Although Stirling Moss won the only championship-ranking Morocco Grand Prix in a Vanwall, the plaudits went to Mike Hawthorn who clinched the world title by one point. Moss needed to win, set the fastest lap and have Hawthorn finish below second to take the crown; he achieved the first two but Hawthorn in a Ferrari finished almost a minute-and-a-half behind him, thanks to team-mate Phil Hill allowing him to pass. As the two drivers were mobbed at the finish, Moss grinned and shook Hawthorn's hand. "So you got it you old so-and-so," he said. However, the day was marred by a serious crash which left Moss' team-mate Stuart Lewis-Evans with burns over three-quarters of his body; he died six days later.
2008
Lewis Hamilton ensured the season would be decided in Brazil with victory in the Chinese Grand Prix, with his nearest rival Felipe Massa second. But Hamilton, who headed to South America needing four points to guarantee the title, warned: "Remember last year? It's not over until it's over." How right he was. As a spectacle, the race was tedious from the off, with the only overtaking manoeuvre involving the leading drivers coming when Kimi Raikkonen ceded second place to Ferrari team-mate Massa. "It was pretty boring even for us drivers," admitted Massa.
1924
Antonio Ascari won the third Italian Grand Prix by more than 16 minutes from Louis Wagner, Alfa Romeos taking the first four places, with the fourth-placed Ferdinando Minoia a remarkable 48 minutes clear of Jules Goux in fifth. Mercedes withdrew from the race after Count Louis Zborowski, the millionaire racing driver son of a Polish Count and an American mother,crashed into a tree and was killed.
1969
Denny Hulme won the Mexican Grand Prix but the title had already gone to Jackie Stewart who came fourth. Stewart led briefly at the start before Hulme took charge, eventually beating Jackie Ickx by three seconds with 43-year-old Jack Brabham in third. "I'm satisfied," Stewart said. "There was nothing wrong with the car. Denny just drove a great race."
