RACING MOMENTS

From miraculous comebacks to ice cream Sundays... some just lodge in the memory

Magnum K.R.

What’s a driver to do during a red flag? Stretching exercises? Mental drills? Not if you’re Kimi Räikkönen. When the Malaysian Grand Prix was stopped for torrential rain in 2009, the Finn decided to keep himself fueled... by munching on an ice cream in the garage. And lo, the Iceman was born. The race never resumed, but the iconic footage will stay with us forever. Bwoah.

Ferrari’s Monza miracle

The death of Enzo Ferrari in August 1988 was a sombre moment, compounded by the great man having little to enjoy on track in his final weeks as McLaren won literally every Grand Prix. But when F1 visited Monza a month later fate (aka Prost’s engine failure and Senna’s backmarker crash) gifted the Scuderia a heaven sent 1-2. At least, that’s what the papers said.

Lauda’s incredible comeback

Niki Lauda’s Nürburgring crash in ’76 was almost fatal, leaving him in such bad shape that a priest read him the last rites in hospital. But with McLaren’s James Hunt eating into his championship lead in his absence, Lauda defied his blood-soaked bandages to return just six weeks later. And not only did he have the courage to don his Ferrari overalls, he finished fourth.

First F1 win at Silverstone

The F1 victory that started it all? That came at the British GP in 1951. José Froilán González – nicknamed ‘El Cabezón’ because of his large head – started on pole and never looked back. Actually that’s not true: teammate Alberto Ascari broke down part way through and González sportingly stopped to offer him his car. That was allowed in those days, but the Italian declined.

TR58 dominates Le Mans

F1 wasn’t the dominant force in motorsport in the Fifties, sports car racing was. And in 1958 the achingly pretty 250 Testa Rossa ushered in a period of Ferrari rule that lasted until Carroll Shelby whipped the GT40 into shape in ’66. Phil Hill and Olivier Gendebien’s crushing Le Mans win crowned Scuderia triumphs at the 12 Hours of Sebring and Targa Florio in ’58 too.

Destiny for Schumacher

When Michael Schumacher left Benetton in ’95, his sole target was to do what no one had since Jody Scheckter in 1979: win the drivers’ title with Ferrari. It finally happened in 2000, beating the seemingly indomitable Mika Häkkinen on strategy at the penultimate race in Suzuka. It was 7am in Maranello, but bells still rang in celebration and local traffic ground to a halt.