Nine of the greatest wet weather performances in F1

Max Verstappen put in a spectacular drive during the Sao Paulo Grand Prix to take perhaps one of the greatest victories of his career so far, the Dutchman having climbed from P17 on the grid to seal his 62nd win in Formula 1 and further bolster his chances of claiming a fourth world championship.

But what made it all the more impressive was that Verstappen contended with changing weather throughout a chaotic afternoon at Interlagos, the Red Bull man mastering bouts of heavy rain – which caught out many others throughout the weekend – to make it to the chequered flag.

Which begs the question – will Verstappen’s masterful comeback be added to the list of stunning wet weather showcases from the sport’s past? From a memorable first win to a drive once lauded as the best ever seen in F1, we’ve rounded up some of the greatest rain-affected performances of all time…

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Max Verstappen, 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix

What better place to start than with Verstappen himself – incidentally for another day where he made the art of passing numerous cars in the wet at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace look easy, eight years before his latest victory in Sao Paulo.

After making a late pit stop for wet tyres during a rain-sodden Grand Prix, Verstappen dropped down the order to 14th and was faced with the challenge of trying to salvage a good result in the 16 laps remaining.

It was a task that Verstappen not only completed but utterly excelled in, the then 19-year-old going on to pass 11 drivers – including the likes of Sebastian Vettel, another name featured in this list – amid treacherous conditions to claim an against-the-odds podium in third. Red Bull boss Christian Horner later said of the performance: “I think what we witnessed today was something very special.”

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Michael Schumacher, 1996 Spanish Grand Prix

Verstappen’s comeback that day drew comparisons with other awe-inspiring wet weather drives – including a mesmerising charge through the field at the rain-soaked 1996 Spanish Grand Prix by Michael Schumacher.

Having joined Ferrari off the back of winning back-to-back titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995, Schumacher found himself racing with a car that was not a match for the likes of an increasingly dominant Williams. Despite this, the German still created magic around a wet Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the F310.

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After a difficult start from third on the grid, Schumacher fell backwards before slicing his way through the field in the damp – and setting a number of fastest laps along the way – to clinch his first win for the Scuderia and rightfully earn himself the nickname of ‘rain master’.

Race Highlights - 1996 Spanish Grand Prix

Ayrton Senna, 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix

Like Schumacher, another world champion driver famed for their prowess in the rain was Ayrton Senna – so much so that he appears not once but twice in this list. The Brazilian’s skill for mastering the wet conditions was evident from the start, having caught the eye on what was only his fifth Grand Prix start as the rain fell at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix.

With the event red-flagged owing to the conditions – just after Senna had passed Alain Prost to take the lead for Toleman – the countback classed Senna as second that day. He would ensure, however, that this would not be the case a little over a year later at Estoril.

Now racing for Lotus, Senna was still searching for that first win at round two of the 1985 campaign in Portugal – and he boosted his prospects of achieving it by sealing his debut pole position. Come race day he was peerless, the then 25-year-old storming through the precarious conditions that caught out many of his rivals to take victory by over one minute from second-placed Michele Alboreto.

Race Highlights - Senna's first F1 win in Portugal 1985

Sebastian Vettel, 2008 Italian Grand Prix

The theme of young drivers making an early impression by conquering the rain continues with Vettel, whose history-making tenure in the sport began with a memorable debut victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

Still in his first full-time season in F1 with the midfield Toro Rosso team – having arrived onto the grid partway through 2007 – Vettel secured a surprise pole position amid torrential rain at Monza, outpacing the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.

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Conditions had not greatly improved on Sunday but Vettel sailed to a lights-to-flag win, making him the sport’s youngest-ever winner at the time (a record later broken by Verstappen) aged just 21 years and 73 days. Jubilant scenes followed as Vettel and Toro Rosso celebrated what would be the first of the future four-time world champion’s 53 victories in the sport.

Toro Rosso's fairy tale Monza win in 2008

Jim Clark, 1963 Belgian Grand Prix

Once ranked as the second best drive in the history of Formula 1 by Hall of Fame journalist David Tremayne (look out for number one appearing later in this list), Jim Clark’s stunning performance at a wet Spa-Francorchamps in 1963 was an almighty feat.

Still a popular track with today’s drivers, the Belgian circuit is known for posing a challenge, particularly in treacherous conditions. But as well as having the rain to contend with, Clark’s Lotus 25 continued to jump out of fifth gear at 9,500 rpm during the race, meaning that he had to drive left-handed whilst holding the gear lever in engagement with his right hand.

The gearbox issues worsened, resulting in Clark using fourth gear rather than fifth as he also dodged crashed cars and tried to keep his rivals at bay. Despite all of this, the Scot was triumphant – winning by nearly five minutes from second-placed Bruce McLaren.

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Jenson Button, 2011 Canadian Grand Prix

That five-minute gap may seem like an incredibly long time in F1 – but tell that to those who remember the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix, an event that went down as the longest race in the sport’s history at a whopping four hours, four minutes and 39 seconds.

After heavy rainfall prior to the race, proceedings began under the Safety Car in what would be a chaotic event at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve featuring spins, crashes, a race stoppage that lasted for two hours and a total of six Safety Car appearances.

Amidst all of the drama, Jenson Button’s chances of winning at times seemed incredibly slim, with the Briton making six pit stops – which included a drive-through penalty – on an afternoon where he suffered collisions and punctures along the way. But his skills in mixed conditions – coupled with some solid strategy calls from McLaren – came to the fore as he charged through the field and snatched the win from Vettel on the final lap.

Race Highlights - Canada 2011

Ayrton Senna, 1993 European Grand Prix

For Senna’s second appearance in this list, we travel back to the 1993 European Grand Prix held at Donington Park. Unlike his pole-to-P1 victory in the wet at Estoril, on this occasion the Brazilian started from fourth on the grid with a starry line-up of Prost, Damon Hill and Schumacher ahead of him.

While he initially fell back to fifth off the line, Senna rapidly recovered as he picked off Schumacher and Karl Wendlinger before stealing second place from Hill shortly afterwards. Just a few seconds later, a move up the inside of former title rival Prost put Senna into the lead – all by the end of only the first lap.

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From there the three-time world champion was unchallenged as he seemingly handled the rain with ease, driving his McLaren off into the distance to claim the 38th win of his career and subsequently hold aloft the famous SEGA trophy.

Senna's incredible opening lap at Europe 1993

Lewis Hamilton, 2008 British Grand Prix

In the grand scheme of Formula 1 history, Hamilton’s 2008 triumph in front of his home crowd at Silverstone amid heavy rainfall was not that long ago. Yet it has already lodged itself firmly in F1 folklore as one the best performances of all time, with the then 23-year-old Hamilton putting in a peerless drive to take victory in the wet.

Having made the error of running into the back of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in the pit lane a couple of rounds earlier in Canada, Hamilton seemingly had a point to prove when the British Grand Prix came around – and prove it he did, on a day where others struggled to keep their cars on track in the treacherous conditions.

After gaining two positions from his starting place of fourth on the first lap, Hamilton then had McLaren team mate Heikki Kovalainen firmly in his sights and stole the lead within a few tours, resulting in him storming ahead. The rain became increasingly heavy as the race hit its halfway point but this did not stop Hamilton, who calmly remained in a league of his own as he stormed to his first home victory with a staggering margin of 68.577s.

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Jackie Stewart, 1968 German Grand Prix

Now we come to event that was once named as the best performance in the sport’s history by Hall of Fame journalist David Tremayne. This was Jackie Stewart’s masterclass drive at the notoriously challenging Nurburgring in 1968, where the Scot claimed his fourth career win in a race blighted by such terrible conditions that he had been reluctant to participate in the first place.

The 1968 season had been stalked by tragedy, with the deaths of drivers including Jim Clark and Mike Spence casting a shadow over the campaign. As such, when the day of the German Grand Prix brought with it horrendous weather, Stewart had strong reservations about racing.

Having been instructed by team boss Ken Tyrell to still go out and run, Stewart did so. And despite the heavy rain, fog and mist, the future three-time world champion utterly dominated the event and took the chequered flag by over four minutes from Graham Hill.

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