GREATEST RACES #18: Alonso triumphs as heavy rain wreaks havoc at the Nurburgring – 2007 European Grand Prix

To mark F1's 75th anniversary celebrations, F1.com is counting down the sport's 25 greatest races with a new feature every week. While you may not agree with the order, we hope you enjoy the stories of these epic races that have helped make this sport what it is today. You can read the introduction to the series and see the list of races here.

At No. 18, Anna Francis recalls the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, an event that featured everything from a backmarker leading on their debut, a dramatic Turn 1 pile-up courtesy of treacherous rain and a thrilling late-race duel that sparked quite the fallout after the chequered flag.

As this countdown of F1’s greatest races highlights, a Grand Prix can become a classic for a variety of reasons; perhaps there was a storyline-packed build-up that heightened the tension, or the weather proved unpredictable and an unexpected turn of events unfolded, or maybe the drama continued well after the chequered flag had fallen.

The 2007 European Grand Prix basically ticked off every point on this list. It was an encounter that took place in the middle of a fascinating and closely-fought season, with the Nurburgring playing host to the 10th round of a 17-race calendar – and a race that lives on in the memories of fans 18 years later.

Hamilton crashes in Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton, in his rookie campaign for McLaren, arrived into the weekend as the championship leader – and, given the points system then in play (which awarded the top eight drivers, from 10 points for the winner through to one for P8), he would leave still on top regardless of the result, having built a 12-point advantage over team mate Fernando Alonso.

However, evidently Alonso – who was equal on wins with Hamilton, the pair having taken two apiece – could still cut into Hamilton’s lead if the cards fell in his favour. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen also remained in the mix, sitting third in the standings just six points adrift of Alonso after claiming three victories, while the other red car of Felipe Massa had won twice.

It was Hamilton and Raikkonen who set the pace during the weekend’s practice sessions, but the former’s strong run hit a snag when he suffered a heavy crash in Q3 of Qualifying, the right front tyre on his MP4-22 bursting and sending him into the wall at Turn 8. Team boss Ron Dennis blamed the incident on a faulty wheel gun failing to secure the tyre to the car.

Hamilton was airlifted to hospital for precautionary checks – after reassuringly giving a thumbs-up to the crowd – and his participation in Sunday’s race remained in doubt. Having been unable to continue in the session, the Briton’s original time put him in 10th, while Raikkonen took pole ahead of Alonso and Massa.

After the dust settled on that eventful Saturday, attentions switched to Sunday’s race. Hamilton returned to action and joined the rest of the pack as they lined up for the 60-lap encounter in initially dry conditions – but the weather forecast looked ominous…

Cars pile up as rain arrives – and a surprise leader emerges

While the dark clouds that had gathered over the Nurburgring hinted at imminent rain, the field lined up on slick tyres. Further back, however, Spyker’s Markus Winkelhock – making his F1 debut – pitted for wet tyres at the end of the formation lap, meaning that he would start the race from the pit lane.

Within just a couple of laps, that would prove to be something of a genius call by the backmarker team. Raikkonen had initially led from pole, with Massa following after getting ahead of Alonso, while Hamilton made an impressive start to climb up to sixth by the first corner.

However, a collision between the BMW Sauber cars resulted in Hamilton getting tagged and picking up a puncture, dropping the McLaren backwards. Meanwhile rain had started to fall on some parts of the circuit – prompting the majority of the field to pit at the end of Lap 1 for intermediate tyres.

Raikkonen was one of the few to remain out on track, having missed the pit entry after a mistake in the increasingly tricky conditions. While the Finn made a stop after Lap 2 along with the other cars that had stayed out, Winkelhock had found himself in the lead.

But soon the rain had become even heavier, sparking incredible scenes as car after car aquaplaned off the circuit and into the gravel at Turn 1, where something of a ‘river’ of standing water had formed.

The Safety Car was deployed as the process of recovering a total of five stricken cars began, but it was quickly decided that conditions were too dangerous to continue in, meaning that the race was red flagged.

Order changes at the restart

After around 15 minutes, the drivers prepared to take the restart – with the exception of Jenson Button (Honda), Adrian Sutil (Spyker), Nico Rosberg (Williams), Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso), all of whom had fallen victim to the Turn 1 car park.

Hamilton, meanwhile, had been amongst those to aquaplane off the circuit but, having kept his engine running, his McLaren was hoisted back onto the track by a crane, meaning that he was able to continue on in the race under the regulations then in place.

While the Briton was a lap down at the restart, he was able to unlap himself as the Grand Prix resumed under the Safety Car, before diving into the pits to bolt on slick tyres. It was a gamble that failed to pay off as he soon had another foray off the still-wet track, though again managed to rejoin.

Winkelhock’s moment in the sun also quickly came to an end after a few laps, with the likes of Massa and Alonso soon overtaking him – and things worsened further when his Spyker suffered a hydraulic failure on Lap 15, bringing his eventful sole F1 appearance to an early end.

It soon transpired that Winkelhock would not be the only retiree following the restart, with Ralf Schumacher (Toyota) and Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) each recording a DNF a few laps later – but a ninth and final retirement would prove to be the most significant in terms of the championship fight….

Raikkonen out as Alonso snatches the lead from Massa

While his switch to slick tyres had initially backfired, Hamilton subsequently looked to have strong pace on a track that was drying out, leading other frontrunners to pit for dry tyres. One of the first to do so was Raikkonen, allowing the Finn to haul himself back up to third behind Massa and Alonso.

The Ferrari driver continued to chase down the leaders from there – yet his charge was brought to an abrupt halt when his car was struck by a mechanical issue, forcing him to retire at just over half distance in a blow to his title hopes.

It still seemed as if the Scuderia were on for victory at the Nurburgring, though, thanks to the sister car of Massa, who maintained his lead over Alonso through what had looked to be the final round of pit stops, despite the two-time World Champion slowly closing in.

But the weather gods had not quite finished their day’s work yet. The rain returned as the race entered into its final 10 laps, leading to another flurry of action in the pit lane as the majority of the field headed in for intermediate tyres – with the exception of Hamilton, taking another gamble by remaining out on the slicks.

However, with the downpour showing no signs of abating, Hamilton eventually had to stop, dropping him down to 10th place. Meanwhile, the other McLaren of Alonso was trying to find a way past Massa.

On Lap 56 the move finally came, with Alonso boldly going around the outside at Turn 5 in a sequence that saw the two cars make contact. Further back, team mate Hamilton also gained a position before the end by grabbing P9 from Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella.

As the chequered flag fell on an action-packed afternoon at the Nurburging, Alonso crossed the line to take victory by eight seconds from Massa, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber completed the podium in third. The race might have been over, but there was still more drama to come…

A heated debate after the chequered flag

After the drivers had arrived into parc ferme, Alonso highlighted the damage that he had picked up in his scrap with Massa, directing the television cameras to zoom in on the area of his car affected as he wagged his finger.

The fallout did not end there either; any fans watching that day will doubtless recall the heated debate that ensued between Massa and Alonso before heading out onto the podium, with Massa eventually walking away from the two-time World Champion – who seemed to brush off the argument by smiling at the watching camera and victoriously pumping his fist in the air.

They then proceeded to the rostrum for a slightly tense podium ceremony, with a marked contrast between the jubilant Alonso and a still perturbed Massa – and as if that didn’t make it memorable enough, Michael Schumacher formed part of the ceremony following his retirement just a few months earlier, the seven-time World Champion tasked with handing the Teams’ trophy to former rival Ron Dennis.

Massa later said about his clash with Alonso in the post-race press conference: “I was really surprised when he came to say that I did that on purpose. I would never do something like that on purpose.”

Alonso, meanwhile, suggested he was sorry for the argument as he added: “We touched each other two times [on the track] and I apologise to him because I was so stressed when I finished the race, because we nearly didn't finish the race.

“I apologise if I said anything to him, because it's motor racing and it's a fight. We finished the race, so I don't want to talk any more about this and I want to enjoy the win.”

With Alonso having closed the gap to just two points to Hamilton in the championship standings, it marked the latest twist in a dramatic season famed for what would become an increasingly tense intra-team battle between the McLaren pair.

Indeed, just one race later in Hungary, a notorious incident took place where Alonso remained stationary in the squad’s pit box during Qualifying with Hamilton waiting behind, resulting in Hamilton then not having enough time to complete a lap.

Alonso only won one more race that season after his Nurburgring triumph, while Hamilton claimed a further two victories – but it was Raikkonen’s late-season momentum that helped ‘the Iceman’ to make a remarkable comeback and win his one and only championship by just one point, the last time to date that a driver claimed a title for Ferrari.