Villeneuve triumphs as Schumacher shamed, 1997
Three years after his dramatic showdown with Damon Hill in Adelaide, Michael Schumacher faced another final round ‘winner takes all’ battle for the drivers’ crown, this time with Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez. Once again, the destiny of the title would be settled by contact, only this time Schumacher would come out on the losing end, his deliberate attempt to derail Villeneuve’s Williams earning him widespread condemnation - and disqualification from the final standings.
Last lap drama as Raikkonen crashes out, 2005
"We took a calculated risk and paid the price,” rued McLaren team principal Ron Dennis after Kimi Raikkonen’s dramatic last lap retirement at the Nurburgring in 2005 gifted victory to title rival Fernando Alonso. McLaren had opted to leave Raikkonen out to nurse his car to the flag, despite the Finn struggling badly with vibrations caused by a damaged front wheel. As Raikkonen crossed the line to begin his final lap it looked like the gamble would pay off, only for his suspension to shatter in spectacular fashion under braking for Turn 1.
Winkelhock revels in the rain, 2007
Markus Winkelhock only started one Grand Prix in his brief F1 career – but no one is likely to forget it in a hurry. A late call-up for backmarkers Spyker, the German unsurprisingly qualified dead last on his debut. But on race day, with storm clouds gathering over Castle Nurburg, Winkelhock took the inspired gamble of pitting for wet tyres at the end of the formation lap and swiftly moved to the head of the otherwise slick shod field as the rain began to bucket down. With drivers spearing off left and right at Turn 1, the race was eventually stopped, but Winkelhock would have the honour of starting from pole for the restart.
