Ranking the Top 5 Overtakes of the 2014 Formula 1 Season

If you were to ask a group of Formula One enthusiasts what they enjoy most about the sport, their answers will vary.

Some may like it when their favourite driver wins, while others—usually the shallower ones—might admit that they take pleasure in watching the cars crash and collide.

They will all, though, enjoy the sight of hard, fair racing.

Not only is overtaking a true test of a driver's skill and judgement, but it represents the perfect balance between risk and reward.

The competitor who lunges down the inside of another car is willing to lose his front wing and ruin his race for the sake of one position, a few extra points and a bucket-load of satisfaction.

It is, essentially, the arena in which F1 heroes are born and raised.

And with that in mind, here are the top five overtakes of the 2014 season.

Honourable Mentions

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Jules Bianchi's pass on Kamui Kobayashi at Rascasse in the Monaco Grand Prix was the defining moment of Marussia's breakthrough afternoon, even if the aggressive manoeuvre was on the edge of acceptability.

Daniel Ricciardo, who features prominently in this list, excelled from an overtaking perspective in the Japanese Grand Prix, passing Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, the Williams drivers, in identical moves at Suzuka's Esses. 

Special mention, too, must go to 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who resorted to unorthodox measures to pass Kevin Magnussen in Monaco. 

The Finnish driver claimed seventh place, albeit temporarily, from Magnussen by overshooting the Grand Hotel Hairpin, leaving both cars stuck in a dead end and creating a partial roadblock.

If nothing else, it proved that when there's a will, there's always a way when it comes to overtaking.

5. Nico Hulkenberg Takes Kevin Magnussen by Surprise (Monaco GP)

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The Monaco Grand Prix circuit, due to its tight and twisty nature, has very few overtaking spots.

And even in the areas where passing is possible—the first corner, the Grand Hotel Hairpin and the Nouvelle Chicane—no move is completed without an element of risk.

Portier, the turn before the tunnel, is considered a no-go area as far as overtaking is concerned, which perhaps helped Nico Hulkenberg get by Kevin Magnussen on Lap 32 of this year's race.

The Force India driver held a tighter line into Turn 7 and, just as Magnussen began to swing his car toward the apex of Portier, Hulkenberg popped up alongside the McLaren.

That left Magnussen exposed, with the rookie faced with no choice but to back out of the corner and give up seventh position.

At a corner that once saw the great Ayrton Senna crash out of the lead without assistance, the fact that two cars made it through Portier without contact made the pass all the more remarkable.

4. Sebastian Vettel Muscles Past Fernando Alonso at Copse (British GP)

Sebastian Vettel's pass on Fernando Alonso was the final act of a titanic 14-lap battle between the pair in the British Grand Prix.

Not an inch was given between the former world champions, who spent most of those laps complaining about each other's conduct until the Red Bull driver undercut Alonso at the Luffield corner (see the 3:15 mark in the above video).

Vettel's superior traction allowed him to pull alongside the Ferrari as they hurled down the old pit straight.

Separated by centimetres and gaining in speed, it then became a question of nerve: Who would blink first?

Positioned on the outside ahead of the 180 mph right-hander of Copse, Alonso was the first to deploy his parachute, braking a touch earlier than Vettel and therefore allowing the German to take fifth place.

It was Alonso and Vettel's Spain 1991 moment, underlining the trust that exists among two great on-track rivals.

3. Daniel Ricciardo Sells a Dummy to Fernando Alonso (United States GP)

Before we analyse the overtake itself, it's worth taking a brief look at its victim.

Fernando Alonso is the standout Formula One driver of his era, who complements his immense speed behind the wheel with a shrewd intellect and a relentless desire to succeed.

Yet F1's fiercest competitor became a mere prop for Daniel Ricciardo on Lap 5 of the United States Grand Prix, as the Red Bull driver claimed fifth place with an inch-perfect move.

Having sat in the Ferrari's tow down the main straight, Ricciardo had a look at the outside line for Turn 1, encouraging Alonso to cover off the area.

The No. 14 car's defence was the trigger for Ricciardo to make his move, with the Australian using the wide track surface to swerve across the track and claim the inside as he stamped on the brakes.

And it had to be a stamp, as the Red Bull's extra speed almost caused it to collide with Valtteri Bottas' Williams at the corner's apex.

Although his heart was sitting comfortably in his mouth by that stage, Ricciardo regained his composure to swat Alonso's counter-attack through the winding right-hander of Turn 2, hanging the two-time world champion out to dry.

2. Daniel Ricciardo Outsmarts Sebastian Vettel (Italian GP)

Although Daniel Ricciardo's passes on Fernando Alonso in the United States and Sebastian Vettel in Italy were similar, the Australian's quick-thinking move at Monza gives the latter the edge here.

With fresher tyres, Ricciardo had better traction than his team-mate at the exit of the first chicane, which forced Vettel to adopt a defensive line at an early stage as the Red Bulls surged through Curva Grande.

It was an open invitation for Ricciardo to take fifth place, but only if he could make the move stick around the outside of the second chicane, where going the long way around is notoriously difficult.

Sensing that he was being led into a trap, Ricciardo had the presence of mind to lift the throttle pedal prior as he approached the braking zone, allowing Vettel to pull ahead slightly.

Dropping back a few metres, however, gave the Australian the option to switch sides, with Ricciardo swerving to the inside line just as the German hit the brakes.

The move, as Ricciardo turned into the left-hander with no resistance, appeared simple in the end, but it was a reflection of his skill and sharpness that a manoeuvre so difficult could look so easy.

1. Fernando Alonso Goes the Long Way Around Sebastian Vettel (British GP)

Before Sebastian Vettel's pass on Fernando Alonso at Silverstone came Alonso's move on Vettel, which is crowned as our overtake of the year.

Approaching Copse, the Spaniard found himself in Vettel's slipstream and gaining rapidly on the Red Bull.

A jink of the steering wheel to the right was enough to make the German go defensive, with Vettel's lateral movement seeing him lose some momentum as Alonso, aided by a headwind, held the natural racing line and poked ahead in time for the turn-in point.

And turn in he did, just squeezing his Ferrari around the outside of Vettel, who continued to lurk but wisely backed out of the move.

The reason why Alonso's move was better than Vettel's and, indeed, every other overtaking manoeuvre of 2014?

Few drivers overtake at Copse corner; nobody overtakes around the outside of it.