The 1984 Drivers’ Championship would be decided in the final race of the season, with McLaren team mates Niki Lauda and Alain Prost the drivers in contention. Lauda could only qualify in 11th position, but knew that a second placed finish would be enough to win him a third World title in Portugal.
The 1986 Drivers’ Championship came down to the final race, with a 3 way fight between Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet of Williams, and Alain Prost of McLaren. While Mansell could finish 3rd and still claim the title, Prost knew he had to win to guarantee a second World title.
A last-gasp victory for home hero Nigel Mansell caused pandemonium at the 1987 British Grand Prix. The Williams driver overtook teammate Nelson Piquet in the closing laps of the race at Silverstone to seal his second-successive home grand prix win, and in the process sparked a track invasion from the 100,000-strong crowd.
In just his 7th start in Formula One, Jean Alesi found himself leading the US Grand Prix in Phoenix, after a brilliant move at the opening corner. As the race approached half distance, the McLaren of Ayrton Senna caught the first-placed Tyrell, and the pair began an unlikely battle for the opening victory of the 1990 season.
Prior to the 1994 German Grand Prix, Ferrari had gone 58 Grand Prix without registering a victory. A front-row lockout in qualifying for the Scuderia raised hopes that they might end this winless streak, but Gerhard Berger and team mate Jean Alesi would have to hold off the faster Benetton of Michael Schumacher.
Going into the final race of the 1997 season, Jacques Villeneuve trailed Michael Schumacher in the Drivers’ Standings by just 1 point. The pair would go head to head on the track, with the race win and the Championship on the line in Jerez.
