Your Favourite Reject RACE????

[Svenko Wankerov]

Australia 95:

Hill wins by 2 laps over Panis and Morbidelli. That's with Panis babying a ready-to-explode engine at the end of the race.

Lamy gets Minardi's finishes 6th, which would be the last point Minardi sees in nearly 4 years.

Schumacher and Alesi taking each other out.

Coulthard into the pitwall. Then followed by Moreno.

Hakkinen's accident on Friday.

[Barbazza]

That was certainly the most distracting race I can remember. At the time I was doing an overnight radio show and every time I looked at the TV screen something mad was happening that made me forget that I was supposed to be doing my job!

Also, that extraordinary noise that Murray made when Coulthard had the pit wall had never been heard before and will never be heard again I expect.

[Ross Prawn]

Talking of DC going off reminds me of the Silverstone race that Schumi won whilst in the pits. I was there that day and remember going home still wondering what exactly had happened.

[dresda]

Didn't DC go off twice, from pole, on the warm up lap?

One (or maybe two) of the most memorable things about his career I'm afraid.

[Bleu]

Canadian GP 1989 needs mention (wasn't following F1 at that time but what I have read/seen from highlights)

- Johnny Herbert in a Benetton didn't qualify
- A total of 18 teams had cars in the race, so only eight teams had two
- Mansell and Nannini starting from pit lane before race had started
- Stefan Johansson taking airline with him from the pit lane.
- Rain, drying out, rain again
- Derek Warwick in Arrows leading a race
- Nicola Larini in Osella driving as high as 3rd before retiring
- Senna retiring from lead few laps before the end
- Thierry Boutsen taking first victory
- Andrea de Cesaris on the podium

[RejectSteve]

Canadian GP 1989 needs mention (wasn't following F1 at that time but what I have read/seen from highlights)

- Johnny Herbert in a Benetton didn't qualify
- A total of 18 teams had cars in the race, so only eight teams had two
- Mansell and Nannini starting from pit lane before race had started
- Stefan Johansson taking airline with him from the pit lane.
- Rain, drying out, rain again
- Derek Warwick in Arrows leading a race
- Nicola Larini in Osella driving as high as 3rd before retiring
- Senna retiring from lead few laps before the end
- Thierry Boutsen taking first victory
- Andrea de Cesaris on the podium

- Roberto Moreno struggling around in a three-wheeled Coloni

[Paul Hayes]

I know "favourite" is a bizarre word to associate with this race, but it probably has to be the 2005 United States Grand Prix - an oddly compelling disaster, in the build-up and opening of the 'race' at least, like watching someone shoot themselves in the head.

[crazydude1992]

1973 Mosport, the race over which Jackie Oliver argues up today that hes the one who won it.
1975 Austria, Brambilla overly excited
1975 Britain, huge rain
1982 Monaco, noone wanted to win
2005 USA
2007 Monaco, no overtaking what-so-ever
2007 China, Hamilton proves his rejectdom
2008 Valensia, same
Actually, in another racing forum before the Chinese GP, me being a Ferrari fan joked that I have to go to China and throw broken glass at Hams tires, and wasnt that prothetical...

[Faustus]

They'll never go back to Paul Ricard. While it does have the ability to produce a wet race even on the driest of days, the circuit has been given a permantent "1T" status by the FIA, which means it will only ever be used as a testing cricuit for Formula One; it's ineligible to hold races.

It held an FIA GT race shortly after it became the HTTT. I don't think they even have grandstands or viewing areas any longer. Its really a shame, but even if it could hold a race, it would just be that horrid VIP-GP that Bernie was throwing around a few years ago. Having a proper circuit that doesn't hold races is about as useful as Tarso Marques driving like a rockape.

There are a couple of grandstands now and seating for 5000.

[LionZoo]

How about the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix? Only three cars took the checkered flag for that race! I remember being completely confused about how the best drivers in the world seemingly couldn't even bring the cars home.

[fjackdaw]

I'd vote for Monaco 96, a very exciting race. Four cars took the chequered flag (Frentzen was the fourth); Irvine crashed, then Hakkinen and Salo crashed into the back of him due to sloppy marshalling.

Europe 1999, a race which saw both Fisichella and Badoer in tears, the latter apparently "for an hour". Diniz barrel-rolled at the start and nearly got killed.

[GinShaiman]

I'd have to vote for Valencia '08. The circuit caused so much field spread that without any safety car intervention the whole thing was a huge yawn. The same thing goes for Shanghai 08. I used to be against the whole CART/IRL thing with so many yellow flags but at least it kept things interesting.
But lets not reach the NASCAR extreme where the result is a lottery.

[beau99]

They'll never go back to Paul Ricard. While it does have the ability to produce a wet race even on the driest of days, the circuit has been given a permantent "1T" status by the FIA, which means it will only ever be used as a testing cricuit for Formula One; it's ineligible to hold races.

Not to mention, the location of the circuit.

They complain about Magny-Cours being too remote? The Paul Ricard Circuit is even more remote.

[dr-baker]

What about this year's Malaysian GP? I think it's recent enough to not need explaining...

[Ross Prawn]

1982 Monaco highlights are currently on the BBC red button. Everyone self destructs in the last three laps. I'd forgotten this one buts its a strong reject race contender.

[jackanderton]

Catalunya is a poor circuit for entertainment, that's for sure.

Good circuits seem to combine these elements:

1)Location in geographical position of unpredictable weather
2)Hills
3)Unusual track elements (ie, not just a straight, an apex, fiddly bits and a back straight before more fiddly bits and the penultimate corner- Indianapolis, Estoril, Catalunya being good examples)

So we're talking about Suzuka, Spa, Montreal, A1 Ring, yet as luck would have it, they are nowhere near permanent fixtures in the F1 calendar.

I sometimes think the new tracks they design are over-thought and too well manufactured (especially when you witness the tracks producing very dull races), when a lot of the excitement in F1 is derived from different combinations of variables coming together.

Aside from Interlagos, Montreal and Suzuka, I find it hard to get excited about the prospect of an F1 race at a non-European racing circuit. I hope more Central and Southern American circuits come back like Mexico and Argentina, and maybe Kylami in South Africa.

[Pedro_Diniz]

Catalunya is a poor circuit for entertainment, that's for sure.

Good circuits seem to combine these elements:

1)Location in geographical position of unpredictable weather
2)Hills
3)Unusual track elements (ie, not just a straight, an apex, fiddly bits and a back straight before more fiddly bits and the penultimate corner- Indianapolis, Estoril, Catalunya being good examples)

So we're talking about Suzuka, Spa, Montreal, A1 Ring, yet as luck would have it, they are nowhere near permanent fixtures in the F1 calendar.

I sometimes think the new tracks they design are over-thought and too well manufactured (especially when you witness the tracks producing very dull races), when a lot of the excitement in F1 is derived from different combinations of variables coming together.

Aside from Interlagos, Montreal and Suzuka, I find it hard to get excited about the prospect of an F1 race at a non-European racing circuit. I hope more Central and Southern American circuits come back like Mexico and Argentina, and maybe Kylami in South Africa.

I completely agree, although I'd only opt for Kyalami if it were the original layout.

[thehemogoblin]

Monaco has seen its fair share of rainy races... and it's also an entertaining race... I think it's the Monaco part, and not the racetrack, though.

[FullMetalJack]

There were great overtaking action those years, Piquet over Senna in 1986, Hakkinen over Brundle in 1992. Too bad it became an outdated race track.

About the only good thing about the track is it's dubious honor of being the debut track for HWNSNBMs first F1 adventure.
A "great" race at Hungaroring would only be an "okay" race on any other circuit.

(Then again, I think a race on the Nordschleife would be thrilling to watch nowadays, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.)

Funny how nobody has said about the 2006 race being good, it was exciting and very unpredictable.

For a reject race, I would vote for Valencia 2008 along with lots of you. Especially after all the hype of the circuit.