Homeland heroes - when the crowd gives the driver wings
In the 75-year history of Formula 1 exist many majestic races with many plots, crashes, chaos etc. However, there are also a few instances of home drivers being pushed by fans close to a victory and getting emotional afterward. I would like to introduce 5 races that have been won by a home driver.
1. Brazil 1991 - Senna's masterclass regardless of issues
Despite of fact that the Brazilian GP on Interlagos is a classic occasion for F1 from the beginning of Senna's career, the three-time world champion had to wait for a home victory for almost 8 years. After qualifying on pole position, he made a perfect start and had a comfortable 50-second lead over Riccardo Patrese because Nigel Mansell got a puncture. Nonetheless, his gearbox got stuck at 6 gear with about 15 laps to go and the gap was decreased to about three seconds. Luckily, Patrese had gearbox issues as well which made it impossible for him to pass Senna. After this victory, Ayrton became completely immortal for the Brazilian people, and the chant "Ole, ole, ole, ola, Senna, Senna" has been chanted in every single corner of this South American country.
2. Germany 2013 - The German got the wings
Sebastian Vettel is considered as one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers in history with four championship titles between 2010 and 2013. Nevertheless, regardless of his dominance in previous season and few prominent wins before, he hadn't won in Germany until 2013 on Nürburgring. After qualifying second behind Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, he had solid chances that time. Especially after diving down the inside of Brit into sharp first turn. Haunted by Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton, Vettel covered them by undercut to extend his lead. Additionally, Red Bull's pit crew failed to adjust Webber's rear right tire properly which caused a huge delay thanks to the wheel coming of the rim. After Hamilton loosing race pace, a Finnish driver Kimi Räikkonen tried to overtake him on the very last few laps of the race. German resisted the pressure and came home to remark a very successfull season with 9 wins in a row with a home race win as well.
3. Great Britain 2020 - Hamilton's win on three wheels
The 2020 season will be remembered as a year of Mercedes' dominance. Out of 17 races, 13 of them have been won by Mercedes drivers and the British Grand Prix on Silverstone belongs to that list. After an easy start, it looked like it is going to be another fluent race for the usual TOP 3 that season - Hamilton, Bottas, and Verstappen. Nonetheless, on lap 50 out of 52, Valtteri Bottas got a puncture towards the first corner. The reason was that it was simply too much for the hard compound tire, which had to resist for more than 36 laps. On the final lap, Lewis Hamilton's tire blew up as well with just half a lap to go. Fortunately, Max Verstappen in the second place pitted to ensure his second place and to steal an extra point for the fastest lap of the race so Lewis had a half-a-minute lead over the Dutchman. Considering these circumstances, Hamilton won just by 5 seconds ahead of Max and in front of empty seats due to COVID-19 restrictions. He couldn't believe his eyes what has he done.
4.Netherlands 2021 - Flying Dutchman won again
After 36 years of absence, the Dutch GP returned to Holland thank to the phenomenal Max Verstappen - onwards from this Grand Prix a future four time world champion. After finishing the qualification first, he had a massive advantage ahead of his championship rival Lewis Hamilton, because it is complicated to overtake in Zandvoort. After having a brilliant start, it looked like a Verstappen be setting the pace of this race. And he really did! The only critical moment came when Mercedes' second driver Valtteri Bottas tried to held him of for few moments so Lewis could get an opportunity to pass Verstappen. Unfortunately, this plan wasn't finalized and Max won the race by almost half a minute ahead of Lewis.
5. Monaco 2024 - A casa tua Charles
This story might be surely as emotional as the Senna's one, regardless of being just a few months old. Charles Leclerc, the handsome Monegasque driver and "The Predestined", as Tifosi call him, really desired since being a child of winning in the streets he grew up in.
However, he was really unlucky in previous races.
2017 - He retired from both F2 races due to a mechanical issue
2018 - He crashed into Pierre Gasly because of brake failure
2019 - Leclerc screwed qualifying and got puncture later in the race
2021 - Gearbox failure didn't let him start from pole position
2022 - Ferrari messed up the strategy
2023 - he qualified just third and received 3 position penalty on the grid for holding off Verstappen in qualifying
Luckily, in 2024, he finished the qualifying on top again and if you don't know Monaco - it is impossible to overtake a Formula 1 open-wheel car in there. Especially if you have your teammate in the third place. After being super slow throughout the whole race of purpose, because otherwise he would destroy his tires and Oscar Piastri on McLaren would have a slight chance of passing him, he won the Grand Prix while Italian commentator cried in the commentary box "A casa tua Charles", which means literally "At your home, Charles" in English.
Jakub Ondruš
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