50 replies to this topic

[JimmyClark]

Obviously we have lots of debate about the best races in motorsport history, but maybe let's think about our favourite qualifying sessions? Today was a humdinger (I just watched it). Max's lap was a stunner. 

 

From an F1 perspective in the time I've watched it, two others that stand out are France 1999 (craziness, although ITV managed to miss the entire thing due a boycott) and Jerez 1997 (with the championship on the line and the identical laptimes). 

 

What quali sessions across all motorsports do you remember most fondly? 

Edited by JimmyClark, 27 May 2023 - 22:59.

[Dan333SP]

Indy 500 qualifying is always edge of your seat. I also will always remember Monaco 2012 as a big MSC fan.

That said, honestly today may have been the best I’ve seen. So nice to not have a red flag right at the end, I wanted Alonso to sneak it but the way it played out was absolutely thrilling.

[George Costanza]

Japan 2000 and Imola 2000. Unbelievable stuff.

If everyone watched Japan 2000, hands down THE best. Below is Japan 2000.

https://youtu.be/-E5M0FHSNvo

Absolutely fabulous.

Edited by George Costanza, 27 May 2023 - 23:39.

[Dolph]

Indy 500 qualies are the best. Both the qualy for pole and the bumping are always quite emotional.

Edited by Dolph, 27 May 2023 - 23:39.

[Kurem92]

Today was amazing, but I think people overestimates Max's lap/underestimates Alonso's. RB has been great on sector 3 all weekend and Max only gained 3 tenths on Alonso, who's sector 3 was a personal best as AM has been quite slow there. Compared to most of the Q3 drivers, Max was about a tenth faster there, or even less. Overall it feels like the RB could have taken pole by a bigger margin. On the other hand, Ferrari's ideal lap was faster than Fernando's, which makes you wonder what should have been Fernando's "real" position car wise. Probably lower than P2.

Edited by Kurem92, 27 May 2023 - 23:43.

[George Costanza]

1992 British GP... Nigel Mansell was absolutely on fire...

[JimmyClark]

Japan 2000 and Imola 2000. Unbelievable stuff.

If everyone watched Japan 2000, hands down THE best. Below is Japan 2000.

https://youtu.be/-E5M0FHSNvo

Absolutely fabulous.

Weirdly I have always seen Japan 2000 as one of the greatest one-on-one races in F1 history, and I've managed to completely forget the qualifying. That is a great reminder. Seeing two fantastic drivers at or near their peak slugging it out fairly that weekend really was a privilege.

[George Costanza]

Weirdly I have always seen Japan 2000 as one of the greatest one-on-one races in F1 history, and I've managed to completely forget the qualifying. That is a great reminder. Seeing two fantastic drivers at or near their peak slugging it out fairly that weekend really was a privilege.

Absolutely. That is why it's quite special indeed.

Here's Imola 2000.

https://youtu.be/iMbZBziNlbc

Mika was just unbelievable here. He went off quite wide and still got Pole.

Edited by George Costanza, 27 May 2023 - 23:47.

[George Costanza]

And of course Monaco 2004 is one of my favorites... Jarno Trulli was just awesome in that Renault.

[Dan333SP]

Absolutely. That is why it's quite special indeed.

Here's Imola 2000.

https://youtu.be/iMbZBziNlbc

Mika was just unbelievable here. He went off quite wide and still got Pole.

I’ll never turn down a chance to watch videos of that 2000 Mclaren on the limit. Greatest engine sound I’ve heard.

[man]

In terms of being visually spectacular, I think very few get close to Brands Hatch 1986.

[Alfisti]

A lot of you guys are mentioning individual performances. jerez 1997 comes to mind but I cannot remember 4 cars within a 10th with one run left before, today was absolutely WILD. 

[jonpollak]

Missed today’s session. (Everyone’s raving about it )

But yeah Jimmy, I was at Jerez in 97 and would like to know what that 4th decimal was. I’m sure someone at FOM knew.

Jp

[SKL]

Yes today's qualy session is one for the ages...   can't say I saw Senna's  "other worldly" Monaco lap from '90 (or '91)  live but it was something as well.  Must admit I was hoping for Alonso to get it but Max pulled it out and deserves it.  Now, who will be leading after St. Devote may be another story!!!!

[Rediscoveryx]

Todays (erm.. yesterdays) was brilliant.

Otherwise I am a very strong proponent of the one shot format a la Indy 500. The all-cars-simultaneously-on-track-with-multiple-attempts-allowed format variations always seem to be possible to fast forward to the final attempts ( and then all the relevant lap times are set within a time span of say 90 seconds).

[ANF]

Monaco 2023.

[Beri]

That last sector of Verstappen was just something we will talk about for decades to come. Marshalls are still cleaning his tire marks from the armco in the entire sector.

[PlatenGlass]

Nurburgring 1999 was a pretty good session.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Japan 2000. I don’t think anything comes close to that. It was absolutely incredible

[Collombin]

Otherwise I am a very strong proponent of the one shot format a la Indy 500

I think the closest F1 ever came to a true copy of the Indy format was the 1969 Race of Champions. Drivers qualified one at a time doing 4 lap runs, but the difference was that it was the best single laps that mattered rather than the 4 lap aggregate. I think rain played havoc with it on the day, and I'm not sure the experiment was ever repeated.

[Muppetmad]

2010 Monaco was a great session. After five pole positions for Red Bull in the run up to Monaco, seeing Renault on provisional pole until a last-second pole for Webber was really something.

Edited by Muppetmad, 28 May 2023 - 08:08.

[Ferrim]

Absolutely. That is why it's quite special indeed.

Here's Imola 2000.

https://youtu.be/iMbZBziNlbc

Mika was just unbelievable here. He went off quite wide and still got Pole.

That last corner looks exactly like the moment he lost it during the race, the previous year. But with a completely different ending

[liamski]

Silverstone 1991, Senna Vs Mansell. Both drivers at the top of their game. Senna's final run was one of the best laps I ever saw, ultimately beaten by Mansell (in a quicker car) but Senna's commitment on that lap was just breathtaking
https://youtu.be/LimksV4_0VI

[Collombin]

Silverstone 1991, Senna Vs Mansell. Both drivers at the top of their game. Senna's final run was one of the best laps I ever saw, ultimately beaten by Mansell

1990 too. It's the only qualy session I ever attended in person, and Mansell drove one of the laps of his life to pinch pole from Senna. So I missed out on being able to say I saw a Senna pole lap live. Mansell, you *%*#!!^%'!

[P123]

Yesterdays qualifying was just a reminder that Monaco on a Saturday is far more thrilling than Monaco on a Sunday.    It was the perfect quali session- no yellows ruining final runs, the underdog popping it into provisional pole, Ocon with perhaps the lap of the season, Hamilton at one stage appearing from nowhere less than a tenth off, and Max breaking AM hearts with a thrilling bit of ping pong between the barriers in the final sector.  Constant track evolution helped it along the way, and of course it is Monaco with no great margin for error.  Monaco 2017 and 2018 were also crackers.

 

Of recent times, my favourite would be Styria 2020- properly wet qualifying, no stupid yellow flags, some great performances, and tumbling times.  Singapore has thrown up a few great sessions over the years too.  And Hungary- 98(?) and 2006.

 

 

[PlatenGlass]

Suzuka 2009 was chaotic and pretty exciting with Vettel just beating Trulli in the Toyota.

I think the one-shot qualifying at Monaco in 2003 was very good, with Ralf just taking it.

[MJB5990]

Styria 2020 in the wet.

[man]

Yes, that Mansell lap at Silverstone 1990 was visually, very pleasing indeed. Senna the following year as mentioned as was his lap in Adelaide 1985. Haven't seen it myself, but have read various reports about Alboreto's attempt for the 1986 Monaco GP.

[TomNokoe]

Canada 2017 was good, Vettel did 3 runs, Hamilton 2. Hamilton took pole, matching Senna's pole record.

[Anderis]

I didn't watch it, but surely Jerez 1997 belongs here even if only for the unusual result.

Edited by Anderis, 28 May 2023 - 11:05.

[ARTGP]

Russia 2021 was pretty fun, as it was so out of the ordinary and the first pole for a non Big 3 team in a long while.

[Heyli]

Styria 2020 in the wet.

That was definitely a lot of fun to watch, simply because of the amount of action. Not as nailbiting though.

[F1Frog]

I remember enjoying Belgium 2013 greatly, where Giedo van der Garde went third for Caterham in Q1, and in Q3 Paul di Resta looked set for pole position. The cars left the garage on slicks, but then it rained while they were on their hot laps and they all had to pit for inters, leaving di Resta, the only driver not to go out on slicks, as the first to set a lap time on an increasingly wet track, and for some time he looked certain for pole position, alongside Massa who pitted on the out lap. Unfortunately, the track got slightly drier at the end and the Mercedes and Red Bulls got ahead.

 

 

Also Abu Dhabi 2021 for its importance and result that set the race up beautifully, while Spa 2021 was a classic wet qualifying session (the two worst races of 2021 had the best qualifying sessions). 

[milestone 11]

Little doubt that many of the examples were extraordinary but a far more recent example needs including. Hamilton at Singapore '18

[George Costanza]

1998 Japanese GP was stunning too... Mika and Michael were incredible. Over One second quicker than everyone else. Astonishing speed.

1997 Japanese GP was great too. JV took pole from Michael.

Edited by George Costanza, 28 May 2023 - 13:31.

[SenorSjon]

Schumacher's last 'pole' in Monaco 2012 was also great. Experience counts a lot. Too bad he got a carried over grid penalty.

[AlexPrime]

This was probably the best I have seen. Monaco 2004 is also a personal favorite.

[scheivlak]

And of course Monaco 2004 is one of my favorites... Jarno Trulli was just awesome in that Renault.

Kimi Raikkonen in 2005 too (both Qs). Retaining pole in Q2 with 40+ laps of fuel on board was pretty special.

[AlexPrime]

Ah, I remembered also 2003 Malaysia. Thrilling.

[STRFerrari4Ever]

2010 Monaco was a great session. After five pole positions for Red Bull in the run up to Monaco, seeing Renault on provisional pole until a last-second pole for Webber was really something.

I was going to say that, mega session to watch as Kubica kept flying and you wondered if he’d get pole or not. I also liked Abu Dhabi 2010 and Hungary 2011 from that era.

Monaco 2004 as mentioned already, that was F1 at it’s finest in qualifying trim, every driver pushing to the limit on a clear track and Trulli was truly magnificent.

[piket]

Brands Hatch 1985. Senna and Piquet battling for pole , trading fast laps one after another ... Finally Senna sets pole , and you think its over. 5 secs later Hunt readily announces , Piquet has some tyres left , he is going for it ...do or die attempt with Piquet diving too deep into Paddock bend , Brabham BMW twitching all the way . He did not succeed , however , very exciting to see...😁 Still today from time to time , I watch that session and it still brings goosebumps .

[Junky]

Max's last sector was fantastic, but I don't know if it can match Michael's last one in his 1996 pole lap.

[George Costanza]

Max's last sector was fantastic, but I don't know if it can match Michael's last one in his 1996 pole lap.

1996 Ferrari was a terrible car and it's definitely better than Max's lap.

[MKSixer]

The two aforementioned last sectors are the best I've ever seen.  They were both magical.

[thefinalapex]

I was going to say that, mega session to watch as Kubica kept flying and you wondered if he’d get pole or not. I also liked Abu Dhabi 2010 and Hungary 2011 from that era.

Monaco 2004 as mentioned already, that was F1 at it’s finest in qualifying trim, every driver pushing to the limit on a clear track and Trulli was truly magnificent.

Only wish i could find the qualifying sessions of those online but no such luck🙁

Edit: I thought the 2009 monaco qualifying was great aswell.

Edited by thefinalapex, 29 May 2023 - 13:17.

[STRFerrari4Ever]

Only wish i could find the qualifying sessions of those online but no such luck🙁

Edit: I thought the 2009 monaco qualifying was great aswell.

I used to watch the qualifying highlights repeatedly on the BBC F1 website when they still had the broadcasting rights, that era had many nail biting Q3s that are often forgotten. Monaco 2009 was great too like you said, Red Bull, Ferrari, Brawn and Williams all battling for the top spots.

[thefinalapex]

I used to watch the qualifying highlights repeatedly on the BBC F1 website when they still had the broadcasting rights, that era had many nail biting Q3s that are often forgotten. Monaco 2009 was great too like you said, Red Bull, Ferrari, Brawn and Williams all battling for the top spots.

I found it: https://archive.org/... Qualifying.mkv

[STRFerrari4Ever]

I found it: https://archive.org/... Qualifying.mkv

Amazing find, thanks a lot for this link.

[Mishvili]

Hill getting on pole in his Arrows in Hungary? Not that I remotely remember it (or anything else) but that alone must have generated some excitement?

[George Costanza]

https://youtu.be/96BfmBZXBno


1996 Canadian Grand Prix session... Awesome.