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Buckle up, because these races pushed Formula One to its absolute limits! Join us as we count down our picks for the most thrilling, dramatic, and unforgettable races in F1 history, taking into account stakes, chaos, skill, and overall entertainment value. Which of these legendary races do you wish you could've seen live? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00Surely one of the finest races of his life and the best Grand Prix of his spectacular career
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best F1 races ever
00:13Taking into account stakes, drama, chaos, skill, historical importance and overall entertainment value
00:21Listen to the roar for Sebastian Vettel, 20th up to 2nd
00:2910. 2008 British Grand Prix
00:32Lewis Hamilton's 2008 British Grand Prix was nothing short of a masterclass
00:37It was a rainy day and cars were spinning out of control, but not Hamilton's
00:46The British driver ended up winning the race on home soil by more than a minute
00:51That margin is extremely rare in modern F1
00:55He came here to Silverstone and he has shown them all with one of the great, great drives
01:00At Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix
01:04A fantastic performance, a mesmerizing drive
01:08Over 20 years earlier, the 1987 British Grand Prix also proved to be a classic
01:15As another British driver in Nigel Mansell broke the lap record multiple times
01:20On his way to overtaking Williams' teammate Nelson Piquet for an epic win
01:25But the 2008 edition earns the spot here
01:28As the level of skill and dominance was top tier
01:32Lewis Hamilton took himself to another level today
01:35He's now in a three-way tie for the World Championship lead
01:39The second half of this Formula One season is going to be spellbinding
01:449. 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
01:48This title-deciding race had chaos, controversy and drama
02:05Lewis Hamilton was seemingly in control
02:08Then, while on his penultimate lap
02:10The safety car was controversially deployed early
02:13Not only that, but only some lapped cars were allowed to unlap themselves
02:18After the faulty procedure, Max Verstappen found himself directly behind Hamilton
02:22On fresher, quicker tyres for the final lap
02:38Verstappen ended up winning the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
02:41And with it, the World Championship
02:44Hamilton and Mercedes felt they'd been robbed
02:46The 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was also a memorable race
02:51Being the first time four drivers entered the season finale
02:54With a chance to win the championship
02:56But we're going with the 2021 edition
02:59Because the race itself was more memorable
03:108. 1998 Belgian Grand Prix
03:13The rainy weather caused an almost immediate impact on this one
03:20David Coulthard lost control of his McLaren
03:23At the start of the first lap
03:24Leading to a massive pile-up involving 13 cars
03:28It all happened in the span of about 15 seconds
03:31It was unprecedented
03:33Fortunately, there were no serious injuries
03:35There was, however, a delay of over an hour
03:47Once things finally resumed with four of the 22 drivers
03:51Now retired from the race
03:52Multiple other crashes occurred on the wet track
03:55In the end, Damon Hill won the race
03:58But when all was said and done
04:00The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix
04:02Became remembered in F1 law
04:05For its unbelievably rocky start
04:07And Damon is delighted
04:09And so will Britain be
04:11After a quite incredible
04:13Truly magnificent
04:14Belgian Grand Prix
04:15Which saw Damon Hill
04:17Back at the top
04:197. 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
04:22Going from starting in 17th place on the grid
04:25To first place on the podium
04:27Is no small feat
04:29The Sao Paulo Grand Prix
04:31Is underway
04:32From the line
04:33Good reaction time
04:34For George Russell
04:35It had only been done twice
04:37Before Max Verstappen did it
04:39At the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
04:42He didn't just eke it out either
04:44The Red Bull driver
04:45Crossed the finish line
04:46A comfortable 19 seconds
04:48Ahead of the second place finisher
04:50The Dutchman has delivered
04:53A defining drive
04:55He climbs the hill
04:56Back to Grand Prix victory
04:59The incredible comeback performance
05:01Happened in difficult
05:02Wet conditions as well
05:04Making it that much more remarkable
05:06After one of the all-time great
05:08Racing performances
05:09He said
05:10In the rain
05:11It can work for you
05:12Or it can work against you
05:13Clearly
05:14It worked for him
05:15A defining win
05:17For the world championship
05:18That leaves him
05:19With a 62-point lead
05:20His first Grand Prix victory
05:22Since back in June
05:24And it was worth the wait
05:266. 1993 European Grand Prix
05:30This race delivered a legendary lap
05:33In F1 history
05:34Lauded as the lap of the gods
05:37Cross gets away well
05:38So does Pills
05:40So does Schumacher
05:44In the rain
05:45Racing icon
05:47Ayrton Senna
05:48Passed four cars
05:49On lap one
05:50Of the 1993
05:51European Grand Prix
05:53It was a breathtakingly
05:55Brilliant start
05:56To what ultimately ended
05:57In a victory for Senna
05:59So here is Ayrton Senna
06:00Across the line
06:02And it is victory
06:04For the Brazilian
06:05For the 38th time
06:07Four years later
06:08The European Grand Prix
06:10Gave us another all-time great race
06:12But for a very different reason
06:14As it ended in controversy
06:16After an intentional title-deciding collision
06:18Between Ferrari's Michael Schumacher
06:21And William's Jacques Villeneuve
06:23For this list though
06:24We're ultimately giving the nod
06:26To the 1993 European Grand Prix
06:29Because it featured that all-time historic lap
06:32And Senna took to the wetter part of the track
06:34To get past
06:35People going down this hill here
06:37On the first lap
06:38To the old hair thing
06:39Number 5
06:402005 Japanese Grand Prix
06:44Giancarlo Fisichella
06:45Had been leading for much of the race
06:47This will hand the lead back
06:48To Giancarlo Fisichella
06:49But then we will have a real run
06:51To the finish
06:52But on the final lap
06:53He was passed by Kimi Raikkonen
06:55Who started the race from 17th
06:58Leading up to that point
06:59Raikkonen had executed multiple phenomenal overtakes
07:03When he ultimately passed Fisichella
07:05On the final lap of the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix
07:09On his way to victory
07:10It was an absolutely thrilling moment
07:13And one of the most dramatic Grand Prix's
07:15In living memory comes to a close
07:17With Kimi Raikkonen
07:19The winner
07:21Absolutely sensational performance
07:23We also want to give a shout out
07:25To the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix
07:27As that too was an all-time classic
07:29Ending in dramatic fashion
07:31With James Hunt's third place finish
07:33In treacherous conditions
07:35Securing him the world championship
07:37By a margin of just one point
07:39But for our list
07:41The slightly more thrilling 2005 edition
07:44Edges it out
07:45That must be Raikkonen's finest moment
07:47In terms of a Grand Prix drive
07:49I mean that was just something else
07:514. 2019 German Grand Prix
07:55The German Grand Prix
07:57Dates back to 1926
07:59Becoming part of the Formula One
08:02World Championship in 1951
08:04Over the years
08:05It brought us plenty of historic moments
08:15That includes the 1957 German Grand Prix
08:19Which saw Juan Manuel Fangio
08:21Whose record 47% win percentage
08:24Stands to this day
08:26Clinch his fifth
08:27And final world championship
08:28In the 1968 edition
08:31Jackie Stewart delivered
08:32An extraordinary performance
08:34Winning by a margin of four minutes
08:36While racing with a broken wrist
08:38In horribly rainy and foggy conditions
08:40Stewart left his world-class rivals
08:43In his misty wake
08:44Later dubbed the Green Hell
08:47By the man himself
08:48This superhuman effort
08:50Was a mark of his character
08:52And class
08:53And he came home an astonishing
08:55Four minutes ahead of the chasing pack
08:59But the 2019 German Grand Prix
09:01Gets the spot on our list
09:03The rainy race featured
09:05Sebastian Vettel's amazing comeback
09:07From 20th to 2nd
09:08Daniel Kvyat's surprise third place finish
09:11And a shocking disappointment
09:13For Mercedes
09:13It was chaotic
09:15Unpredictable
09:16And extremely entertaining
09:263. 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
09:29It doesn't get much more dramatic
09:32And action-packed than this
09:40Amidst rainy conditions
09:41The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
09:44Had a record-breaking
09:45147 successful overtakes
09:48On top of that
09:49It was a championship-deciding race
09:51With Sebastian Vettel
09:52And Fernando Alonso
09:54Vying for the crown
09:55Sky F1's Martin Brundel
09:58Called the first 20 laps
09:59The most exciting
10:00He ever had the privilege
10:02To commentate on
10:03And Hamilton and Hülkenberg
10:04Come together
10:05Damage for Hamilton and Hülkenberg
10:08Ilion
10:08Vettel's Red Bull car
10:10Faced potentially race-ending damage
10:12And he found himself
10:13In last place
10:14But he was able to keep going
10:16And climb to 6th
10:17By lap 8
10:18That's where he ultimately finished
10:20It was just enough
10:22To secure the 2012 World Championship
10:24The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
10:26Delivered big time
10:28With high stakes
10:28Elite skill
10:29And exciting drama
10:342. 1971 Italian Grand Prix
10:37Many of the sporting events
10:40We consider the greatest
10:41In history
10:42Are the ones
10:42That were decided
10:43By the thinnest of margins
10:45When it comes to Formula 1
10:47Nothing beats the 1971
10:49Italian Grand Prix
10:50Peter Gethin edged out
10:52Ronnie Peterson
10:53By just 0.01 seconds
10:55It was unthinkably tight
10:57In fact
10:58The top 5
10:59Were separated
11:00By just 0.61 seconds
11:02Beyond being the closest finish
11:05In the history of F1
11:06The blistering speed of this race
11:08Was also next level stuff
11:10With an average speed
11:11Of 150.754 miles per hour
11:15The 1971 Italian Grand Prix
11:18Became the fastest ever
11:19Formula 1 race
11:20And it stayed that way
11:22For 32 years
11:23Yeah
11:24This race
11:25Was absolutely legendary
11:26Before we unveil our top pick
11:29Here's a few honorable mentions
11:312008 Brazilian Grand Prix
11:33Lewis Hamilton won his first title
11:36After an overtake
11:37On the final corner
11:461989 Japanese Grand Prix
11:48The climactic collision
11:50Between McLaren teammates
11:51And rivals
11:52Ayrton Senna
11:53And Alan Prost
11:54And he's going to go
11:55Out
11:56Oh my goodness
11:57This is fantastic
11:58This is what we were
12:00Fearing might happen
12:01During the race
12:021986 Australian Grand Prix
12:05A dramatic three-way title showdown
12:08With costly tyre failures
12:211979 French Grand Prix
12:23Featured an iconic wheel-to-wheel duel
12:26Between Gilles Villeneuve
12:27And René Arnaud
12:28And this is where Arnaud
12:30Lost second place
12:32He ran too wide
12:33Villeneuve goes through
12:34On the inside
12:35Hoards the position
12:372007 European Grand Prix
12:39Heavy rain
12:40Cars aquaplaning
12:42And a thrilling late race duel
12:44Between Alonso and Massa
12:46Six cars then
12:47Stranded down at turn one
12:49One of them
12:50Is world championship leader
12:52Lewis Hamilton
12:54Before we continue
12:55Be sure to check out
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13:0024-7
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13:06Number 1
13:072011 Canadian Grand Prix
13:09Lasting over four hours
13:11Including a red flag period
13:13The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix
13:16Broke the record
13:17For the longest F1 race ever
13:19And this looks like
13:20We're gearing up here
13:21Sebastian Vettel
13:22Can control the pace now
13:23The safety car's well out of the way
13:24So he dictates the pace
13:26From this point on
13:27It also had the most ever
13:28Safety car deployments
13:29In a single race
13:30As lengthy as it was
13:32It was a spectacle
13:33Like no other
13:34The torrential downpour
13:36Certainly contributed to that
13:38McLaren's Jenson Button
13:40Initially struggled mightily
13:42Getting in multiple collisions
13:43Puncturing a tyre
13:45Receiving a drive-thru penalty
13:46And at one point
13:48Finding himself in last place
13:49A drive-thru penalty
13:51For Jenson Button
13:52But with several laps to go
13:54He climbed to second
13:56And with the race fastest lap
13:58On the penultimate lap
13:59Button inched closer to first
14:01Then on the final lap
14:03He ultimately passed
14:04Sebastian Vettel
14:05And completed the astonishing
14:07Comeback victory
14:08It was truly breathtaking stuff
14:11He wins a brilliant race
14:13It's a sensational drive
14:15For Button
14:16What a victory
14:17Which of these F1 races
14:19Do you wish you could have seen live?
14:21Let us know
14:21In those comments below
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