Niki Lauda's class in 1984 and other memorable Austrian Grand Prix

David Cooper - Writer 16:20 28/06/2018
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  • Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and the rest of Formula One’s elite drivers have descended on Spielberg for the Austria Grand Prix this weekend.

    Ahead of Sunday’s race, we look back at five dramatic moments in Austria.

    1984

    The entire field was caught up in the drama at Osterreichring. Two time world champion Niki Lauda had made a comeback with McLaren and was battling against reigning champion Nelson Piquet. The Austrian lost pace in the closing stages of the race, but Piquet hesitated as he closed in for the lead, thinking Lauda had tactically held back. The problem proved to be temporary though and soon Lauda regained speed and went on to secure his 23rd career victory. At the end of the season, he won the world title by half a point, the narrowest margin in history.

    1987

    Organisers must have wondered if they’d ever get the race underway at the original Osterreichring. It began with a collision between Stefan Johansson and a deer. Martin Brundle then lost control and hit the barriers, his car ricocheting back on to the track and into the incoming traffic. The race was red-flagged, only for Nigel Mansell to kick start a bigger incident, with more than 10 cars involved. It took nearly two hours for the race to resume after the original start time, with Mansell going on to clinch his third win of the season for Williams.

    2001

    Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya enjoyed some titanic battles on track during the five seasons they raced against each other. And perhaps one of the best remembered was in 2001. Schumacher attempted to overtake Montoya but the Colombian outbraked himself, resulting in both drivers running off the track. Rubens Barrichello soared into the lead, leaving both Montoya and Schumacher falling further down the field. Schumacher fought his way back to second, while Montoya was forced to retire due to hydraulic failure.

    2002

    It was another thrilling championship battle between Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. But it was Barrichello who shone at Spielberg, showing composure to lead until the final lap until he was ordered to allow his Ferrari teammate Schumacher to overtake him and win the race. The Italian outfit wanted their marquee man to win the race and collect maximum points for the Drivers Championship. The Brazilian let Schumacher pass him on the final lap – for the second year in a row. The German went on to win his third successive title that year.

    2015

    Former world champions Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso were eliminated after the first lap in the 2015 edition of the race. Raikkonen lost control of his Ferrari on turn two and collided with Alonso. The two came against the barrier, with Alonso on top of the Ferrari. Both drivers walked away unharmed from the incident. “I don’t know exactly what happened,” said Raikkonen after the race. “I had some wheelspin in an unusual place. I was at a quite high speed, suddenly went left and end up there…”

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