Podium Valencia in 2012 — Photo: © LAT Images

Team principal names F1's 'MOST EXCITING' race ever

And it's not Abu Dhabi 2021...

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 17 August 2023 12:57 Updated: 22:03

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has revealed what he believes is the most exciting race ever.

The incident-filled European Grand Prix in 2012 is the one that he selected, in a season that was one of the closest the sport has ever seen.

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"My favourite race is Valencia 2012," he told Mclaren's YouTube channel.

"Somebody thinks it’s the most exciting dry race ever in Formula 1. A suggestion to go and take a look."

The race

Just for context, this was a season in which Red Bull were very quick and their lead driver (Sebastian Vettel) was chasing down his third consecutive world championship. Sound familiar?

Well, they certainly weren't as dominant as Max Verstappen has been in 2023, but nonetheless, Vettel raced out of the blocks and had a 20 second advantage after 26 laps.

Sebastian Vettel won four world championships in a row at Red Bull

That all changed, however, when a hefty crash between Jean-Eric Vergne and Heiki Kovalinen brought out the safety car. This bunched the pack together and, when Sebastian Vettel had to retire having lost drive in his Red Bull, Fernando Alonso led the race.

When second-placed Romain Grosjean also had to retire for a similar alternator issue which had done for Vettel, it looking as though the podium positions had sorted themselves, with Raikkonen overtaking Lewis Hamilton for second place and Lewis holding off Pastor Maldonado for third.

But, the race took another twist, Maldonado and Hamilton coming together and knocking each other out of the race, leaving Michael Schumacher to come through and take his first podium since coming out of retirement and, as it happens, the final podium of his career.

Alonso became the first driver to win two races in what was a phenomenal season, and he took over the championship lead. It was of course Vettel who went on to claim the championship that year by just three points.