Backmarkers can clearly change the course of a race in several ways, including causing safety car periods at crucial times and inadvertently (or otherwise!) creating overtaking opportunities for the leaders. But for this list, we\u2019ve looked at the times that contact between frontrunner and backmarker has changed a race\u2019s outcome.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s probably fair to say the ranking itself shouldn\u2019t be taken too seriously \u2013 just how do you rate how \u2018great\u2019 (or otherwise) a backmarker clash is? We\u2019ve loosely ranked them on drama and significance.<\/p>\n
Oh, and a dishonourable mention to Andrea de Cesaris for taking out Scuderia Italia Dallara team-mate Alex Caffi when the latter was on his way to at least fifth in the 1989 United States GP!<\/p>\n
10. 2006 Hungarian GP – Kimi Raikkonen and Vitantonio Liuzzi
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Raikkonen retiring paved the way for Button’s maiden win<\/p>\n
Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The rain-hit and dramatic 2006 Hungarian GP is largely remembered as the race in which\u00a0Jenson Button<\/a> finally ended his F1 duck, but it was Raikkonen\u2019s McLaren<\/a> that led the early stages.<\/p>\n PLUS: Jenson Button’s greatest F1 races<\/a><\/p>\n While Button and Fernando Alonso<\/a> made their way up from lowly grid positions, Raikkonen took command from pole. Michelin tyres were the things to have and Raikkonen was nearly 7s ahead \u2013 albeit with Alonso chipping away at the gap \u2013 when the Finn pitted on lap 17 of 70.<\/p>\n Raikkonen rejoined second but struggled with understeer on his second set of tyres and couldn\u2019t match Alonso\u2019s pace. He also had team-mate Pedro de la Rosa<\/a> closing when he came up to lap\u00a0Liuzzi\u2019s Toro Rosso on lap 26.<\/p>\n Coming out of Turn 5, Raikkonen misjudged his closing speed as Liuzzi backed off to allow him by, Kimi perhaps looking for de la Rosa in his mirrors, and smashed into the back of the Italian. The impact took both out of the race and brought out the safety car.<\/p>\n Verdict: A bizarre blot on an otherwise impressive season from Raikkonen.\u00a0<\/p>\n 9. 1966 United States GP – John Surtees and Peter Arundell Surtees continued but lost three laps after the incident<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n The penultimate round of 1966 at Watkins Glen is best-known for Jim Clark\u2019s victory in the usually unreliable BRM H16-powered Lotus 43, but it probably should have been the scene of a success for Surtees in his Cooper-Maserati.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n Surtees qualified fourth, two spots behind Clark, and was running a close third to recently crowned champion Jack Brabham and Ferrari<\/a>\u2019s Lorenzo Bandini when they came up to lap Arundell\u2019s 14th-placed Lotus.<\/p>\n Brabham and Bandini made it through but Arundell stayed ahead of Surtees. As they approached the left-hander near the pits, \u201csomehow or other, Arundell swerved into the centre of the road, and the cars touched,\u201d according to Autosport\u2019s report. Oil was a possible cause.<\/p>\n Both went off onto the grass and made their way to the pits, whereupon a furious Surtees decided to \u2018have a word\u2019 with Arundell. That was probably unwise for he lost nearly three laps before returning to the race.<\/p>\n Surtees then became the fastest on-track for the remainder and set a lap record as he put on a recovery charge. Brabham and Bandini both retired with engine problems and Surtees eventually finished third, just a lap behind Clark, while Arundell took seventh.<\/p>\n Autosport reckoned that \u201cit is quite likely that Surtees would have scored a victory had he not been involved early on in an incident with Arundell and lost three laps\u201d.<\/p>\n Verdict: We\u2019ve not found footage, but it\u2019s a shame Surtees didn\u2019t save his rant until after the race!<\/p>\n 8. 1982 German GP – Nelson Piquet and Eliseo Salazar Piquet was left furious<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n Reigning champion Piquet had to put up with a lot of unreliability as BMW developed its turbocharged F1 engine for Brabham. He rarely finished in 1982 and the effort wouldn\u2019t really pay dividends until the following year, but he did lead several races.<\/p>\n One of those was the German GP at Hockenheim. Piquet qualified fourth, which became third following Didier Pironi\u2019s career-ending crash in practice, and took the lead on lap two. The Brabham had started the race light on fuel, the team planning a then unorthodox mid-race fuel stop, and after 18 of the 45 laps Piquet was 26.1s ahead of Patrick Tambay\u2019s Ferrari.<\/p>\n Approaching the new Ostkurve chicane, Piquet swept by the ATS of Eliseo Salazar, which was well over to the left, apparently out of the way. But Salazar didn\u2019t back off enough when Piquet turned into the tight left-right chicane, came in too quickly and clouted the Brabham\u2019s left-rear wheel, taking both out of the race.<\/p>\n Piquet then attacked Salazar, underlining he was a better driver than a kickboxer. It subsequently transpired that the BMW wouldn\u2019t have made the end of the race so Tambay\u2019s poignant victory for Ferrari would still have happened.<\/p>\n Verdict: Salazar surely knew the Brabham was there and Piquet was ahead so it\u2019s a poor error from the backmarker.<\/p>\n 7. 1990 Brazilian GP – Ayrton Senna and Satoru Nakajima Senna’s wait for a home win continued<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n Despite having taken three Brazilian GP poles before, Senna arrived for his home race in 1990 still without a win there. The race had moved from Rio to Interlagos, in Sao Paulo, where Senna was born.<\/p>\n McLaren-Honda set the pace, with Senna taking pole by 0.6s from team-mate Gerhard Berger<\/a>. Senna led from the off and was 12.6s ahead of Alain Prost\u2019s Ferrari after 39 of the 71 laps. Then he came up to lap the Tyrrell of Nakajima.<\/p>\n What happened next could perhaps be best described as a misunderstanding. Senna didn\u2019t need to hurry, though perhaps he thought Nakajima was leaving the door open at the Bico do Pato right-hander. But the Tyrrell turned in and Senna couldn\u2019t prevent his nose getting tagged.<\/p>\n Senna shot into the pits for a new nosecone and rejoined. But Prost was long gone and took his sixth Brazilian GP win, while Senna finished third. Senna would have to wait one more year for an emotional first home victory.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n For the record, Nakajima continued to finish eighth, one spot behind team-mate Jean Alesi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Verdict: Nakajima should have been more aware, but Senna had time to be more circumspect and was never even remotely alongside.<\/p>\n 6. 1977 Canadian GP – James Hunt and Jochen Mass The clash between the McLaren duo came just as Hunt took the lead from Lotus’ Andretti<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n This could have been one of Hunt\u2019s greatest drives. On a damp-but-drying Mosport track the reigning world champion\u2019s McLaren M26 relentlessly chased Mario Andretti\u2019s ground effect Lotus 78, which had taken pole in the dry by more than half a second.<\/p>\n Hunt snatched the lead at three-quarters distance, just as the duo came up to lap third-placed Mass\u2019s McLaren. The team-mates contrived to trip over each other, Mass spinning into Hunt, who was going around the outside. A furious Hunt hit the wall and was out of the race \u2013 he then punched a marshal before calming down and chatting to the guy! \u2013 and Mass fell to sixth.<\/p>\n Leader Andretti would suffer engine failure just three laps from the end, leaving Jody Scheckter to win for Wolf. Mass ended up third, but it could have been a McLaren 1-2.<\/p>\n Verdict: An outstretched arm suggests Mass was trying to help Hunt in the battle with Andretti, but he lost control and left his colleague nowhere to go.<\/p>\n 5. 1989 Australian GP – Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle The second of three times that Senna appears on this list<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n F1 was in the middle of intense controversy when it arrived in Adelaide for the 1989 finale. McLaren had just lost its appeal against Senna\u2019s exclusion from the preceding Japanese GP following his clash with team-mate Prost, which had secured the Frenchman the world title, and legal wranglings were ongoing.<\/p>\n Senna took pole ahead of Prost, but conditions on race day were appalling, rain putting the race in doubt. Prost made the best start but was easily bullied out of the lead by Senna into the first corner; he had no intention of continuing and pulled in at the end of the opening lap, arguing conditions were too dangerous.<\/p>\n Senna, who would later be one of many to agree with Prost\u2019s assessment, pressed on. Afterall, if he won, the title would be decided in the courts. He was 20.9s clear of second-placed Thierry Boutsen after just 13 laps.<\/p>\n But on lap 14 Senna headed into a ball of spray down the back straight,\u00a0Piquet having moved his Lotus to the right, and ploughed into the back of Martin Brundle\u2019s Brabham. The impact ripped the front-left wheel off the McLaren, as well as the Brabham\u2019s rear wing, and Senna toured into the pits to retire. It meant the title was now definitely Prost\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t see a thing until I hit him,\u201d said Senna. \u201cIn fact, I felt the impact before I saw the Brabham.\u201d<\/p>\n Boutsen went on to win a race in which only eight of the 26 starters were classified, many of the drivers having spun off or crashed.<\/p>\n Verdict: Accident proved that Prost was right to withdraw from the race.<\/p>\n 4. 2018 Brazilian GP – Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon Verstappen pushed Ocon in parc ferme for the clash<\/p>\n Photo by: Sutton Images<\/p>\n Verstappen and Ocon weren\u2019t exactly the best of buddies after their battles in the 2014 European F3 championship, which Ocon won, setting the scene for an unusual clash in the modern era.<\/p>\n Verstappen had only qualified fifth at Interlagos but the Red Bull RB14 had good pace on race day and came through to the front. It became a battle for victory between Verstappen and recently crowned world champion Lewis Hamilton<\/a> of Mercedes<\/a>.<\/p>\n The race looked to be going the Dutchman\u2019s way. He pitted later than Hamilton and easily got past the Mercedes after his tyre stop. After 43 of the 71 laps Verstappen was 2.8s ahead and edging away on his soft-compound tyres.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ocon\u2019s Force India had started 18th thanks to a penalty for a change of gearbox and had struggled to get into the points. He pitted on lap 40 and dropped a lap behind but, on fresh supersoft rubber, had good pace: Ocon closed on Verstappen.<\/p>\n Heading into the Senna Esses, Ocon got alongside Verstappen to unlap himself. Verstappen had no intention of letting the Force India go and simply turned into the right-hand part of the sequence as normal. Ocon failed to yield and the two made contact, Verstappen being spun around; Hamilton went by before he could recover.<\/p>\n Both cars continued and Verstappen closed on Hamilton but was 1.5s short at flagfall, while Ocon was handed a 10s stop\/go penalty for the clash and finished 14th. A furious Verstappen found Ocon after the race and was given two days of community service for the physical altercation that followed.<\/p>\n Verdict: This one split the Autosport office. Ocon was certainly being obtuse, but Verstappen should have seen the bigger picture \u2013 he was the one leading the race.<\/p>\n 3. 2001 Brazilian GP – Juan Pablo Montoya and Jos Verstappen The role of a Verstappen was in reverse, 17 years prior to Brazil 2018<\/p>\n Photo by: Sutton Images<\/p>\n Indycar star Montoya burst onto the F1 scene with Williams<\/a> in 2001 and took the fight to benchmark Michael Schumacher<\/a> as early as his third GP. Montoya started fourth at Interlagos and leapt to second as Mika Hakkinen<\/a>\u2019s McLaren stalled alongside him, triggering a safety car.<\/p>\n Despite running more fuel, Montoya divebombed leader Schumacher\u2019s Ferrari at the restart, robustly forcing the German wide. As well as being a signal of intent, it set up Montoya for a potential victory.<\/p>\n Schumacher stayed close but peeled into the pits first and Montoya had still not come in as he started lap 39 a healthy 5.7s ahead of David Coulthard<\/a>\u2019s McLaren.<\/p>\n Coming out of the fast Curva do Sol, the Arrows of Jos Verstappen moved to the left to allow the leader through on the racing line. Verstappen then moved into Montoya\u2019s slipstream and all seemed well. But when Montoya hit the brakes for Turn 4 at Descida do Lago, the Arrows smashed into the back of the Williams and removed both from the race. Verstappen had, reckoned Autosport, \u201cspoilt the party\u201d.<\/p>\n No one can be entirely sure how Montoya would have got on in the later rain shower during which Coulthard defeated Schumacher to win, but Verstappen\u2019s error ensured no fairytale victory for the Colombian.<\/p>\n Montoya would have to wait another five months for his first GP success, though he had \u201claid down the biggest, brightest mother of a marker imaginable,\u201d according to our report.<\/p>\n PLUS: Montoya’s magic moments<\/a><\/p>\n Verdict: Verstappen Sr has to take the blame on this one \u2013 and, to be fair, he apologised to Montoya at the time.<\/p>\n 2. 1988 Italian GP – Ayrton Senna and Jean-Louis Schlesser McLaren won every race with its MP4\/4 bar Monza<\/p>\n Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n One of the most famous backmarker clashes, this takes a high spot partly because it denied McLaren the chance to win all 16 rounds of the 1988 F1 world championship. In some quarters, Schlesser has become the villain of the piece, but that doesn\u2019t entirely stand up to scrutiny.<\/p>\n Firstly, Schlesser \u2013 filling in at Williams for an unwell Nigel Mansell \u2013 wasn\u2019t some hopeless random. He was in the middle of fighting Brundle for the world sportscar title with Sauber-Mercedes and would go on to win the crown twice.<\/p>\n Secondly, Senna was in more of a hurry than usual thanks to the close presence of the chasing Ferraris. Team-mate Prost had earlier felt a problem developing in his MP4\/4 and turned up the boost before retiring, forcing Senna to run quicker and making his fuel use marginal. With two laps to go, Senna was 4.9s ahead of Berger.<\/p>\n As Senna tried to lap 11th-placed Williams for the second time, Schlesser locked up and went wide into the first Monza chicane, then a left-right. Senna went to the inside and Schlesser put two wheels onto the dirt to give the McLaren room.<\/p>\n But Senna swung right for the right-hander and Schlesser\u2019s front-left struck the McLaren\u2019s right-rear, spinning the leader around and putting him out of the race. Ferrari took a famous 1-2.<\/p>\n Nowadays, the gravel around the chicane would likely be asphalt run-off and Schlesser might have been inclined to get off the track completely. But driving off the circuit wasn\u2019t a general strategy back then and it was unlikely the Williams was simply going to vanish.<\/p>\n Verdict: Could have been avoided if Senna had given the Williams a few more inches, even if it was Schlesser\u2019s lock-up that triggered the sequence.<\/p>\n 1. 1998 Belgian GP – Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard Michael Schumacher’s crash led to a famous 1-2 for Jordan, where a Schumacher still appeared on the podium<\/p>\n Photo by: Getty Images<\/p>\n The 1998 Belgian GP at a wet Spa has to be one of the most dramatic races in F1 history, starting with a multi-car crash triggered by Coulthard and ending with a famous 1-2 for Jordan, led by Damon Hill<\/a>. And in-between was this controversial clash.<\/p>\n Read Also:<\/p>\n Following a long delay to clear up all the mess, Hill grabbed the lead at the start. He and Schumacher\u2019s Ferrari pulled away, with the German taking the lead on lap eight of 44. Schumacher then streaked clear and looked set for another famous wet-weather win; he was 37.2s ahead after 24 laps.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Coulthard was struggling, off the pace and running outside the points after a lap-one off. Ferrari team boss Jean Todt had already been over to McLaren to have a word when Schumacher, who\u2019d also had a close shave lapping Pedro Diniz<\/a>, came up to lap Coulthard.<\/p>\n On the straight between Rivage and Pouhon, DC accelerated slower than usual to allow the Ferrari past. Schumacher was caught by surprise and smashed into the back of the McLaren, removing his right-front wheel.<\/p>\n Both cars staggered back to the pits and Schumacher stormed down to the McLaren pit to remonstrate with Coulthard, who somehow later returned to the race to finish seventh! It meant Schumacher failed to take the championship lead from McLaren driver Hakkinen, who was already out.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to argue that the crash cost Schumacher the championship \u2013 it lost him 10 points and he fell 14 short \u2013 but it could have made a difference heading into the Suzuka decider. What it definitely did do was play a key part in a famous first F1 victory for Jordan.<\/p>\n
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