Best moment of F1 2019? The Sky F1 team have their say...
Tuesday 24 December 2019 14:10, UK
Unpredictable races, on-track controversies, gripping battles between established and emerging stars… F1 2019 had several standout moments - and we got our Sky Sports F1 team to each select their favourite.
From bedlam in Brazil, to wet-weather chaos in Germany, to intense battles between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen and more, check out what our pundits went for:
Anthony Davidson: Monaco's tense Lewis vs Max finish
"My favourite moment of the year was Monaco between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. In the dying laps of the race, Hamilton's tyres were dying off on those soft tyres and he held off a very feisty Verstappen. The two touched going into the chicane at Turn 10 and in normal circumstances that should have given Lewis a puncture. Somehow it didn't, and it reminded me of 1992: Ayrton Senna fighting off Nigel Mansell in the Williams.
"The best bit after that was Lewis' reaction after the team left him out there. He questioned the strategy at the time and then went up into the office afterwards and sprayed the whole engineering team with champagne! It was brilliant stuff, and one that I definitely remember."
Ted Kravitz: Vettel's dramatic post-race in Canada
"My moment of the year centres around a lovely bit of drama after the Canadian GP. Sebastian Vettel was demoted from first to second for crowding out Lewis Hamilton after going across the grass at the chicane. It meant that Mercedes won the race and the Ferrari was second.
"Vettel was so angry that he wasn't going to go to the podium, he was going to boycott the procedure, and so he parked his car down the other end of the pit lane. He was persuaded to come back in the end, but as he did so he swapped the position boards in parc ferme.
"He put the second in front of Hamilton's car and put the first in what was actually an empty space, because he'd left his Ferrari at the other end of the pit lane. Vettel at his emotional best - a lovely piece of F1 drama!"
Karun Chandhok: Verstappen vs Leclerc in Austria
"My highlight of the year was the Austrian GP where we had all three big teams in contention. On the opening lap, Max Verstappen dropped way down, he was sixth or seventh, and we thought there was no chance he was going to get back to the front. But as the race unfolded, he just picked his way through the traffic and in the end had a great battle with Charles Leclerc.
"These two guys are going to be the stars of the future in F1 and it was brilliant to see them battling wheel-to-wheel, with Max eventually taking a very popular win on Red Bull's home turf."
Johnny Herbert: The gloves come off at Silverstone
"The moment of the season for me has to be Silverstone. Why's that? It was the time of the year when the drivers were allowed to really have their 'gloves off'. The wheel-to-wheel battle we saw between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc was absolutely brilliant. We're going to see more of that in the future but, this year, Silverstone was a 'wow' race."
Paul Di Resta: Verstappen keeps his cool in Hockenheim's rainy chaos
"I have to say the standout for me is the German GP.
"A chaotic race, but Max Verstappen was so stable. He got off to a bad start but he kept his composure and he was on the attack all the way. It was a real changing point on how this guy goes about his business."
David Croft: Hamilton's 'hot pursuit' of Verstappen in Hungary
"Let me take you back to Hungary just before the summer break. A two-stop strategy for Lewis Hamilton against a one-stop strategy for Max Verstappen. Verstappen was in the lead by a long way - 14 seconds, with 15 laps to go - but Hamilton by the end of lap 66 managed to pass him.
"He was catching him at over a second a lap - it was the ultimate hot pursuit from Hamilton. What a battle it was between two of the finest drivers on the grid."
Martin Brundle: Leclerc's maiden win after near-misses
"It has been the best season of the hybrid era so far, without doubt. My personal favourite moment was Charles Leclerc taking his first victory.
"He got close in Bahrain, and car issues robbed him. Then he looked like he could win in Austria, and Max Verstappen came through to take the victory. Finally, at the Belgian GP, Leclerc took his well-earned first victory in Formula 1."
Rachel Brookes: Leclerc delivers for Ferrari at Monza
"Mine has to be Charles Leclerc's win in Monza. I know he won in Spa before that, but in Italy he was finally able to release all that emotion.
"When you look back at the career he's had and the losses he's suffered, to get that win and be able to celebrate in front of the Ferrari fans on that incredible podium - that stays with me as my moment of 2019."
Simon Lazenby: Max vs Lewis at a barnstorming Brazil
"My favourite moment of the season has got to be Brazil. As a race overall it was fantastic but Max Verstappen going head to head with Lewis Hamilton, any time those two come together on the track it is box office. Max nailing those two moves on the same corner was absolutely amazing."
