The key fact when considering the relative quality of the actual on-track action in Formula 1 over the last decade is refuelling. For the first time in the sport, a whole ten year span featured mandatory pit stops for fuel, and the attendant strategic element became the fundamental factor in determining victory or defeat. However, if you race 20-odd 800 bhp cars against one another 174 times, you're always bound to throw up some memorable moments. Here's my choice of the finest ten Grand Prix races of the last ten years.
10. 2007 Japanese Grand Prix
Fuji Speedway, 30th September 2007. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)
Perhaps the first great masterpiece of a burgeoning Formula 1 career, Lewis Hamilton won from pole at a streaming wet Fuji Speedway, and looked to have won the world title along with it. In only his 15th Grand Prix, he dominated proceedings in impossible conditions, whilst his teammate and key rival Fernando Alonso crashed in the spray. Coming through the mists, however, was a hugely significant cameo from Kimi Räikkönen in the Ferrari, keeping himself in mathematical contention for the title he would later snatch at the final race with some breathtakingly brave passes for position in dead reackoning conditions. Particularly memorable was his sweep round the outside of Heikki Kovalainen's Renault with his wheels millimetres from the grass and certain oblivion. This was also the race where Sebastian Vettel first nailed his colours to the mast and made everyone take notice, running a strong third (and becoming the youngest ever leader of a Formula 1 race to boot) in the Toro Rosso, before embarassingly hitting Mark Webber's Red Bull during a safety car period.
9. 2000 Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 8th October 2000. Winner: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F1-2000)
The last great summit duel between Michael Schumacher and his greatest rival, Mika Häkkinen took place at a dingy Suzuka with the world championship title waiting in the wings. Schumacher needed to beat the Finn to secure Ferrari's first triumph in 21 years. However, as he so often did, he made a poor start and it was Mika who made the early running, Michael chasing him down. Häkkinen was eventually undone by traffic and a brief rain shower at a critical time, during the second pit stop window. Schumacher, always with the edge over his rival in reduced-grip conditions, got the job done. What made this race stand out for me, though, was the sheer quality of the driving on display. The two finest practitioners of the sport at the time, head-to-head and leaving everyone else in no doubt that they were nowhere. The third place man - apparently David Coulthard but realistically, it could have been anyone - finished 69 seconds behind at the flag. You could easily believe that there were no other cars on the circuit. The irony of this result, with hindsight, is that after such a finely-balanced tussle, Schumacher won the world crown that he would not relinquish again for a shade under five years.
8. 2008 Italian Grand Prix
Monza, 14th September 2008. Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso STR3-Ferrari)
Wet races at Monza are as rare as hen's teeth, so 2008 was a rare treat. However, what it produced was easily the most unlikely result on the entire decade, as Sebastian Vettel took his Toro Rosso (née Minardi) car from an unlikely pole position to a magnificently controlled win. Nobody else was ever really in contention, in spite of the title's destination still being very much in the balance between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at the time. The racing down the field was as entertaining as one has come to expect in wet conditions, but the man at the front was serene. There's every chance that, come the end of the next decade, we'll look back at this race and see that it wasn't all that surprising after all. At the time, though, Vettel became the youngest ever man to win a Grand Prix and it was a brilliantly refreshing sight.
7. 2008 British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 6th July 2008. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/23-Mercedes)
Another streaming wet day, another Lewis Hamilton masterclass. As chaos reigned throughout the field in impassable conditions - notably Felipe Massa, who spun no fewer than five times - Hamilton stroked it home in a diabolical British summer rainstorm. Starting from fourth on the grid, he made his superiority clear from the lights, blasting past the cars ahead with ease, literally sideswiping his teammate (and polesitter) Heikki Kovalainen out of the way at Stowe. At one point, his team radio broadcast pleaded with him to slow down and not risk his place. His reply, at a time when he was lapping 1, 2, 3 seconds per lap faster than anyone else, was that he didn't see HOW he could go any slower without stopping. It's times like this which are indicative of genius. Hamilton went on to win by 68 seconds. As for the rest, the star was Rubens Barrichello. The 2008 Honda RA108 was a tractor of a car, but Barrichello in the wet is a force to be reckoned with, quite the equal of anyone in the field. He nailed car after car to finish a well-deserved 3rd, which went on to account for a large proportion of the Japanese team's points total come the end of their final season.
6. 2007 European Grand Prix
Nürburgring, 22nd July 2007. Winner: Fernando Alonso (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)
This was a race that had it all. Starting in the dry, within the first few laps the Eiffel Mountains produced a rainstorm of Biblical proportions, sending half the field spinning off the track, particularly at the first corner, which was literally flooded. The restarted race took its grid order from a few laps before and saw Markus Winkelhock's Spyker, the German in his first and so far only Grand Prix, on pole position after a gamble from the team to start him on wet tyres. Surprises out of the way, the field then moved onto standard levels of excitement for a wet race. However, this event was set apart from others by its thrilling finale, with Fernando Alonso tracking down and passing the long-time leader, Felipe Massa in the Ferrari, with just 4 laps remaining.
5. 2005 San Marino Grand Prix
Imola, 24th April 2005. Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault R25)
After 5 years of Ferrari domination, it was the Renault team who hit the ground running at the start of the 2005 season. By the fourth round, it was fairly clear that Alonso would be the man to beat. Ferrari hurried their new car through and gave it a decent debut in Bahrain, Michael Schumacher running second before his brakes overheated. At Imola, however, he was nothing short of inspired. After qualifying only 13th, he spent much of the early running stuck behind Jarno Trulli's Toyota. Taking advantage of an early pit stop and his Bridgestone tyres, superior on the day in a season where mid-race tyre stops were banned, Schumacher came alive, setting lap after lap faster than anyone else on the track. After the second fuel stops, he was right with Alonso, who had led comfortably after early leader Kimi Räikkönen's driveshaft failed with the Finn in a commanding position. What followed was thrilling stuff, Schumacher climbing all over the back of Alonso but unable to find a way past. It was an epochal moment in Grand Prix racing. If you ever needed to know the point that the baton was passed to the new generation of drivers, this was it.
4. 2000 Belgian Grand Prix
Spa-Francorchamps, 27th August 2000. Winner: Mika Häkkinen (McLaren MP4/15-Mercedes)
Ferrari had made all the early running in 2000, but a spell of first lap accidents for Michael Schumacher helped Mika Häkkinen, back at the top of his game from mid-season, close the points gap. By the time they arrived at Spa, the Finn was now leading by 2 points. What followed, on a typical wet-dry day in Belgium, is perhaps the most famous wheel-to-wheel dice of the decade. An inspired Häkkinen - who, on his day even had the measure of his rival in wet conditions - led the early running. As the track dried, his advantage grew: Häkkinen had gambled on a dry weather set-up for his car, making him demonstrably quicker in a straight line than Michael Schumacher's compromise set-up Ferrari. However, Häkkinen then spun at Stavelot, allowing Schumacher to breeze past into a commanding lead. The Finn's comeback drive was spectacular. With a handful of laps remaining, he was back with Schumacher, who had been warned by radio that his opponent was dramatically fast in a straight line. Häkkinen's first attempt at the lead saw Schumacher try push his rival onto the grass at 200 mph, which did nothing to dampen the now furious Häkkinen's resolve. The following lap, the two happened upon Ricardo Zonta's BAR Honda at the end of the main straight, with Mika slipping inside the Brazilian to pass the backmarker and the Ferrari in one manouevre. Probably the greatest pass of the noughties, Häkkinen further enhanced his reputation by refusing to be drawn into a public spat about Schumacher's on-track ethics after the race.
3. 2003 British Grand Prix
Silverstone, 20th July 2003. Winner: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2003-GA)
Rubens Barrichello has made quite a career of winning races interrupted by on-track invaders. At Silverstone in 2003, it was noted British lunatic Neil Horan who enlivened proceedings, running towards oncoming traffic on the Hangar Straight, seemingly dressed as C.U. Jimmy. The race put behind the safety car at a critical stage, the order was well and truly shaken up as early pit stoppers now took the advantage. In all the chaos, the one constant was Rubens Barrichello, racing and passing car after car in thrilling yet utterly decisive moves. The British crowd, deeply appreciative of his efforts after a superbly entertaining race from all of the field, greeted the winner with the sort of cheer normally reserved for Nigel Mansell. An epic performance on a day of fine driving.
2. 2005 Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka, 9th October 2005. Winner: Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren MP4/20-Mercedes)
Uniquely for this list, the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix was a dead rubber, the championship title having been won in Brazil 2 weeks earlier. The race in Suzuka, however, was sensational. The story began on Saturday, as rain showers interrupted qualifying and completely scrambled the usual grid order. Title protagonists Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen duly lined up in 16th and 17th places on a dry and sunny Sunday. On a day where the entire field battled royally to get their 'rightful' positions back, it was these two who really made the running. Alonso's pass around the outside of Michael Schumacher into 130R has gone into legend, but the real story was Räikkönen, stalking down car after car with relentless energy. Eventually he caught up with Giancarlo Fisichella, who had missed the worst of the Saturday weather and qualified 3rd, looking set fair for a race win. Räikkönen barely even blinked, blasting past the Renault into the first turn of the final lap to take his last win for the team. A mad, thrilling and, most of all, inspirationally skillful day of motor racing.
1. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
Interlagos, 2nd November 2008. Winner: Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2008)
Final race title deciders were not a rarity in the noughties. Nor were excellent Brazilian Grands Prix: I could easily have included the 2001, 2003, 2007 or 2009 events in this list. However, this race was special. Having arrived in São Paulo in 2007 leading by 7 points only to leave with nothing, Lewis Hamilton must have been mindful that here he was again, in Brazil for the final race, leading by 7 points. This time, his rival was Felipe Massa, on home ground and in pole position. Massa blasted off into a lead he would barely ever cede, with Hamilton being rather more circumspect, on a damp track and with it all to lose all over again. The following 95 minutes were breathlessly tense stuff, as up and down the field battles raged and the weather lurched from damp to dry and to wet again. Late on, the rain grew heavier, and McLaren had no choice but to pit Hamilton - just about holding on to the 5th place he needed to be champion - for wet tyres. On the penultimate lap, though, he was passed into 6th by Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso, and that familiar sinking feeling must have struck him as much as it did for millions of his fans back at home watching the race at tea time. Of course, the race had a barely believable twist - one which was even called into question by conspiracy-minded types after the event. McLaren knew that Timo Glock's Toyota was still on dry tyres and floundering, lapping almost 20 seconds slower than his best in the downpour. The team could see that Hamilton was just about due to catch and pass him on the final lap. As he did so, at the last corner, Felipe Massa had just passed the finish line, his win as fine a drive as you could ever hope to see in such testing conditions and under such monumental pressure. For about 15 seconds, he was the Formula 1 World Champion, before Hamilton came through in the required 5th, a deceptively comfortable 6 seconds clear of Glock's car.
Before this year's race, I watched a 10 minutes highlights package of the event on the BBC website. To that day it still made my heart race, my stomach knot and my mind boggle. And even though I knew what would happen, it was still almost unbelievable when it happened. The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix is the most exciting motor race I have ever seen. I hope one day I will see one better. If I don't, however, I can't really complain.
Rogue's Gallery
For every great race, there are several dreary ones. We need the dreary ones. They make great things more special. However, the following five were beyond that. Soporiphic or just plan offensive, these are my top five worst races of the noughties:
5. 2008 Singapore Grand Prix
At the time it seemed a fairly standard race, not much on the track but enough novelty to make it interesting, plus an unexpected win for Fernando Alonso's Renault. Of course, now we know...
4. 2002 United States Grand Prix
Formula 1 seemed to have finally found a venue worthy of trying that hardest of all sells: Formula 1 to the American mass market. It promptly pissed very much on its own chips, just 3 events into its run at Indy. Ferrari, dominant all year, attempted this cod-brained attempt at a staged finish which saw Rubens Barrichello just pip Michael Schumacher (the mastermind of the scheme) by 0.011 seconds, tragically now in the history books as the narrowest margin in Grand Prix history. Trying to engineer a dead heat? Trying to make amends for Austria (see 2.)? What a bloody mess.
3. 2000-2009 Spanish Grands Prix
A bold choice, perhaps. But almost without fail, the Circuito de Catalunya produces the most dismally boring race of the entire year. It is speculated that this is due to its ubiquity as a test track. However, year on year, the cars line up two-by-two in order of aerodynamic efficiency and then trail around for hours on end, unable to pass. Fernando Alonso enlivened the 2003, 2005 and 2006 events a little, but not enough to make me relish the prospect of another race in Barcelona.
2. 2002 Austrian Grand Prix
The season before, Rubens Barrichello had been "asked" to let his teammate by into 2nd place "for the championship". This stuck in many people's craw, as round 6 of 17 is a little too early for such considerations. The following year, however, they trumped this magnificently, instructing Rubens to move over from a lead he had comfortably held from the start. I'm not one of these people who don't understand the sport and its history. I know the role of team orders and number 2 drivers. However, this, again at round 6, is one of the most offensive sporting spectacles I've ever witnessed.
1. 2005 United States Grand Prix
This 6 car extravaganza, caused by a mass pull-out by all the Michelin teams after the French company brought too soft a tyre to Indianapolis, creating a safety hazard, was sad beyond words. The political rumblings around, with all the teams unable to sort out any compromise in order to save the race, gave a very real indication as to why Formula 1 keeps on failing in North America. It's too busy shooting itself in the foot.
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