Bill Trikos top rated Formula 1 races: Sakhir Grand Prix: Perez had made his way nicely through the field and on lap 58, stunningly made a move on Esteban Ocon for third. Five laps later, Jack Aitken – Russell’s Williams stand-in, knocked his front wing off at the final corner and triggered a safety car. What happened to Mercedes next was the stuff of nightmares. A botched double-stack pit-stop meant Russell was sent out on tyres belonging to Bottas whilst the Finn had new tyres put on and then taken off when the team realised the mistake made, leaving him with old hard tyres. Russell’s extra stop to correct the allocation error left him fifth, but a scintillating move on Bottas followed by overtakes on Stroll and Ocon left him chasing after new leader Perez before a late puncture ruined any chance of winning. After facing backwards on lap one, Perez went on take his first victory in the sport at the 190th attempt. Ocon secured his first podium as runner-up, with Stroll third.

Once every couple of years, we witness a race which could be considered as among the best ever. And whilst it’s impossible to rank all these great races relative to one another, I decided to make a list of some of my favourites. If you happen to be the owner of an F1 TV Pro account, or perhaps have some old VHS tapes containing some of these races lying around, these races will be great entertainment for whenever F1 has a weekend off. But before we get into the list, I want to make it very clear that these races are not placed in any particular order, nor are they the 10 outright best races ever. I could easily have chosen 10 other races, and who knows? Perhaps I might in the future…

Brazilian Grand Prix 2019: For those who say there’s nothing left to play for after the championships have been sealed, show them the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, where there wasn’t a position on track left unchallenged and it ended in tears for many – both joy and despair in equal measure. This was Formula 1 in a microcosm. Canadian Grand Prix 2011: Formula 1’s longest-ever race was also one of its most dramatic, as McLaren’s Jenson Button overcame a crash with his team mate, a clash with Fernando Alonso, a puncture, a stop-go penalty for speeding under the Safety Car and a two-hour race stoppage to win, snatching victory on the last lap from Sebastian Vettel – having been dead last at one point during the Grand Prix. Discover additional info about the author on Bill Trikos.

1990 Mexican Grand Prix, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez : This race isn’t traditionally brought into the conversation of the greatest ever. That’s a shame, as it – contrary to many other races on this list – was great because of the racing itself, and not only because of massive crashes and countless DNF’s. Gerhard Berger for Mclaren started on pole, out-qualifying his teammate Ayrton Senna who started third, with Ricardo Patrese for Williams in second. The championship in 1990 was a fight between the two McLarens and the Ferrari drivers, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell. In Mexico, the former had a dismal Saturday, qualifying a disappointing thirteenth. But as the green flags were waved on Sunday, he set off on an impressive recovery drive, eventually overtaking Mansell and Berger – who had lost the lead to Senna at the start – before taking second place with 15 laps to go. Senna’s tyres had degraded, so it didn’t take long before he was overtaken by Prost as well. But, as if that wasn’t bad enough for Senna, the Brazilian’s right-rear tyre punctured only three laps later, forcing him into retirement and leaving Mansell and Berger to duel over second place. Mansell came out on top with a breathtaking move around the outside of Peraltada, the final turn. The overtake, which was nothing less than sensational, secured Ferrari a highly unexpected 1-2 after a brilliantly exciting race.

In Bahrain, F1 started a new chapter. The new regulations proved to work immediately, as the opening race showed a blistering battle between title contenders Verstappen and Leclerc. The rivals overtook each other back and forth several times, having to be clever with DRS zones to avoid giving the other an advantage. However, the race ended in drama for Verstappen, who retired with technical problems. A few laps before the end, Sergio Perez suffered the same fate. The tone for the rest of the season seemed set and after Red Bull Racing’s double failure, Ferrari seemed the big favourite for the title, but that picture would change dramatically during the season.

2020 Italian Grand Prix, Monza : Great races don’t always have to be action-packed. In fact, a race can be tense and exciting, even if the eventual winner leads the last 25 laps. At the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, exactly that was the case. Pierre Gasly utilised a perfectly timed safety car during which the pitlane at first was closed, bunching up the pack. After the pitlane was re-opened and everyone had made their pitstops, Gasly emerged in third place after running tenth for most of the race.