Best qualifying and race lap ever

[Yoong Montoya]

Which would you say was the best qualifying lap AND the best race lap ever in F1?

Here's my choices:

QUALIFYING LAP: Senna at Monaco 88
RACE LAP: Senna at Donington 93

[Jordi]

Qualyfing Lap: yes, Senna's at Monaco 88
Race Lap: All the laps Gilles led at the Jarama 81...

[R]

Senna at Donington 93 without a doubt for race lap.

Qualifying lap, that's a bit tougher... I didn't see Senna's qualifying lap in 88 in Monaco. I think I have to pass on this one for now.

Of course, "ever" is hard to say. Depends on what you've seen or not.

[DNQ]

Race Laps. There is only one that needs to be mentioned.

- German Grand Prix 1957, Juan Manuel Fangio, smashing the lap record by seven seconds during the race.

[freud]

R,

I had the mpeg of that lap (Monaco 1988, qualifying) from inbaord camera in Senna's car in my old hard drive (before the harddrive unfortunately lost all data). I downloaded it from a russian website f1.ru (its not on web anymore). I can only say that no human on this planet is capable of driving that lap like Senna did. The tyres were brushing the barriers, creating sparks... it was ultimate limit. Best lap I have ever seen.

[jpmontoya_fan]

Q: Montoya at Monaco 2002
R: Gilles at Dijon 1979

[Rutle]

I agree with best qualifier - Senna '88 - but my favourite race laps are also a memory from Monaco.
Unbelievable driving for the last ten laps from my all time top driver, Jochen Rindt when chasing Jack Brabham home for the win in 1970. He took at least a second a lap out of Brabham's lead over those last 10 laps - enough to force a mistake from Brabham on the very last corner - enabling him to snatch the win.

[paulzinho]

Qualifying lap: I'm gonna have to go for Senna at Monaco in 88. I've read an article in which Senna felt like he wasn't driving the car anymore, almost like an out of body experience and it was at this point he knew he had to stop. To put it into perspective he was well over a second clear of the second placed Prost (1.427 seconds clear). Amazing.

Best race lap, well i'm a huge Senna fan and I was at Donnington in 93. Brilliant drive in an underpowered car and that opening lap was awesome, passing 3 World Champions in superior machinery.

Also Fangio at the Nurburgring deserves a mention here, sounds like an amazing drive, fastest lap well below his pole time on an unforgiving circuit.

[f1manoz]

Dunno about pole. I think Mansells at the 1992 British GP, even with the car advantage, was something pretty special. Two seconds clear of Patrese who drove the SAME car, and 3 seconds ahead of Ayrton of all people. Crowd power came into play.

And his first lap for that race was astonishing.

[Adam43]

Keke's 160mph lap at Silverstone in 1986 has got to be worth a mention.

I need to have a bit of a think...

[Mr V]

i'm with f1manoz on the qualifying lap, Mansells time was awesome! Race lap would proberbly have to be Senna at Donington '93

[Sato san]

qualify ------Mansells 1990 qualifing lap in the Ferrari on the Silverstone GP circuit before they changed it in 91 .

Race---Senna Donnington 93. I was at the bottom of the Craner Curvers into the Old Hairpin STANDING IN A PILE OF MUD ..... and we just see Senna coming round the outside of everyone just as if it was a dry race .

I will never ever forget that sight .

[freud]

I must mention that I was lucky to be at Donington and watch the EUropean GP of 1993. I still remember waking up that morning and looking out of the window watching the thick clouds. I said to myself "300 pounds gone down the drain, today is the worst day to be at a GP". I havent seen such thick clouds at any GP raceday (except for when I was at the Japanese GP of 1994). Well the GP became the most memorable GP I have ever watched. Clearly remember Senna just ruthlessly blitzing pass Schum, his tyres throwing dirty water and mud on Schum's helmet(who by the way was just struggling badly to remain in the race and just didnt have any car control). It was just a great race!

[OVERSTEER]

As a Hill fan, Damon's qualilfying effort which put his Arrows 3rd on the grid for the 1997 Hungarian GP must have been pretty special, considering he was struggling to qualify it at the first race, and I would say the lap that should have put him on pole in the same year at Jerez was too, he should have been on pole because he had to slow for Double waved Yellows caused because of Katayama's well timed spin, he was only 0.064 seconds off even then!

[Mr V]

That (Jerez '97) has to be one of the strangest qualifying sessions of all time, JV, MS and HHF all setting the exact same time, (whats the odds of that?) and as Oversteer says, Damon sticking the Arrows 4th on the grid, but should have been pole!

[PoweredByHonda]

Q-97 Hungary, Damon Hill, Stickin the Arrows on pole
R- Dijon 79 Gilles Villeneuve

[Sato san]

another great qulaifing attempt i remember is when i went To Magny Cours in 1993 , and watched Damon get his first ever pole right from under the nose of his team mate ALAIN PROST . That was quite impressive as Prost was fired up on home ground .

[Adam43]

I don't think Damon put the Arrows on pole. I think he was third. Still, obviously, a great lap!

Paul, I think you definitely onto something with the Fangio lap at Nurburgring. It's a long lap and required more effort than most of the others!

[rte]

Best race 1987 Mansell and Pique. on last lap fight to win race at Silverstone

[Jordi]

You're right Adam, Hill was 3rd at Hungary, didn't get a pole with the Arrows.

[Tye]

I would have to say Senna's pole at Monaco in 1988 was nothing short of unbelievable,it was a lap every race fan should see.Gilles Villeneuve qualifying at Watkins Glen in the pouring rain in 1979.Some of the journalists thoughts on his laps.

Denis Jenkinson:

"When we saw him going out in the rain,we said,'This we've got to see!'Some members of the press,who think they know it all, don't bother to go out when it rains.But I was out on a corner in the rain watching him and all the hardball members of the press were with me.We had to see this.It was something special.Oh,he was fantastic!He was unbelievable!"

Nigel Roebuck:

"That day in the rain at Watkins Glen was almost beyond belief!It truly was.You would think he had 300 horsepower more than anybody else.It just didn't seem possible.The speed he was travelling didn't bear any relation to anybody else.He was eleven seconds faster!"

Jacques Laffite:

While Laffite was in the pits."Why do we bother?He's different from the rest of us.On a seperate level."

Gilles Villeneuve's race at Jarama in 1981 was incredible,as was his battle with Arnoux at Dijon in 1979.

Too many to list

Tye