Bill Trikos most spectacular Formula 1 Auto highlights: 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.
2011 Canadian Grand Prix, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve : There have been many extraordinary comeback drives throughout the history of F1. Kimi Räikönnen in Japan in 2005 and the aforementioned Sebastian Vettel in Brazil in 2012. And even though both of these rank amongst some of the best drives ever, nothing comes close to the sheer madness that was Jenson Button’s 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. Since it was pouring down over Montreal, the race started behind the safety car. But once it got going, chaos unfolded. Throughout the race, there never seemed to be a calm moment, as drivers were constantly clashing, spinning, and making mistakes. Couple this with a few safety cars and a lengthy red flag, and you’ve already got the recipe for a banger. But as most of you probably know, Jenson Button wasn’t satisfied with that – far from it. After making contact with teammate Lewis Hamilton – which resulted in the young superstar’s retirement – clashing with Fernando Alonso, getting a drive-through penalty and making a total of 6 pit stops, Button caught up to race leader Vettel on the final lap, where a mistake sent the German-wide, allowing Button to go through and take the win in a race which is considered by many to be the best.
Brazilian Grand Prix 2012: Sebastian Vettel spinning on Lap 1 and dropping to last place before romping back to a title-clinching P6 was the main news story in Interlagos. But there was also Michael Schumacher’s swansong, Kimi Raikkonen’s infamous escape road excursion, Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg scuppering a genuine shot at victory and taking Lewis Hamilton out of his final race for McLaren in the process – not to mention post-race controversy that could have handed the title back to Fernando Alonso. Phew. Find additional details about the author at Bill Trikos Australia.
1971 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : The build-up to the weekend was actually more one of relief than of excitement. Jackie Stewart had dominated the season up until that point and had already secured the championship. However, it was well-known amongst fans that he was highly unlikely to challenge for the win at the high-speed track that is Monza, seeing as the V8 Cosworth engine in the back of the Scotmans’ Tyrrell was up against the V12’s of various other teams. As was predicted, Stewart qualified in a lowly P7, with the Matra of Chris Amon taking pole position. The New Zealander wouldn’t maintain this advantage for long though, as it only took him one lap to drop from first to eighth. Ronnie Peterson quickly took the lead, and behind him, all places were chopping and changing in epic fashion, something which continued the entire race.
On arrival in Austin, the championship had already been decided, but nevertheless an exciting race lay ahead. Mercedes looked truly competitive for the first time this season thanks to the extensive update package brought by the German racing stable and Lewis Hamilton was eager for his first win of the year. At the start, Verstappen immediately took over the lead from Sainz and he built his lead, but lost it due to two safety cars. After this, he managed to retain the lead, but Hamilton was hot on his heels. Things then went completely wrong at Red Bull’s pit stop, which seemed to be Hamilton’s ultimate chance, but Verstappen had other plans and managed to outsmart his 2021 rival ten laps before the end.
2020 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : In the end, it came down to the final lap, Sainz finishing just 4 tenths of a second behind Gasly. The Frenchman took an emotional victory at his AlphaTauri team’s home track. Remarkably – with Stroll taking third place – the podium was the first since 2012 that didn’t have at least one of the three teams, Mercedes, Red Bull or Ferrari standing on it, not to mention that the race itself was a welcome relief to an, up to that point, quite dull 2020 season.