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Chequered Past

Martin Elliot

156 episodes

6 hours ago

It was one of Formula 1’s most unforgettable finales. On 2 November 2008, the world watched as the championship came down to the very last corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Felipe Massa crossed the line to the roar of his home crowd — but heartbreak awaited as Lewis Hamilton snatched fifth place in the dying seconds to become the sport’s youngest world champion. In this episode of Chequered Past, we relive every twist of that extraordinary day, celebrate the birthday of 1980 W...

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It was one of Formula 1’s most unforgettable finales. On 2 November 2008, the world watched as the championship came down to the very last corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Felipe Massa crossed the line to the roar of his home crowd — but heartbreak awaited as Lewis Hamilton snatched fifth place in the dying seconds to become the sport’s youngest world champion. In this episode of Chequered Past, we relive every twist of that extraordinary day, celebrate the birthday of 1980 W...

Show more...

Episodes (20/156)

Chequered Past

2nd November 2008: The Final Corner That Changed The Championship

It was one of Formula 1’s most unforgettable finales. On 2 November 2008, the world watched as the championship came down to the very last corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. Felipe Massa crossed the line to the roar of his home crowd — but heartbreak awaited as Lewis Hamilton snatched fifth place in the dying seconds to become the sport’s youngest world champion. In this episode of Chequered Past, we relive every twist of that extraordinary day, celebrate the birthday of 1980 W...

7 hours ago

13 minutes

Chequered Past

1st November 1998: The Race That Crowned The Flying Finn Part 2

On this day in motorsport history, Suzuka once again took centre stage. In this episode, we relive the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix, where Mika Häkkinen sealed his first World Championship and McLaren claimed the Constructors’ crown — as Tyrrell, one of Formula 1’s founding teams, bowed out after more than three decades in the sport. We also revisit Suzuka’s 1987 return, where Gerhard Berger ended Ferrari’s long winless streak after Nigel Mansell’s crash handed Nelson Piquet the title, and ...

2 days ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

31st October 1999: The Race That Crowned the Flying Finn Part 1

Suzuka, 1999 — a title decider drenched in tension and precision. Mika Häkkinen delivered a flawless drive to secure his second consecutive World Championship, as Ferrari’s challenge faded and McLaren’s cool efficiency triumphed once more. But this race wasn’t only about victory — it was a day of farewells. Damon Hill bowed out of Formula 1, Stewart Grand Prix took its final bow before becoming Jaguar, and the sport stood at the edge of a new millennium. Also in this episode: we celebrate the...

3 days ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

30th October 1988: The Race That Crowned Senna Champion

On this day in 1988, Ayrton Senna produced one of Formula 1’s most unforgettable drives — fighting back from fourteenth place to win at Suzuka and seal his first World Championship. In this episode of Chequered Past, we relive the drama of that defining Japanese Grand Prix — from the stalled start to the audacious comeback that crowned a legend. We also celebrate the birthday of French racing pioneer Maurice Trintignant, revisit Sebastian Vettel’s commanding victory in India’s debut Gr...

4 days ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

29th October 1995: The Day That Benetton Ruled the World

On 29 October 1995, Michael Schumacher delivered another masterclass at Suzuka, guiding Benetton to their one and only Constructors’ Championship at the penultimate round of the season. It was the perfect statement of dominance — and the beginning of Schumacher’s next great adventure with Ferrari. We also celebrate Tiff Needell’s birthday, revisit Mexico 2017 when Lewis Hamilton clinched his fourth world title, and pay tribute to Louis Rosier, the Le Mans hero who drove almost an entire 24-ho...

4 days ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

28th October 1951: The Champions That Changed the Game

On this day in Formula 1 history, three very different champions left their mark on the sport. In 1951, the streets of Barcelona’s Pedralbes district hosted a title decider for the ages — Juan Manuel Fangio versus Alberto Ascari. Tyres failed, strategies backfired, and when the dust settled, Fangio claimed his first World Championship, beginning an era of mastery that would define Formula 1’s early years. Born on this same date in 1930, Bernie Ecclestone would go on to reshape the very struct...

5 days ago

14 minutes

Chequered Past

27th October 1963: The Champions That Dominated the World

From the high-altitude haze of Mexico City to the heat of India, this episode of Chequered Past celebrates two of Formula 1’s most commanding champions — Jim Clark and Sebastian Vettel — and the moments that cemented their dominance on opposite sides of the world. We begin in Mexico 1963, where Clark and the Lotus 25 delivered a faultless drive to cap one of the greatest seasons in F1 history, while Ferrari’s John Surtees saw his race end in heartbreak after a pit-lane push-start led to disqu...

6 days ago

13 minutes

Chequered Past

26th October 1986: The Drama That Decided Championships

Two races, eleven years apart — both etched into Formula 1 legend. On this day in 1997, the European Grand Prix at Jerez delivered one of the most controversial title deciders in history. Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve went wheel-to-wheel in a collision that crowned one champion and condemned another, ending an era for Williams and Renault while launching Mika Häkkinen’s winning career. We also revisit Adelaide in 1986, where Nigel Mansell’s exploding tyre and Alain Prost’s relentl...

1 week ago

14 minutes

Chequered Past

25th October 1964: The Championship That Was Decided on the Last Lap

On this day in 1964, Formula 1 crowned a champion in the most dramatic fashion imaginable. Three drivers — Jim Clark, Graham Hill and John Surtees — arrived in Mexico City with a chance at glory, but only one would leave as World Champion after a finale that turned on the final lap. In this episode, Chequered Past relives that extraordinary day when fortunes flipped in seconds and history was written in heartbreak and triumph. We also remember the quiet brilliance and tragic loss of Stuart Le...

1 week ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

24th October 1976: The Day That Bravery Took Different Forms

October 24th has given Formula 1 some of its most defining moments — and some of its most human. At Fuji in 1976, James Hunt fought through torrential rain to claim the world title, while Niki Lauda made one of the bravest decisions in racing history by stepping away. At Suzuka in 1993, Ayrton Senna delivered another masterclass to defeat Alain Prost, before famously confronting and punching rookie Eddie Irvine after the race — a flash of raw emotion that showed the uncompromising fire...

1 week ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

23rd October 1977: The Day That Darkened Fuji

October 23 1977 — a day that should have marked Formula 1’s triumphant return to Japan. Instead, the Fuji Speedway finale became a haunting chapter in the sport’s story. In The Day That Darkened Fuji, we revisit James Hunt’s final victory — a race overshadowed by tragedy when Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari crashed, claiming two lives and silencing celebrations. As the fallout reshaped Formula 1’s attitude to safety and logistics, Hunt quietly walked away from his last win — and Fuji itself would...

1 week ago

19 minutes

Chequered Past

22nd October 1989: The Collision That Crowned a Champion

On this day in Formula 1 history, titles were won, tempers flared, and eras ended. In this episode, Chequered Past revisits four unforgettable races that all took place on 22 October — each marking a pivotal chapter in the sport’s story. We begin in Mexico 1967, where Denny Hulme’s calm consistency earned him New Zealand’s first (and still only) World Championship. Then to Japan 1989, for one of the most explosive title deciders of all time — when Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s collision at ...

1 week ago

19 minutes

Chequered Past

21st October 1984: The Races That Clinched the Championships

Some championships are won by fractions, others by fury. In this episode of Chequered Past, we revisit three unforgettable finales — and one late-career revival — that defined Formula 1’s greatest champions. At Estoril in 1984, Niki Lauda sealed his third world title by just half a point, out-thinking his faster teammate Alain Prost in the closest finish in F1 history. Six years later at Suzuka, Ayrton Senna took revenge on Prost in one of the sport’s most controversial title deciders ...

1 week ago

23 minutes

Chequered Past

20th October 1991: The Championship That Crowned a Legend

On this day in 1991, Ayrton Senna sealed his third World Championship in Japan — not with raw speed, but with control, composure, and respect. The Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka became the race that crowned a legend, confirming Senna’s place among the sport’s immortals and ending Nigel Mansell’s title hopes in the gravel. We also remember Swedish talent Gunnar Nilsson, whose career was cut heartbreakingly short but whose courage and compassion left a legacy beyond racing. And we fast-forward t...

1 week ago

15 minutes

Chequered Past

19th October 1958: The Day That Britain Won and Lost

On October 19th, 1958, Formula 1 witnessed its most bittersweet day. In Casablanca, Mike Hawthorn became Britain’s first World Champion — his title sealed through courage, consistency, and a moment of sportsmanship from his rival Stirling Moss. Yet the same race claimed the life of Moss’s teammate Stuart Lewis-Evans, and marked the end of an era for Vanwall. This episode revisits the heartbreak and heroism of the Moroccan Grand Prix, where victory and tragedy crossed the line together. We al...

2 weeks ago

18 minutes

Chequered Past

18th October 2009: The Drive That Sealed the Dream

On 18 October, Formula 1 crowned one of its most unlikely champions. At Interlagos in 2009, Jenson Button charged from 14th to fifth to seal a fairytale title for Brawn GP — a team born from Honda’s ashes less than a year before. We also remember Ludovico Scarfiotti, the last Italian to win Ferrari’s home Grand Prix, whose life combined courage, refinement, and tragedy; celebrate Pascal Wehrlein’s fleeting but fascinating F1 journey from DTM prodigy to Formula E front-runner; and revisit the ...

2 weeks ago

17 minutes

Chequered Past

17th October 1981: The Finale That Gambled Everything

On October 17, Formula One rolled the dice on drama, endurance, and emotion. At Las Vegas in 1981, the Caesars Palace Grand Prix turned a hotel car park into a world-championship arena — where Nelson Piquet’s exhaustion, Alan Jones’s farewell victory, and Bruno Giacomelli’s lone podium delivered one of the strangest finales in F1 history. We then celebrate the birthday of Kimi Räikkönen, tracing his journey from ice-cool prodigy to world champion — through heartbreak at McLaren, glory with F...

2 weeks ago

14 minutes

Chequered Past

16th October 2005: The Dynasties That Defined the Decades

On October 16th, Formula One has often marked the moments when power changes hands. In 2005, Renault sealed their first Constructors’ Championship in Shanghai, ending Ferrari’s long reign and signalling the rise of a new generation. Eleven years earlier, Michael Schumacher reasserted his control at Jerez after returning from suspension — a calm, clinical performance that foreshadowed his decade of dominance. The same date celebrates the birth of Charles Leclerc, Ferrari’s modern standard-bear...

2 weeks ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

15th October 1983: The Tactician That Tamed the Turbos

On 15 October 1983, Formula One’s turbocharged revolution reached its first great climax at Kyalami, where Nelson Piquet sealed his second World Championship with a drive defined not by speed, but by strategy. In a race of attrition and calculation, Piquet eased his Brabham-BMW home in third to become the first turbo-powered world champion, as teammate Riccardo Patrese claimed victory and Ferrari secured the Constructors’ crown. This episode unpacks how precision triumphed over raw power in t...

2 weeks ago

16 minutes

Chequered Past

14th October 2012: The Race That Restored Red Bull's Reign

On 14 October 2012, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing delivered a masterclass at the Korean Grand Prix — a performance that marked the turning point in the fight for the World Championship. As Vettel surged past teammate Mark Webber at the start and never looked back, Red Bull scored their only 1–2 finish of the year, reclaiming control of both titles. Alongside that moment of modern dominance, we remember the fearless Bernd Rosemeyer — born on this day in 1909 — whose brilliance lit up th...

2 weeks ago

15 minutes