F1 JAPANESE GP MEMORIES: Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost collide (twice) while Damon Hill finally lands world title in our look back at famous grand prix pictures from the Suzuka circuit 

When Formula One reaches Suzuka, race day is commonly bathed in sunshine but that wasn't the case for its first ever race in 1987 which was won by Gerhard Berger who punches the air with delight as he crosses the finish line in his Ferrari

The first five years at Suzuka would prove highly eventful for Ayrton Senna. Winning in 1998 to claim his first world championship is rather bizarrely not one of the first two major incidents that he was involved in at the Japanese Grand Prix that immediately spring to mind

Instead it's Senna's (front) rivalry with Alain Prost which is remembered more. The two McLaren drivers collided at the final chicane in 1989, putting them both out of the race. Senna though restarted his car, pitted and stormed back to the front only to be controversially disqualified after the race for rejoining the track by cutting a chicane. The fall-out was huge but the end result was Prost took the title

But with the McLaren duo out there was still a race to be won and taking full advantage was Benetton's Alessandro Nannini who took his only F1 win as he is flanked on the podium by the Williams duo of Riccardo Patrese (left) and Thierry Boutsen. Nannini's Formula One career would sadly be cut short a year later after a helicopter crash severed his right forearm

'It's happened immediately!' screamed commentator Murray Walker and the world perhaps saw it coming. One year on from their controversial 1989 tangle, Senna and Prost were on the front row for the 1990 race. A non-finish for Prost would hand the title to Senna so at the first corner it was no surprise to see an over-zealous Brazilian crash into the side of the Ferrari driver

Having lost the world title a relatively calm Prost follows Senna back to the pits after their 1990 crash, with the Brazilian opting to keep his crash helmet on. Senna was heavily criticised after causing the crash but escaped without punishment to secure his second world crown

Once again picking up the pieces were Benetton as veteran Nelson Piquet took victory in front of team-mate Roberto Moreno. But who is the local lad taking his only F1 podium for a team who would also only grace the top three once. Answers at the bottom of the page

The moment the title got away from Nigel Mansell. Trying desperately to keep up with Ayrton Senna's McLaren, Mansell runs too far wide at the entry of the tricky downhill first corner in his Williams and ends up spinning into the gravel, out the race and out of the title hunt

Senna (left), having secured his third and final world title (all were won at Suzuka) celebrates on the podium with team-mate Gerhard Berger who had won the race after the Brazilian let him through on the final lap to allow his the Austrian to take his first win for the team

This was a common sight in 1992 as the two Williams cars storm away from the field at the start. Although already crowned world champion Nigel Mansell (5) has the edge here at the Japanese Grand Prix, his engine failure would allow team-mate Riccardo Patrese to sneak his first win of the season and the last of his career

Now here's a podium bursting with talent. In fact there are nine world championships worth of it as race winner Ayrton Senna (centre) soaks McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen with champagne along with second placed Williams driver Alain Prost

The 1994 Japanese Grand Prix was split into two parts due to torrential rain causing the race to be stopped midway through. Race times for both sections would be added together to form a final race standing. Michael Schumacher (front) led the first part by 6.8 seconds from Damon Hill (0) as the Brit and the rest of the field were forced to deal with treacherous spray in very difficult conditions

But Hill's Williams won the second part by 10.1 seconds giving him a final race winning time of 3.3 seconds. Not only did the victory send the 1994 title fight down to the final race, but it also marked one of the finest wins of Hill's career. Benetton's Michael Schumacher offers his congratulations to his title rival in parc ferme after the race. In the background is Hill's team-mate Nigel Mansell

There was no stopping Schumacher a year later though, as the German cruised to victory in his Benetton to help secure the constructor's championship for the team having already retained his world championship crown. This was also the final win for Schumacher at Benetton before joining Ferrari for the 1996 campaign

'And I've got to stop, because I've got a lump in my throat!' TV commentator Murray Walker summed up a nation's feelings in 1996 as Damon Hill strolled to victory at Suzuka to finally land the world title. It was Hill's final drive for Williams who had already confirmed earlier in the season that he was being replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 1997, a move owner Frank Williams would later admit was a mistake

With a board made by Williams to mark his world title, Hill celebrates with his wife Georgie after winning the Japanese Grand Prix

Jacques Villeneuve cuts across to block title rival Michael Schumacher at the start of the 1997 Japanese Grand Prix, but his efforts would be in vain as he was later disqualified having ignored yellow flags during an earlier practice session - triggering a one-race ban. Schumacher would win but Heinz Harald Frentzen's second place helped Williams seal the constructors crown

The 1998 season was gripping in Formula One as Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher exchanged blows all season before a Suzuka showdown at the last race. Sadly though fans were denied the chance to see it go all the way down to the wire as Schumacher's right rear tyre failed during the race, putting him out of the grand prix and thus handing the title on a plate to the McLaren star

New world champion Hakkinen is held aloft on the podium by David Coulthard as well as Ferrari's Eddie Irvine who finished second

Hill and Schumacher's days as title rivals may have been all over nearly half a decade earlier, but the Brit was always keen to get under the Ferrari star's skin as before his final race in 1999 he cheekily whips off the German's cap during a collective photograph of all the drivers - much to the amusement of team-mate Frentzen as well Schumacher's brother Ralf 

Eddie Irvine shows his fury at the track marshalls in 1999, as they damage his Ferrari while trying to recover it from a gravel trap. A weekend that started with Irvine leading the world championship would not recover as poor pace in the race allowed Mika Hakkinen to snatch the world title from under the nose of the Ulsterman - denying Ferrari their first drivers' championship for 20 years

But they wouldn't have to wait long for another chance to end that run, as Schumacher shares a tender moment with his wife Corinna having won the 2000 Japanese grand prix and taken his third world title in the process. This victory would spark a run of four wins in five years at Suzuka for the German. Ironically the race he didn't win, in 2003, was the only other time he clinched the title at the circuit

Out with the old and in with the new. Fan favourite Jean Alesi waves to the ground in his Jordan overalls following his 201st and final Grand Prix in 2001. Following him in the background is the rookie Sauber driver Kimi Raikkonen, more on him later...

Takuma Sato often faired well at Suzuka and following a tough debut season at Jordan in 2002 he avoided finishing the season pointless after landing fifth place at the final race. The Japanese star is congratulated by his team as he crosses the line

BAR's Jenson Button attempts to qualify at a soggy Suzuka in 2004, with a backdrop featuring a theme park overlooking the circuit

Part of the theme park features a Ferris wheel which has to be one of the best in the world on race day as it overlooks the Suzuka track. Here Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella races past the iconic structure during the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

There was no doubt 2005 was all about Kimi Raikkonen. Yes, Fernando Alonso made THAT move on Michael Schumacher around the outside of 130R but the Finn started from 17th and blitzed through the field before passing Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap to take the lead and victory. Here Raikkonen takes the well deserved acclaim in front of his team and boss Ron Dennis (right)

Michael Schumacher's blitz in the second half of the 2006 season had him storming towards the world title in what was his final year in F1 before his (first) retirement. But despite leading, his first Ferrari engine failure for six years put him out of the race. Here his abandoned car sits track side alongside a recovery vehicle..

...picking up the pieces was Fernando Alonso who inflicted maximum damage to win the race and all but seal the 2006 drivers' title. It was his last win for Renault before joining McLaren in 2007 and it was also the last win for tyre supplier Michelin who pulled out at the end of the season. Here Alonso performs a crane stance to celebrate his victory in parc ferme - wacky celebrations were his trademark during 2006

Qualifying was a washout in 2010. In fact so bad was the weather, the session had to be postponed until the Sunday morning. To help pass the time, Red Bull mechanics built boats to sail down the flooded pit-lane

A third place finish would help Sebastian Vettel retain his drivers' world title for Red Bull in 2011 with four races of the season still to go. Such was the German's dominance during the campaign, this particular race would turn out to be his third worse of the entire year, following a DNF in Abu Dhabi and a fourth place at his home race in Germany

Kamui Kobayashi was often popular with F1 fans for his banzai approach to racing and despite having relatively little success during his career he would enjoy a sole podium finish in the sport. Typically it came at his home grand prix in 2012 where he took third for Sauber. Here the team celebrate the result, with team-mate Sergio Perez (pictured above 'KOB') among those marking his best F1 finish