The 30 greatest F1 duels of all time (Part I)

In the first in a three-part series to run over the next three days, here we bring you exciting and entertaining archive footage of some of the greatest wheel-to-wheel duels ever to be fought out in the world of F1...

F1 is a procession, the critics say, with no heroes or gladiators anymore and all the overtaking done in the pits - but it has not always been thus, as this feature highlighting the 30 greatest wheel-to-wheel, no-holds barred duels in the sport's long history goes to show.

Over the next three days, we will be bringing you video footage of some of the most thrilling battles ever witnessed on grand prix tracks right around the world, and fought by legends such as Gilles Villeneuve, Ayrton Senna, Tazio Nuvolari, Juan-Manuel Fangio, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Jim Clark, Michael Schumacher and many, many more.

Beginning with the earliest - a showdown that pre-dated the official inception of the world championship, all the way back in 1935 - here we trace some of F1's finest spectacles from Tazio Nuvolari's epic German Grand Prix victory on arch-rival Mercedes' home turf, right the way up to the naturally-aspirated/turbocharged tussle between Alan Jones and Prost at Hockenheim almost half a century later.

We will bring you further highlights from 1982 to 1992 on Saturday, and from 1993 right the way up to the present day on Sunday, so make sure to keep checking back - and in the meantime, enjoy the action!

Click here for Tazio Nuvolari vs. Manfred von Brauchitsch, 1935 German Grand Prix, N?rburgring

Click here for Juan-Manuel Fangio vs. Mike Hawthorn vs. Peter Collins, 1957 German Grand Prix, N?rburgring

Click here for Jim Clark vs. Graham Hill, 1964 British Grand Prix, Brands Hatch

Click here for John Surtees vs. Jack Brabham vs. Jim Clark vs. Graham Hill, 1967 Italian Grand Prix, Monza

Click here for Peter Revson vs. Graham Hill, 1972 Italian Grand Prix, Monza

Click here for Ren? Arnoux vs. Gilles Villeneuve, 1979 French Grand Prix, Dijon-Prenois

Click here for Carlos Reutemann vs. Mario Andretti, 1980 Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort

Click here for Keke Rosberg vs. Gilles Villeneuve, 1982 United States Grand Prix West, Long Beach

Click here for Gilles Villeneuve vs. Didier Pironi, 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, Imola

Click here
for Alan Jones vs. Alain Prost, 1982 German Grand Prix, Hockenheim

With thanks to www.breakdowncover.org for providing the videos

Read More

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox