From fog-shrouded Nürburgring to flooded Interlagos, these are the Formula 1 wet-weather drives that prove skill is often more visible than when the rain falls
Senna's 1993 Donington drive remains one of F1's most iconic moments
Formula 1 is a sport defined by the pursuit of perfection, but when the rain arrives, that pursuit is thrown into chaos.
In treacherous and unpredictable conditions, the margins for error shrink to a minimum, and the great drivers separate themselves from the rest.
The drives collected here span six decades of Formula 1 history, from the fog-drenched horror of the Nürburgring in 1968 to the chaos of a flooded Interlagos in the modern era.
These are the performances that remind fans why, when the clouds gather over a circuit, Formula 1 can become something altogether different.
Ayrton Senna – 1993 European Grand Prix
4th → 1st
Regarded as one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history, Ayrton Senna won over 50% of the wet races he entered.
Among the Brazilian’s most memorable wet-weather performances was at Donington Park in 1993.
Having qualified fourth and fallen back to fifth at the race start, Senna executed an extraordinary opening lap, dispatching the likes of Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Alain Prost to take the race lead.
What followed was a faultless drive, with Senna taking his 38th career victory by over a minute.
Williams dominated the start of the 1996 season, winning five of the first six races. Ferrari was having a rougher time of it, managing podiums but failing to secure the top step.
However, Schumacher’s performance in Catalunya proved he didn’t need the fastest car to win. Having made a poor start from third on the grid and losing several places due to a clutch problem, Schumacher soon found his groove – setting consistently fast laps, slicing past his opponents and keeping his car on track, while others, including championship leader Hill, crashed out.
Schumacher took a historic first win for Ferrari, the first of his three victories that year, which placed him third in the championship standings at the end of the season.
Lewis Hamilton has produced many masterclasses in wet-weather driving throughout his career, and his dominant home win at Silverstone in 2008 is undoubtedly one of the finest examples.
Hamilton had qualified fourth on the grid but made a lightning start, immediately moving into second place behind his McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. Hamilton then spent the next few laps behind the Finn before taking the lead into Stowe corner on lap 5.
The conditions were torrential, with cars spinning off in all directions – including Hamilton’s championship rival Felipe Massa. Hamilton was dominant out front, at times lapping five to six seconds faster than other drivers on the same tyre compound, crossing the line more than a minute clear of the rest of the field for a memorable home win.
After a chaotic, rain-affected qualifying in São Paulo, Max Verstappen found himself starting 17th, with title challenger Lando Norris on pole position and looking at a big opportunity to close the championship gap. Verstappen would need a miraculous drive to maintain his championship advantage.
By the end of the first lap, Verstappen had fought his way through to 10th place. Steady progress continued, and as the rain worsened, cars began to make mistakes. By the time the race was red-flagged due to Franco Colapinto ‘s big crash, Verstappen found himself in second position – the leading cars having pitted early, with a fresh set of tyres fitted during the race stoppage giving him crucial track position.
On the restart, Verstappen immediately took the lead from Esteban Ocon and built a margin of 19 seconds, crossing the line for one of his most impressive victories, and crucially putting one hand on his eventual fourth world championship.
The Nürburgring Nordschleife was already an incredibly dangerous circuit – fast corners, unstable track surfaces and barely any run-off areas or protection for drivers. The 1968 event was made even more treacherous by atrocious weather, with heavy fog and rain lashing the circuit throughout the weekend. Drivers were hesitant about whether to race, bearing in mind the sport had suffered the deaths of Jim Clark and Mike Spence earlier that season.
Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart was – and still is – a prominent campaigner for motor sport safety, and even he was unsure whether conditions were safe enough to race in. However, Stewart raced under the instructions of team boss Ken Tyrrell as the race went ahead.
Despite the appalling conditions, Stewart drove out of his skin to win by an astonishing four minutes from Graham Hill. In conditions Formula 1 would never race in today, Stewart delivered a masterclass in sheer skill and bravery – undoubtedly one of his finest victories, and possibly one that will never be seen in F1 again.
Going into the penultimate round of the 1994 season at Suzuka, Damon Hill faced a championship situation that demanded nothing less than perfection. Michael Schumacher led the drivers’ championship by five points, and most of the paddock expected the title to be settled in Japan. Hill had to win, anything less and the championship would effectively be over.
Hill qualified second, just 0.487 seconds behind Schumacher, setting up a tense head-to-head in conditions that would prove treacherous throughout. On lap 4, three separate crashes brought out the safety car, before Martin Brundle‘s McLaren struck a trackside marshal and the red flag was thrown – splitting the race into two parts, with the result to be decided on aggregate time. Schumacher had led the first segment by 6.8 seconds, meaning Hill needed to beat him by more than that margin in the restart to win on aggregate.
Hill rose to the challenge. Taking the lead from the restart and driving with composure in the wet, he built a gap of over 14 seconds as Schumacher made a second pitstop with 10 laps remaining. The Benetton driver came charging back in the closing laps, carving into Hill’s lead lap after lap, and going into the final lap only 2.4 seconds separated the two on aggregate. Hill held his nerve to win by 3.365 seconds on aggregate – his sixth victory of the season.
It remains the last time aggregate time was used to determine a Formula 1 winner.
Often regarded as one of motor sport’s greatest drivers, Clark proved throughout his career that whatever car he was given, he could make it win, despite the dangers and challenges he faced along the way.
A prominent example of his talents came at one of the most dangerous racetracks on the Formula 1 calendar at the time: Spa-Francorchamps. Clark had taken his maiden race win there the previous year and would eventually win it four times in a row between 1962 and 1965. Despite his mastery, Clark famously expressed his dislike for the circuit, due to the constant danger and mental strain that driving it involved. Clark had also experienced tragedy there in previous years, witnessing the deaths of fellow drivers Archie Scott-Brown and Chris Bristow in 1958 and 1960, which had left him deeply shaken.
His challenge was therefore made even harder as the circuit experienced treacherous rainfall on race day. Despite the conditions, Clark climbed from eighth on the grid to lead the race by the end of lap 1. But alongside the rain, Clark’s Lotus began jumping out of fifth gear at 9,500 rpm. While other drivers would have retired to the pits, Clark pressed on – steering with his left hand while using his right to hold the gear lever in place.
Navigating crashed cars, keeping rivals at bay and managing the gearbox, the Scot crossed the line almost five minutes ahead of second-placed Bruce McLaren. A truly incredible performance on one of motor sport’s most dangerous circuits – Clark’s drive will forever remain one of Formula 1’s most iconic performances.
The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix will be remembered as the longest race in Formula 1 history, with numerous spins, crashes, safety cars and a two-hour red flag giving a final race time of a record four hours, four minutes and 39 seconds. It will also be remembered for Jenson Button’s iconic wet-weather comeback, despite every hardship thrown at him.
After the race started behind the safety car, Button found his way past team-mate Hamilton. However, when Hamilton attempted to repass on the main straight, both McLarens collided – putting Hamilton out with broken suspension while Button was forced to pit with a puncture. Button was then penalised with a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car, which pushed him back to 1fifth place after pitting again.
As conditions worsened, drivers began switching from intermediate to wet tyres, including Button. On lap 20, the safety car was deployed again due to increasingly heavy rain at certain parts of the circuit, before the red flag was thrown to suspend the race, prompting a two-hour wait for conditions to improve.
On the restart behind the safety car, Button was 11th behind Fernando Alonso, before the Spaniard pitted. Exiting the pits, the Ferrari and McLaren were running close together, and Button went for a move at Turn 3 that resulted in contact – sending Alonso spinning onto a kerb and beaching his car, while Button pitted with another puncture, dropping the McLaren to last place.
Button then fought his way back through the field – recovering to ninth after his next pitstop, then up to fourth, and beginning to close on the leading trio of Sebastian Vettel, Schumacher and Mark Webber. The sixth and final safety car period, caused by the collision between Nick Heidfeld and Kamui Kobayashi on lap 56, allowed Button to close right up once the race restarted. Button capitalised on a mistake by Webber to move into third, before passing Schumacher on the same lap to go second, with only Vettel ahead. Button pushed the Red Bull hard, setting the fastest lap on lap 69.
Heading onto the final lap, Button was less than a second behind. Then Vettel ran critically wide at Turn 6, allowing Button through into the lead – which he held to take one of the most sensational victories of his career, despite six pitstops and having been at the back of the field at one point. This extraordinary win in an extraordinary race demonstrated that in Formula 1, you should never give up.
Verstappen had already proved himself a promising young talent upon his arrival in Formula 1, with strong points finishes at Toro Rosso in 2015 and a maiden win on his Red Bull debut at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier that season. However, under the downpour at Interlagos, Verstappen put in a drive comparable to the great rain masters – Senna, Schumacher and Hamilton.
Having started behind the safety car, Verstappen soon passed Kimi Räikkönen‘s Ferrari for third before the safety car was called for Marcus Ericsson‘s shunt on lap 11. Verstappen then pitted for intermediate tyres, rejoining fourth behind Räikkönen. On the restart on lap 20, Räikkönen aquaplaned into the wall on the main straight, handing Verstappen third as the red flag neutralised the race.
On the restart on lap 32, Verstappen made a stunning move around the outside of championship leader Rosberg to take second place. However, Verstappen then produced a miraculous save after spinning out of the final corner – keeping his car out of the wall but losing second to Rosberg. A second stop for intermediate tyres proved to be a mistake, and pitting again for wet tyres dropped the Dutchman to 16th.
Then Verstappen found his groove, overtaking car after car – including former teammate Carlos Sainz, then-team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, Vettel and future team-mate Sergio Pérez – to finish a fantastic third, having overtaken a total of 11 cars in his final stint. Certainly one of the all-time great wet-weather performances.
When looking back on the legacy of the three-time world champion, historians cite Senna’s drive at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix as the moment the Brazilian hinted to the world of Formula 1 that greatness awaited him.
Senna had qualified his Toleman-Hart TG184 in 13th place, ahead of team-mate Johnny Cecotto in 18th. At the race start, Senna scythed his way up to ninth place by the end of lap 1. His progress continued, passing accomplished drivers such as René Arnoux, Keke Rosberg and Niki Lauda with precision, while benefiting from the misfortunes of Nigel Mansell and Michele Alboreto. Senna soon found himself in second, with only race leader Alain Prost between him and victory.
Ayrton Senna made his Formula 1 debut in this Toleman TG183B, which is due to be auctioned later this month
By
Ben Parrott
By lap 31, race director Jacky Ickx and Prost were calling for the race to be stopped as conditions grew even more treacherous, while Senna was thriving, rapidly closing the gap from 35 seconds to just seven.
The red flag was then shown at the end of lap 32, with Senna crossing the line ahead of Prost – but the rules stated that results from a red-flagged race would be taken from the previous lap’s positions, meaning Prost was awarded the win and Senna finished second.
Although he narrowly missed out on victory, a podium in just his fifth race start marked the beginning of Senna’s ascent to Formula 1 glory.
For those impressed by Senna’s underdog drive at Monaco in 1984, it wouldn’t take long to witness the true potential of Brazil’s newest Formula 1 star.
Having moved to Lotus for the 1985 season from Toleman, Senna was looking to make his mark, now that he had a car capable of winning races. Despite a disappointing debut in Rio de Janeiro at the Brazilian Grand Prix – where he retired with an electrical problem – the next round in Portugal brought a weekend dominated by wet weather, in which Senna typically thrived.
Senna stormed to his first career pole position in a rain-affected qualifying, almost half a second ahead of Prost’s McLaren. At the race start, the Brazilian surged ahead while many drivers behind struggled to keep their cars on the circuit – Keke Rosberg and Prost among those who spun off in the tricky conditions.
Senna proved untouchable, lapping all but second-place Michele Alboreto and crossing the finish line more than a minute ahead of the field for his first of 41 grand prix victories. In doing so he achieved his first of four career grand slams – taking pole position, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap and winning the race.
With Kimi Antonelli recently setting the record for the youngest polesitter in Formula 1 history, it is the perfect time to look back at the previous holder of that record and remember how Vettel showcased his wet-weather brilliance at the Temple of Speed in 2008.
The Italian Grand Prix weekend was dominated by heavy rainfall throughout practice and qualifying, catching out names including Hamilton and Räikkönen, who failed to make it through to Q3.
However, Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel shocked the entire paddock – not only by outqualifying the senior Red Bull team, but by taking maiden pole position by 0.076 seconds from McLaren’s Kovalainen. In doing so, he became Formula 1’s then-youngest polesitter in history at 21 years and 72 days old.
The wet conditions on race day meant the race started behind the safety car. Vettel opened up a comfortable lead over Kovalainen and relinquished it for only four laps after pitting for new tyres. The young German controlled the race from there, crossing the line 13 seconds ahead to become the then-youngest grand prix winner in Formula 1 history.
