Formula One is often referred to as a gladiatorial battle of engineering and talent, but for me it’s more an art than a battle, each driver bringing their own style to complete the final work that is the series we know as F1. With this, it is only fair that sometimes the arts align with the furious nature of battle creating races that embed themselves in the memories of us forever. For myself there are far too many races to choose from but there are four races that for one reason or another hold a place in my memory with no sign of leaving.
- 2020 Turkish GP
2020 as a whole will never be forgotten but through all the garbage and depression of pandemic life, but through it all we were still able to see cars on track even if it was from our homes and not the grandstand. The 2020 F1 season wasn’t an all-to exciting season in terms of a title fight but, we were able to watch greatness unfold in Turkey. Despite a poor qualifying performance for Hamilton by his standards, he was able to traverse the rain-soaked Istanbul Park and take the race lead with his nearest title challenger falling down the order. It was a close finish with Sergio Perez and the Ferrari’s right on Lewis’ rear, but not close enough as Lewis crossed the line to become a 7-time world champion.
2. 1994 Imola
The 1994 race at Imola is a race weekend that will be remembered as one that changed motorsport forever. The weekend was one of danger and sadness as it took the lives of two drivers and nearly took the life of a third. As someone who wasn’t even alive for this race, it still holds a place in my mind because it changed the sport forever and led to changes that have helped save hundreds of lives in the sport. Imola will always be tied to that fateful weekend in 1994, and the memories of Roland Ratzenberger and the great Ayrton Senna will never be forgotten either.
3. 2005 US GP
The 2005 US GP saw one of the most confusing and bizarre showings of an F1 “race” ever. Fans lined the grandstands of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway to watch the spectacle of F1 but that wasn’t exactly what they got. Due to the nature of the banking in the final turn of the track and rules put in place by the FIA that disallowed changing tires during races, all but six cars were forced to DNF citing safety reasons. Fans and drivers widely disgraced the race, and almost ruined the F1 market in the US forever. Despite the hilarious failure of this race, it is one that will never be forgotten even if the FIA wished it would be.
4. 2019 Monza
Last but certainly not least is the 2019 Italian GP. This race was all Ferrari fan’s dream weekend. The scarlet red Ferrari of Charles Leclerc would start on pole surrounded by not just the Mercedes’ but also the Tifosi that lined the stands and track. The race saw Leclerc fight off the onslaught from both Mercedes drivers, even forcing Hamilton to run wide. The race could not finish fast enough for us Ferrari fans as we watched the constant barrage from Mercedes get dangerously close for comfort to the Ferrari of Leclerc. As the Ferrari of Leclerc surged through the famous Parabolica, he would take the checkered flag to win the Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari racing driver to the delight of the tens of the over 100,000 Tifosi in attendance and the millions watching from home.
About The Author
Leave a Reply