10 Last Lap Fails From The World Of Motorsport

This moment inspired a piece on last lap errors. Sebastian Vettel was running fifth at the recent German GP but he thought the race ended on lap 66, not realising there was another one left to go before the chequered flag. He slowed, went off track to pick up some extra tyre debris for weight and then realised what was going on. Amazingly despite losing 14 seconds, he still kept hold of fifth.

Riccardo Russo was leading the 2012 Italian CIV championship race at Mugello when he slowed, punching the air in celebration. He thought he’d won, but in fact there was still one lap left to go. Russo ended up finishing 14th…

The Russo incident is very similar to Julián Simón celebrating what he thought was victory in a 125cc motorbike race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, only to realise there was one tour of the track remaining. He eventually finished fourth.

Nigel Mansell was leading the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix and slowed down into the sector three hairpin, waving to the crowds. But he didn’t change gear and let the revs go too low, stalling the car and being forced to retire. Officially his DNF was classified as an electrical problem. But it proved to be a costly error.

Maybe it’s a bit cruel to class this one as a fail, but it certainly cost Kimi Raikkonen a strong result. The Finn flat-spotted his tyres with a lock-up during the 2005 European Grand Prix and the regulations during that season stated drivers were not allowed to change tyres unless it was dangerous.

McLaren had the option to pit him and lose the lead but decided to keep him out. He remained out front heading into the Nurburgring’s first corner on the last lap but the vibrations from the flat-spot were so severe it caused Raikkonen’s suspension to fail, with his car spinning into the gravel. Fernando Alonso claimed the lead and took the win.

The Indianapolis 500 is one of the world’s most famous and prestigious motor races, so winning it is a pretty big deal. J.R. Hildebrand was leading the 2011 race with a few turns to go but at the final bend he ran wide while lapping a car and hit the wall, with Dan Wheldon powering past to win. Hildebrand was able to coast across the line in second.

Björn Wirdheim was leading the F3000 Monaco race in 2003 when he slowed on the run to the chequered flag to celebrate with his team, without realising Nicolas Kiesa was approaching. Kiesa cheekily darted around Wirdheim’s slowed car and claimed the win. Awkward…

We’re not sure who was involved in this late karting fight for the win and what series it was, but the Clay Pigeon Kart Club uploaded this funny clip of a young karter celebrating a little too early and losing the lead on the run to the finish line. Oops!

It doesn’t get more high profile and dramatic than this! Lewis Hamilton went for an overtake on Nico Rosberg on the last lap of the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix but Rosberg seemingly forgot to turn in (he said after the race he had brake issues, and was obviously defending aggressively) and the two collided. Not what Mercedes wanted - they went from a 1-2 finish to a winner and a fourth place.

This last lap crash may not have been for the lead of the 2014 Canadian GP but it was still pretty chaotic. Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa collided on the run to the first corner and hit the wall hard. Both were OK but it took away some potentially good results after a manic race.

Got any other examples? Let us know below!