The last 100 F1 races as rated by F1 Fanatic readers

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F1 Fanatic first invited readers to Rate the Race at the beginning of the 2008 F1 season.

One hundred races later, which did you consider the best – and worst – of them? Here’s the list in full:

100. 2010 German Grand Prix

Average rating: 3.740 out of ten

It’s no surprise to see which race is still propping up the list: Over a third of readers gave the 2010 German Grand Prix the lowest rating available.

The reason for this is abundantly clear if you scan the comments left after it. Ferrari’s imposition of team orders, instructing Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso past so he could win and help his championship chances, was greeted with condemnation from fans who viewed it as unsporting.

F1 has undergone many changes in recent years designed to make racing more entertaining. But despite the outcry against the manner in which this race was manipulated, the FIA chose to scrap its ban on team orders rather than enforce it. As recent events have shown, team orders is still a contentious and divisive subject in F1.

99. 2011 European Grand Prix – 3.871
98. 2008 European Grand Prix – 3.977
97. 2008 Chinese Grand Prix – 4.446
96. 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix – 4.587
95. 2010 Spanish Grand Prix – 4.919
94. 2008 Spanish Grand Prix – 5.085
93. 2012 Korean Grand Prix – 5.158
92. 2012 Indian Grand Prix – 5.194
91. 2009 Turkish Grand Prix – 5.276
90. 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix – 5.284
89. 2009 Spanish Grand Prix – 5.33
88. 2009 Singapore Grand Prix – 5.336
87. 2009 European Grand Prix – 5.355
86. 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix – 5.364
85. 2012 Monaco Grand Prix – 5.436

84. 2010 European Grand Prix

Average rating: 5.454 out of ten

The unloved Valencia street circuit has four races inside the bottom 20. But every dog has its day – last year’s race, which saw a remarkable win for Alonso, is in the top five. Ironically, that may prove to have been its last event.

The 2010 race, won by Sebastian Vettel, was marred by a huge crash for Mark Webber which caused the appearance of the Safety Car.

This led to Lewis Hamilton being given a drive-through penalty for passing the Safety Car, though he was still able to finish ahead of Alonso, much to the Ferrari driver’s chagrin. Nine other drivers were given penalties for going too quickly while the Safety Car was out.

83. 2009 Monaco Grand Prix – 5.504
82. 2008 French Grand Prix – 5.548

81. 2011 Indian Grand Prix

Average rating: 5.555 out of ten

The Buddh International Circuit is one of the newest additions to the F1 calendar and India’s round of the world championship has been well-received by those in the paddock.

But the first two races were uninspiring affairs: so much so Vettel remains the only driver to have led a racing lap at the track.

He arrived at India’s inaugural Grand Prix with the 2011 title already in his pocket. Vettel went on to achieve his first ever ‘grand slam’ in the race – winning from pole position, leading every lap and setting fastest lap. He also set a new record for leading the most laps during a season at this point.

80. 2009 Japanese Grand Prix – 5.58
79. 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix – 5.738
78. 2009 British Grand Prix – 5.755
77. 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix – 5.771
76. 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 5.794
75. 2013 Spanish Grand Prix – 5.947
74. 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix – 5.975
73. 2012 Singapore Grand Prix – 5.998
72. 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 6.127
71. 2013 Monaco Grand Prix – 6.132
70. 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix – 6.202
69. 2010 Monaco Grand Prix – 6.217
68. 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix – 6.253

67. 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

Average rating: 6.302 out of ten

Would the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix have got a different rating had everyone known at the team the true details of the manner in which it had been won? We’ll never know.

Alonso’s first win of the year for Renault looked extremely unlikely at the start of the race as he lined up 15th on the grid. But an early pit stop and what seemed to be a fortuitously-timed crash by Nelson Piquet Jnr propelled him into first place and a shock victory.

But 12 months later the truth came out: his team mate had crashed on purpose as part of a scheme to help Alonso win. The revelation shook the sport and led to the expulsion of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds from Renault’s F1 team. But at the time few suspected anything was amiss.

66. 2013 Canadian Grand Prix – 6.329
65. 2012 Japanese Grand Prix – 6.381
64. 2011 Singapore Grand Prix – 6.39
63. 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix – 6.42
62. 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 6.602
61. 2010 Japanese Grand Prix – 6.642
60. 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix – 6.654
59. 2008 Japanese Grand Prix – 6.66
58. 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix – 6.684

57. 2009 Chinese Grand Prix

Average rating: 6.690 out of ten

The rain-soaked 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was out first experience of something which has become very familiar: Red Bull winning. All of their 37 victories have occurred within the last 80 races.

While Vettel headed a one-two eventual champion Jenson Button finished third for Brawn.

The opening stages of the race were run behind the Safety Car due to the dreadful conditions.

56. 2011 Australian Grand Prix – 6.751
55. 2010 Italian Grand Prix – 6.759
54. 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix – 6.808
53. 2008 Turkish Grand Prix – 6.816
52. 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix – 6.826
51. 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix – 6.904
50. 2011 Korean Grand Prix – 6.915
49. 2012 British Grand Prix – 7.048
48. 2009 Italian Grand Prix – 7.049
47. 2012 German Grand Prix – 7.055
46. 2009 German Grand Prix – 7.096
45. 2008 German Grand Prix – 7.18
44. 2010 Singapore Grand Prix – 7.194
43. 2010 British Grand Prix – 7.203
42. 2011 Turkish Grand Prix – 7.306
41. 2011 Spanish Grand Prix – 7.319
40. 2013 Chinese Grand Prix – 7.412
39. 2012 Belgian Grand Prix – 7.467
38. 2011 Italian Grand Prix – 7.494

37. 2010 Korean Grand Prix

Average rating: 7.536 out of ten

Korea’s first F1 race was blighted by a heavy downpour not to mention the poor state of the track, which still had a rather unfinished look.

But the tension crackled as five drivers went into the third-to-last race of the year still able to win the championship. The race was a disaster for Red Bull as Webber crashed out, losing the points lead to Alonso.

Vettel retired from the lead late in the race leaving him fourth in the standings with two races to go and seemingly out of contention. An uninspiring venue had produced a dramatic twist in the title race.

36. 2011 Japanese Grand Prix – 7.57
35. 2008 Australian Grand Prix – 7.609
34. 2012 Italian Grand Prix – 7.64
33. 2012 Australian Grand Prix – 7.662
32. 2011 Monaco Grand Prix – 7.684
31. 2013 Australian Grand Prix – 7.698

30. 2008 Belgian Grand Prix

Average rating: 7.736 out of ten

Another controversial one. F1 Fanatic readers raved about this race as the chequered flag fell on a dramatic Belgian Grand Prix which had seen Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen scrapping furiously for victory. Hamilton prevailed while Raikkonen crashed out.

But hours after the race the stewards took Hamilton’s win from him and gave it to Massa, claiming Hamilton had gained advantage by going off the track while racing Raikkonen despite having let the Ferrari driver past.

The stewards’ interference was roundly condemned by F1 Fanatic readers but McLaren’s attempts to overturn the verdict came to naught.

29. 2011 Belgian Grand Prix – 7.772
28. 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix – 7.775
27. 2008 Canadian Grand Prix – 7.809
26. 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix – 7.826
25. 2009 Belgian Grand Prix – 7.852
24. 2009 Australian Grand Prix – 7.937
23. 2011 British Grand Prix – 7.96

22. 2010 Turkish Grand Prix

Average rating: 7.984 out of ten

The Red Bull and McLaren drivers were nose-to-tail at the head of the field for lap after lap in a tense Turkish Grand Prix in 2011.

It all came to a head on lap 40. Vettel tried to prise the lead off his team mate but the pair made contact, Vettel spinning out of the race, Webber limping into the pits with damage.

That left the two McLaren drivers at the head of the field and for a while it looked like they were going to take each other off as well. While the team urged their drivers to save fuel Button attacked and passed Hamilton for the lead, only for his team mate to forcibly take the position back again.

21. 2008 Italian Grand Prix – 8.153
20. 2008 British Grand Prix – 8.164
19. 2008 Monaco Grand Prix – 8.177
18. 2012 Canadian Grand Prix – 8.197
17. 2012 Spanish Grand Prix – 8.274
16. 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix – 8.309
15. 2010 Chinese Grand Prix – 8.326
14. 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix – 8.344
13. 2010 Belgian Grand Prix – 8.368
12. 2011 German Grand Prix – 8.43
11. 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix – 8.452
10. 2010 Australian Grand Prix – 8.638
9. 2012 Chinese Grand Prix – 8.648

8. 2010 Canadian Grand Prix

Average rating: 8.668 out of ten

When F1 team bosses asked Pirelli to help make better racing from 2011, this is the race they used as a reference. And they couldn’t have done much better in terms of choosing a popular race which didn’t have the benefit of rain or a championship contest to enliven proceedings.

Bridgestone’s usually conservative choice of tyre compounds were disturbed by the low-grip properties of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. It resulted in unpredictable tyre behaviour which produced a stunning race in which Hamilton and Alonso fought hard for the lead.

It’s served as a blueprint for the kind of racing F1 has been trying to recreate since the beginning of 2011. But whether that kind of spectacle remains entertaining when it’s the same thing week in, week out is a point which has attracted much debate.

7. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix

Average rating: 8.756 out of ten

The spellbinding conclusion to the 2008 season was the highest-rated race for three years on F1 Fanatic. But it’s been pushed down six places by races from the last two seasons.

Massa faced little opposition in his drive to victory but behind him Hamilton’s struggles saw the destiny of the championship switch between the pair twice in the last three laps.

It all came about due to a late rain shower in which most drivers – with the significant exception of the two Toyotas – switched to intermediate tyres. Hamilton dropped a place behind Timo Glock then was sensationally passed by Vettel’s Toro Rosso, seemingly handing the title to Massa.

But the rain intensified and both Toyotas slowed on the final lap. Hamilton famously passed Glock at the final corner, denying Massa the championship in a moment of pure drama.

6. 2012 United States Grand Prix – 8.772
5. 2012 European Grand Prix – 8.784
4. 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – 8.854
3. 2011 Canadian Grand Prix – 9.095
2. 2011 Chinese Grand Prix – 9.241

1. 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix

Average rating: 9.449 out of ten

There is a widely-held view, expressed from time to time in the comments, that Vettel has dominated F1 since 2010. Where that’s true or not it didn’t negatively affect people’s enjoyment of the race which saw him crowned champion for the third year in a row.

Four years after the stunning 2008 season finale, Vettel secured his third world championship in circumstances in a race that was every bit as tense as Hamilton’s triumph – perhaps more so.

Holding a 13-point lead over Alonso going into the race, Vettel’s position looked strong. But disaster struck on the first lap: he was knocked into a spin, damaged his exhaust and fell to the back of the field. However he recovered swiftly, moving up to sixth by lap eight which put him in position to clinch the title.

The championship fight was just one dimension to this thrilling race. A battle for the lead developed between the two McLaren drivers (in their last race as team mates) and – surprisingly – Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India. Button prevailed after Hamilton and Hulkenberg collided.

The rain worsened in the final laps and when Paul di Resta crashed the Safety Car came out. The race ended with the field neutralised and Vettel a relieved champion.

Over to you

What your favourite – and least favourite – of the last 100 races? Have your say in the comments.

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Images © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo, Red Bull/Getty, Renault/LAT

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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66 comments on “The last 100 F1 races as rated by F1 Fanatic readers”

  1. Great article, Keith.

    Only problem I have with these ‘Rate the Race’ things is that people get silly with them and vote 10’s just because ‘their driver’ won, which I think is so stupid.

    People need to seperate that from how good the RACE was.

    To have any race at Abu Dhabi above Brazil 2008 is in my mind, a bit of a travesty.

    1. Totally agree with you !

      1. The mere fact that the 2011 Chinese GP is rated ahead of the 2011 Candian GP is both a TOTAL TRAVESTY and proof of what you talk about happens all the time with things like this.

        The 2011 Canadian GP is one of the, if not THE, greatest F1 GP’s of all time. The ONLY reason the 2011 Chinese GP is on the list ahead of it is because Hamilton won it!

        What a joke!

        I even saw on another website that Hamilton’s pass on Vettel during this GP was voted one of the best of 2011!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING????!!!!!

    2. @ecwdanselby The Rate the Race polls have a note asking people not to do that for that reason. Perhaps it’s inevitable that some people will but having seen the voting I don’t think it’s happening in significant numbers.

      For example, the most popular driver among F1 Fanatic readers at the moment is Jenson Button. And it’s not as if his victories dominate the top end of the list. So I don’t think it has a significant effect on the data.

      1. Fair, but is it safe to say that more users vote on the ‘Rate the Race’ than vote their most popular driver?

        1. @ecwdanselby No it’s the other way around.

          1. That’s surprising! Fair enough. Cheers.

      2. Exactly. Only three of Jenson’s wins are in the top 10. I do find some of his wins more entertaining than others but he simply seems to win more dramatic grand prix. There’s a mix of wins throughout the top 10. I do find interesting though, is that no Red Bull win makes the top 10. Do they just not provide as dramatic wins as other teams do?

        1. or it’s because vettel won as it seems that everyone hates vettel no matter the circumstance

          1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            26th June 2013, 21:55

            @craig-o
            No, it’s because usually Vettel has won many races just flying on the first lap, and that is boring from the average point of view. And of course many people just deny how hard work it takes to do this, but the same can be applied for all the drivers. Probably the statement you say is more accurate when we take a look at the DOTW poll

    3. @ecwdanselby

      To have any race at Abu Dhabi above Brazil 2008 is in my mind, a bit of a travesty.

      I find it ironic that you criticise people for voting based on the performance of a favourite driver instead of the quality of the racing, only to then judge all of the races at Abu Dhabi based on the venue itself instead of the races. Didn’t you watch the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

      1. But most races at Brazil are a lot better than Abu Dhabi.

        Yes, I saw it. It was pretty good. But in mind, and I THOUGHT most people preferred Brazil ’08.

        That, for me, was what F1 was about. You won’t ever get a closer title decider than that, so I just found it hard to believe that the general consensus was that a race at Abu Dhabi was better.

        1. But most races at Brazil are a lot better than Abu Dhabi.

          Most races are. But as the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix proved, the Yas Marina Circuit can produce good racing. And those races shouldn’t be marked down just because another circuit has better races.

        2. But Brazil has its own borefests too. Remember 2010 and 2011?

    4. I see what you are saying if the avg is 6 or 7 if you vote 10 or 1 you will have a bigger impact on the avg.

  2. Very surprised since for me the 2008 Brazilian GP is second to none !

  3. I believe many of us rated the race with the wrong criteria. When there was team orders we rated the races high. But if in the 2011 Canadian GP we heard ”Lewis, Jenson is faster than you” or ”Felipe, Fernando is faster than you” would the race be more boring? I also voted with the wrong criteria, but I believe that the races should be rated in terms of the joy they produced.

    1. That 2010 race didn’t produce any joy because of that team order….

    2. @sigman1998

      I believe that the races should be rated in terms of the joy they produced.

      I believe they have been. To borrow your language, I think it’s pretty clear the 2010 German Grand Prix didn’t ‘produce joy’ for a lot of viewers – most of the comment are pretty seething!

      if in the 2011 Canadian GP we heard ”Lewis, Jenson is faster than you” or ”Felipe, Fernando is faster than you” would the race be more boring?

      If things had been different, things would have been different. A hypothetical scenario doesn’t tell us anything.

      There weren’t any team orders going on at Canada in 2011 (so far as we know). After it I doubt anyone went through the thought process of “that race didn’t have team orders, therefore it was good”, they just saw a race they enjoyed and had no cause to think about team orders.

      But the example of Germany 2010 surely shows us that when one driver is ordered to give up a win to his team mate it doesn’t go down very well. For the time being it’s the only data point we’ve got on that (we do have examples of team mates being told not to race each other, such as Malaysia this year).

      1. @keithcollantine Everyone has his own opinion. I don’t say that the results are far off were they should be, but you are right.

    3. @sigman1998 @KeithCollantine

      I think the average rating of the 2011 Canadian GP would have been significantly lower if Button had won the race because of a team order, for instance, if Vettel was his team mate and had let Button past without a fight on the final lap. As the Russian saying goes, a spoonful of tar spoils a barrel of honey.

      If things had been different, things would have been different.

      That’s the politest way to say “If pigs had wings…” that I’ve ever heard :D

    4. Personally on the issue of team orders, I feel they can only ruin races. I can accept them with mitigating circumstances (for example, Vettel needed to get past Webber in Brazil for the championship) but other than that I feel they shouldn’t be used at all. They put a damp squib on otherwise exciting battles, they can crush a driver’s ambition and above all it’s just plain boring. I mean, who actually liked seeing a formation finish for Mercedes in Malaysia or Massa giving way to Alonso in Germany? Very few I presume…

  4. Anand Jayaraman
    26th June 2013, 10:49

    Interesting to note that races with Pirelli tires are a majority in the top 20. Assumming the voting behaviour remains consistent, and with the tendencies pointed out, that is a massive win for Pirelli.

  5. Zantkiller (@)
    26th June 2013, 10:56

    I don’t remember the 2011 chinese grand prix much so it surprises me that it is near the top.
    My top 3 would have been
    1. Brazil 2013
    2. Canada 2012
    3. Brazil 2008

    I’d love to see these results plotted on a graph to see if there is a general trend.

    1. Ryan Fairweather
      26th June 2013, 11:19

      Brazil 2013? Where did you get your time machine?

      1. I thought that race wioll haven be rubbish.

      2. Zantkiller (@)
        26th June 2013, 11:39

        woops.

        But I just plotted all the results on a graph and found there is no real trend.

        1. Well I think you can see it goin up. But did you notice that after 5 or lower, the next one is always 8 or higher?
          Are we more enthusiastic when we were hungry?

    2. @zantkiller Is Canada 2012 also a typo? Because I always presumed that people liked the 2011 race more ;-)

      1. Zantkiller (@)
        26th June 2013, 13:09

        @gdewilde
        ….I think I might need some sleep.

  6. I particularly like underdog triumphs, such as the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. I also love the races that remind me that F1 can be an art and that you don’t necessarily need to choose between two evils, namely, boring processions and artificially generated orgies of overtaking. In my opinion, the 2011 Italian Grand Prix was such a piece of art. It had all the necessary ingredients – crashes, great battles, great passes and great emotions after the race. The battle between Hamilton and Schumacher as well as Vettel’s pass on Alonso were icing on the cake.

  7. 2012 Abu Dhabi race is hands down the most beautiful from the last couple of years. In a close second its the Belgian Grand Prix from 2012 which i witnessed live and Canada 2011 would be 3rd for me.

  8. Canada and China 2011 are the most astronomically over hyped races ever. Don’t get me wrong, they were certainly good races but people only voted them highly because it was Vettel fluffed his chances of winning in both of them. In fact I’ve noticed most of Buttons jammy wins seemed to be rated quiet highly.

    1. It’s a big voting-scam set up by John Button!

      No really, @davef1 Just go with it, lots of people like last lap-overtakes for the win! That’s what racing is all about!

      1. lots of people like last lap-overtakes for the win! That’s what racing is all about!

        Yeah, cause that’s all it was! It wasn’t Button racing from dead last to first in less than half race distance, with 6 trips through the pits, 2 collisions, a puncture and extremely difficult conditions was it?

    2. If you truly consider Button’s Canadian 2011 GP win as ‘Jammy’, then you are truly not an F1 or indeed, a racing fan.

      One of the greatest drives and victories of all time in any racing discipline!

      1. @nick101

        Button is a very reliable driver but please don’t try and pretend that Vettel loosing in control going into the corner was not lucky. Button did well to get up to second (albeit crashing into his teammate and Alonso) but the overtake for the win was exactly how I described it earlier.

        1. I do not think it was lucky at all @davef1. It was about Button pushing Vettel to an extent where he couldn’t cruise along and save the car to the finish, but instead had to push in a track that was still far from optimal. That is the moment a mistake becomes more likely, and it happened, allowing Button to get past.

        2. Vettel didn’t simply need to stay ahead of Button, he needed to remain MORE THAN one second ahead of Button, else he’d have been a sitting duck through the final DRS zone. He did whatever was necessary to remain that second ahead, for as long as the tyres would support it. And when the tyres finally let him down, Button was the only driver he lost position to.

    3. @davef1 Button didn’t win the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix, he was fourth.

      1. Yeah I know, just worded my point badly as I tend to do often :/

    4. Well, I agree that the context is an important factor. Vettel dominated the 2011 season from the beginning so many fanatics, myself included, were happy to see someone else on the upper step of the podium and it might have contributed to the high ratings. However, I doubt that it’s because F1 Fanatics would not like Vettel or because Button is the most popular driver here. The six races that Button won at the start of the 2009 season have an average rating of only 5.959:

      91. 2009 Turkish Grand Prix – 5.276
      90. 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix – 5.284
      89. 2009 Spanish Grand Prix – 5.33
      83. 2009 Monaco Grand Prix – 5.504
      63. 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix – 6.42
      24. 2009 Australian Grand Prix – 7.937

      It’s just always refreshing to see dominations get interrupted. I remember that many were happy to see Trulli win the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix. It wasn’t a thrilling race and Schumacher was a much more popular driver than Trulli. But Trulli had scored his first (and only) win and managed to interrupt Schumacher’s boring winning streak, which was something that many neutral fans and even some Schumacher fans enjoyed watching.

  9. Turkey 2010 was my favourite race of the era so far – a masterpiece of tension and proof that often the threat of overtaking is more entertaining than the actual event.

  10. Aditya (@adityafakhri)
    26th June 2013, 13:40

    Am I the only one who would like 2008 Belgian GP to be rated better? (steward decision aside)
    When is the last time you see top guys racing for P1 for loooong time, and get such dramatic ending. Kimi and Lewis were superb that day!

    1. you are not alone :D

    2. For me it was the steward’s result that messed it up. Before that I was going to vote very high, but that just felt sickening to adjust the result with a punishment for a rule clarification that came only after the punishment @adityafakhri

  11. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    26th June 2013, 13:45

    I think the poor vote for the 2010 German GP is rather skewed by the rather overt reaction that followed it. The race itself was not all to bad, it was just memories of Austria 2002 that sent it tumbling down the order. However if that exact same thing had happened at Hockenheim last year would it have been viewed upon so dimly? No. Alonso was in a tight championship fight in 2012, as was he in 2010, so I’m sure Ferrari would’ve recieved little in the way of criticism within the context of the legality of team orders. Certainly, the 2011 European GP was worse in terms of on track action, in fact the only thing I can remember about the race is the rather good move Button put on Rosberg into T2…oh, and that Vettel dominated. Also the 2010 Bahrain GP was worse than Germany ’10.

    At the other end of the scale I literally cannot believe that China ’11 is ahead of Canada ’11! OK, the 2011 Chinese GP was rather entertaining, but better than Canada ’11????????? No, just no. Canada ’11 was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen, and I still get violent heart palpitations if I even go as far as thinking the final few laps, or even Coulthard’s “red-shouldered blackbird”. Regarding Brazil ’12, this is again a resulted skewed by media hype. It was a manic race, a race that decided the title, but one in which an intense battle for the lead between Hamilton and Hulkenberg was brought to a rather sour, premature conclusion. And therefore my top 5 are thus…

    5. 2012 United States Grand Prix
    4. 2010 Australian Grand Prix
    3. 2012 European Grand Prix
    2. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix
    1. 2011 Canadian Grand Prix

  12. Interesting to note that 2013 is nowhere near the top. When tyres go too far, they go too far.

  13. How on earth is the 2010 German GP in 100th and the 2013 Malaysian GP 52th. I have my theories but that’s not important. What’s important is that the 2013 Malaysian GP was the perversion. Mercedes and Vettel tried to corrupt F1 ideology, Vettel delivered a cheap move as data later showed and Mercedes justified their actions by saying nothing concrete.

    1. @peartree – Malaysia 2013 was a poor race, and would have actually been even worse without Vettel’s overtake for the lead, using the extra fuel he had (revealed by Horner post-race), and the extra set of mediums he had. The only cheap thing about the race were Red Bull “Racing”/Mercedes’ team orders.

    2. @peartree agreed with @david-a: Vettel created the life in what was an otherwise poor race. There’s a distinct difference between defying team orders (which I strongly support as I think they are completely unnecessary unless a championship is on the line) and “obediently” (I use “” simpy because I would think Massa was threatened as Barichello was in Austria) giving way – one creates excitement, the other kills it. Repeatedly. With a baseball bat.

      I deteste all forms of team orders as they can only make the racing worse however you look at it, so I actually marked the race down for Rosberg’s obedience and the use of them at such an early stage in the first place, then boosted it back up because of Vettel’s defiance.

      Besides, as Dizzy has also highlighted the reason Vettel had higher engine settings and whatnot is because he had used less fuel; that, in combination with a brand new set of medium tyres saved for a late attack, and you can hardly suggest that it wasn’t obvious what he was trying to do. So no, not a “cheap” move, a calculated and shall I say ‘bold’ one for sticking the fingers up to the team and Webber!

  14. nice write up Keith, I will have a look at it and give my personal top 3-5 too!

  15. My favourite 3 races from these 100:
    1. Brazil 2008; 2. Canada 2011; 3. Brazil 2012.
    …and least favourite 3:
    1. Europe 2011; 2. Spain 2008; 3. Spain 2013.

    Just to note that the highest German GP rating was for 2011, a Nurburgring-hosted race, which is much higher than the other German GPs (and excluding the 2007 race, although it was the European GP, it was only German round that year).
    I know Hockenheim has its history, but since 2002 it is one the circuits I least look forward to, while the Nurburgring produces very entertaining races. This is just a personal opinion.

  16. Brazil 2012 was easily my favourite race of the bunch: I absolutely hated it; I very nearly had heart attacks several times, I barely sat down at all and I think I nearly cried but precisely because of that it was the best for me – no other sporting event, never mind F1 race, has triggered that kind of response from me before or since!

  17. BEST RACE TOP 3

    Canada 2011, Valencia 2011, Brazil 2012.

    1. oops made a mistake, it will be Valencia 2012

      1. Half the grid breaking down was your 2nd best race ever?

  18. First of all, Bahrain 2010 must have the least vote.
    My favorite races:
    2008 canada, 2008 belgium, 2008 italy, 2008 brazil, 2010 turkey, 2010 canada, 2010 italy, 2010 korea, 2011 canada, 2011 germany , 2012 malaysia, 2012 european, 2013 malaysian,

  19. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    26th June 2013, 21:59

    @keithcollantine great article! Are you preparing a similar article for the DOTW polls? It would be great

  20. So the highest rated race Vettel won is 26th (2013 Bahrain)… I thought Monza 2008, China 2009, Spain 2011, Monaco 11, Malaysia 2012, Malaysia 2010 were as good if not better…. granted he has rarely won a real thriller a la Canada 2011 or Brazil 2012 or USA 2012 but seems people vote the race depending on where Vettel finished nowadays….

    1. Monza 2008 is placed 21st. To be fair, a lot of Vettel’s races are him basically racing off into the distance from pole, which although good for Vettel, aren’t entertaining. Abu Dhabi 2012 is in the top 10, and though Vettel did not win, he did quite well and was undeniably fun to watch.

  21. For me, the China 2011 race is THE MOST highly over rated race on this list!

    How this is rated above Canada 2011 or any other number of races on this list is BEYOND ME!

    Can someone PLEASE give me some good reasons why this race is rated second – because I’m at a total loss!

  22. I don’t care what the pool says. I cant say I have watched a race over the past ten years that beat Brazil 2008 for sheer excitement. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m glad I saw it live.

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