28th May 1989: The Suspicion That Never Goes Away

The 28th of May appears four times in Formula One's history as a date that produced not just results, but questions — the kind that follow drivers and teams for years without ever reaching a clean answer.In Mexico City in 1989, Alain Prost finished fifth, lapped by his McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna, and left the circuit carrying a suspicion about his Honda engine that he would never fully let go of. Whether he was right has never been established. Whether it mattered is a different question entirely.In Monaco in 1995, Michael Schumacher outthought Damon Hill on strategy — a one-stop gamble against a two-stop plan — and won by thirty-four seconds. Hill acknowledged they had got it wrong. The suspicion, in hindsight, was quieter: had Williams ever really given themselves a chance?In Monaco in 2006, Schumacher parked his Ferrari at Rascasse in the final seconds of qualifying, bringing out yellow flags and aborting Fernando Alonso's pole lap. The stewards concluded it was deliberate. Schumacher maintained it was a mistake. The suspicion has never gone away.And in Monaco in 2017, Ferrari kept Sebastian Vettel out five laps longer than his teammate Kimi Räikkönen, and Vettel emerged from his pit stop ahead. Ferrari called it strategy. Räikkönen said second place didn't feel awfully good. The suspicion, as ever, was left to the listener.This is Chequered Past — the podcast about the stories behind the results. The ones the sport never quite explained.Send us Fan MailMusic by #Mubert Music Rendering