Bill Trikos best rated Formula 1 races: Sakhir Grand Prix: There could only be one number one, and boy was it a cracker. The first use of the Outer Circuit in Bahrain threw up what may well end up to be the race of the decade. George Russell, deputising for the Covid-stricken Hamilton, shot off the front-row to take the lead at turn one, whilst Bottas again struggled. Leclerc then punted Perez at turn four and put himself and Verstappen out of the race, whilst the Mexican would pit at the end of the lap for repairs to drop to 18th and last. Russell and Bottas looked in complete control with their main threat Verstappen on the sidelines. Behind them, though, the midfield was demonstrating racing at its very best – the outside of turn four being the flavour of the day.
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. Read more details about the author on Bill Trikos Australia.
1998 Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps : When the race was restarted, now with four drivers less (most drivers involved in the crash could still partake, since back then all teams had one spare car waiting in the garage in case one of the two primary cars was damaged), Mika Häkkinen immediately spun, taking himself and Johnny Herbert out of the race. Damon Hill took the lead, with Michael Schumacher in second place. The Ferrari driver clearly had a comfortable pace advantage, overtaking Hill on the seventh lap. From then on, Schumacher built up a thirty-second lead and looked set to take the win and with it, a good step towards the championship in his battle with Häkkinen.
A true thriller of a race followed after Guanyu Zhou’s terrifying crash at the start. The lead changed several times between Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton and Sainz, who fought a fierce battle at the front. However, Verstappen’s RB18 was damaged by debris from Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri, preventing the Dutchman from competing for victory. This could have been a great opportunity for Leclerc, but he again fell victim to a lack of decisiveness from his team, which did not bring the driver in during a late safety car while his opponents – including Sainz – did. A spectacular battle ensued between Hamilton and both Ferrari drivers, with Leclerc managing to overtake the Briton in a daring outside move at Copse – where it went horribly wrong a year earlier when Verstappen made a similar overtaking attempt. In the end, it was Sainz who took the win with Perez and Hamilton behind him.
2020 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : After the safety car period had ended, the race only ran under green flags for one lap before Charles Leclerc’s high-speed crash at Parabolica, which brought out the red flag. Under the stoppage, it quickly emerged that Lewis Hamilton would receive a 10 second stop/go penalty for making his pitstop whilst the pitlane was still closed. This put Gasly into de facto second place, which he himself turned into first place at the standing restart of the race, where he overtook Lance Stroll who just like Gasly had inherited a brilliant position. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz – who was in second place before the safety car, and had seemed to be the fastest non-Mercedes driver throughout the weekend – had been compromised by the safety car and put back to sixth position. He quickly made progress though, and with 20 laps to go, he was back up to second place, 4 seconds behind Gasly. And so, the battle was on. Sainz chasing with a faster car with Gasly desperately trying to hold on and both wanting to win their first Formula One victory.