Five classic Japanese Grand Prix wins

Round 17 of the F1 season takes us quickly onto Japan and, with 13 world champions being crowned here in 31 Grands Prix, it has played host to some epic battles and breathtaking performances over the years. Planet F1 picks out five particular favourites.

1976

“My life is worth more than a title,” said then championship leader Niki Lauda after he retired just two laps into a very wet and foggy Grand Prix at Fuji. It left James Hunt needing to finish in fourth or above to steal the title away from the German, but it would be far from straightforward.

The track began to dry up and, seemingly, so did Hunt’s title chances. He started to lose positions and a tyre problem threatened to derail his bid altogether. After pitting, though, Hunt returned to the race in fifth place and, with just two laps remaining, overtook both Clay Regazzoni and Alan Jones to finish third and win the world championship by a single point.

1989

The Japanese Grand Prix has also played a major role in the iconic rivalry between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, and 1989 was the year of their infamous collision with just a handful of laps to go at Suzuka. The crash handed Prost the title, but Senna was determined to not go down with …

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