Lewis Hamilton and 5 Other Formula 1 Defeat-from-the-Jaws-of-Victory Moments

In terms of pure sporting achievement, Nico Rosberg's victory at the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix last weekend may not rank anywhere near Michael Jordan's jump shot to beat Cleveland in 1989 or Liverpool's Champions League comeback against AC Milan in 2005.

The feelings elicited by these events, however—particularly for fans of the Cavaliers, the Rossoneri or Lewis Hamilton—are largely the same: feelings of despondency, of being robbed, of being so close to victory that you could almost taste the champagne.

They are also the feelings that keep us watching sports—that keep us coming back for more.

In the minute or so it took Hamilton and the Mercedes team to make their ill-fated decision to pit under a safety car, the entire race changed from a predictable, even easy, Hamilton victory to one that will be analysed and debated forever, or at least until the next big F1 controversy hits.

In honour of Mercedes' momentous blunder, here are five other moments from Formula One history when drivers and teams managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Jack Brabham at the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix

Jack Brabham won the first race of 1970, his final F1 season, in South Africa. In Spain, he qualified first but retired with an engine failure.

The third grand prix of the season was Monaco. Brabham led from Lap 27, but he came under pressure late in the race from Jochen Rindt, who was suffering from seasickness after spending the weekend on a yacht with Bernie Ecclestone, according to Motor Sport's Nigel Roebuck.

Even 45 years ago, it was not easy to overtake in Monaco, though, and Brabham held Rindt at bay until the last lap.

As the leaders approached the final corner—the Gazometre—they caught some backmarkers and Brabham slid wide, hitting the barrier. While the Australian tried desperately to reverse, Rindt slipped past and took the chequered flag.

Brabham recovered to finish second, but he never won another grand prix. Rindt would win four more times before he was killed during qualifying for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix. His five victories that year were enough to win a posthumous drivers' championship.

Ayrton Senna at the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix

In 1988, Ayrton Senna's first year with McLaren, he was on track for his second-straight victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. Senna had dominated the weekend, qualifying almost one-and-a-half seconds ahead of his team-mate, Alain Prost.

In the race, with 12 laps remaining, he was close to a minute ahead of the Frenchman when the team asked him to slow down, to ensure nothing went wrong in the final laps.

Instead, Senna hit the barrier at Portier, ending his race and handing the win to Prost.

Then-team principal Ron Dennis explained what happened in an interview with the official F1 website:

"

It was a lapse in concentration. We were trying to slow him down, and effectively when you back off in a racing car you lose focus. It was just a lapse, nothing else. He was so angry that he did something really uncharacteristic: he didn't come back to the pits, but went to his flat. He just walked through the circuit and went and sat in his flat. He didn't appear again until later that evening. He was so angry with himself.

"

Senna went on to win six of the next eight races and took his first drivers' championship that year. He also never lost at Monaco again, winning five times in a row from 1989 to 1993. In 1994, Senna was killed in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix—the race before Monaco.

Nigel Mansell at the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix

At the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix, Nigel Mansell was nearly one minute ahead of Nelson Piquet on the final lap of the race.

He was waving to the crowd as he cruised to a sure victory, but, coming out of the hairpin for the last time, his Williams stalled and he was forced to pull over to the side of the track with the finish line almost in sight.

"It is almost unbelievable," Mansell said after the race, per Badger GP's Jimmy Weeks. "I went into the hairpin changed down from fifth to fourth, like I had done the previous 68 laps, and then it went to neutral and the engine cut almost simultaneously, like there was an electrical failure. It just stopped, it was as simple as that."

But was it an electrical failure, or did Mansell make an error? According to grandprix.com's race report, Mansell, "allowed the revs to drop too low and the car stalled. With no power to drive the hydraulic system he could not select a gear."

Either way, the lesson is to wait until after the chequered flag to start celebrating your victory with the fans.

Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix

At the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton looked set to clinch the drivers' championship in his rookie year. Coming into the race—the second-last grand prix of the season—he led Fernando Alonso by 12 points and Kimi Raikkonen by 17.

Hamilton qualified on pole and was leading the race on a drying track. As Hamilton's intermediate tyres wore down, he was passed by Raikkonen and the McLaren team finally called him into the pits.

As Hamilton entered the pit lane, he slid wide and beached his car in a tiny gravel trap. He could not get the car started again and was forced to retire from the race while Raikkonen went on to win.

"I don't think we did anything dramatically wrong and neither did Lewis," McLaren's Ron Dennis said after the race, per the official F1 site. "It’s easy to say we could have stopped earlier, but would it have made a difference? The circuit was considerably drier than the pit lane entrance. That's what made the difference."

At the final grand prix of the season, Raikkonen won again, while Hamilton finished seventh, and the Finn took the drivers' title by one point. Hamilton and McLaren's error in China cost them not only the race, but the world championship, as well.

Sebastin Vettel at the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2011 Canadian Grand Prix was one of the strangest (and the longest) in F1 history. After a two-hour rain delay in the middle of the race, a drive-through penalty and two separate crashes with Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button found himself in last place.

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel led for most of the grand prix, despite repeated safety car appearances and the long mid-race pause.

Slowly, though, Button started to make his way back up the field. With fresher tyres, he passed Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher to move into second place on Lap 65 and then he closed in on Vettel. On the final lap, Vettel ran wide at Turn 6 and allowed Button to sneak through and steal the win.

"It was a fantastic race, even if I hadn't won I would have enjoyed it," Button said afterwards, per Autosport's Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde. "An amazing win and possibly my best."

Although it was a thrilling race, the result did not have any effect on the championship. Vettel still finished the season 122 points ahead of Button in second place, claiming his second drivers' title.

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