No Points - But Full Marks For Effort
The motorsport underdog was in Monaco on Sunday afternoon, lifting his leg on some very established racers.
Adrian Sutil, racing for Force India in their debut season, nearly caused the upset of the season as he raced in 4th position, sandwiching the two Ferraris.
Ultimately, some rain, and a below-par (but blameless) Kimi Raikkonen struggled to keep his Ferrari on the leash before using Sutil as a tyre barrier. Retirement for Sutil and a distant pointless finish for Raikkonen.
Underdog moments are rare in Formula One, thanks to the dominance (and in recent seasons, amazing reliability) of the top teams. Yet every now and then a struggling team will dodge the accidents and chaos of a (usually wet or crash-ridden) race and come out with a result that could well see their team survive another season in Formula One.
Here are some other great Formula One underdogs:
Mark Webber, Australian GP, 2002 –Webber’s fifth place gave the struggling Minardi team their only points finish of the season. Possibly Webber’s greatest ever race, shame it was his first.
Damon Hill, Hungarian GP 1997 – Whilst driving for the uncompetitive Arrows team, Hill completely dominated the race and would have won had it not been for the failure of a 50p seal on his car, relegating him to 2nd in the closing stages.
Nigel Mansell – more British bulldog than underdog. His win for Ferrari at the 1989 Hungarian GP, from 12th on the grid on a track notorious for no overtaking, was one of his finest moments, beating Ayrton Senna’s superior McLaren in a straight fight.
Links: Monaco Grand Prix Report
