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2009 Malaysian Grand Prix
(Jenson Button wins)
Noticing a pattern? The race in Sepang was not just postponed midway through,
it had to be abandoned altogether after 31 laps. At the time, Lewis
Hamilton described the conditions as “the most dangerous I have ever
raced in”, and the majority of the drivers backed the suspension of the
race.
Amazingly enough the race started in dry conditions, but huge black clouds
were hanging above ominously throughout. Then, with Jenson Button in the
lead, the rains came. Sebastian Vettel spun off, and as you can see from the
video, visibility was reduced to basically nothing.
After organisers waited to see if the rains would clear, the race was
abandoned, and Button was given half points.
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2007 Japanese Grand Prix
(Lewis Hamilton wins)
While Lewis Hamilton won the race in horrendous conditions in his first
Formula One season, this race will be remembered for heralding the beginning
of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel’s feud.
After battling through food poisoning (Webber actually vomited in his helmet
during the race) and torrential rain to work his way up to second, the
Australian was in with a good chance of his first win and was following the
safety car with then Torro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel behind. But then on
lap 45, third-placed Vettel crashed into the rear of Webber’s car, forcing
the Australian to retire. Vettel was shown on TV coverage crying over his
mistake in his team’s pits, and Webber was furious, complaining how the
“kid” Vettel had (insert expletive) his race. And so it began….
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1998 Belgian Grand Prix
(Damon Hill wins)
The race at Spa in 1998 is famous for a number of spectacular incidents,
including a rare Jordan win for Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher crashing into
the back of David Coulthard and then storming into his garage looking for a
fight, and what is probably the biggest crash in Formula One history at the
start.
The cars negotiated the first turn successfully, but then on the way down to
Eau Rouge, all hell broke lose, as Coulthard lost control of his McLaren
causing a thirteen car pile-up, which led to the race being stopped.
Heavy rain and shocking visibility then led to the crash above, with
Schumacher’s Ferrari struggling to lap the significantly slower Coulthard,
losing a front wheel in the crash which forced him to retire. It even led
Murray Walker to exclaim: “Oh God!”
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1991 Australian Grand Prix
(Ayrton Senna wins)
It was not like the great Brazilian to declare a race too dangerous, but that
is precisely what he did at the Adelaide street circuit in 1991. With cars
flying off the track on the main straight as they edged forward in third
gear, the race was abandoned on the 16th lap. Senna won with half points –
here he is explaining after the race to Jackie Stewart why conditions were
too treacherous for racing.
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1984 Monaco Grand Prix
(Alain Prost wins)
The heavy rain at Monte Carlo in 1984 gave Ayrton Senna his chance to prove
himself in Formula One, as he took his lowly Toleman to an excellent second
place.
At the time the race was stopped on lap 32, Senna was hunting down Alain
Prost’s McLaren and was catching him at the rate of several seconds a lap.
But, controversially, conditions were judged to be too severe to continue
racing. Prost won the race, and was awarded half points.