's longstanding qualifying lap average speed record).
• The first race at Adelaide.
• Tyre war between Goodyear and Pirelli.
• The emergence of Senna and Mansell as genuine frontrunners and future championship contenders.
• Brabham's effective final year as a "big team" before the 1986 disaster.
• Niki Lauda's final season.
• Lots of underdog teams at (but not always) the back: Tyrrell, Minardi, Zakspeed, Osella, Spirit.
• Toleman going from not being able to enter the beginning of the season to setting a pole position with Teo Fabi.
• A fully turbocharged field racing around Brands Hatch!

All in all, something of a transitional year from the extreme openness of the early 1980s to the domination of Honda by the end of the decade, when the authorities were recognising that the turbos were too powerful and dangerous but before they had started to phase them out, and the last hurrah of some famous names with new ones replacing them.

 

This is hands down one of my favourite F1 seasons, although I was only born the following year. 

 

I may be biased by all the automotive magazines my uncle had left around in my grandmas house with race reviews from that season! Spent my childhood obssessively re-reading those over and over again. Still remember all the massive photos from several angles of Patrese's flying fiery accident at Monaco (where ultimately nobody got hurt).

 

Also biased because Prost won! And this might've been Prost at his peak, okay he's more famous for nicking the title in the following year against all odds, but I think 85 was his "best", dominant with the best car and actually driving like apparently the best driver in the field (much more doubtful later in 89 and 93).

Edited by noikeee, 04 February 2023 - 13:09.

[RacingFan10]

Add 2003 to the ones mentioned

[TradeMark]

2011 may not have had a very interesting title battle, but there were a lot of really good races in that season.

In https://www.racefans...anatic-top-100/ it has 10 of the top 100 races over the past 15 years. Especially China, Hungary, Canada and Germany were really good races I think.

[Risil]

2011 and 2012 were really great fun.

[Victor]

Great F1 seasons and nostalgia are one and the same thing.

[Leibowitz]

2011 may not have had a very interesting title battle, but there were a lot of really good races in that season.

In https://www.racefans...anatic-top-100/ it has 10 of the top 100 races over the past 15 years. Especially China, Hungary, Canada and Germany were really good races I think.

Very true and this is seldom talkes about because of the Vettel domination at front, but 2011 had substantial number of great races. Even Monaco that year was legitimately interesting with everyone waiting for Vettels tyres to fall out.

[Alfisti]

1997

[TonyCox]

1984

[LittleChris]

1973, 1982, 1985 ,1986

[Henri Greuter]

1973, 1982, 1985 ,1986

3 years with at least one fatality ......

[Albaforever]

For me 1992 was a great season. 1986 was just heart breaking. 

[masa90]

Since I have been properly watching:

 

1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012.

 

Ever since 2014 rulechange I have been feeling less involved than before. The mercedes strangle hold almost made me lose the will to view it anymore, just so dull. 2021 was exciting from wdc prospect, but just so toxic and so much bullshit over the whole season.

 

And I have viewed most of the races since early 90s and some of the 80s later ofcourse, but hard to comment on stuff that really you only saw reruns years later.

 

Bad seasons I think in that period are: 2002, 2004, 2011, 2013 (after rule change), 2015, 2019, 2020. Rest are ok, but like said I think the whole competition order seems locked on since 14->21. Hard to think of watching almost anything from that period again. Unlike earlier seasons.

[Coral]

I have happy memories of 1990, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2014

[Anderis]

I started watching F1 regularly in 2007 and I have to say I have been very lucky, because the 2007-2012 period must have been one of the best 6 year periods in F1 history.

 

2007- maybe not the greatest racing overall but excellent WDC battle, lots of off-track drama with spy-gate and Hamilton-Alonso rivalry, some absolutely crazy races like Canada or Nurburgring.

 

2008- In terms of raw numbers, one of the greatest seasons ever, 9 constructors with a podium, 15 drivers with at least one lap led and the title battle decided in the last couple of corners.

2009- again, a bit of a different flavour to the previous two but incredibly fluid pecking order, which was extremely fun, 9 out of 10 teams qualified in the top3 at least once and were in contention for a race win at least once during the year and one of the most underdog title wins ever

2010- again, a bit of a different flavour ot the previous three, but another excellent year with pleny of plot twists and 4 drivers going into the final race with a chance to be the WDC

2011- not the greatest year overall but in terms of singular races it had some of the best I've ever seen, China 2011 and Canada 2011 easily make my top10 best races since 2007 until today

 

2012- another entertaining year with 8 different constructors racing for a race win at least once during the year and a tense last race, degrading tyres made for some entertaining and unpredictable races
 

Atop of that, 2007-2010 had 4 different first time WDCs from 4 different teams.

 

Take me back to 2007 again.

Edited by Anderis, 05 February 2023 - 18:36.

[AnttiK]

All things considered, 1990 is probably my favorite. There were a lot of great races and memorable surprise performances that season. Plus the cars were pretty much the best that they have ever been. Perhaps 1991 was actually the peak when it comes to the cars, but as a season I don't think it was quite as exciting as 1990. I also like the turbo era, but I don't think the cars were ever more exciting than in 1989-1991. There was also great variety in technology as races were won with manual gearboxes & semi-automatic gearboxes and V8s, V10s & V12s. 

 

Perhaps also the improving TV production helped showcase the cars of that era better, as 1989 was the first season when onboard cameras became a regular fixture, whereas in the turbo era onboard footage was a lot more random. There's something very visceral in the onboard images of that 1989-1991 era, with the heavy vibrations and screaming engine sounds. I think 1989 Hockenheim is my all time favorite race when it comes to TV production, the broadcast sound quality is unusually good for that time. Listening to the V10 Hondas and V12 Ferraris reverberating in the trees with the sparks flying is just something else. Also the onboard cameras in the Ferraris were taken great advantage of in that race. 

 

It's a shame how the 1990 Championship was decided, but that also makes it a more memorable and dramatic season. How Senna kept his Championship and didn't receive a long ban will always remain as one of the great mysteries of life. Funnily, in the 1990 Adelaide qualifying broadcast James Hunt actually blames Prost for the crash and calls him a whiner! It was a different world back then. 

 

It has to be noted that Hunt really loved Senna in his final years. It's interesting because up until 1990 Hunt could actually be quite critical and fascinating in his commentary of Senna. But from Suzuka 1990 onwards he always seemed to turn the blind eye whenever Senna did something sketchy on track. I also love Senna, but for a TV commentator it would be good if some level of objectivity could be retained. Still, blind Senna love and blind Patrese hate aside, the greatest commentator of all time.

 

Speaking of Senna, if you're a fan, I highly recommend revisiting 1992 Kyalami. It might seem like an oddball choice as it's a race where pretty much nothing at all happens, but it's now one of my favorite Senna performances and favorite races of all time. And it's all down to the TV production. 

 

The South African producer took great advantage of Senna's onboard camera and long periods of time are spent in Senna's car as he heroically chases down Patrese with his outdated McLaren, equipped with a manual gearbox. In that race you can see Senna hitting all the apexes with millimetre precision as he does everything he can to keep in touch with Patrese, who is clearly driving a vastly superior car, but also clearly lacking the precision of Senna in his driving. Add the V12 Honda engine sound and fabulous image vibrations to that and you're in seventh heaven. It's also the race where Hunt infamously spends most of the race talking about Patrese and why Williams should sack him.

Also, as mentioned before, 1985 is a really great season from the turbo era. 1986 is the one people tend to talk about, but for me 1985 is the best season of the turbo era.