Top 5 Favourite F1 Seasons
You may have noticed that I haven't really discussed Formula 1 much on this blog. I have mentioned where necessary but never done anything specific to it. The reason for that is there are people with far more knowledge, insider info and insight than I have, folks like Bring Back V10s, Aiden Millward and AutoSport could probably do a much better job than I could. But there was 1 area I could discuss, and that was my favourite seasons, not the best, but the ones I like most: close racing, crazy winners and point scorers and the genuinely unexpected, for a sport than can be incredibly predictable and dull, it also has the capability of being the exact opposite.
Drivers Champion: Keke Rosberg (Williams-Ford)
Runners Up:
Didier Peroni (Ferrari)
John Watson (McLaren Ford)
Alain Prost (Renault)
Niki Lauda (McLaren-Ford)
Constructors Champion: Ferrari
Runners Up: McLaren, Renault, Williams, Brabham
Favourite Race: Monaco GP
1982 will probably go down as the season that seemingly no one wanted to win. The season had drama on and off the track. Right from the beginning there was drama. A proposed new contract for the drivers would have resulted in them only racing for the teams they were contracted to, in protest, all the drivers (bar Teo Fabi) led by Peroni and Lauda went on strike in a Johannesburg hotel room, then at Imola, Bernie Ecclestone who led FOCA against Jean-Michelle Balestre of FISA tried to persuade as many teams as possible to back out of the race so it was a non-championship event. This had come about because the FOCA teams (who mostly ran the Cosworth DFV V8) felt the FISA teams (Ferrari, Renault (who both had turbo engines) and Alfa Romeo) had a big advantage, which came to a head in 1982 as the cars became easier to drive and more reliable. But the attempted boycott came about because Nelson Piquet's Brabham and Keke Rosberg's Williams had been disqualified for using "water cooled brakes", the cars had water tanks that sprayed it all out in the early stages of the race to try and regain the deficit from using the less powerful DFV. Needless to say, 14 cars started the race and Bernie's gamble failed.
The first two races went to Prost and his turbocharged Renault, but across the whole season 11 different drivers won a race, with only Didier Peroni, John Watson, Niki Lauda and Rene Arnoux being the other driver to win 2 races. Midway through, Brabham swapped from the venerable Cosowrth DFV V8 to their BMW turbo engine and managed to score a win with both, even Lotus and Tyrrell got wins at the end of the season, with Mario Andretti even scoring a podium and a pole position at the Italian GP in his last ever season.
Unfortunately, this was the season where Gilles Villeneuve lost his life in qualifying for the Belgium GP at Zolder. He'd been trying to best his teammate Peroni's pole time, and was also cross that Peroni been allowed to pass him back at the aforementioned San Marino GP. Villeneuve had a very short career including his memorable duel with Arnoux at the '79 French GP and was tipped to become a world champion in the near future but ultimately never got the glory he deserved. Peroni later in the season had a career ending injury at the German GP.
My favourite race of the season, surprising to fans of modern F1, was Monaco. Though bear in mind cars were shorter and narrower 44 years ago. The race started with Rene Arnoux on pole in his Renault, but by lap 74, teammate Prost was in the lead, when the rain came. He crashed into an armco barrier handing the lead to Riccardo Patrese' Brabham only for him to spin on some oil on the next lap and stall it, with Didier Peroni in the Ferrari now leading, only for him to grind to a halt on the last lap in the tunnel due to a battery issue, Andrea de Cesaris ran out of fuel moments later, Derek Daly's Williams gearbox seized up from accident damage, and in the midst of all this, Patrese had got his car going again and finally, took the win.
1982 is a season full of tragedy, political battles, and more race winners than you'll ever see again, it may have been one of the grimmest seasons but the action and racing was some of the best ever.
Drivers Champion: Alain Prost (Williams-Renault)
Runners Up:
Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford)
Damon Hill (Williams-Renault)
Michael Schumacher (Benetton-Ford)
Riccardo Patrese (Benetton-Ford)
Constructors Champion: Williams
Runners Up: McLaren, Benetton, Ferrari, Ligier
Favourite Race: European GP
Choosing between this and 1991 was a hard one. '91 you could argue was Senna at his peak, his best season that, if you want to get technical, was better than Mansell the following year. You also had Schumacher making his debut, Piquet starting his 200th GP and final win in Canada as well as the heroics of Stefano Modena in his Tyrrell-Honda at Monaco finishing 2nd. But I went with '93 because it surpassed expectations. You'd have thought that 1993 would be another Williams cakewalk considering they had virtually the same car and Alain Prost who was more consistent and methodical that Mansell and your right, to an extent. Williams got 15/16 poles and 10 wins, same as last year, McLaren also won 5 races, same as '92. But when you look beyond the headline figures, the season averted expectations.
Across the first 6 races, Senna (who was on a race by race contract) and Prost both won 3 races and 1 retirement, but Senna was ahead in the standings as he had 2 2nds to Prost's 2nd & 4th, it was only after that, Prost rocketed ahead with 4 straight wins followed by Damon Hill's maiden 3 wins and then Schumacher's 2nd win of his career. Senna did of course win the last 2 rounds, with him on 73 points to Prost's 99. Other important area's to note was that all of Schumacher's points were podium finishes, he did so well, he made teammate Riccardo Patrese look slow, so much that Flavio Briatore booted him out come seasons end.
Elsewhere in the midfield, you had Ferrari continuing to struggle, so much so Ligier with their Renault V10s (same as Williams) were ahead for a majority of the season because the Ferrari's were so unreliable. Struggling Lotus and newcomers Sauber were also ahead in the early part of the season and even soon to be perennial back marker Minardi were ahead, that's how dire things were at Ferrari.
Favourite race of the season might be a bit cliche in being the European GP at Donnington Park, but I stand by it. Senna's opening lap heroics going from 4th to 5th and then to 1st in one lap is incredible. Some have said that that's all the happened in the race and can't be one of the all time greats, but as someone who has watched the race in full with classic Murray Walker & James Hunt commentary I beg to differ. The race was plagued with drizzle, the track drying and then going wet again, drivers in and out of the pits, well except for Johnny Herbert, who pitted once and finished 4th for Lotus. The race was full of "what ifs?". What if Barichello's Jordan hadn't lost fuel pressure 6 laps from the end, he could have gotten both his and Jordan's first podium, what if Karl Wedlinger's Sauber hadn't been taken out by Michael Andretti on the opening lap? Maybe he could have could have got a podium too.
In the end 1993 is a season where you know who's going to win in the end, but there are still surprises along the way, so you end up pleasantly surprised.
Drivers Champion: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)
Runners Up:
Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan-Mugen Honda)
David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes)
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
Constructors Champion: Ferrari
Runners Up: McLaren, Jordan, Stewart, Williams
Favourite Race: European GP
If there's one thing I like in a season, it's unpredictability, the sense that you really don't know who will win come seasons end. 1999 was certainly the first season since 1986 that a team outside of Ferrari, Williams, McLaren & Benetton had a chance of winning the drivers title, that being the Jordan of Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for his teammate, '96 world champ Damon Hill. Hill retired at the end of the year as his heart wasn't in it anymore, he also didn't get along with the new grooved tyres that came in the previous year, nor did Jaques Villenueve, whose career nosedived after joining the new B.A.R team that had risen from the remnants of Tyrrell, and finished last in the standings with 0 points, behind Arrows who scored 1 point in round 1, and Minardi, though as someone who never cared for him that much I can't say I feel sorry for him.
The biggest 'what if?' of this season though was Michael Schumacher. After narrowly losing the titles 2 years running, 1999 was seen as his and Hakkinen's rematch year, and by the end of round 7 in France, Schumacher just 8 points behind, only for him to break his leg in his crash at Silverstone at the halfway point and was out until the second to last race. It's gutting knowing we didn't a full rematch, but the challenge offered by Irvine and Frentzen certainly didn't disappoint. 2000 would end up being their true rematch, with Schumacher coming out on top.
Speaking of Minardi that brings us to the European GP widely regarded as one of the legendary races in F1 history. And from the start, it was going to be an epic one. The first start was aborted, some suspected it was to catch out teams trying to jump the start, though it was more likely because Alessandro Zanardi and Marc Gene were in the wrong grid slots. By the first pit stop, Frentzen was comfortably in the lead, only for him to grind to a halt by the first corner, reason being Jordan had a secret anti-stall program and it had to be switched off after use or else it would fry the electrics, and both Hill at the start and Frentzen forgot. The race leader was then Giancarlo Fischella in the Benetton, then Ralf Schumacher in the Williams, meanwhile Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine were fighting through the field to get the scraps of points after Hakkinen had wrongly pitted for wets and Irvine had a 28 second pit stop as his pit crew weren't ready. Late in the race, Badoer's gearbox failed whilst running in 4th, he was so gutted he actually cried at the roadside (this would have been his only points in F1), through all the chaos Johnny Herbert in the Stewart took the win, Jarno Trulli came 2nd in a Prost, Marc Gene finished 6th for Minardi and Hakkinen fought back to 5th, Irvine was a pointless 7th. Ultimately, had things gone to plan, Frentzen would have been tied with Irvine and Hakkinen with 2 races left, and I dare say this was the most exciting we've ever had in F1 (period).
1999 is a season where ideally you had to be there at the time. But even so, it's a season full of action and just about every team get's a moment to shine, except B.A.R.
Drivers Champion: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
Runners Up:
Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams-BMW)
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
Ralf Schumacher (Williams-BMW)
Constructors Champion: Ferrari
Runners Up: Williams, McLaren, Renault, B.A.R
Favourite Race: Brazilian GP
Many consider 2002 to be one of the worst seasons because of how much Ferrari dominated that year 15/17 wins to be precise. Then 2003 was a complete switch around, this was Ferrari's toughest year since 2000. McLaren had tried to bring a radically designed new car, the MP4-18 but went with the 2002 car as the 18 was so unreliable, Williams also seemed to be offering a good challenge at last, despite having the best engine for 2 years and 7 poles in '02 all from Montoya, all due to (depending on who you listen to) poor reliability and a less than excellent chassis.
Throughout the season it was a three way fight between the defending Schumacher, the firey Montoya and the young Raikkonen. McLaren had a strong start, winning the first two races, before Ferrari fought back with Schumacher and Barrichello getting 3 wins and 3 3rds in a row, with Williams making big gains into the 2nd half despite a slow start. But it was at the second to last round at Indianapolis that settled the championship. Schumacher had more wins, but Raikkonen & Montoya were more consistent. Going into the US GP, Schumacher had 82, Kimi had 79 and Montoya had 75 points, with Williams leading the constructors. After qualifying, Kimi was on pole, Montoya 4th and Schumacher 7th. But the race was anything but straightforward, Montoya had to serve a drive-through penalty for causing Barrichello to go into a gravel trap and retire, that meant he finished 6th overall and was out of contention, Schumacher won, Raikkonen 2nd and that was that.
But the US GP is not my favourite race of the season as that goes to the Brazilian GP which was a wild, wet and crazy race indeed. The race was a wet one, as was qualifying with some drivers worried there would be crashes, and they were right. The first of three big collisions happened shortly into the race, Ralph Firman's Jordan's suspension failed and he collided into Olivier Panis' Toyota at 190 MPH! Elsewhere drivers were dodging others or spinning off in the slippery conditions, and by lap 33 there had been 4 safety cars. At the front it was Barichello, Coulthard and Raikkonen fighting for the lead, only for Barichello to retire for the 9th year in a row at his home race. Shortly afterwards, Mark Webber in the Jaguar lost control on the crest to the start/finish line and smashed into the concrete barriers at 150 MPH sending debris all across the track, and then Alonso (who was on the radio) struck a wheel and he crashed too. The race was red flagged at over 75% distance and Kimi Raikkonen was declared the winner, only for a few days later for it to transpire there was a timing error and Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan was actually in the lead, the trophy was handed over and Jordan got their last ever win.
After the predictable 2002, 2003 provides one last hurrah for Jordan, kicks starts Fernando Alonso's rise to success and the three way duel between Ferrari, McLaren and Williams-BMW we deserved.
Drivers Champion: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull-Renault)
Runners Up:
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikonnen (Lotus-Renault)
Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes)
Constructors Champion: Red Bull
Runners Up: Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus, Mercedes
Favourite Race: Spanish GP
2012 mirrors 2003 a lot more than you might realise. Both came in between 2 years of absolute domination (2011/2013 for Red Bull, and 2002/2004 for Ferrari), a back of the grid team got a win early on (Jordan in 2003 and Williams in 2012) and . This year also marked Jenson Button's final pole position, Michael Schumacher's final season and podium. The season kicked off with 7 different winners in the first 7 races: Button, Alonso, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado, Webber and Hamilton. Up to round 13/20 it looked like Alonso would finally get that elusive 3rd title, but fate is cruel, Vettel got 4 wins in a row and then Raikkonen got a win for Lotus and the McLaren duo won the last two races, Seb had 281 points to Alonso's 278. But there was more excitement down in the midfield, Mercedes got their first win since becoming Mercedes after buying out Brawn at the end of '09, that said, their old friends Sauber ran them very close. With Perez and Kamui Kobayashi both getting a fastest lap and a 3rd place each. This season also saw the debut of the ever likable Daniel Ricciardo who whilst not making much of a splash in his Toro Rosso would lay the foundations for his future seat at Red Bull once Webber left next year.
This brings us to the Spanish GP. Hamilton had set the fastest time in Qualifying but due to a technicality was forced to start from the back, promoting Pastor Maldonado's Williams to pole, and he won. Despite Fernando Alonso's best efforts, Maldonado delivered Williams first win in 8 years and scored his sole win in the sport, in a career dogged by crashes, smashes and spins, a win on pure merit in dry conditions is incredibly impressive, with Roman Grosjean setting fastest lap. His teammate Raikkonen had planned to have Alonso and Maldonado go beyond what their tyres could cope in the later stages and swoop into win, though his gamble failed. The funny thing is, if Alonso hadn't been held up by Charles Pic in the Marussia after his 2nd pit stop, he'd have likely beaten Maldonado and had 7 extra points, and won the title, but just like the 2010 finale, it was not to be, and what about Hamilton? He finished 8th.
Much like 2003, 2012 was far more exciting than the year before and after, with a total of 7 world champions on the grid and easily the most big names of any season, it's an exciting season from start to end.
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