The 2025 Method 1 season will finish with this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix through which three drivers stay in rivalry for the world title.
Lando Norris leads the way in which on 408 factors, 12 forward of Purple Bull world champion Max Verstappen and 16 in entrance of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri.
Though Norris heads into it because the favorite, previous cases have proven that actually something can occur at a season finale when the F1 crown is on the road.
From on-track clashes to unusual calls from race management, F1 has had its justifiable share of doubtful finales.
Listed here are the instances issues went dangerous, with some non-F1 misdemeanours too.
6. 1964 Mexican GP – Hill vs Bandini
Lorenzo Bandini leads Graham Hill on the 1964 Mexican GP
Picture by: Motorsport Pictures
The place: Mexico CityWho: Graham Hill and Lorenzo BandiniChampion: John Surtees
Given the shortage of footage, this one is difficult to name. However there’s little doubt {that a} conflict between one title contender and the team-mate of one other had an affect on the end result of the world championship.
Three drivers had been in rivalry for the 1964 crown on the Mexico Metropolis finale, BRM’s Graham Hill, Ferrari’s John Surtees and Lotus’s Jim Clark.
Injection issues hampered Surtees in apply and early within the race, whereas Clark streaked into the lead from pole. As soon as as much as temperature, Surtees’s V8 cleared and he started a cost.
He quickly caught the struggle for third between his team-mate Lorenzo Bandini and Hill. Finally, Bandini and Hill made contact, the BRM being knocked out of rivalry (although Hill would end eleventh).
Surtees later claimed he may see that one thing was going to occur given the ferocity of the battle, however who precisely was responsible stays a matter of debate.
Both method, Clark was nonetheless nicely out in entrance and heading for the title when an oil line broke.
Dan Gurney swept into the lead on the penultimate lap, then Bandini helped as soon as extra by shifting apart for his group chief. Surtees thus completed second to beat Hill to the crown by a single level.
5. 1989 Japanese GP – Prost vs Senna
Alain Prost, McLaren, Ayrton Senna, McLaren
Picture by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Pictures
The place: Suzuka Who: Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna Champion: Alain Prost
This wasn’t a final-round showdown – the Australian GP would observe two weeks later – but it surely was crucial for Ayrton Senna to beat Alain Prost to victory at Suzuka to stay within the title hunt on the Adelaide finale.
The 2 McLaren-Hondas dominated qualifying, with Senna outpacing his bitter rival Prost by a unprecedented 1.730 seconds to say pole place. Prost opted for a lower-downforce set-up for the race, and made the most effective begin, with Senna solely simply holding off the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger for second place.
Prost was 4 seconds in entrance when he made his pitstop. Senna was in two laps later, and his service took two seconds longer. Now got here the cost. By the tip of lap 40 the Brazilian was inside half a second of the Frenchman, however then Prost rallied and eked the hole out once more. Senna closed as soon as extra, and on lap 47 – with six to go – he made the transfer.
Prost’s decrease downforce gave him a straightline-speed benefit, so Senna’s solely real looking shot at passing was to be super-late on the brakes into the chicane. Down the within he went, just for Prost to shut the door – too late. The 2 McLarens got here to a halt in an undignified tangle, going through the escape highway. Prost, his automotive stalled, climbed out and stalked away. Senna beckoned for a push begin and continued on his method, however crucially this was by persevering with down the escape highway moderately than taking the chicane.
Senna pitted the next lap to switch a broken entrance wing, selling Alessandro Nannini to the lead, however he handed the Benetton on the chicane with two laps remaining to take the victory he wanted. Later, Senna was excluded for bypassing the chicane on lap 47. McLaren’s enchantment failed, and Prost was champion as he headed to Ferrari.
4. 1994 Australian GP – Schumacher vs Hill
The 1994 F1 season was already controversial, even earlier than Schumacher and Hill’s final-round conflict
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
The place: Adelaide Who: Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill Champion: Michael Schumacher
The 1994 season had already been mired in controversy and tragedy, from Senna’s loss of life within the San Marino GP to Michael Schumacher’s exclusion from the British GP and two-race ban. Following a shocking efficiency within the moist Japanese GP, Damon Hill had narrowed the hole to championship chief Schumacher to at least one level because the groups arrived in Adelaide for the ultimate spherical.
Following Senna’s loss of life, the Williams-Renault group had partnered Hill with F1 new boy David Coulthard and, on 4 events, its 1992 world champion Mansell. In Adelaide, it was Mansell who rose to the event by claiming pole place, pipping Schumacher’s Benetton-Ford by 0.018s, with Hill third.
Due to that one-point hole, the title was successfully going to be received by whomever of Schumacher and Hill completed forward. Mansell’s bootful of revs initially despatched his Williams slewing sideways, Schumacher and Hill each beat him away, and Mansell compounded his lurid getaway with an off-track second on the opening lap.
The race settled down, with Schumacher main and Hill in sizzling pursuit. By the 30-lap mark, the Benetton star’s benefit was oscillating round two seconds. However on the thirty sixth tour, Schumacher hit the wall on the East Terrace flip. He shortly continued on his method, and Hill tried to go the broken Benetton on the following nook.
Schumacher turned in on the Williams, launching himself up onto two wheels and into the obstacles, whereas Hill was pressured to retire within the pits with left-front suspension harm.
Schumacher was champion, whereas Mansell ended his Williams profession with victory after passing Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari.
3. 1997 European GP – Schumacher vs Villeneuve
The controversial collision between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve on the 1997 European GP. Schumacher was judged to have intentionally turned in on his rival Villeneuve, and subsequently was excluded from your complete championship in consequence
Picture by: Motorsport Pictures
The place: Jerez Who: Michael Schumacher vs Jacques Villeneuve Champion: Jacques Villeneuve
Identical to 1994, it was final-race controversy between Schumacher, now driving for Ferrari, and the lead Williams-Renault pilot, on this case Jacques Villeneuve.
The Williams was famend because the extra aggressive proposition, but some gorgeous performances from Schumacher and a few wobbles from Villeneuve meant the German was one level forward of the Canadian as they headed to Jerez. It was successfully a winner-takes-all decider.
The primary elevating of eyebrows got here in qualifying, the place in some way the main trio all recorded precisely the identical time to a thousandth of a second. By dint of setting the time first, Villeneuve claimed pole from Schumacher and the second Williams of Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Schumacher made a greater begin and took the lead from Villeneuve. They made two rounds of pitstops, and every time the Ferrari emerged nonetheless in entrance of the Williams.
On lap 48, simply previous two-thirds distance, Villeneuve launched an assault. He obtained down the within of Schumacher into the Dry Sack hairpin.
Figuring out that he couldn’t afford to lose to Villeneuve, Schumacher turned in, his front-right wheel hit Villeneuve’s left sidepod, and the Ferrari was launched into the gravel entice. Schumacher sat there spinning his rear wheels, attempting to achieve traction to rejoin, however had to surrender and climb out.
Villeneuve nonetheless wanted factors to say the title, and fortuitously for him the Williams’s harm was not extreme. He led till the ultimate lap, when he allowed the McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and Coulthard forward. It was the Finn’s first GP win, whereas third place for Villeneuve meant he was champion.
Schumacher, with suspicions nonetheless lingering over his actions in 1994, was excluded from your complete world championship.
Learn Additionally:
2. 2021 Abu Dhabi GP – Hamilton vs Verstappen (and race management)
The Security Automotive leads Sir Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521, and the remainder of the sector
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures
The place: Yas MarinaWho: Max Verstappen and Lewis HamiltonChampion: Max Verstappen
That is uncommon on this checklist as a result of it’s extra about how the race was run moderately than the driving of the 2 protagonists. The championship struggle had been brutal at instances in 2021 however in the long run was determined by selections in race management.
Verstappen and Hamilton arrived in Abu Dhabi tied on factors however the benefit was Verstappen’s due to the Purple Bull driver’s 9 wins to the Mercedes man’s eight. If neither scored, Verstappen could be champion, elevating some fears of a 1990-style conflict (see under), however that didn’t occur.
Hamilton jumped poleman Verstappen initially after which adroitly handled the Dutchman’s lunge at Flip 6, backing off sufficient to the stewards’ satisfaction after taking to the run-off. Regardless of wonderful efforts from Sergio Perez within the second Purple Bull to delay him throughout the pitstops, Hamilton seemed set to safe victory and title – 12s forward with six laps to go – when Nicholas Latifi crashed and introduced out the security automotive.
Purple Bull instantly (and accurately) pitted Verstappen to place him on to contemporary rubber, whereas Hamilton stayed out. If it had been some other race in world championship historical past, it will have both completed underneath yellows or restarted with the lapped vehicles between Hamilton, on previous arduous tyres, and Verstappen (on new softs). Some even recommended a pink flag would have been acceptable, arguing a single lap with all vehicles being given the prospect to alter rubber would have been fairer.
As an alternative, after initially being informed they wouldn’t be waved by, the vehicles in between the Mercedes and Purple Bull (and solely them) had been allowed by means of. After which the race restarted. Having a one-lap shootout was nice for leisure however, with the taking part in subject so closely skewed, there was solely going to be one winner.
A crash or a go was all Verstappen wanted and, when he made his transfer at Flip 5, Hamilton gave him room. The Mercedes counter-attacked however didn’t have the grip; Verstappen held agency to win race and title by 2.3s.
McLaren’s Lando Norris maybe summed it up finest: “It was for the TV after all. Whether or not or not it was truthful is lower than me to determine.”
The repercussions afterwards had been among the many most bitter the game has seen, the radio messages from Purple Bull and Mercedes to race director Michael Massi throughout the ultimate security automotive hardly doing the game any favours. Massi in the end misplaced his job, however Mercedes determined to not proceed its enchantment and the outcomes of a race run in contrast to some other within the 1000+ GPs of the world championship remained.
1. 1990 Japanese GP – Prost vs Senna
Begin motion, Alain Prost, Ferrari 641 leads Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/5B Honda
Picture by: Sutton Pictures
The place: Suzuka Who: Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost Champion: Ayrton Senna
As in 1989, the Suzuka drama was the penultimate spherical, however this time the boot was on the opposite foot. Prost, now at Ferrari, wanted to win to face any likelihood of defeating Senna and McLaren to the crown on the Adelaide finale.
As soon as once more Senna was on pole, with Prost alongside him. Senna, nonetheless smarting from Prost’s ‘skilled foul’ of 1989, argued that pole must be moved to the skin, on the racing line, however FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre – who Senna had wrongly accused of manipulating the stewards in his exclusion 12 months earlier – vetoed his request.
Positive sufficient, Prost obtained a greater launch than Senna, who was on the soiled, dusty inside line. Undeterred, Senna made what gave the impression to be a massively optimistic lunge down the within of the Ferrari on the first nook. His left-front made contact with the right-rear of Prost at excessive velocity, and the 2 vehicles careered into the gravel entice and out of the race.
“We had been each off and it was a shit finish of championship,” mentioned Senna a 12 months later, whereas admitting that his intention was to beat Prost into the primary flip, even when it precipitated a collision. “It was not good for me and never good for Method 1.” How proper he was.
As soon as once more a Senna/Prost controversy resulted in a Benetton victory, Nelson Piquet main Roberto Moreno to a 1-2, however solely after the second McLaren-Honda of Gerhard Berger spun off on lap two, and Nigel Mansell’s Ferrari succumbed to driveshaft failure.
The wrecked vehicles of Alain Prost, Ferrari 641 and Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4/5B Honda
Picture by: Motorsport Pictures
Outdoors F1
The (anti)-climax of the 1976 BP Method 3 Championship was an early instance of when title fights go improper.
Rupert Keegan had constructed a powerful benefit over the opening occasions, however Bruno Giacomelli was the shape man of the late season. The Italian wanted to win the ultimate spherical at Thruxton to overtake Keegan, and set a blistering time in qualifying to place his March on pole place.
Keegan’s Chevron was on the skin of the three-car entrance row, with the 2 contenders sandwiching European championship runner-up Conny Andersson’s March. As they accelerated away to Allard, Keegan swung throughout to say the within line, Andersson backed out, however Giacomelli held agency. Each vehicles had been eradicated within the inevitable collision, and Keegan was champion.
The 1982 RAC Method Ford 1600 Championship led to equally unsatisfactory trend. Julian Bailey, who had already received the Townsend Thoresen title in his Lola, solely wanted to complete second within the finale at Snetterton so as to add the RAC crown.
His fundamental rival was works Van Diemen driver Mauricio Gugelmin, and the Brazilian punted off the Briton and went on to win the race. Bailey’s group protested, however the observer on the adjoining marshals’ submit had wandered off on the time of the incident and, with inadequate proof, no motion was taken towards Gugelmin, who was due to this fact champion.
The 1996 Method 3000 showdown at Hockenheim was determined after the race. Kenny Brack was three factors behind Jorg Muller, so wanted to beat the German on his dwelling turf. The Swede was main the race when Muller tried to go into the third chicane.
Brack squeezed Muller, the 2 collided, and Muller was launched over Brack’s automotive and out of the race. Brack continued, ignoring black flags and being stripped of his ‘victory’. And by the way in which, Muller’s group boss was a sure Helmut Marko…
Steve Soper clashes with John Cleland
Picture by: Motorsport Pictures
Over on the earth of tin-tops, the 1992 British Touring Automotive Championship decider at Silverstone got here right down to a struggle between Tim Harvey in his Vic Lee-run BMW and Vauxhall star John Cleland, with the late Will Hoy in with an outdoor shot together with his Toyota.
Harvey had Steve Soper as his team-mate and, on the penultimate lap, Soper allowed Harvey previous of their three-car battle for fourth place. Cleland then noticed a chink of sunshine inside Soper at Brooklands, and squeezed down the within, however contact was made with the uncompromising Soper, launching the Vauxhall onto two wheels as Cleland made the go.
Into Luffield, Soper took to the grass and harpooned Cleland, placing each out of the race. Fourth place for Harvey meant he was champion, as Andy Rouse took the chequered flag in his Toyota.
PLUS: The important thing gamers on the controversial 1992 BTCC decider
The feeling of the 1999 German Tremendous Touring struggle on the Nurburgring finale got here on the final lap. It was a battle between the Abt Audi of Christian Abt and the Holzer-run Opel of Uwe Alzen.
Into the ultimate tour, Abt led Alzen and was trying good for the crown, whereas Alzen was being shadowed by the rear-gunning sister Opel of Roland Asch, who had ignored a black flag for an earlier misdemeanour.
The trio had been following the second Abt Audi of Kris Nissen, who had been delayed earlier within the race and was near going a lap down. Into the chicane for the ultimate time, Nissen let Abt by means of however closed the door on Alzen, the collision severely damaging the Opel’s suspension.
Asch took to the grass in avoidance, after which rammed Abt off the highway and into the gravel on the ultimate flip. By some means, Alzen obtained throughout the road and was champion. However Asch’s unsporting behaviour led to a choice to back-date the outcome by eliminating the ultimate lap, and it was Abt who was finally topped.
9 years earlier, a sure teenager named Michael Schumacher had been drafted into the Mercedes line-up for the DTM finale at Hockenheim. He turned proper throughout the grass into the opening flip and smashed into BMW’s main title contender Johnny Cecotto, and it was Audi veteran Hans Caught who claimed the crown.
Sebastien Buemi and Lucas di Grassi conflict on the 2015-2016 London ePrix
Over on the earth of electrical motorsport, the Method E decider at Battersea Park in the summertime of 2016 gave the impression to be over too quickly… besides it wasn’t.
A late run of kind had taken Lucas di Grassi into title rivalry, and the Abt-run Audi (does that sound acquainted?) driver was stage on factors with e.dams Renault ace Sebastien Buemi going into the ultimate race. If neither scored, di Grassi would take the title on a countback.
The Brazilian clattered into the Swiss at Flip 3 on the opening lap, and each gave the impression to be out of rivalry.
Certainly, Buemi took half the race to rejoin, earlier than setting quickest lap and claiming the factors he required to inch again forward of di Grassi within the standings and be topped champion.
Sebastian Buemi and the e.dams Renault group
Picture by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Pictures
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