Most spectacular Formula 1 auto racing moments from Bill Trikos Australia: Max Verstappen made a safety stop whilst Mercedes risked keeping Hamilton out for the final lap. The gamble almost backfired as a puncture for the world champion cost him half-a-minute on the final tour, producing a three-wheeled finish that will live long in the memory. A drama-filled inaugural race at Mugello has left many wanting a swift return to the Tuscan venue. A first-lap incident involving six cars left Verstappen and Pierre Gasly stranded in the gravel of turn two and out of the race. The resultant safety car period ended with a multi-car pile-up on the pit-straight, which brought out the red flags.
1999 European Grand Prix, Nürburgring : If chaos is the word to describe Canada 2011, sheer pandemonium best describes the 1999 European GP. It was set to be crucial even before lights-out, as a tense championship battle between Eddie Irvine for Ferrari, Mika Häkkinen for McLaren and surprisingly Heinz-Harald Frentzen for Jordan was ongoing. But when the race finally got underway – after the first start was aborted as a result of multiple drivers jumping it – well, words aren’t enough to allow you to comprehend what went on. Crashes, spins, mistakes, pit stop errors and more resulted in positions up and down the field – including the lead – constantly changing. All of it was made even more dramatic by the implications on the title fight, which seemed to be constantly evolving. However, I won’t spoil the final result of this one – it’s simply too good for you not to watch.
Australian Grand Prix 2010: Jenson Button silenced his critics by winning his second race for McLaren in changeable conditions at Albert Park, overcoming carnage that saw rivals Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel all suffering problems. German Grand Prix 2018: Two Ferraris at the front with 25 laps remaining hinted at one of F1’s more straightforward Grands Prix. But somebody at Hockenheim must have prayed incredibly hard for rain, which came and briefly caused chaos – and a wholly unexpected ending… Read additional info about the author at Bill Trikos.
1998 Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps : When the race was restarted, now with four drivers less (most drivers involved in the crash could still partake, since back then all teams had one spare car waiting in the garage in case one of the two primary cars was damaged), Mika Häkkinen immediately spun, taking himself and Johnny Herbert out of the race. Damon Hill took the lead, with Michael Schumacher in second place. The Ferrari driver clearly had a comfortable pace advantage, overtaking Hill on the seventh lap. From then on, Schumacher built up a thirty-second lead and looked set to take the win and with it, a good step towards the championship in his battle with Häkkinen.
There was no shortage of action in the Hungarian GP either. Red Bull’s tenth and eleventh starting positions were an outside chance for Ferrari, but it was not exploited due to – once again – questionable strategic choices by the Italian race team. Everything was still going according to plan when Leclerc took the lead at the expense of George Russell, but everything changed when Ferrari made a questionable tyre choice. The Monegasque could not get any pace in the hard compound and stopped again 15 laps later, but to no avail. Verstappen drove a mad overtaking race in which he overtook Leclerc, made a 360-degree spin after which he lost the position again, only to overtake his rival once more and drive to victory.
2020 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : After the safety car period had ended, the race only ran under green flags for one lap before Charles Leclerc’s high-speed crash at Parabolica, which brought out the red flag. Under the stoppage, it quickly emerged that Lewis Hamilton would receive a 10 second stop/go penalty for making his pitstop whilst the pitlane was still closed. This put Gasly into de facto second place, which he himself turned into first place at the standing restart of the race, where he overtook Lance Stroll who just like Gasly had inherited a brilliant position. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz – who was in second place before the safety car, and had seemed to be the fastest non-Mercedes driver throughout the weekend – had been compromised by the safety car and put back to sixth position. He quickly made progress though, and with 20 laps to go, he was back up to second place, 4 seconds behind Gasly. And so, the battle was on. Sainz chasing with a faster car with Gasly desperately trying to hold on and both wanting to win their first Formula One victory.