Greatest overtaking manoeuvres
With the new season well under way now, and with traction control banned, it was good to see the cars sliding more and the drivers having to put more input into the control of the car. It got me thinking about yesteryear and the great overtaking manoeuvres there have been, and I wondered which you consider to be the greatest?
The ones that spring to mind for me and stand out in my memory are: Piquet around the outside of Senna at the Hungaroring in 1986 – outstanding car control. Prost taking Senna, who was asleep behind a Minardi, past the Signes kink at Paul Ricard in the 1988 French Grand Prix – wonderful opportunism. Jacques Villeneuve, also around the outside, this time of Michael Schumacher on the last corner at Estoril in 1996. His Indy years coming to the fore, and I think one of the bravest passes ever.
Speaking of Indy, an overtaking manoeuvre that I feel I have to mention is the one Arie Luyendyk did on Nigel Mansell around the outside of turn one in the 1993 Indy 500. It was after the last restart I think, with about 10 laps to go. There was so little room, and the speed with which Arie flew by must have made Nigel jump!
Berger passing Piquet after slipstreaming through the Peralta bend at Mexico in ’88, Alonso passing Schumacher at 130R in Japan in ’06, Häkkinen making a Zonta sandwich with Schumacher in Belgium in 2000 before Les Combes. Mansell on Berger at Peralta in Mexico 1990 are others that spring to mind.
It’s all opinion and open to conjecture of course, but it’s fun to think about and discuss!
Mark Smith
Filed under: Ask Nigel, Exclusive content
It’s been Formula 1 all the way for Nigel – he started covering the sport in 1971. In the mid-1970s he worked for Graham Hill’s Embassy F1 team, before joining Autosport for whom he has written over 400 Grand Prix reports. Nigel joined Motor Sport full-time on Januray 1 2008. As well as reporting on F1 for national newspapers, he has written 19 books on motor racing. His insightful writing and candid interviews with the great names in racing have made him one of the recognised authorities on F1.
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