By Faisal Agha
Often midway through a season, championships are assumed to be all but decided, with one
driver holding a seemingly unassailable lead. More often than not, that assumption proves
correct. But in a sport defined by unpredictability, there are moments when a driver mounts a
late charge, overturns the odds, and snatches a title that once appeared completely out of
reach. Here’s a look at some of the most iconic championship comebacks in the sport.
One of the most iconic championship battles between two legendary drivers. Defending
champion Niki Lauda was well and truly ahead in his Ferrari, entering Round 10 of the
championship in Germany with a 23-point lead. The Austrian suffered a horrifying accident that
not only threatened his life, but completely altered the course of the championship.
James Hunt went on to win the German Grand Prix and followed it up with three more victories
in the next 5 races. Despite Lauda making a heroic comeback in Italy and missing just two
races, heading into the finale at Fuji, Lauda was just three points ahead of Hunt.
In the final race, Lauda pulled out on just the second lap as torrential rain lashed the circuit,
while James Hunt produced a heroic drive to finish fourth—doing just enough to clinch his one
and only world title by a single, unforgettable point.
The 2007 season’s drivers championship was dominated by two names: Fernando Alonso and
Lewis Hamilton. Alonso had made a high-profile switch to Mclaren after winning the last two
championships with Renault, while Lewis Hamilton was promoted from GP2 to a seat in a
race-winning Mclaren.
Both drivers continued fighting throughout the year, fighting for each and every point and each
centimeter of the track. With two races left, Hamilton led the championship with 107 points
ahead of Alonso at 95, with Raikkonen well behind in third, a solid 17 points adrift of Hamilton.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the penultimate race when Hamilton beached his car at
the pitlane entry in China, his first retirement in Formula 1, allowing Räikkönen to win the race
and slash the championship lead to just seven points.
Räikkönen went on to win the final race in Brazil, while Hamilton finished seventh and Alonso
came home third, sealing the title by a single point and completing a truly majestic comeback.
After the French Grand Prix in 1982, the eleventh round of a 16-race season, Keke Rosberg
found himself fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, trailing leader Didier Pironi by a seemingly
insurmountable 16 points.
The title fight was turned on its head when Pironi suffered a devastating, career-ending crash at
the German Grand Prix. Rosberg went on a run of form, which included his only victory of the
season in Dijon and two further podiums.
Meanwhile, his rivals form went downhill with Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and John Watson
managing just three podiums between them across the final five races
Heading into the final race, Keke Rosberg led by 9 points to John Watson. A comfortable fifth
place finish in the final race at Las Vegas sealed Rosberg the title by 5 points.
Sebastian Vettel entered the 2012 season chasing a third consecutive world title, but Ferrari and
Fernando Alonso ensured it was anything but comfortable. At the halfway stage of the 20-race
season, Vettel found himself under real pressure, trailing Alonso by a hefty 44 points and sitting
third in the championship, behind both Alonso and his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber.
With Alonso suffering two retirements in the second half of the season, Vettel stepped up his
game and hit a purple patch, stringing together four consecutive wins and adding three more podium finishes to swing the momentum firmly in his favour.
Heading into the final race, Vettel led the championship by 13 points and, despite a shaky start
in the final race in Brazil, he managed to recover and finish sixth and win his third title by 3 points.
After the ninth round of the 1981 championship, Carlos Reutemann held a comfortable 17-point
lead over Nelson Piquet. Piquet, by that point, had recorded two wins and two additional podium
finishes, but his campaign was far from flawless, marked by four costly retirements.
With six races remaining, Piquet turned his season around, winning in Germany and then
following it up with podium finishes in Austria and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Reutemann’s
lead derailed with two retirements and a third and fifth place finish.
Heading into the final race, the Argentine held a slender one-point lead. Reutemann could only
manage eighth, finishing outside the points, while Nelson Piquet finished fifth and collected two
points, snatching the lead and sealing his first World Championship by a single point.
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