Classic Defensive drives in F1

Firstly this may need to be in the history section, but I wasn't quite sure.

Secondly can we not just argue over whether Hamilton is rubbish or not, or whether it was within the tight boundaries of FIA rules on defending, that may be for a different thread.


Right I was thinking while watching the Schumacher v Hamilton fight today, that it was probably the best defensive battle we have seen for a long time.

So I wanted to remember the previous great defensive races and battles we have seen in F1.

So even if you don't think this today was a great one or a fair one. Lets remember some of the previous ones.

The first one that springs to mind, is the Alonso v Schumacher race of 2005 in Imola.

I remember watching it and couldn't believe how fast Schumacher was after a poor start to the season, he was catching at 2 seconds a lap or something wasn't he and he tried all manner of ways to get by, but Alonso held on brilliantly.

That was only ruined by an ITV ad break.

Alonso vs MS Imola 2005 and the other way around in 2006.

Spanish Gp 2010, MSC help up button for what 40 laps?

Maybe not a classic but Bernoldi defended well against Coulthard in 2001 Monaco.

The classic battle between Senna and Mansell is always classed as an epic, but as it was at Monaco I think it was just a classic battle rather than defensive driving.

Mansell would probably not have passed Senna whatever happened.

Villeneuve v everyone @ Jarama (1981?)

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Originally Posted by ioan

Alonso vs MS Imola 2005 and the other way around in 2006.

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+1

Kimi defending against Fisi, Spa 2009.

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Originally Posted by aki13

The classic battle between Senna and Mansell is always classed as an epic, but as it was at Monaco I think it was just a classic battle rather than defensive driving.

Mansell would probably not have passed Senna whatever happened.

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I disagree. I think this was one of the best cases of defensive driving I've seen. Yes it was Monaco which perhaps made it easier for Senna to defend but Mansell had by far the faster car and fresh tyres. For me it was the perfect example of a driver, in this case Senna, placing his car fairly but defensively in order to maintain his position. No chops, no squeezing into walls, just superb positional sense, both of his own car and his opponent.

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Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1

I disagree. I think this was one of the best cases of defensive driving I've seen. Yes it was Monaco which perhaps made it easier for Senna to defend but Mansell had by far the faster car and fresh tyres. For me it was the perfect example of a driver, in this case Senna, placing his car fairly but defensively in order to maintain his position. No chops, no squeezing into walls, just superb positional sense, both of his own car and his opponent.

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Agreed completely. An amazing piece of driving and probably the best defensive drive that I've ever seen.

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Originally Posted by aki13

Firstly this may need to be in the history section, but I wasn't quite sure.

Secondly can we not just argue over whether Hamilton is rubbish or not, or whether it was within the tight boundaries of FIA rules on defending, that may be for a different thread.


Right I was thinking while watching the Schumacher v Hamilton fight today, that it was probably the best defensive battle we have seen for a long time.

So I wanted to remember the previous great defensive races and battles we have seen in F1.

So even if you don't think this today was a great one or a fair one. Lets remember some of the previous ones.

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I think that Schumacher's drive in Monza 2011 was fair, and indeed made for a great show for the fans. It was very clear that the Mercedes was set up for straight line speed, and the McLaren was more of an all round, and so top speed was thus sacrificed. As to whether JB had a different setup, or his tyres were just in better shape, remains an unknown.

I enjoyed it, Lewis was driving with his head today, and while he tried very hard to get by, the Shoe had him pegged at the correct points.

As to the debate about two moves etc - do we not think that this spoils it a little, let the drivers work it out for themselves. The only rule being no weaving.

The other strong defence this year was Seb against Lewis in Spain I think it was. That time around, the McLaren had the top speed, but the downforce on the Red Bull saw Seb pull away in the twisty bits.

All good stuff to watch.

If we are talking about classic defensive driving in the sense of needing to block much faster cars with some very rough lines on the limit of rules... then the first ones to come to my mind are Hungary '06 (Schumacher's defence), some of Senna's driving in 1993 against Prost (in UK I think it was, also against Schumacher). Also how did Schumacher manage to keep Hill behind himself for so long at wet Spa in '95 on slick tyres, has also been awesome to watch.

Hill-Schumacher, Suzuka 1998

interesting was also Schumacher and Hakkinen fight at Malaysian GP in 1999. Schumacher was driving slowly to help Eddie Irvine get safe advantage.

Petrov-Alonso, Abu Dhabi 2010
Kubica-Hamilton, Australia 2010
Kubica-Raikkonen, Japan 2008

Schumi on slicks holding up Hill on wets in Spa 1995.

Alonso beating Schumi to 2nd in Turkey 2006. A wide track where overtaking is possible and Alonso wasn't making questionable maneuvres.

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Originally Posted by ArrowsFA1

I disagree. I think this was one of the best cases of defensive driving I've seen. Yes it was Monaco which perhaps made it easier for Senna to defend but Mansell had by far the faster car and fresh tyres. For me it was the perfect example of a driver, in this case Senna, placing his car fairly but defensively in order to maintain his position. No chops, no squeezing into walls, just superb positional sense, both of his own car and his opponent.

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Yer no, I loved the battle, I just wondered whether if I put it down, people might not class it as a defensive drive. Glad to see I was wrong and it can be included. It was fantastic. :)

What was the race where Schumacher lost top gear but managed to maintain his position (I think he was probably leading leading)?

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Originally Posted by D-Type

What was the race where Schumacher lost top gear but managed to maintain his position (I think he was probably leading leading)?

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I remember a Spanish Grand Prix when he got stuck in fifth gear, yet still managed to keep his first place. Was it the one you were referring to?

Edit: it was the 1994 Spanish GP, and he came in second after Damon Hill.

British GP 1968 when Chris Amon was up to break his GP win virginity but came across an inspired Jo Siffert in a Lotus 49, who held him off for over half the race.

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Was Jarama 1981 the race where the BBC decided it was "cricket time" and left the nailbiter to show us the rain on the covers at Headingley? Or was that another race altogether?

The bad old days of Grandstand where the BBC had the majority of sports rights in the days pre Sky and ended up covering too much and pleasing nobody in the process.

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Originally Posted by D-Type

Was Jarama 1981 the race where the BBC decided it was "cricket time" and left the nailbiter to show us the rain on the covers at Headingley? Or was that another race altogether?

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I do remember something like that happening, although not sure whether it was Jarama. I also seem to remember the rare ITV World of Sport coverage being interspersed with other sports, although an old memory can play tricks!