These dazzling Formula 1 endings preceded Verstappen

With that, he offered James Hunt, the only remaining contender, the chance to close the gap by three points. The Briton was on track to get the job done, but after the rain stopped and the tarmac dried quickly, issues with his wet tires arose. Five laps from the end, he was indeed wrong at the front left.

The pit stop that had become necessary pushed Hunt back from second to fifth, not enough to hoist the flag. A literal catch-up ensued and after knocking out Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni, Hunt crossed the line in third, passing Lauda and pointing to second in the final standings.

2007: Hamilton refined

Lewis Hamilton also has extensive experience with exciting endings. He did not finish in China in 2007, but nevertheless reached Brazil with four points ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso and seven over Kimi Räikkönen.

The leader of the general classification had gearbox problems at the start of the race at Interlagos and could not play any significant role. He only finished seventh. Alonso might have saved the furniture for McLaren Mercedes, but the Spaniard was stuck in third place.