Historical Moments on Racetracks of Recent Design (mid-90s onwards) - A Collection

[Yannick]

Hello ten-tenths community,

as the Turkish Grand Prix which has been staged at Istambul Otodrom over the last few years, is on its way out of the F1 calendar, I think it is time to look at the historical moments (or lack thereof) which have occured at the different "new" racetracks which were introduced to the F1 calendar from the mid-90s onwards. Of course, most of said circuits have been designed by the Bureau of one man, Hermann Tilke, but not all of them.

I would now like to invite you to enlist historical moments in F1 which have happened on circuits new to the series after 1995 to find out which of the new tracks already has got a historical significance of some sort despite being relatively new when compared to classics like Silverstone, Monaco, Monza or Spa.

Just to begin the listing, here are a few obvious ones from me:

- Indianapolis: US GP 2005: the race with 6 cars after the tyre debacle

- Singapore GP 2008: the scenery of the "crashgate" affair which named Turn 14 of the circuit "Piquet Corner"

- Fuji Speedway: Japanese GP 2007: the incident with Lewis Hamilton and the safety car in the process of which a charging Mark Webber and a Toro Rosso driver named Sebastian Vettel were taken out of the race

- Istambul Otodrom: Turkish GP 2010: the teammates collision of then championship rivals Webber and Vettel at the end of the backstretch

- A1-Ring: Austrian GP 2002: team orders controversy "Let Michael pass for the championship"

- Yas Marina: Abu Dhabi GP 2010: a memorable championship decider for many seasons to come

Which other likewise events can you come up with that happened on tracks ranging from Shanghai, Bahrain, Valencia, Sepang, etc. to the circuits already mentioned?

[Marbot]

We had the 'half points' race in Sepang. Webber 'took off' in Valencia.

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Yannick

- Yas Marina: Abu Dhabi GP 2010: a memorable championship decider for many seasons to come

I can think of mid-90s onwards championship deciders better than that...

[Marbot]

Some sand blew across the track in Bahrain.

[HughGJohnson]

Originally Posted by Marbot

Some sand blew across the track in Bahrain.

Melbourne 2009: Double diffusers, Cideralla GP's 1-2, Vettel and Kubica's wreck (Vettel got a penalty for apologizing over the radio to his team, haven't heard anyone do that since...)... and of course Hamilton and Trulli behind the safety car--almost forgot about that!

Malaysia 2009: Monsoon, dusk, half points and Jenson Button made Nick Heidfeld laugh during the post race interview: "We are going around at running pace, that slow. The safety car was pulling away from us. All I had to do was drive around and stay on the circuit. But how slow it looks. It is embarrassing..."

Korea 2010: Webber crashes, Vettel's engine dies handing victory to Alonso--thanks to an off by Hamilton

Korea was a great microcosm of the whole season. The track was brand new and unfamiliar track just like the regulations. The event was in doubt for a while as was F1 for 2010. Webber came in as championship leader and crashed. In 2010 the championship leader never won a race! Also Webber's 2010 will be always be remembered for his crashes (with Vettel in Turkey and with Kovalainen in Valencia). Vettel suffered unreliability, Hamilton was impressive, but F'd up (ran wide surrendering second at the time to Alonso) and Alonso was handed a victory...

[stripedcat]

Indianapolis 2007 - The scene of the two McLarens duelling for a race win. Alonso having been beaten by his upcoming teammate Hamilton in Canada before. Alonso goes to overtake Hamilton on the first corner, but Hamilton expertly defends the position. He goes on to take the race win. Afterwards the two don't speak to one another. The seeds were sown for a tense year at McLaren.

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Marbot

Some sand blew across the track in Bahrain.

Oh, you mean the pre-season test at Sakhir which Ferrari, Toyota and BMW went to which could not take place because of a sand storm. What a waste of money for all involved.
BMW duly quit F1 after that season, didn't they?

[Yannick]

Originally Posted by Bononi

I can think of mid-90s onwards championship deciders better than that...

Yes, at Interlagos for example, but this thread is about new tracks anyway.

[dsg]

Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 2008, Lewis drives into the back of a stationary Kimi in the pits.

Edit: Sorry misread the topic, that was a hysterical moment.

[Razzzor]

The US Gp where Michael gave Rubens the win in return for moving over in Austria, by crossing the chequers side-by-side and no one knew who won for a short while.

Yeah there's been some dramatic season finales, but all on circuits like Adelaide, Suzuka, Interlagos... none of which are new.

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

The US Gp where Michael gave Rubens the win in return for moving over in Austria, by crossing the chequers side-by-side and no one knew who won for a short while.

Yeah there's been some dramatic season finales, but all on circuits like Adelaide, Suzuka, Interlagos... none of which are new.

That was actually disastrous for F1, trying to mend Austria 2002 fiasco.