The strangest races in the history of Formula 1. 7 eccentricities – even before the failed Belgian GP August 31, 2021, 12:15 Moscow time Share Comments Scandalous gathering
The strangest races in the history of Formula 1: Monaco-1982, Brazil-2003, USA-2005 and others
The scandalous retirement of most cars before the start, the strange fine of Schumacher, the legendary Canada Button and much more.
The Belgian Grand Prix of Formula 1 instantly entered the history of the World Championship. Alas, not as one of the most exciting races, but as one of the strangest and even somewhat scandalous. The decision to make the race as formal as possible, simply by driving three laps behind the safety car, raised many questions, as well as the fact that ten drivers earned points, even if half, for such a parody. We continue to discuss what happened in the Spa, but for now let's remember the previous F-1 Grand Prix, which for various reasons also turned out to be very strange. The list is heterogeneous, there may be questions to it – feel free to add your options in the comments!
Spanish Grand Prix – 1975
We must start with the fact that this race, in principle, could not be. The organizers of the Grand Prix on Mount Montjuic in Barcelona did not give a damn about their duties: the condition of the roadway left much to be desired (many bumps), and the barriers were almost not fixed! The pilots threatened to go on strike, after which the fenders were slightly modified. But this did not save from the tragedy …
On lap 26, the leader in the race Rolf Stommelen got into an accident: the rear wing broke on his car, which could not withstand vibrations due to numerous bumps on the track. The rider's Hill went off the track and flew over the fenders. The racer himself survived, but four people died – a fan, a fire marshal and two photographers.
Shortly thereafter, the race was still stopped. The pilots received half points – including the sixth-placed Lella Lombardi. Lombardi's half point remains the only scoring performance by women in Formula 1.
As a woman for the first and last time hit the points in Formula 1. History of tragedy and record
Monaco Grand Prix – 1982
The race through the streets of the principality went down in history as a Grand Prix in which no one wanted to win. It's no joke to say: on the last lap the leader changed three times, and the driver won, who before that, it seemed, had already stupidly lost all chances of winning!
It seemed that the young Renault pilot would win Alain Prost, but two and a half laps before the finish line, he did not keep the car when it began to rain over the track – an accident. Became the leader Ricardo Patrese, but on the penultimate lap, he suddenly made a mistake in the Levs turn and stalled. He still managed to go further – but not the first.
Before the last lap, the peloton was led by Didier Pironi to Ferrari and Andrea de Cesaris from Alfa Romeo. However, both cars ran out of fuel! And so the lead returned to Patrese. Incredible race.
The two leaders retired on the last lap! And filmmakers would hardly have come up with such a finish in Monaco
Monaco Grand Prix – 1996
In Monte Carlo, in general, it was often fun, especially when F-1 cars were not yet as reliable as they are now. So, the 1996 race went down in history thanks to the smallest number of finishing cars: only three riders saw the checkered flag. In fairness, more people were classified: Frentzen drove into the pits after the penultimate lap, but became fourth, points were also received Mika Salo and Mika Hakkinenwho are faced with a circular Eddie Irvine five laps to go.
And what about the winner? The best that Sunday was Olivier Panis behind the wheel of a humble Ligier that managed to win the race after starting from 14th place! Of course, Panis was very lucky. Pole holder Michael Schumacher crashed the car on the first lap, Hill and Alesi, who were in the lead, retired due to mechanical problems … Anyway, Olivier was magnificent and won the only victory of his career.
9 of the most unexpected Grand Prix winners in Formula 1 history. Nobody believed in them
British Grand Prix – 1998
The race itself, despite the heavy downpour, was more or less regular. All the strangeness was provided to her by the decision of the stewards to fine Michael Schumacher for 10 seconds and how Ferrari decided to leave him. Schumacher was fined for overtaking a lap Giancarlo Fisichella under yellow flags. To save time and let the German stay ahead Miki Hakkinen, in Ferrari they decided to serve their sentence at the end of the last lap – then Michael would not have to slowly drag along the pit lane. Rather, it would have to, but after the finish. So while the steward with a checkered flag was waiting for the Ferrari on the starting line, she was serving her sentence behind his back!
It turned out very strange. Firstly, the judges issued a penalty more than 25 minutes after the fact of the violation – according to the then rules of F-1, the penalty in this case should be “played”. Secondly, according to all the same rules, since the penalty was issued less than five laps before the finish line, Michael did not have to enter the pit lane – 10 penalty seconds would simply be added to his result. But Ferrari was not sure whether it was just ten seconds or a stop-and-go, so they called the German into the pits.
Finally, the Scuderia's stunt itself turned out to be meaningless, since Schumacher crossed the finish line in the pits before he drove up to his mechanics and served his sentence. In general, it turned out very strange and stupid, but after long trials, the Schumacher penalty was simply canceled – this did not affect anything, since Michael finished with a margin of 22 seconds.
Time Machine: 1998 British Grand Prix
Brazilian Grand Prix – 2003
If in Silverstone the winner was “lost”, then in Sao Paulo they could not correctly determine. After an accident involving Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso the race was interrupted and decided not to resume, as the riders had already covered more than three-quarters of the distance, and the track had to be put in order for a long time. The peloton was led by the unstoppable that day Giancarlo Fisichella in a modest Jordan, but the judges rewound the results two laps back and passed the first place Kimi Raikkonen.
In Jordan, however, they filed a protest and proved that the results should be fixed a lap later – and thus Giancarlo won after all! The ceremony of handing over the winning cup took place at the next race in Imola.
By the way, if the race had not been stopped, then Giancarlo would not have seen victory: the engine in his car caught fire exactly at the moment when Fisichella parked the car in the pit lane after an early finish.
Local time: Jordan's last victory in Sao Paulo
US Grand Prix – 2005
The race, the strangeness of which no one will question. But who is to blame for the scandal, one can still argue … Michelin tires were not ready for the loads of Indianapolis high-speed banking and began to explode. What to do? After all, the French have no other tires. The proposal to urgently add a chicane predictably did not find support among Ferrari and other Bridgestone customers, and the recommendation to change tires every ten laps just in case looked like a mockery.
As a result, all the riders who used Michelin tires returned to the pits after the warm-up lap, but in this way they still formally took part in the race and allowed it to be declared valid. Michael Schumacher won the only victory of the season Tiago Monteiro suddenly climbed to the podium, both Minardi hit the points. But for some reason, American viewers did not appreciate this farce with the participation of six cars …
Local time: Michelin failure and 6 cars at the start in the USA
Canadian Grand Prix – 2011
Formally, nothing really strange happened in Montreal. Yes, the race had to be interrupted for two hours due to a downpour, but the pilots drove a full distance. But how can you miss the Grand Prix, which lasted more than four hours, and the victory was won by the driver who drove last (after 40 laps out of 70), received a penalty and knocked out Hamilton with Alonso ?! Yes, an eventful day turned out for Jenson Button, who on the final lap of the race provoked an error by Sebastian Vettel and won. That Canadian Grand Prix is considered by many to be one of the best races in Formula One history. It’s better to just keep silent about Spa-2021…
9 years of Button's incredible victory – with a bunch of accidents and a breakthrough from last place
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