2005 San Marino Grand Prix - Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari

April 24, 2005

The beginning of the 2005 Formula One season was quite a surprise. For five seasons Michael Schumacher and Ferrari had utterly dominated the landscape scoring victories and championships seemingly unopposed, but in 2005 the landscape changed.  From early on in preseason testing Renault had shown themselves to be the giant-killer, the team that would take on the might of Maranello.  The only question was did they have the drivers to take on the German ace who had become the most prolific champion in F1 history during his time at the Scuderia.  This task would fall to Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso, two very strong and competent drivers. 

Triumphant Duo: Alonso and Fisichella won the first three races of the season.

The Italian was vastly experienced, having driven in F1 since 1997, and had always been looked upon as a driver with the potential to be a world champion if given the proper package.  Now with Renault in 2005, he certainly had that. The young Spaniard had already proven himself a natural talent and himself along with Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) were viewed as the young generation which could supplant Schumacher as the next champion.  The season certainly started according to plan for the pair with Fisichella winning handily in Australia, and Alonso taking victory in Malaysia and Bahrain.  In fact the talking point during the build-up to the fourth round at San Marino wasn’t whether Renault could beat Ferrari to the championship, rather it was could Ferrari offer any opposition to Renault in the championship.

The start of Ferrari’s 2005 campaign had been less than stellar.  Rubens Barrichello had been able to score a second place podium finish in Melbourne, but apart from that the results were not what one had come to expect from the team.  Schumacher in particular had a woeful start to the season, retiring in both Australia and Bahrain, with only a ninth place finish in Malaysia to his credit. 

2005 San Marino GP: Raikkonen seemingly had things well in hand at the start.

Qualifying for the fourth round at Imola gave the tifosi little hope that the fortunes of their beloved Scuderia had changed, as Rubens Barrichello had only managing to qualify tenth and Schumacher was even further back in an abysmal fourteenth after a mistake at the entrance to Rivazza during the second qualifying session.  With Raikkonen on pole position and Alonso beside him on the front row few could have imagined that Schumacher or Ferrari would play any role in the fight for victory during the Grand Prix.

Raikkonen made good use of his pole position in the race itself, rocketing away at the start and building a two second lead over Alonso after just the opening lap. The Finn was comfortably pulling away, steadily extending his advantage, when his McLaren suffered a driveshaft failure on the ninth lap ending his race. Alonso assumed the lead 7.9 seconds ahead of Jensen Button (BAR) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota). However the Italian did not have the pace to stay with the leaders and soon began bottling up the cars behind him. The Toyota had Mark Webber (Williams) and Takuma Sato (BAR) immediately behind, both looking for a way past. Following them closely was Alexander Wurz (McLaren) substituting for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber) and Barrichello. However, the Brazilian soon encountered electrical issues and was forced to retire on lap 11. So too was the fate of Fisichella whom on lap 5 suffered a mechanical failure, as he came through Tamburello, pitching him across the sand trap and into the barrier. All the while Schumacher was running twelfth, in the midfield, seemingly unable to move forward. However, Trulli's slower pace and the other's inability to get past him was critical to the German.

The pit stops began on lap 21 with Trulli and Webber, coming in together and exiting in the same order. As the leaders bustled in and out of the pits and generally making very little progress in terms of passing each other, both Wurz and Schumacher were continuing to run on without a stop and getting faster and faster as their cars decreased in weight. Button had briefly made inroads into Alonso’s lead with a couple of fastest laps but it proved only a temporary turn of speed in the run-up to his first stop. Schumacher had the real pace and finally unleashed the dormant potential of the F2005 with a series of ultra-fast laps. Wurz finally stopped on lap 25 and by the time Schumacher pitted two laps later he had stealthily emerged an amazing third – from running twelfth.

Twelfth to Third: Schumacher unleashed astonishing pace to maximise Ferrari's strategy.

The tactic had worked better than Ferrari could have hoped. Schumacher, now 30 seconds behind the leader but with a clear track to attack, set about closing the gap between himself and Button and completely decimated the Briton’s advantage. Schumacher was able to take off 21 seconds in 14 laps, an average of 1.5 seconds per lap, closing right up to the back of Button with a few laps to go before the final round of pit stops. With the Ferrari latched on to the gearbox of the BAR-Honda, the battle became a fight for the lead after Alonso’s stop on lap 42. Schumacher applied plenty of pressure on the Briton, holding station at around half a second behind for four laps before Button finally made a small error, on lap 47, at Acqua Minerali and inexplicably failed to defend at the Variante Alta chicane – Schumacher simply breezed past into the lead for the first time. Button pitted anyway at the end of that lap but with the Briton out the way a little earlier Schumacher was able to set himself up for the fastest lap of the race, setting a time of 1:21.858 on lap 48 that was 0.746 faster than the second best lap of the race set by Button.

On lap 49 Schumacher made a very quick stop, in which he was stationary for little more than six seconds and set an in-out time of 22.170 seconds compared to Alonso's 24.165 seconds total. That advantage, coupled with faster times over the seven laps between the two stops, the German emerged just 1.3s behind the Renault. Again, Schumacher had vastly more speed than Alonso, whose unenviable task was to absorb the pressure of his rival. 

Struggling with an engine that the Renault team later admitted was virtually broken and massively downtuned, Alonso played it clever, slowing and taking unusual lines into the corners he deemed dangerous to his lead protection then accelerating early to keep Schumacher at bay.

Relentless Pressure: Alonso withstands everything Schumacher could bring at him.

For twelve gripping laps Schumacher hounded Alonso without mercy. At one point he was able to draw alongside as they dropped from Piratella to Acque Minerali, but had no space to pass. Relentless though Schumacher’s challenge was, Alonso, to his credit, was able to hold the Ferrari back with an admirable resilience.

That 1.327 seconds came down to 0.376 seconds on the very next lap and fell no further than to 0.465 seconds all the way to the end as Schumacher tried all he could to force the youngster into a mistake.

But Alonso refused to yield and withstood everything Schumacher applied, to the end.

When they took the chequered flag, they were separated by a mere 0.215 of a second – a thrilling display that even the tifosi were satisfied with despite the fact that their hero was denied what would have been and incredible victory on Italian soil.

What made Alonso’s victory even more impressive was the fact that the engine he used for the race was the same power unit used three weeks earlier to win in Bahrain. The searing heat of the desert venue asked more of the engine than usual and, although Fernando’s V10 finished the race, it did not come out of the weekend 100 per cent unscathed and the newly-introduced regulations for 2005 meant it still had to cover the Grand Prix at Imola without the team being able to work on it between the two races. As a precautionary measure, however, Renault restricted the maximum revs.

The final stint of the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix will remain etched in the memories of everyone who witnessed it for a long time to come. That day, Michael met his match in Fernando. The young Spaniard succeeded in warding off the Ferrari driver's pressure to claim a victory he would savour in two ways: first the pure satisfaction of coming out on top in such difficult circumstances that Sunday afternoon at Imola and then later in the year, in Shanghai, where Renault clinched the Constructors' title, beating McLaren-Mercedes by nine points. A title achieved in no small part to those ten points scored in San Marino.

Parc Ferme: Alonso and Schumacher congratulate each other after a titanic battle.

1990 French Grand Prix - Circuit Paul Ricard

July 8, 1990

Leyton House Racing (formerly March Racing) looked to be the most promising new outfit on the Grand Prix scene in 1988, its second season of F1 racing, when Ivan Capelli gave the McLaren-Honda drivers a fright on two memorable occasions. Under team chief Ian Phillips and its highly rated designer Adrian Newey, then 27, the only way for the Japanese-funded project seemed to be up. They were a happy group.

Adrian Newey: The start of a great F1 career.

By the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix, though, Leyton House Racing was almost literally flat on its back. The cars were uncompetitive, the crew tight-lipped. And Phillips had been absent since the second round in Brazil, suffering from meningitis. Leyton House thus suffered something of a leadership vacuum. In Mexico both Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin failed to qualify and shortly afterwards technical director Newey and chief draftsman Tim Holloway left the team.

Like the boss’s sickness, the problems were all curable – eventually. Unhappily, they appeared to be more fundamental than anyone could have imagined. The CG901 was aerodynamically very advanced. Newey had pursued a design concept pioneered by Benetton’s Rory Byrne, by concentrating most of the car’s aerodynamic performance on its front wings. The principle offers advantages but at the same time it was extremely sensitive to change. Before he departed, Newey completed major modifications for the car and these proved extraordinarily successful at the next round on the calendar, the French Grand Prix.

This was Ferrari’s 100th Grand Prix and victory did not come easily. Alain Prost’s undiminished ability played a vital part, together with a car that stayed healthy despite a persistent electrical problem. The Ricard circuit, hosting the French Grand Prix supposedly for the last time, took a sort of revenge for its rejection by posing physical and technical problems which had already taxed the initiative of drivers and engineers to the limit in two days of qualifying. Although the Ferrari men didn’t get all their calculations right, at least they made far fewer mistakes than their rivals.

Outshining all the big names, though, were Leyton House who staged a spectacular return to form at Ricard and, by staying out when everybody else pitted for fresh tyres. Capelli came within a whisker of an unbelievable victory.

Ivan Capelli

Ricard can be a tricky circuit, and on Friday, Nigel Mansell adjusted his Ferrari to the conditions better than anybody. The result was a time that could not be beaten in Saturday’s changing conditions. Gerhard Berger (McLaren) claimed second on the grid with Ayrton Senna (McLaren) third. Prost, who was on pole here last year, blew the special qualifying engine in his spare car and was pleased to be fourth fastest with a time set in his race car with its less powerful race-spec engine. The Leyton House entries qualified seventh (Capelli) and tenth (Gugelmin), which was an achievement in itself after Mexico. But it would not be until Sunday morning, when the team’s engineers realised that they could run non-stop on Goodyear’s softer “C” compound if the drivers avoided sliding the cars too much. Everyone else – even those starting on the harder and safer “B” compound – was planning to stop for tyres.

The run to the first corner was a duel between Mansell and Berger, with Mansell gaining the advantage. However, Berger deftly darted past him and into the lead at Signes. As they crossed the line at the end of the first lap Berger was 1.1s ahead of Mansell, with Senna only 0.4s back in third place. Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) lay fourth, ahead of Riccardo Patrese (Williams), Prost and Thierry Boutsen (Williams).

Capelli, having made a good start, got a nasty surprise when Prost braked early at the first corner. The Leyton House, with its wheels wreathed in smoke, banged Goodyears with Boutsen, and the Italian began to worry about the vibration that he could suddenly feel through his steering. On lap 10, Senna now past Mansell and into second, was stepping up the pressure on Berger. But with tyre stops planned by all of them, overtaking was likely to be a wasted exercise. Meanwhile, Nannini closed on the three leaders. Patrese lay fifth, stalked by a frustrated Prost. Nelson Piquet (Benetton) was seventh, with Jean Alesi (Tyrrell) and Capelli closing up. Senna did not finally move into the lead until lap 28, when Berger was already heading for his pit and a change of tyres. It took 12.7s , bad enough compared with Prost's Ferrari stop on the previous lap (7.6s) but nowhere near as disappointing as Senna's stop of more than 16s. That left him in eight place behind Piquet, with it all to do.

1990 French GP - Capelli worked his strategy to perfection.

When Senna stopped for tyres on lap 30, it was Capelli - first of the "non-stoppers" - who took over the lead. Team-mate Gugelmin moved into second place and started a defence against Prost that would last for the next 20 laps. On television, the BBC's James Hunt was anxious to point out that the Leyton House 1-2 was no more than a temporary and artificial situation "probably to get their sponsors on the telly" which would be resolved as soon as they made their essential tyre stops. Hunt would later eat those words as he realised, like many team managers in the pits, that the Leyton House boys had pulled off a magnificent bluff.

Gugelmin's day ended with 28 laps to go when his Judd EV engine gave up. Ironically, Capelli had taken his own Judd round to 14,000rpm (1500rpm more than permitted) - and it held out almost to the finish. The most important part of the Leyton House performance was the speed of the cars on the straight. With much better acceleration, especially because his car was quite good through the corner before the straight, under braking, Prost was never close enough to risk an overtake. The only place where it may have been possible was the double-right corner, and it was clear that the Frenchman would do everything he could in the last laps.

Capelli seemed to have enough speed on the straight to hold Prost. But the gap stayed at under 1 second for the last 16 laps, except when traffic allowed Capelli to pull out a bit more. With three laps to go, Prost made his final bid in the double right-hander after Signes. He did not know that Capelli was getting signals that his oil and fuel pressures were sagging, so the overtaking moment was memorable. Although Capelli hung on, he was nursing home a sick Judd. Senna, having battled his way back up to third place, was no threat, being almost 10 seconds back.

So close, yet so far - Capelli has to settle for second.

In his anxiety to greet Capelli's second place, Gustav Brunner forgot the FISA rules and bounded over the pit wall as soon as his car limped across the finishing line. It could have cost the Leyton House team a hefty fine, or worse. As it happened, he was let off with a warning.Brunner was entitled to celebrate, though. "This morning, I would have been happy with just the one point we needed to avoid pre-qualifying in the second half of the season," he enthused. "Instead, we ended up leading for more than 40 laps!"

It was an amazing achievement. From the double non-qualification in Mexico two weeks previous, here were the turquoise cars taking over the lead of the French Grand Prix and dishing out what should have been a hiding to McLaren-Honda and Fiat-Ferrari. It was proof-positive that it takes more than money to win in F1 ..... innovation, hard work and belief can carry even the smallest team to the front and Leyton House surely proved it at Paul Ricard that day.

1990 French GP Podium - what a difference two weeks make.

2003 U.S. Grand Prix - Indianpolis Motor Speedway

September 28, 2003

As race wins go the 2003 United States grand Prix was one of the best of Michael Schumacher's illustrious career. Certainly it was on of the most important, because it brought him within nine points of a sixth World Championship crown. How he got there though was even more impressive. The manner in which Schumacher had turned around his 2003 season was stunning. Early on in the year his Ferrari had the edge, but they suffered a mid-season slump (largely caused by Bridgestone's inadequacies) and only two races prior to Indy Schumacher was the underdog for the title. Juan-Pablo Montoya (Williams) looked virtually unstoppable for the Driver's title, having won in Germany and finishing second in Hungary.

It was fitting then, that Indianapolis was one of the German's best drives, even if the weather did play so comfortably into his hands. But with Schumacher, as always there was something more. During the 1995 season, Damon Hill once commented on his rival's superiority, "He's very impressive in every respect of the job. It is mental, it is physical and it is to do with teamwork. He has an advantage over everyone." For any sportsman, whose confidence and ability to perform consistently to the best of his ability depends so much on a pig-headed belief that he is the best, it was an astonishing admission for the Englishman to make. But, given the evidence, it was also an inescapable one and Schumacher carried this advantage throughout most of his career.

Schumacher: under pressure at Indy

The grid at Indianapolis　was an unusual mix that did the champion no favours, and read like the screenplay for a Hollywood motor racing blockbuster: the third-placed driver in the World Championship fight, Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren), was on pole position, the second-placed man, Montoya, was fourth and the leader, Schumacher, was only seventh. Räikkönen and Montoya appeared to be free and clear to fight for the title, with Schumacher in a vulnerable position. Yet by the first corner it was clear this was not the case. The German sprinted down the outside and, as team-mate Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) faded on the front row and Olivier Panis (Toyota) and Montoya lagged on the second, he pounced into third place behind the leader Räikkönen and brother Ralf (Williams). Already, Montoya’s hopes were looking shaky. He was only seventh.

Up front Räikkönen put on another one of his brave displays that underlined the Finns' natural talent. Ralf went with him, and when it began to drizzle on lap two, their Michelin tyres offered them a significant advantage.

Almost as fast as he had catapulted forward, Michael began to go backwards. He’d overtaken Panis for third on lap 5, but by lap 7 the battling David Coulthard (McLaren), Montoya and Fernando Alonso (Renault) had all clawed past, and Jarno Trulli (Renault) was menacing. Things stayed that way until Ralf pitted on lap 15, by which time the track was beginning to dry. He slipped down to twelfth.

2003 USGP - Despite an impressive start, Schumacher slipped to 12th. 

Coulthard, Montoya and Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) were the next to stop, on lap 17, followed by Alonso on lap 18, Räikkönen and Heinz-Harold Frentzen (Sauber) on lap 19, and Michael Schumacher and Trulli on lap 20. Only Frentzen gambled correctly on wets.

Jensen Button (BAR) and Justin Wilson (Jaguar), running second and third behind an elevated Mark Webber (Jaguar), pitted for wets on lap 21, just as Michael and Heidfeld realized their mistakes and swept back into the pits as the heavens were opening.

Webber’s moment of glory on lap 21 did not last long after he crashed out. That left Coulthard and Räikkönen in a McLaren 1-2 on lap 22, but DC was still on dry Michelins and was soon hopelessly outpaced. Räikkönen pitted for wets, together with Montoya, Alonso and Trulli. Then Ralf Schumacher, running second, spun and bent his car’s rear suspension.

All of this left Button leading a Grand Prix for the first time in his career (and BAR’s) and looking pretty comfortable while doing it. Initially Frentzen hounded him, but Jensen soon dropped the Sauber. Both, however, were being caught by Michael, who was revelling in conditions which suited his wet Bridgestones perfectly. The tide of the Championship, almost literally, had turned.

2003 USGP - Schumacher was virtually unstoppable in the wet conditions. 

The German got another bonus when Montoya carried out a drive-through penalty. He had received it on lap 21 after colliding with Barrichello in Turn Two on lap 3. Most observers felt that was a bit harsh, especially since Barrichello did not attach much blame to the Columbian but regarded it as a racing incident.

Out front Button looked hugely confident, but this was David trying to fend off a very aggressive Goliath. after quickly disposing of Frentzen on lap 33, Schumacher was right with the BAR-Honda passing the pits on lap 37, and going into Turn One on lap 38 the red car went ahead. Button nevertheless kept a respectable distance to the Ferrari until his engine blew on lap 42. It was a tough break, just when Button's first podium finish seemed finally within his grasp.

Now Frentzen was second, and for the first time a Sauber led a Grand Prix as Schumacher pitted for fuel again on lap 48. When Frentzen did likewise a lap later Heidfeld moved to second, but the critical point now was that while the Ferrari led and the Saubers were second and third, Räikkönen in fourth place, was out of the title hunt. The track was drying, however, and gradually Räikkönen was able to start lapping at similar speed to Schumacher and moved ahead of the Swiss cars to take second place. It was the best he could do in the circumstances.

As far as the front end of the Grand Prix was concerned Schumacher was home and dry. Räikkönen was equally secure in second, Frentzen in third after an impressive drive, but Heidfeld could not hold off Trulli in the closing stages and succumbed on lap 43.

Further back, Montoya's desperate pursuit of Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan) for sixth place finally reaped rewards. The Italian had again driven one of his unobtrusive but productive races, and would probably have stayed sixth but for problems during both his pitstops. On the first, on lap 21, the right front wheel stuck on; on the second, on lap 44, the fuel rig malfunctioned and tricked the team inot giving him twice the load he needed after there was initial doubt that the first load had gone aboard. The Columbian needed another place to stay in the game, however, and Heidfeld was far too far ahead.

Schumacher demoralised his rivals with a relentlessly stunning pace.

Coulthard's day ended on lap 46 with gearbox trouble. To add insult to that, afterwards Schumacher was critical of the Scot's defence of seventh place as they battled for position on lap 25. That, and an allegation from Panis that he had passed him on the pit-straight for third place on lap 5 under waved yellow flags for the Barrichello/Montoya incident, were the only things to mar Schumacher's day. Evidence, however, proved that the German was just ahead before the flags.  

"This was a great and important win." Schumacher said. "It means a lot at this crucial stage in the championship, but the tifosi have carried us to this position."

The victory was the most dominant win of Michael Schumacher's career up to that point. Not in terms of the winning margin he recorded - he had won races by more than 18 seconds in the past - but he utterly demoralised his opposition at Indianapolis in a fashion that is rarely seen in any sport.

The race came to him in the damp middle section, when the superiority of his intermediate Bridgestones allowed him to overtake the Michelin runners at will. But what made this win so special was the patience he showed prior to the rain. Under extreme pressure, he showed none of the impetuousness of Adelaide 1994 or Jerez 1997 (both title deciders, he caused an accident on both occasions) and instead waited for the race to come to him - even allowing title rivals Montoya and Räikkönen to overtake early on.

Schumacher was now poised to break Fangio's amazing record.

Michael went into the final race of the year, at Suzuka, almost certain to clinch a record sixth world title, which would surpass teh legendary Juan-Manuel Fangio's tally of five and leave him undisputed as the most successful driver in Formula One history. Formula One's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone said after Indianapolis, "I'll give you 5-2 that Michael will take the title."

Of course Schumacher, as always, delivered.

1989 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring

August 13, 1989

Many doubted the wisdom of Nigel Mansell's move to Ferrari, for the 1989 season, particularly over his ability to handle the unforgiving Italian press and the tortuous internal politics of Maranello. But Mansall emerged as a calmer, more relaxed driver and fitted into Ferrari instantly and effortlessly. He couldn't have made a better start, of course. His victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix was a dream debut for Mansell and John Barnard's new chisel-nosed car which had proved so unreliable during testing and practice. After that win he was dubbed "Il Leone" by the Italian fans, the tifosi.

During the first half of the season the Ferrari was rarely reliable enough to reward Mansell's efforts but he produced a typically gritty drive at Silverstone, keeping the pressure on Alain Prost (McLaren) all the way despite the McLaren's technical superiority. And then came his drive in Hungary.

This memorable race had produced a shock even before it started. Riccardo Patrese (Williams), whose only two previous pole positions dated back to 1981 and 1983, produced an astonishing lap on Friday which would stand even on Saturday. Ayrton Senna (Mclaren) qualified second, but the most impressive qualifying performance, was a popular third place for Alex Caffi (Dallara). Mansell found that the softer Goodyear qualifying tyres were difficult to use correctly, and twelfth on the grid was the best he could manage. However, there was an indication of what would follow in the Sunday morning warm-up, when he topped the list.

1989 Hungarian GP - Mansell would battle from 12th on the grid.

The prospect of a duel to decide who would be in front at the first corner, between Senna and Patrese, was something to look forward to. Senna, who had battled here in 1988 for the rights of the person in pole position to choose which side of the grid to start from, found himself on the dirtier inside line in 1989. But although he almost managed to squeeze inside Patrese at the right-handed first corner, the Williams was narrowly ahead and Senna was almost squeezed over the kerbing.

At the end of the lap, Caffi was third, followed by Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Prost, Thierry Boutsen (Benetton), and Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) before Mansell appeared.

Starting the fourth lap, Berger managed to pass Caffi at the first corner, smoothly moving up to third place. Four laps later Prost also managed to use his Honda power to get ahead of the Dallara, but he would be the last man to pass the well-driven Dallara for fifteen laps, when Mansell at last burst through. But he was 17 seconds behind Prost and it looked impossible to make up the difference although Mansell, of course, had other ideas.  He carved as much as a second a lap out of the Frenchman's advantage, and when Berger stopped for tyres on lap 29, Mansell moved into fourth place, 5.9 seconds behind Prost.

1989 Hungarian GP - Patrese shows that he still has mettle.

For the first part of the race it was impossible to judge the status of the drivers, since most of them were expected to make pit stops for tyres. However, cooler weather than in qualifying, coupled with some gamesmanship by the teams, allowed most of the leading contenders to run non-stop.

At half distance Patrese was defending the lead so firmly that even Senna, tracking his every move, seemed unlikely to pass. However, the Brazilian cannot have felt comfortable, for behind him now was Mansell, who had passed Prost and moved into third place.

Sadly, this promising four-way battle for the lead was brief, lasting until Patrese retired on lap 53 with a steaming engine. It was a stone through the radiator of his Williams-Renault that eliminated the Italian when he was admirably maintaining a narrow advantage. The battle between Senna, now leading, and Mansell was extraordinary given that the McLaren-Honda's power allowed it to pull away noticeably even on the short straights. In braking, and in most corners, the more aerodynamic Ferrari made up all the difference, and on lap times there was virtually nothing between their performances.

1989 Hungarian GP - Mansell doggedly pressures Senna.

The deciding moment of the race came halfway round lap 58. Mansell had been tracking Senna's McLaren within less than a second, and all he needed was a mistake by the Brazilian to let him grab the lead. Senna did not exactly make a mistake: he had the misfortune to come round a corner and be faced with a slower car, that of Stefan Johansson (Onyx). Johansson, in trouble with gears, was reluctant to move off line, despite moving so slowly, and Senna arrived behind him from the previous corner so fast that he almost caught the Onyx. Mansell appraised the situation almost instantly, braking hard and almost hitting Senna as he opposite-locked to his right.

"Ayrton is obviously more difficult to pass than Alain, but he was a bit too close to the car in front, and had to slow in the middle of the corner," said Mansell. "I was very close as well, and almost hit the back of Ayrton, but I was able to throw the car sideways and just have enough momentum to go past." He added that he was tempted to close his eyes...

Split second - Mansell seizes the opportunity to pass Senna.

The large  contingent of tifosi in the crowd got the message that a Ferrari was in front, and Mansell was greeted with huge cheers. He went on to win majestically, with Senna in second and Boutsen gaining third after a late pitstop by Prost to clean his helmet visor.

Not even Ayrton Senna would disagree that Nigel Mansell deserved to win the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix. Only Riccardo Patrese, who had driven immaculately in the lead, from pole position, for 52 of the 77 laps, could offer a better claim than Mansell's. It was a consistently hard, competitive race this - one of the best of Mansell's career by his own reckoning - that took the relentless Englishman from 12th place on the grid into eighth by the end of the first lap, and past no fewer than six rivals by sheer persistence.



1989 Hungarian GP - Mutual respect from the titans of the day.

Determination was Mansell's outstanding quality: it kept him in motor racing when lesser men would have given up and made him habitually drive flat out when the few drivers who have an infinitesimal extra degree of talent might just ease off. This was Mansell's formula for success, fast and strong ... Il Leone indeed.

1981 Spanish Grand Prix - Circuito del Jarama

June 21, 1981

In Formula One, as in any sport, there are competitors and then there are true heroes. Those with depth of character, with an undying will to win, with integrity and courage are the ones that are remembered long after their days in racing are over. Gilles Villeneuve was such a driver, and the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was without doubt the French-Canadian's finest victory. It was a race of incredible tension and the result was a tactical masterpiece that only a naturally gifted driver could achieve. That year Ferrari had produced a powerful turbocharged engine but the 126CK chassis was so bad that Villeneuve himself described it as "a hopeless fast red Cadillac". "You put on new tyres, and it is OK for four laps," he said. "After that, forget it."

1981 Spanish GP: Villeneuve's ability trumped the 126CK's poor qualities.

But, as was the hallmark of Villeneuve's career, a poor car was never something that stopped him from trying to win races and in Monaco at the end of May he did just that, scoring Ferrari's first win for two years. Three weeks later the F1 circus rolled up at Jarama for the Spanish Grand Prix. Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Matra) took pole with the two Williams-Fords of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann second and third ahead of John Watson (McLaren-Ford), Alain Prost (Renault) and Bruno Giacomelli (Alfa Romeo). Villeneuve drove impressively to simply qualify in seventh. Didier Pironi, Villeneuve's extremely capable team-mate could only manage thirteenth with the Ferrari.

Race day was incredibly hot and the temperature was around 100 degrees when the race began. Gilles' strategy at the start was to make full use of his new Michelins, and gain as many positions as possible at that green light. Jones and Reutemann blasted into the lead as Laffite dropped to twelfth when his engine bogged down as he tried to get off the line. Villeneuve scorched into third place at the first corner, snagging Prost's front wing as he did so. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones quickly began building a lead, and stretched his advantage to ten seconds. However, on lap 14 the reigning World Champion made an uncharacteristic error and spun off at the Ascari chicane.

This left Villeneuve with Reutemann on is tail. Behind them Watson, a resurging Laffite and Elio de Angelis (Lotus-Ford) emerged from the hurly-burly and all began to close on the duelling leaders. Reutemann was having some trouble with his gearbox and when Laffite arrived behind him there was little Carlos could do to stop Jacques overtaking. The Argentine would later drop behind Watson as well as the five front-runners became a train of cars, nose-to-tail for the remainder of the race.

Unrelenting Pressure: lap after lap, Laffite harries Villeneuve.

Villeneuve had the power to get away from his rivals on the straights but in the corners they were all over him. Time and time again Laffite pulled alongside as they emerged from a corner but the Ferrari would serge ahead as the horsepower kicked in. He judged things to perfection, never rushing when he was at a disadvantage and positioning his car on the track so as not to allow any of his rivals past. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24s to record the second closest race in the history of F1 at the time.

It had been a sensational drive by Villeneuve, and even Enzo Ferrari was impressed. The day after the race Villeneuve's boss compared his driver to the legendary Tazio Nuvolari who raced for Ferrari 50 years earlier.

Cadillac Day - Villeneuve, Laffite and Watson.

The "Commendatore" had notoriously difficult relationships with his drivers, but Villeneuve was one of the few to earn his complete admiration and respect. Little could he have realized that this would be Gilles' final Grand Prix victory, and within a year his beloved driver would be dead. Killed while trying to qualify for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. Years later in an interview Enzo Ferrari would reveal just how much Villeneuve meant to him.

"My past is scarred with grief." Ferrari said. "Father, mother, brother, son, wife. My life is full of sad memories. I look back and I see my loved ones and among my loved ones I see the face of this great man, Gilles Villeneuve."

1996 Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Catalunya

June 2, 1996

A casual observer may not have enjoyed the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix - a lone red Ferrari putting an ever increasing distance between itself and its pursuers. But to the purest it was spellbinding.

What made it all the more impressive was the fact that at the start of the 1996 season Michael Schumacher appeared to have done the unthinkable by leaving Benetton in the wake of back-to-back world titles. He transferred to Ferrari - a proud name, but in many ways a bare shell of a team. 

He'd been encouraged when he tested the 1995 car, but was hugely disappointed when he'd subsequently tried the new F310, Ferrari's first V-10 powered Formula One car. He knew immediately that he was in for a tough season, and he was right. The Williams-Renault dominated the season with a far superior car. In Spain, however, Ferrari had an unquantifiable edge ... Schumacher. 

Still, Schumacher finished the warm-up 0.86 seconds shy of polesitter Damon Hill (Williams-Renault), almost the same margin he'd been adrift in Saturday's dry qualifying session where he claimed third on the starting grid. Then he took a calculated gamble. He told the team he wanted a full wet set-up with light tanks. Two stops. 

1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher's bold gamble was pivotal.

Normally in the wet, the strategy is to go to the grid with a heavy fuel load for maximum strategic flexibility. A wet set-up means the car is softened right off on the springs and bars, making its response to the driver's actions more gentle - reducing the risk of a small mistake turing into a terminal, high-speed incident. More wing is cranked on to produce more downforce int he corners, assisting the tyres to grip and disperse more water. The problem, of course, is that if the track dries, the driver will lose out hand over fist to a car that started on a stiffer set-up. Furthermore, the tyres will start to wear horribly quickly.

But start on compromise settings and you obviously don't go as well in the wet. So it is a grey art: if you anticipate a drying track, you run as hard (dry) a set-up as the driver can cope with in the rain.

Hill seemed to hesitate when the lights went out, trailing Villeneuve and Alesi into the first turn, but his getaway was scintillating compared with Schumacher's. The Ferrari appeared almost to stall, before stumbling away. "My start was a disaster," Michael said. "I went for the clutch, and there was nothing. I nearly stalled, then tried it again. Fortunately, no one went into the back of me." By the time he got things sorted out he was ninth going into the Elf right-hander. He quickly recovered however, and had passed three cars before the end of the first lap.

1996 Spanish GP - After a poor start Schumacher storms to the front.

Thereafter, his progress was mesmeric. Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) spun out of fifth and when Damon Hill (Williams-Renault) ran on to the grass a couple of laps later, Schumacher was up to fourth. On lap five he passed Gerhard BErger (Benetton-Renault), lapped two seconds quicker than anyone else and closed to within six seconds of the lead. Next time around he was 3.7 seconds faster than race leader Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) and second-place man Jean Alesi (Benetton-Renault).

The German was using totally different lines to everyone else, sweeping wide to avoid the more frequently used, rubber permeated areas of the track and thus maximizing what precious little grip was available. On lap 9 Schumacher swept around the outside of the tightening fourth gear Renault right-hander and did the same out of Repsol. He sliced his way past Alesi, into second, and on lap 12 he overtook Villeneuve, too, at precisely the same place. On each occasion, he left his braking late, poked the nose of the Ferrari inside, leaving neither Jean nor Jacques an opportunity to resist. The moves were exquisitely judged and by the end of lap 12, he was three seconds clear.

Just two laps later Schumacher posted the fastest lap of the race, some four seconds quicker than Villeneuve and Alesi. By lap 24, Schumacher was in for his first stop. In the twelve laps he led the race he opened a 40 second gap. Before he stopped again, on lap 42, the margin was widened further to 90 seconds, despite a sick sounding engine.

1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher effortlessly passes Villeneuve for the lead.

"It started on lap 33," Michael said, "and I thought I was running on eight or nine cylinders. I guessed it was probably caused by the water, but I was worried. Normally I'm flat in sixth on the straight, but suddenly I wasn't even hitting the limiter in fifth."

In actual fact his engine was on nine cylinders for a time, but this cured itself and the main problem was a broken exhaust. Nevertheless, through the most appalling wet conditions Schumacher scored his first success for the Prancing Horse. A truly brilliant one, too. He all but drowned Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt on Moet on the podium.

"I wouldn't have bet a penny on myself winning this race," he said after the race. "In Brazil the car didn't handle and it hadn't felt good in the wet warm-up at Monaco. I've no explaination other than that it is very sensitive to the circuit. Here, we hadn't been competitive in the dry, but suddenly, in the wet warm-up, it felt great. We made a few more changes afterwards and it was perfect."

1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher and Ferrari would soon dominate F1.

It was, in truth, one of the great wet weather drives in history. The set-up and strategy may have been perfect, but this was as good a drive as Michael Schumacher had ever delivered. And that's saying something. The highest praise came from the opposition.

Renault's Bernard Dudot said with a smile "Today, Schumacher was brilliant and nobody could do anything to stop him. We had no engine problems!" And Williams senior operations engineer James Robinson added: "I don't think the Ferrari was that brilliant. It looked like it was on ice to me. That guy is something else. It was pretty amazing." 

Amazing was about the only way you could describe it.

1976 Italian Grand Prix - Monza

September 12, 1976

By 1976 Niki Lauda had established himself as the premiere driver of the day. Since joining Ferrari in 1974 it was the pairing of the Austrian with the Scuderia that had that unique chemistry which could dominate the sport.  Lauda did just that.  When he came to the team it was as the number two driver behind team leader Clay Regazzoni.  However, Lauda was quickly recognized as the pace setter. He scored his first two GP victories that season and duly went on to capture the driver's title the following year winning 5 Grands Prix and 9 pole positions. His dominance appeared set to continue in 1976, as he won 5 of the first 9 races.  Leading the driver's championship by 31 points over Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell), Lauda seemed set to cruise to his second consecutive driver's title.

1976 GP Season - Lauda dominated the early races

The next round in the championship, however, was the German Grand Prix at the fabled Nordschleife of the Nurburgring. Having been the first and only driver to lap the Nordschleife in less than 7 minutes the previous year, Lauda's confidence had to be high.

Wet conditions prevailed as the grid formed for the race and most drivers, including Lauda, who was starting second, chose to start the race on wet tyres.  At the drop of the green flag Regazzoni took the lead, followed by Hunt, Jochen Mass (McLaren) and Jacques Laffite (Ligier). Lauda made a poor getaway and dropped back.  By the end of the first lap the rain abated and dry conditions began to prevail. Most of the drivers, including Lauda, pitted for slick tyres. When he rejoined the race he was pushing hard, trying to make up for his poor start and bring himself back into contention. Just after the fast left kink before the Bergwerk right hand curve, his Ferrari 312T2 snapped to the right and spun through the fencing and into an earth embankment. The car immediately burst into flames and bounced back onto the circuit. Guy Edwards (Hesketh) managed to avoid the Ferrari, but Harald Ertl (Hesketh) and Brett Lunger (Surtees) both hit it. All three drivers stopped and tried to free Lauda, from the flaming wreckage. They were joined by Arturo Merzario who stopped his Wolf Williams after passing the crash.

Brave Heroes - Edwards, Ertl and Lunger save Lauda

Thankfully, they succeeded, but Lauda was very seriously injured. He had lost his helmet when the car overturned and suffered severe burns to his head, face, arms and hands. His lungs were also severely damaged from the effect of toxic gas inhaled while he was trapped in the car. He was rushed by helicopter to a special hospital where, for several days, he was under intensive care.  The situation appeared very grim.  So grim, in fact, that a priest even administered him his last rites. The crash was so horrific that while awaiting the restart of the race Chris Amon (Ensign) decided to end his career immediately and never raced a Grand Prix again. Death in Formula One was all too common in the 1970s, and few expected the Austrian to pull through.

Miraculously, not only did he pull through, he turned up at the Italian Grand Prix just six weeks later, his head swathed in bandages and ready to race. This surprised even the Ferrari team, and complicated things, since they had hired Carlos Reutemann to replace Lauda.  The Argentinian had even used his own money to buy out his contract with the Brabham team in order to race for the Scuderia. The team had no choice but to prepare a third entry for Niki. 


1976 Italian GP - Lauda, bloodied, but unbowed.

Lauda was still ahead in the World Championship.  However, during his absence Hunt had closed up to within 14 points. Honestly though, what could he truly accomplish? As physically damaged as he was from the crash, psychologically he must have been destroyed.  Surely he could never again attain the speed necessary to regain his status as the top driver.

Niki showed that he still had mettle in qualifying. Jacques Laffite took pole position in his Ligier, ahead of Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell), Carlos Pace (Brabham), Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell), and Lauda an admirable fifth.

At the start Scheckter grabbed the lead from Laffite at the chicane followed by Pace but the Brazilian soon fell prey to Depailler, Peterson, and Reutemann. Lauda started very slow and soon faded to 12th.  To the onlooker, the gruelling demands of the race was to much for Lauda, who must have still been reeling from his terrifying accident. Mass, Hunt and Watson were carving their way through the backmarkers. On the second lap, however, Mass was in the pits with a misfire.

At the front Scheckter maintained his lead ahead but Laffite dropped back to fourth on the third lap as Depailler and Peterson went past him. A lap later Peterson passed Depailler to move into second. Regazzoni was in hot pursuit and had overtaken Reutemann and on lap 11 passed Laffite as well to take sixth place.  On that same lap Peterson, who had closed the gap to Scheckter, moved ahead of the South African to take the lead. Hunt's rapid progress came to an end on lap 12 when he spun off.

The tyres on Scheckter's Tyrrell were deteriorating and he began to drop back, being passed first by Depailler on lap 14 and then Regazzoni on lap 23. Scheckter then battled Laffite, fifth, while Lauda followed them closely, intent on a finish.

With Scheckter's tyre woes growing worse, Laffite managed to get by the Tyrrell driver.  Lauda also found his way past soon after. Ahead of this battle Depailler hit engine trouble on lap 46 and dropped back to sixth. At the checkered flag Peterson scored a welcomed win for the March team, with Regazzoni second, Laffite third and Lauda an incredible fourth.

1976 Italian GP - The last ever F1 victory for March 

At the start of the weekend, It was simply amazing that Lauda was in the car and willing to compete. His determination and grit was even more remarkable considering that the fire had burnt off part of one ear and his tear duct mechanism was severely damaged which affected his vision during the race. The amount of pain he had to have endured to qualify fifth must have been unimaginable, but to have the fortitude to not only race, but to overcome it all and fight to a fourth place finish left me absolutely speechless. 

At Monza in 1976 Lauda defined what a true champion should be. He made no excuses, and hid behind nothing.  He simply came to Monza and with this performance showed his rivals that he was the defending World Champion. If they wanted to take the title away from him they would have to beat him on the track. At a moment when we were supposed to be pitying him, he came back, with the heart of a lion, to confirm his place as one of the very great champions in Formula One history.