Best F1 races of all time: Formula 1’s list, the fans’ picks and the records

Which races Formula 1 rates as the greatest

First place in the list by the Formula 1 website’s editors goes to the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. For the championship’s 75th anniversary, from 13 May to 30 October 2025, the site counted down the 25 greatest races in its history, from 25th place to first. This was the editors’ choice, not a fan vote.

Winners and figures in the table are from our f1db results database, and the weather is as Formula 1 describes it. “Decided the title” means the year’s champion was settled at that race.

Eight of the 25 races decided the title, and in four of them the race was won by someone other than the new champion. How the closest championships were settled is in the article “F1 champions by year”, and the 2021 finale is covered in the article on Abu Dhabi 2021.

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was stopped for more than two hours because of torrential rain; the details are in the race duration article. The 1957 and 1968 races were held on the old loop of the Nürburgring, the subject of the article “Nordschleife”.

What the fans chose

Fans on the Formula 1 website voted the 2019 German Grand Prix the best race of the 2010s. The site published the results on 11 January 2020: the vote was on a shortlist of ten races picked by the site itself, and the results give no percentages.

Four races are on both lists, the editors’ and the fans’: Canada 2011, Germany 2019, Brazil 2012 and Germany 2018.

The Formula 1 website published the results of the fan votes for the race of the season on 16 December 2024 and 19 December 2025:

• 2024: the São Paulo Grand Prix, with 37% of the vote. Verstappen won it from 17th on the grid. Next came Great Britain (17%), Italy (9%), Miami (8%) and Monaco (6%).
• 2025: the British Grand Prix, with 22%. According to Formula 1, Lando Norris won in mixed conditions, and Nico Hülkenberg took his first podium on his 239th start. São Paulo was second (16%).

The closest finishes

The smallest winning margin belongs to Peter Gethin at Monza in 1971: he beat Ronnie Peterson by 0.01 s. The rule: the gap between the winner and second place in the f1db results, for races from 1950 to 2025.

At Monza in 1971 the first four finished within 0.18 s and the first five within 0.61 s, and Gethin himself had started 11th. In the United States in 2002 both drivers were with Ferrari, and Schumacher had already won the 2002 title: it was decided in July, at the French Grand Prix.

Wins from furthest back

John Watson won from furthest back: at Long Beach in 1983 he started 22nd. The rule: the winner’s grid position in f1db, for races from 1950 to 2025, not counting the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960 or wins in shared cars.

Watson is the only driver to have won twice from 17th or further back. In the Indianapolis 500, which was part of the championship from 1950 to 1960, Bill Vukovich won from 19th in 1954. Two races in the table, Japan 2005 and São Paulo 2024, are also on Formula 1’s list.

The best races in the rain

Our database has no weather, so the wet races come from Formula 1’s list: the headlines and introductions of its articles mention rain or a wet track for eight of the 25 races.

• Canada 2011: torrential rain and a stoppage of more than two hours, 1st on the list.
• São Paulo 2024: Verstappen’s win from 17th on the grid, 3rd.
• Germany 2019: 6th, and the fans’ best race of the 2010s.
• Great Britain 2008: Hamilton’s win, 7th.
• Germany 1968: rain, low cloud and fog, 14th.
• Belgium 2000: Häkkinen’s win, 1.1 s ahead of Schumacher, 17th.
• Europe 2007: heavy rain at the Nürburgring, 18th.
• Belgium 1963: Clark’s win by almost five minutes, 24th.

Fans voted the British Grand Prix the best race of the 2025 season, and according to Formula 1 it was run in mixed conditions. How wet-weather tyres work and when they are fitted is explained in the chapter “Tyres and pit stops”.