On lap 30, while leading the race and lapping backmarkers, Kimi had a lock-up and flat-spotted his front-right tyre. However, at the time, the rules stipulated that a tyre could only be changed without penalty for a puncture, damage caused by debris, or if it started raining. Kimi persevered, with the tyre looking more and more damaged – but the bigger problem was the vibration it was causing, putting huge load into the suspension. He nearly got away with it, but starting the final lap, the suspension shattered, punting the Finn out of the race. 

Having built up a 50-second lead over team-mate Alain Prost by lap 54, Ayrton and Alain started trading fastest laps. Reluctant to jeopardise a one-two finish, the team asked them both to back it off. Then, on lap 67, 11 laps from home, Ayrton went off into the barrier at Portier. There are different versions of the story, even within the team. The kindest version is that he had a slow puncture which pitched him into the outside wall, other theories say he either understeered directly off or, most persuasive, clipped the inside barrier and speared across the track, having suffered from losing the beautiful rhythm he was in. There’s no footage, and Ayrton didn’t offer an explanation. Having crashed near his apartment, he jumped out and walked home. 

Mika had built an eight-second lead over championship rival and Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine by the midpoint in the race, whereupon he made a mistake approaching the Rettifilo Chicane, selected the wrong gear and spun himself out of the race. Mika’s one of the least demonstrative drivers you’ll ever meet, but the body language as he throws his steering wheel and then his gloves tell their own story – as do the helicopter images of him crouching in the woods with his head in his hands. “I sat down under a tree to collect my emotions, but it was futile. I cried,” was Mika’s succinct summary. Turned out alright in the end though… 

The 1986 season finale in Adelaide has overwhelmingly positive memories for McLaren. Despite Williams having by far the superior package in 1986, we managed to fly out of Australia with a race victory and an unlikely Drivers’ Championship title for Alain Prost. Less memorable is the fact that it was 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg’s final race before retirement, and the Finn had to retire from the lead with a puncture 20 laps from home. He hadn’t won a race for McLaren but looked like having a fairy-tale ending – instead, it was simply Grimm. Given Alain needed the victory to take the title, it was perhaps not a race Rosberg was destined to win – but it still feels like one that got away. 

The worst collisions are the ones where you hit your team-mate. The very worst are when that collision denies the team a victory. Such was the case in 1977 at Mosport Park, when James Hunt and Mario Andretti were having a race of their own out in front: they lapped the entire field except for third-placed Jochen Mass in the other McLaren. As the leaders came up to lap Mass, Hunt used the distraction to pass Andretti – but then ran into Mass. Hunt shakes his fist at Mass and then punches a marshal. Not cool.

Light rain began to fall just before the start, making the track greasy – but not quite enough for rain tyres. When the rain got worse, Lewis, like most of the field, pitted for Inters. Team-mate Jenson Button and Nico Hülkenberg stayed out, and when the rain proved to be brief, found themselves with a lead of almost a minute – only for a Safety Car to wipe out their advantage. Lewis passed both for the lead and looked a good bet for victory. But, on a damp track, Hülkenberg attacked. He got out of shape braking for the Senna S and hammered into Lewis’ front left, destroying the suspension. Lewis’ final race for McLaren wasn’t quite the send-off everyone in the team was hoping for. But Jenson inherited the victory. Which was nice.

When the rain started to fall a little heavier – but only on certain corners – most of the field elected to pit for Inters but the McLaren driver leading the race elected to stay out on slicks. This may sound like recent history but, actually, it’s what happened 22 seasons back at the Nürburgring. In typically undecided Eifel weather, the 1999 European Grand Prix was chaotic. As Martin Brundle on commentary said: “Every lap is a whole new adventure.” Anyone who didn’t lead the race at some point will have felt left-out, but David Coulthard had an excellent opportunity to take his third win of the season and move to within three points of the championship lead with two races remaining. His hopes were dashed, however, on lap 37 when, with the track getting ever-more slippery, he locked a brake into the downhill Turn Four and slithered slowly into the barriers. Rarely has a title challenge ended with so gentle a contact.