Not common, however, Formula One had some impressive passes on the last lap for the win.
No, this doesn’t happen much in Formula One.
He rarely finishes a race with an impressive pass on the last lap for victory. In fact, this has only happened 12 times since 1983. And many of them are more marked by engine failures, post-race surveys and team orders than wheel-to-wheel races to the end line.
The 2020 season began with back-to-back races to start the delayed season, as a general result of the season starting in Austria, the site of the last F1 race won on a final lap pass. It was one of the many smart days of Lewis Hamilton’s career.
Here’s a look at the 12 races since 1983 that went through a lead pass on the last lap on F1:
If there were orders from the Mercedes team on 3 July 2016, in Austria, Lewis Hamilton did not get the message. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton were 1-2 on the final lap before Hamilton made a competitive move on Rosberg in the second corner. The cars collided and Rosberg’s front wing was severely damaged. Hamilton gave it away at the next corner.
A severely damaged Rosberg car finished fourth, while Max Verstappen and Nico Hulkenberg also overtaken him on the last lap.
In one of the truly remarkable driving performances in F1 history, Jenson Button came from 21st (last) place all the way to the front over the final 33 laps of the race on a rainy day in Canada. Sebastian Vettel led by 0.9 seconds going into the final lap before he ran wide and off the course at turn 6. Button passed him to take the lead. Vettel finished second.
The race included a two-hour suspension due to heavy rains. With suspension included, the race lasted 4 hours, 4 minutes and 39 seconds to make it the longest race (in terms of time) in Formula One history. With a record of six periods of car protection and six pit stops, Button set a record for the lowest average winning speed in the race, at 46,518 mph. Button was credited with a head-turning in the race.
Kimi Raikkonen’s seventh victory of 2005 and his final victory for McLaren was one of his best days in racing. He started 17th and passed Giancarlo Fisichella on the first turn of final lap for the win. Raikkonen made his second pit stop on lap 45 of 53, and he went on to make up a 5-second gap to Fisichella over those final laps.
At Nurburgring, Kimi Raikkonen led Fernando Alonso for 1.5 seconds before the last lap.
While Alonso was charging, Raikkonen’s race ended when his car’s suspension broke on the brakes at turn 1 of the last lap. Alonso exploded and won the race, poleman Nick Heidfeld completing the moment and Rubens Barrichello third. Raikkonen finished 11th in points.
It’s Alonso’s fourth win of the season. He won seven races and won his first championship that year.
There’s not much crazier than this one in Brazil.
The race, scheduled for 71 laps, stopped on lap 56 after two major accidents. At the event, Kimi Raikkonen declared the winner because he believed he was leading the race at the time of the red flag.
However, the Jordanian team protested and, after an examination, Giancarlo Fisichella was thought to be at the forefront when the red flag fell, and Raikkonen moved to the second. Officially, Fisichella led only this last round. The victory was the final victory of the Jordan team and he reached the 200th race of the team here.
Teammate Michael Schumacher and Ferrari entered the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after completing the 2002 F1 drivers and constructors’ championships. Schumacher led 1.1 seconds before the last lap to let Rubens Barrichello through the final line.
“The end of the race was not expected,” Schumacher said after the race. “We tried to cross the line together, however, we failed a little bit and, in fact, we didn’t know who had won until the cars were delivered to us. I think Rubens deserved to win this race.”
Barrichello’s victory is the fourth of the season, as he and Schumacher combined to win 15 of 17 races.
The team’s controls overshadowed Michael Schumacher’s victory over Rubens Barrichello in Austria in 2002.
Barrichello took Schumacher a moment before the last lap. However, when Barrichello entered the last corner of the race, the team ordered him to let Schumacher through. Both cars slowed down, but Barrichello slowed down and Schumacher claimed the victory that helped him win his fifth championship.
The result provoked the wrath of enthusiasts and the media, and Ferrari eventually fined $1 million and secret double parole for the rest of the season.
Even Michael Schumacher felt a little guilty about the way he won his 47th Formula One victory. After 40 moments, Mika Hakkinen on the final lap, Schumacher stole the victory after Haikkinen’s engine fell on the last lap. Hakkinen’s car may not drive for the entire last lap, could not finish and was shown in ninth position at the end of the race. Juan Pablo Montoya was a time and Jacques Villeneuve was third. “I have to say I’m so sorry for Mika,” Schumacher said after the race. “I was surprised to see that he had retired. That’s not how I like to win, but it’s a position for me in the afterlife and those things take position in the race.”
Here’s the last lap pass with an asterisk.
Damon Hill seemed ready to give Arrows’ team their first Formula One victory. He led through 34 seconds with 4 laps to pass when his car suffered a hydraulic problem. Hill held the car together, but Jacques Villeneuve closed the hole and took the lead midway through the last lap to give Williams his 100th F1 victory. Hill second.
The Arrows team continued to compete in 382 races between 1978 and 2002. Hill’s time in Hungary in 1997 was the closest to the team’s victory.
This one had a little bit of everything for conspiracy theorists. There have been accusations of team orders, collusion and even a twist of fate that charges Michael Schumacher for a championship. The European Grand Prix in Jerez, Spain, the last race of the 1997 season. While Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve competed for the lead and series championship in the 48th circular of 69, the two competed. Schumacher retired from the race and Villenevue’s car continued. Villeneuve’s car damage eventually allowed Mika Haikkinen to go on to victory in the last lap. David Coulthard also beat Villeneuve, but not Gerhard Berger. Berger finished fourth when many had the idea that he had the speed to beat Villeneuve. If Berger had overtaken Villeneuve, Schumacher would have won the championship. Instead, Villeneuve won the 1997 crown.
It’s not exactly the thrilling and contested last lap pass, but Nelson Piquet won in Canada in 1991 after Nigel Mansell led for nearly a minute on the last lap.
Mansell’s car, however, failed on that last lap. The gearbox reports and force failure were the official word. Rumors and legend say Mansell would possibly have stopped the car when he missed a shift while waving to the crowd on his last lap.
Mansell led every lap that day, with the exception of the final one.
Ayrton Senna of McLaren and Nigel Mansell of Williams entered the penultimate race of the 1991 season with the possibility of winning the F1 championship. However, Mansell saw his chances of winning in Japan and the name evaporated when Mansell walked away from the race on lap 10. Senna led the final lap, to greet Berger at the end. After all, Senna already had the courage she wanted.