CLASSIC LAST RACE DECIDERS
The 2012 World Championship will be decided at the final round in Brazil, but who will it be Sebastian Vettel, or Fernando Alonso. Whatever happens, it looks set to be an enthralling encounter. Here we look back at some of the most memorable title showdown's.
1976
Throughout the first half of 1976, it looked as though reigning World Champion, Niki Lauda would cruise to a second title. That was until the Austrian suffered a terrifying, near fatal, fiery crash at the Nurburgring. His resultant injuries looked set to end his season, if not his career but remarkably he only missed two races. Britain's James Hunt seized the opportunity to close the gap, two crucial victories for the Englishman meant that he was just three points behind Lauda as F1 headed to Japan for the first time.
Heavy rain on race day encouraged talks of abandoning the event but the race did start, to the frustration of some drivers, one of which was Lauda. The Austrian, withdrew from the race after two laps, feeling the conditions were too dangerous for racing. Having narrowly escaped with his life in Germany, he famously quoted "my life is worth more than a title."
Hunt looked set to claim the victory and win it all but the rain stopped towards the end of the race and the track began to dry, Hunt was now suffering problems with his tyres and made a pit stop which dropped him back to fifth, not enough if he was to win the title. So he set off on a charge and in the dying moments of the race, he passed Clay Regazzoni and Alan Jones to claw his way back up to third and become the 1976 World Champion.
1981
Three drivers went into the final round of the 1981 season in Las Vegas with a chance of clinching the championship. Argentine, Carlos Reutemann went into race with a one point lead over the Brazilian, Nelson Piquet. While Jacques Laffite's victory at the previous race in Canada meant that he still had a mathematical chance.
Carlos Reutemann's team mate, 1980 champion Alan Jones was due to retire after the race, and the Australian was not about to help his team mate win the title after a season of conflict between the pair. Jones led away from pole position whilst Reutemann quickly dropped backwards through the field, his gearbox giving him problems. Laffite was running 6th which wasn't enough for the Frenchman. That left, Piquet favourite for the championship but the oppressive conditions left the Brazilian battling severe exhaustion in the cockpit. With Reutemann now down in 8th and out of the points, Piquet bravely soldiered on and finished 5th to win the championship by just one point.
1984
1984 had been a year of McLaren domination, but the two drivers were allowed to fairly battle each other for the World Championship. Alain Prost was clearly the faster of the two, but the experienced two-time champion Niki Lauda relied on superb racecraft and tactics to consistently score points and take any advantage he could when Prost ran into problems. Lauda qualified down in 11th place for the deciding round in Portugal while Prost looked comfortable in 2nd. The Frenchman took control of the race from the front, but Lauda meant business and fought through the field. The Austrian kept his concentration up to avoid overdriving and climbed up to 3rd. With 18 laps remaining, Nigel Mansell suffered brake failure on his Lotus and Lauda was promoted to second and on course for his third title. Lauda could not catch Prost on track, but he didn't need to and promptly turned down his turbo boost to conserve his car. Prost took his seventh win of the year, but Lauda crossed the line in 2nd to win the championship by just half a point, the closest margin in history.
1986
Perhaps the most exciting Grand Prix season in history, the 1986 championship would be settled at the last race in Adelaide, Australia. Three men were in the running for the coveted prize; Nigel Mansell was the favourite, 6 points ahead of 1985 champion Alain Prost, and 7 ahead of his Williams team mate, double World Champion, Nelson Piquet.
Mansell started on pole position but the Englishman made a poor start and lost the lead to Ayrton Senna, by the end of the lap he had fallen behind Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg. A spin from Piquet on lap 23 elevated Mansell to second, but the Brazilian pitted and quickly fought back up the field eventually re-taking Mansell, while Prost was closing on them both. Keke Rosberg's retirement gave the lead to Piquet, Prost overtook Mansell but third place would still be enough to see him become the first British champion for 10 years.
Until on lap 64, Mansell's left rear tyre and his World Championship hopes blew. He avoided hitting anything as he coasted to a halt but his dream was shattered. Fearing a similar failure on Piquet's car, Williams called the Brazilian in for a pit stop, handing the lead to Prost. The Frenchman took the chequered flag, the victory and the 1986 World Championship.
1994
A season marred by tragedy and controversy would conclude with two drivers battling for the championship, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill. Schumacher had looked unstoppable in the first half of the season, taking 6 wins from the first 7 races. But a two-race suspension for ignoring a black flag at the British Grand Prix, which was won by Hill, allowed the Englishman to close the deficit to the German, with vital wins in Italy and Portugal during Schumacher's absence. A memorable victory in a rain-filled Japanese Grand Prix meant that Hill would take the fight to Australia, Schumacher was on 92 points to Hill's 91.
Schumacher and Hill got ahead of polesitter Nigel Mansell at the start and both quickly pulled away from the rest of the field. The pair were nose-to-tail up to and after their first pit stop, but lap 36 triggered the conclusion to the 1994 World Championship. Schumacher made an error, ran wide and touched the wall, damaging his suspension. Hill, having just negotiated a backmarker and unaware that Schumacher's car was compromised, saw an opportunity to get ahead and the two collided (see main picture above). Schumacher was out instantly, while Hill managed to get back to the pits, sadly for Hill his Williams had not just sustained a punctured tyre but had damaged the front wishbone. Schumacher became Germany's first ever Formula One World Champion in contentious circumstances.
1997
Qualifying produced an extraordinary result, Villeneuve, Schumacher and the Canadian's team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen all set the same time, only seperated by the order in which they did so. Thus Villeneuve was on pole, but Schumacher and Frentzen passed him at the start. Frentzen let his team mate by but Schumacher was now 4 seconds ahead. The order was unchanged after the first stops, but by then Villeneuve had closed the gap to the German. Then on lap 48, with Schumacher lapping slower, Villeneuve made his move into the Dry Sac corner. Schumacher saw him coming and turned in on the Williams, hitting him. The Ferrari came off worse as Schumacher slid into the gravel trap and was out of the race. Villeneuve continued but damage to his car eroded his lead. On the final lap, only five seconds covered the top six, Villeneuve still led but the two McLaren's of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were snapping at his heels. Villeneuve let both McLaren's pass him through the final corners, 4 points for third were enough to give him the 1997 title, as Hakkinen won his first Grand Prix. As for Schumacher, he had not only severely damaged his reputation, but was excluded from the results of the '97 championship.
1998
Following that maiden victory, Mika Hakkinen's career suddenly took off. The speed of the 1998 McLaren was electrifying at the start of the year. Furthermore, Michael Schumacher improved his image as he fought back, despite a slower car, the pressure led to mistakes by Hakkinen and McLaren. An inspired drive by the Finn at the Nurburgring however gave him a 4 point advantage as they went to Japan.
Schumacher took pole position but the first start was aborted due to Jarno Trulli stalling his Prost, as the second formation lap was about to get underway, Schumacher suddenly raised his arm, he had stalled and was sent to the back of the grid. The German vigorously clawed his way back up to third place, just after he passed the wreckage of Toranosuke Takagi's Tyrrell and Esteban Tuero's Minardi, Schumacher's tyre exploded on the start/finish straight. The 1998 World Championship was over, and it was Mika Hakkinen who took the glory.
2007
For the first time in 21 years, three drivers went into the last race of 2007 with a chance of winning the championship. McLaren's rookie sensation had topped the standings since the Spanish Grand Prix in May, and at the penultimate race in China, he had the chance to clinch the crown at his first ever attempt. Instead he opened it right up as the slippery conditions saw him beach his car in the gravel trap on the entrance to the pit lane. Raikkonen won and Hamilton's team mate Fernando Alonso finished second, ensuring a titanic battle would take place in Brazil.
Hamilton still led the table on 107 points, with Alonso on 103 and Raikkonen on 100. The Brit qualified highest of the championship contenders in 2nd place, but Raikkonen and Alonso got ahead of him after the first three corners. Hamilton was eager to get back ahead but he outbraked himself, ran wide and dropped to 8th. It wasn't long before he was back in 6th and in a position to win the title, but then a gearbox glitch caused the McLaren to coast. Somehow, the system reset itself and Hamilton continued but he fallen all the way down to 18th place.
So the order was Felipe Massa leading, from Raikkonen second and Alonso third. That result would mean Alonso would take a third consecutive title. Hamilton was not ready to admit defeat and was sithing his way through the field. After the final round of stops, Raikkonen took the lead from Massa and with Hamilton in 8th, the Finn would become champion. Hamilton took 7th when Jarno Trulli made his final stop, but that was as far as he would go. Raikkonen became the third Finnish champion, after coming close in 2003 and 2005, he had finally achieved it.
2008
12 months after the heartbreak of Brazil '07, Lewis Hamilton again arrived at the final round in Sao Paulo at the top of the standings. This time his rival was Felipe Massa, who had the home advantage, but was 7 points behind the Englishman.
Massa took pole position and led comfortably after the start was delayed due to rain. Hamilton spent most of the race in 4th position which would be enough to seal the title, but when the rain began to fall again on lap 63, pit stops for intermediate tyres beckoned. Hamilton's new tyres were slow to get up to optimum temperature and with just two laps to go and having already dropped back to 5th, ran wide, he was passed by Sebastian Vettel and sixth place would hand the title to Massa by virtue of more race victories. It looked as though lightning had struck twice and Hamilton had fallen at the final hurdle yet again. But in the last corner of the race, both Vettel and Hamilton overtook a slow Timo Glock, Massa had already crossed the line to win the race, the Ferrari team and the Brazilian crowd were convinced he was the new champion. Until Hamilton came past the chequered flag in 5th place, stealing the crown for himself. It was probably the most nail-biting end to a season.
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