The ten most memorable moments from the 2017 Formula 1 season

These are the moments which stand out after a season of racing in Formula 1.

Kevin Magnussen’s brutal (and ballsy) comeback

It was an interaction that left us saying, “Did he really just…. Yup! He really just said that” to our televisions. Following a coming together on track, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg came face-to-face in the media pen after the race. Hulkenberg called Magnussen the most unsporting driver in the field, with the Danish driver returning serve with the simple but brutal “Suck my balls, honey”. It’ll be a quote we won’t forget quickly

Watch the ballsy exchange here

Teammates at war

It was a rivalry that kept the carbonfibre layup department at Force India busy during the season - Sergio Perez vs Esteban Ocon. Perez is a veteran of the F1 field, while Ocon was in just his first full-time season. After a number on disastrous on-track clashes Force India implemented a sort of team restraining order preventing the pair from getting too intimate on track. Judging from the radio messages, the duo won’t be exchanging Christmas presents this year.

Watch the season's warfare here

Kimi begging for a wheel

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix was a wild affair. From Daniel Ricciardo’s mega three-car pass, to Sebastian Vettel’s complete brain failure (more on that later), it was a classic from start to finish. One of the stranger moments from the race was at the end of the red flag period, when Ferrari was pushing Kimi Raikkonen’s car down the grid, with the Finnish driver begging to be handed his steering wheel. It was a wonderfully oddball scene.

Ricciardo bird spotting in Hungary and Abu Dhabi

The ol’ one-fingered salute is a rare sight these days in Formula 1, but Ricciardo dished a pair of them out this year.

First was for his teammate Max Verstappen after they came to blows in Hungary at the start of the race. The Honey Badger then offered a sustained middle finger to the consistently ire-inducing Romain Grosjean for blocking him during practice at the final round in Abu Dhabi.

Vettel has a meltdown in Baku

Half of the battle in Formula 1 is a mental game, and well, Sebastian Vettel completely lost it in Azerbaijan. The Ferrari driver made contact with the rear of Lewis Hamilton’s car under safety car conditions, then thinking the Mercedes driver had brake checked him, pulled alongside, and rammed the Brit while gesticulating with his hand.

View the almighty temper tantrum here, which showed Hamilton had decisively gained the upper hand in the pair’s mind games.

Carnage in Singapore

Watching it back, you can almost pinpoint the moment Ferrari fans around the world burst into tears in unison. Vettel, Raikkonen, and Verstappen collided at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, forcing all three to retire, and driving another nail into Maranello’s hopes of winning an F1 championship in 2017.

Hamilton’s Monza rain dance

During the 2017 season, Lewis Hamilton put in some stellar driving performances, but this pole lap from a sodden Monza is among his best. In torrid conditions, Hamilton was searingly quick, using classic karting lines to dominate the field by over a second. The onboard footage is a masterclass in wet-weather driving.

Hamilton and Alonso duke it out in Mexico

Once-McLaren teammates battling for supremacy, these two legends found themselves battling for the same piece of track at the Mexican Grand Prix. Traditionally kept at opposite ends of the grid thanks to huge differences in power from their engines, the McLaren and Mercedes duo duked it out in spectacular fashion. Ultimately Hamilton was the victor in their tussle, but seeing the two world champions battle once more was a sight for sore eyes

The cutest F1 fan in the world

This moment from the Spanish Grand Prix warmed our cold dead hearts. A small boy was spotted in tears, decked out head to toe in Ferrari gear, after Kimi Raikkonen crashed out in the opening laps of the race. To help cheer the child up, Ferrari brought him to its hospitality suite, where he spent the rest of the race hanging out with The Iceman himself.

Tyre Warming with Kimi

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wasn’t the most memorable race of the season but it was enlivened by this moment of pure Kimi sang froid. Clearly feeling that his tyres were warm enough, Raikkonen decided that lateral-G is for losers.