from https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.is-there-still-hope-for-leclerc-we-revisit-the-biggest-title-comebacks-in-f1.1fSX2eMF1KYxoh4A3k82hy.html

Is there still hope for Leclerc? We revisit the biggest title comebacks
in F1 history
By Samarth Kanal and Mike Seymour 18 September 2022

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the Ferrari driver put together a shock recovery run over the final six
rounds of the season to turn the tables? Or is another Verstappen
triumph a formality? We reflect on some of the biggest title comebacks
in F1 history to gauge just what he’s up against...

John Surtees: 1964
20 points behind with five races to go (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)

John Surtees became the first driver to become the world champion on two
and four wheels, having previously won titles on 350cc and 500cc
motorcycles before winning the drivers’ (and constructors’) titles with Ferrari in 1964.

The Briton faced three retirements in the first four Grands Prix but
followed that up with P3 at Brands Hatch, which put him seventh in the championship and 20 points behind leader Jim Clark. A win at the
Nurburgring brought him closer, but retirement in Austria threatened to
remove him from the title fight.

However, triumph in front of the tifosi at Monza, plus P2 finishes in
the USA and Mexico – helped by team mate Lorenzo Bandini – meant Surtees won the championship by a single point over Graham Hill.

READ MORE: Life after Ferrari – How have superstar drivers fared after leaving the Scuderia?

Formula One World Championship
(L to R): Graham Hill, John Surtees and Lorenzo Bandini on the podium at
the 1964 German Grand Prix
James Hunt: 1976
17 points behind with three races to go (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)

The 1976 season was one of the most memorable in F1 history given Niki Lauda’s horrifying crash at the Nurburgring, his remarkable recovery and return, and the intriguing way in which the championship unfolded.

Over the first half of the season, Lauda stormed clear of Hunt in the
standings to give himself a buffer of more than two race wins. But then
came his fiery accident and a two-race spell on the sidelines that all
but eradicated his lead. That Lauda returned to action at Monza – just
weeks after being given the last rites in his hospital bed – was
scarcely believable, with the Austrian doing what he could to keep Hunt
at bay.

Ultimately, Lauda’s decision to withdraw his car from the season finale
in Japan – amid heavy rain – paved the way for Hunt to clinch the title, scoring the points he needed with a hard-fought podium finish.

WATCH: When Niki Lauda met Freddie Hunt

Play Video
Top 10: Moments of James Hunt Brilliance
Keke Rosberg: 1982
16 points behind with five races to go (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)

Alain Prost’s brace of victories put him in contention for the 1982
title before compatriot Didier Pironi took the lead – Keke Rosberg a
distant fifth in the championship with five of the 16 rounds left to play.

A terrible accident at Hockenheim, however, changed everything, with
Pironi suffering career-ending injuries. John Watson, who was then
second in the championship, didn’t score in Germany – but Rosberg did,
the Finn following that with P2 in Austria (by 0.05s from winner Elio de Angelis) to pass Watson in the standings. A win for Rosberg at the Swiss
Grand Prix – his only triumph of the season – gave him the lead by three points.

A non-score in Italy, however, brought Watson back into the frame,
setting up a title-decider at Las Vegas where Watson finished second to Rosberg's P5, giving Keke his first and only championship.

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The Williams team celebrate as Keke Rosberg (FIN) Williams FW08 crosses
the line to claim his first GP win and the only victory in his
championship winning season
Keke Rosberg took his one and only victory of the 1982 season at the
Swiss Grand Prix
Nelson Piquet: 1983
14 points behind with three races to go (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)

Alain Prost looked set to claim overall honours in 1983 until the title
race erupted across the final four rounds. After the Renault driver
collided with Brabham rival Nelson Piquet at the Dutch Grand Prix, 14
points separated the pair, with Rene Arnoux sitting between them.

Next time out at Monza, Piquet capitalised on a turbo-related retirement
for Prost to take the victory, before doubling down at Brands Hatch with another win – moving tantalisingly close in the standings.

Prost still held the lead going into the season finale at Kyalami, but
another DNF (again due to turbo trouble) opened the door for Piquet, who pounced by making it onto the podium and grabbing the title. Prost would
have to wait two more years to break his championship duck.

Dutch Grand Prix: 5 dramatic moments from the F1 archive

Play Video
All The Angles: Prost and Piquet collide in Netherlands 1983
Alain Prost: 1986
11 points behind with two races to go (points system: 9-6-4-3-2-1)

Not since 1960 had a driver (Jack Brabham) defended their title, and
Prost seemed to be fighting a losing battle in 1986 with two rounds
left, Williams’ Nigel Mansell having just won the Portuguese Grand Prix
over Prost in his McLaren.

Cue another classic as, with P2 in the penultimate round in Mexico,
Prost jumped to within six points of Mansell – dropping the other
Williams of Nelson Piquet to third in the standings.

The more powerful Honda-powered Williams had the advantage in the final
round in Adelaide. But then Mansell’s title charge went up in a
spectacular shower of sparks, steel and rubber, the astonishment
palpable from the microphones of James Hunt and Murray Walker in the
video below.

With Piquet pitting to avoid a similar tyre failure, Prost powered to
his 25th Grand Prix win and second World Championship in amazing
circumstances.

READ MORE: Under the bodywork of 1986’s best F1 car, the Williams FW11

Play Video
Murray Walker's famous commentary of Mansell's tyre blowout at Australia
1986
Kimi Raikkonen: 2007
17 points behind with two races to go (points system: 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1)

Kimi Raikkonen defied the odds in 2007 when he scored a maximum 20
points from the final two races to overturn a 17-point deficit.

After the Japanese Grand Prix, it was Lewis Hamilton who led the way, 12
points clear of McLaren team mate Fernando Alonso and a further five
ahead of Raikkonen. But a hugely dramatic retirement for Hamilton in
China (when he slid off at the pit entry with worn intermediate tyres)
turned the situation on its head.

Still seven points down, Raikkonen coolly claimed another victory at the
season finale in Brazil – backed up by Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa – while Hamilton had to settle for seventh after encountering early
gearbox issues, with Alonso third – meaning the Finn beat them to the
title by a single point.

BEYOND THE GRID: 'I wouldn't change a single thing' – Kimi Raikkonen on
his career and retirement from F1

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Sebastian Vettel: 2010 and 2012
2010: 31 points behind with six races to go (points system: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1)

Sebastian Vettel may have swept 2010-13 for all four of his
championships, but they didn't all come easy to the then-Red Bull
driver. In 2010, the title came down to a four-way fight between Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton and Mark Webber, with Ferrari's Alonso the favourite.

Red Bull had imperfect reliability that year, while the relationship
between Webber and Vettel had soured too, flashpoints flaring in Turkey
and Korea between the German's wins in Japan and Brazil. When it came to
the finale at Abu Dhabi, Vettel won the race and had to wait until
Alonso crossed the finish line in P7 – behind Vitaly Petrov – to be
crowned Weltmeister by four points over the Spaniard.

WATCH: Radio Rewind – The story of Abu Dhabi 2010

2012: 39 points behind with seven races to go (points system: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1)

As the 2012 season crept past the halfway mark, Vettel's hopes of
defending his 2011 title were fading, and Alonso seemed destined for a
third championship given Vettel's retirement in Italy – where Hamilton
won from pole.

But when Hamilton's gearbox failed in Singapore, Vettel inherited the
win and Japan would be even sweeter (a Grand Slam) as Alonso retired on
the first lap. Korea saw Vettel overhaul team mate Webber for victory
and then in India, Vettel dominated to lead the championship by 13
points – a lead that he'd retain until the very end of the season – with championship-worthy drives in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

EXCLUSIVE: Onboard for Vettel's epic, incident-packed first 8 laps of
Brazil 2012

Play Video
Race Highlights - Brazil 2012
Lewis Hamilton: 2017
14 points behind with nine races to go (points system: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1)

While this is far from the greatest comeback in F1 history, Hamilton did
have to overturn a points deficit several times en route to the 2017
crown. Vettel made a lightning start to the season by winning three of
the first six races and finishing second in the others – sending a clear message of intent.

The battle ebbed and flowed as the campaign developed, spiking with a controversial clash in Azerbaijan, but it was Vettel who entered the
summer break as the leader – the then-Ferrari driver 14 points ahead of Hamilton.

However, it all went wrong for Vettel at the start of the final flyaway sequence as he suffered two retirements in three races – including a
dramatic collision with team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Singapore. From there, Hamilton romped to glory,
ultimately finishing 46 points clear.

F1 Vault: Drama as Hamilton wins fourth title in Mexico

Play Video
Race highlights - Mexico 2017

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