#2 Sebastian Vettel – German GP
To many, this mistake by the four-time champion lost him the Drivers’ Championship psychologically. At his home race, the German comfortably led the field while Lewis Hamilton was charging through the field in his Mercedes. With an isolated shower across the track after the pit stops, most of the drivers were slipping and sliding as it wasn’t wet enough for inters nor dry enough for slicks.
To everyone’s shock, Sebastian Vettel missed his braking point at the main grand stand, went across the gravel and bumped his nose into the barriers, instantly retiring. Post-incident images showed the German banging his steering wheel in frustration and apologising to his team after losing another near-certain victory. Needless to say, a certain Lewis Hamilton won the race.
This may well have been the turning point as things turned out, with Hamilton easily clinching the Championship in the end.