Top five Formula 1 moments

Here are Autosport.com's top five moments from the F1 season...


Jenson Button's surprisingly early arrival in F1 had the cynics in full cry. "Too much, much too young," was their clarion call. It was tough to ignore them, after all, the 20-year-old had only 50-odd races under his belt. But to his credit, 'Jense' proved them all wrong. After a hesitant start in Melbourne, his impressive run to seventh in Brazil yielded a point when David Coulthard was disqualified. His confidence grew along with his stature, and six points scoring performances netted eighth in the world championship. Mistakes were few and far between - a new star was born.

When you've not won a race in 124 attempts, you'd be forgiven for thinking your first is unlikely if you qualify 18th. But this year's Hockenheim was an event where the script went out of the window, replaced by a Hollywood screenplay which culminated in Rubens Barrichello's first F1 win. The likeable Brazilian has always been a maestro when grip is at a premium - although he is often overshadowed in this department by his team-mate Michael Schumacher - and a combination of drizzle and Safety Cars played into his grateful hands. After the race, he was quick to dedicate it to the memory of Ayrton Senna. It was a drive the great man himself would have been proud of.

On-track rivalry which spills into off-track verbal handbags is as part-and-parcel of motor racing - just as team number twos trying to be a thorn in the side of rival number ones. The duel between eventual champion Michael Schumacher and McLaren's David Coulthard was as interesting to watch on the track as it was interesting to listen to them bitch about each other in the paddock. Coulthard was one of many to voice his dissatisfaction about the German's startline tactic of weaving across the grid, especially at the Spanish GP. But the French Grand Prix was where the pressure cooker exploded, as Schuey's forceful defence led the Scot to give the German the one-fingered 'bird'. The boot was on the other foot when Schumacher only just scraped past DC at Indianapolis. Finally, Coulthard does the decent thing and offers his apologies for what he had said, which Schuey accepted. Ahhh. Until next year, that is...

As pan-global gasps of amazement go, July 30 probably recorded a 12 on the Richter Scale of sharp intakes of breath. Followed, mainly, by the shout of: "What a nutter!" Hardly surprising as the world watched in amazement as a completely random character appeared from the woods and wandered along by the side of the track during the German Grand Prix. "I thought it was Santa Claus!" exclaimed Rubens Barrichello. No, it wasn't St Nicholas but a 47-year-old Frenchman with an axe to grind over his dismissal by Mercedes after 20 years in its employ. He was finally ushered to safety by marshals, but his protest had the desired effect - although he couldn't have known it at the time. The Safety Car appeared at just the wrong time for Mika Hakkinen, and allowed Barrichello to jump ahead and take victory. It's funny now, but the consequences of him being hit by a car travelling at 200mph doesn't bear thinking about.

When Mika Hakkinen passed Michael Schumacher at Spa it might not have been the greatest ever move of all time, as many said at the time, but it was pretty damn good. With five laps to, Hakkinen made his first attempt to pass after a great run through Eau Rouge. He picked up Schumacher's slipstream on the long run to Les Combes and jinked to the right. Immediately, the Ferrari did likewise and briefly brushed wheels with the McLaren at close on 200mph, forcing Hakkinen to hit the brakes and abort. "It was a very hectic and unpleasant moment," said the Finn. "Michael was holding the inside line and I tried to put the car half on the tarmac and half on the grass and it didn't quite work out." A shake of the Hakkinen fist showed his anger at Schumacher's rebuff. A lap later, Mika was on Michael's tail once more, but this time Ricardo Zonta's BAR was ahead of both of them. Zonta, aware of Schumacher's presence, drifted to the right to allow the Ferrari past on the left. Simultaneously, Hakkinen pulled out of Schumacher's slipstream and straight into Zonta's. That helped catapult him past both the BAR and the Ferrari, and the victory was his. It may not have been the move of all-time, but it was undoubtedly the finest of the season.