The drivers who only won one race in Formula 1

Winning just one F1 race is one thing, but doing it without even seeing the checkered flag first is another. It was the case of Luigi Fagioli who, after receiving the order from Ferrari to exchange his intact car for that of Juan Manuel Fangio, plagued with problems, saw how the Argentine won and in turn made him the winner too, when in fact he ended up 11th (with Fangio’s Ferrari). Fagioli, who remains the oldest Formula 1 winner to this day (53 years and 22 days old), furious at having to give up his seat, left Formula 1 that day and did not race again.

After taking pole 2.6 seconds ahead of Piero Taruffi, Giuseppe Farina (Ferrari) broke away in the race. However, he was the victim of a technical problem on lap 16. From there, Taruffi took control and did not give up until the checkered flag, 46 laps later. He lapped everyone except second place Rudi Fischer, who was also driving a Ferrari 500 but for the Ecurie Espadon team.

Troy Ruttman became the youngest driver to win the Indy 500 at 22 years and 80 days, a record that still stands. He also became at the time the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 race, a record broken by Fernando Alonso. In the race he played it against Bill Vukovich, but his rival suffered a break in the direction that sent him against the wall with nine laps to go.

Winner of the 1953 and 1954 editions, Bill Vukovich was leading the race and seemed to have no rival after the abandonment of Jack McGrath. However, on lap 57, he was caught up in a multi-car accident and was killed going off the track. After the caution, the race resumed. Jimmy Bryan led from Bob Sweikert, but the leader ended up suffering a fuel pump failure. With more than a minute of advantage over second, Sweikert ended up winning having tripled that advantage.

Another driver who won a race without having crossed the finish line in his car! Once again, Fangio was the victim of a technical problem that forced him to retire on lap 23. Luigi Musso (Ferrari), fifth, was ordered to return to the garage to allow the Argentine to take over his wheel after lap 31. As As usual, Fangio was brilliant and came back quickly. Helped by the problems of Stirling Moss (Maserati), he went first and won, “alongside” Musso.

In Indianapolis, for the year 1956, there was a change in length: asphalt was laid on almost the entire track and only the straight of the stands remains brick. Pat Flaherty dominated the event after taking pole position and avoided several crashes early in the race.

After 13 attempts, Sam Hanks finally won the Indianapolis 500 at the end of a career marked by his battles with Paul Russo and then Jim Rathmann. And shortly after crossing the finish line, he announced his retirement.

In the same car as Sam Hanks the year before, Jimmy Bryan won the 500 miles. But it was necessary to survive the immense pileup of the first lap, where seven cars abandoned and Pat O’Connor died. Leading into the restart, Bryan beat Eddie Sachs, George Amick and finally Tony Bettenhausen to win in part thanks to a quick stop that gave him a cushion ten seconds ahead.

Taking the lead from the first lap, Jo Bonnier had to stop Masten Gregory (Cooper) and both were on their way to a historic result. Gregory, however, had a gearbox problem on lap 12, which prevented him from finishing on the podium. Jack Brabham (Cooper) caught up with Bonnier before Stirling Moss (Cooper) passed them both. However, with 12 laps to go, the Briton also suffered a gearbox problem and Bonnier inherited the victory, which was the first for the BRM team.

The 1960 race, the last edition of the Indianapolis 500 that scored points in the Formula 1 world championship, became legendary thanks to the immense duel between Jim Rathmann and the previous year’s winner, Rodger Ward. Rathmann ended up winning after 29 lead changes!

With a fourth Ferrari under the colors of the Italian Motoring Federation, 27-year-old Giancarlo Baghetti took advantage of several retirements and failures to get first and fight with Dan Gurney (Porsche). On the final stretch of the last lap, the Italian took advantage of his rival’s slipstream to win his first F1 race, something no one has done since.

Starting eighth, Innes Ireland made a comeback to move up to third place. Ahead of him, Stirling Moss (Lotus) and Jack Brabham (Cooper) dueled for the first half of the race before the Australian had to retire. Twelve laps later, Moss also had to say goodbye. Ireland suddenly took the lead, although he was quickly plagued by fuel pressure problems. However, the drama was not consummated and Ireland won by five seconds ahead of Dan Gurney (Porsche).

Third early in the race, Lorenzo Bandini gained a position when John Surtees (Ferrari) suffered a suspension problem. However, as the Italian was far from Dan Gurney (Brabham), he had to focus on looking at those behind him, and Jim Clark (Lotus) passed him. But the Scot couldn’t take the win from Gurney and had to retire after 40 of the 105 laps. A few laps later, Gurney also suffered a suspension problem, giving first place to Bandini, who won by six seconds ahead of Richie Ginther (BRM).

Ginther himself got his chance the following year, in Mexico. He qualified on the second row, taking the lead from the start ahead of Jackie Stewart (BRM). As the battle for second place raged behind him, Ginther and his Honda moved forward methodically and without error. He crossed the finish line at the end of the 65-lap race less than three seconds ahead of Dan Gurney (Brabham), notching his only career win, but also the first victory for Honda and Goodyear.

While Mike Parkes took pole, his Ferrari teammate Ludovico Scarfiotti was second in qualifying. Both men were surprised at the start by Lorenzo Bandini (Ferrari), and Scarfiotti dropped to seventh. Bandini quickly suffered a technical failure, but Ferrari regained hope when Parkes took the lead and then Scarfiotti rallied thanks to slipstreaming. Taking advantage of the battles from behind and with a comfortable lead, he won the race six seconds ahead of the Parkes-Denny Hulme (Brabham) duo.

Peter Gethin won what is one of the most incredible Formula 1 races to date. At Monza slipstreams were key, and a tight lead group quickly emerged, consisting of Mike Hailwood (Surtees), François Cevert (Tyrrell), Ronnie Peterson (March), Jo Siffert (BRM), Howden Ganley (BRM), Chris Amon (Matra), Gethin and Jackie Oliver (McLaren).

The fight lasted until the end, where a group of five came with options. Gethin crossed the finish line 0.01 ahead of Peterson, 0.09 ahead of Cevert, 0.18 ahead of Hailwood and 0.61 ahead of Ganley (photo).

After taking the race lead, Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell) quickly suffered on his tires and François Cevert overtook him on lap 14. Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) quickly became the main threat to the Frenchman, who in turn ended up being overtaken for the degradation of his Goodyear. The Belgian, fitted with (more resistant) Firestone tyres, was however the victim of a terminal technical problem, which spilled oil on the track. Cevert skidded through a patch of oil and hit the safety rail, albeit undamaged, to claim his only win in the premier class.

Fourth on the grid at a very, very wet Monaco GP, Jean-Pierre Beltoise had an exceptional start and took the lead even before the first corner. The rest of the race was a long solo gallop, with the Frenchman up to forty seconds ahead of Jacky Ickx (Ferrari). Only the Belgian finished on the same lap, during a race in extreme conditions where relatively few accidents occurred.

Jean-Pierre Jarier (Shadow) took pole, but Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) took first. The Argentine was quickly overtaken by the Frenchman, who came out in an incredible way. Carlos Pace capitalized on the advantage over his teammate to move into second, but the Brazilian soon found himself almost thirty seconds behind the leader. However, Jarier was the victim of mechanical problems and had to retire, leaving the first place and the victory to Pace, in front of his jubilant crowd.

Contested in the terrible Parc de Montjuic circuit, that race ended tragically. After a series of retirements on the fast and dangerous urban layout, the first place was played between a surprising Rolf Stommelen (Embassy Hill) and Carlos Pace (Brabham). However, on the 26th of a planned 75 laps, Stommelen’s rear wing detached on the approach to the first corner. The single-seater, out of control, hit the rails on both sides of the track and flew into the crowd. Five people would die, and Stommelen was seriously injured, but the race did not stop immediately and continued for a further four laps before the decision was made to end it. Pace was forced to go off track to avoid the Embassy (Stommelen’s car) and it was McLaren’s Jochen Mass who won.

After a 45-minute delay due to rain, the race got underway and poleman Niki Lauda (Ferrari) retained first place. However, he had not set his car up for the rainy conditions, and was caught and then overtaken by James Hunt (Hesketh). Behind, Vittorio Brambilla tacked on him: starting eighth, the Italian approached the leading duo, passing Lauda before reaching Hunt as the rain began to fall. Struggling with an engine problem, the Briton was also hampered by his teammate and Brambilla seized the opportunity to take the lead. In seven laps, I created a lead of more than twenty seconds. On lap 29, in the face of extremely difficult weather conditions and requests from drivers who had already retired, the race was stopped. After crossing the finish line, to make matters worse, Brambilla let go of the steering wheel and hit the railing, damaging the front of his March.

Mario Andretti (Lotus) and John Watson (Brabham) started in that order on the front row of a Belgian GP that started in wet conditions. After Watson got off to a better start, Andretti tried to regain the lead on the first lap, but it was too risky: he touched the Briton and they both had to retire. The race lead passed to Jody Scheckter (Wolf) but the dry track changed everything at the pit stops: Niki Lauda (Ferrari) took the lead ahead of Jochen Mass (McLaren) and Gunnar Nilsson. After Mass’s crash, Nilsson quickly caught up with Lauda and then overtook him with authority to claim his only F1 win. And he was probably the only one for a reason: he was diagnosed with cancer at the end of 1977, a few weeks after what would be his last grand prix, in Japan. He died in October 1978, shortly after attending, very ill and unrecognizable, the funeral of his friend Ronnie Peterson.

Undoubtedly one of the great forgotten of the battle between Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna in Japan 89 was him. The two McLaren teammates collided on lap 47 and while Prost retired, Senna followed and caught up with Nannini, who had taken the lead. The Brazilian won, but was sanctioned by the stewards for cutting the chicane to return to the track, so the victory fell to the Italian.

Starting fifth, Jean Alesi quickly found himself second, behind an untouchable Michael Schumacher (Benetton). However, on lap 57 of 69 in the grand prix, the German suffered an electrical failure and had to stop in the pits to change the wheel. That gave the Frenchman the lead, and his only victory in F1, to the applause of a Quebec crowd committed to the cause, which invaded the track on the last lap. The final classification was taken into account on lap 68.

One of the most incredible races in F1 history to date. The 1996 Monaco GP started in wet conditions and quickly saw an avalanche of retirements. Victory seems destined for Damon Hill, but his engine failed. Then it seemed that Jean Alesi would inherit it, but a problem with the steering wheel forced him to retire. It was then that Olivier Panis took the lead and never left that position again. He was threatened by David Coulthard, and finished first of the three cars that finished the race, taking his only victory in F1, the last by a French driver to date.

In a season totally dominated by Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) up to that point, the 2004 Monaco GP saw the German start only fourth on the grid, while Jarno Trulli took an impressive pole position the day before. Fernando Alonso (Renault), who threatened his teammate’s lead for much of the race, crashed into the tunnel while trying to lap Ralf Schumacher. During the Safety Car after that accident, Michael Schumacher, leader thanks to the pit stops of the other drivers, touched Juan-Pablo Montoya (Williams) and had to retire. Trulli held on to pole position despite attacks from Jenson Button (BAR) to claim his only win.

A year after his terrible accident at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Robert Kubica achieved the only victory of his career in Canada, benefiting from an incredible collision between Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Nico Rosberg (Williams) at the end from pit lane, eliminating several contenders for victory and allowing BMW Sauber to take a one-two finish.

Although the McLarens monopolized the front row, Felipe Massa (Ferrari) took the lead at the first corner. He led almost the entire grand prix and even, behind him, Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) lost a lot of ground due to a puncture. The Brazilian seemed headed for an easy win, but with three laps to go his engine broke and Heikki Kovalainen reclaimed the lead to claim his only F1 win.

After achieving the second fastest time in qualifying, Pastor Maldonado inherited pole position due to the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), who ran out of fuel at the end of the session. The next day, surprised by Fernando Alonso at the start, the Venezuelan was on his way to second place, but ended up overtaking the Ferrari driver at the second stop to win in a totally unexpected way.

The 2020 Italian Grand Prix seemed to be a walk for Lewis Hamilton, who dominated the first part of the race from pole position , oblivious to what was happening behind him. However, a double safety car due to Magnussen ‘s breakdown and Leclerc ‘s accident changed everything, forcing a second standing start and causing a penalty for Hamilton that sent him to the back of the peloton, from where he could only come back to be 7th.

Carlos Sainz, who before all the trouble was comfortably second, had to start sixth at the restart and, taking advantage of the penalty from Hamilton and Giovinazzi, overtaking Stroll and Masterfully Raikkonen , he moved into second.

Despite the fact that he did everything he could do, with a brilliant Sunday, he could not avoid the victory of a Gasly who made his debut in Formula 1 and repeated what Vettel, when the team was called Toro Rosso, also achieved in Monza in 2008 . The Frenchman from AlphaTauri became the 109th different winner in history.

And how did he do it, if he came out tenth? It was seen at the right time in the perfect place. He was third at the restart, favored by the stops, and was behind a Hamilton who had to serve a penalty and a Stroll who, nervously, went off the track, leaving him in front. He won by just 0.415s over Sainz.

The 2021 Hungarian GP became one of the craziest races in Formula 1 history from the start, thanks to the rain that fell half an hour before the start.

Valtteri Bottas’ braking past at Turn 1 took Norris ahead, who was the one with the best traction at the start, and the two Red Bulls. This caused a red flag that Lance Stroll was responsible for reinforcing by hitting Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo in another carom.

But the start, standing still and on asphalt drier than expected, was even more surreal. Only Lewis Hamilton (and the Safety Car ) lined up on the grid, while the rest of the 15 cars in the running pitted to change to dry (medium) tyres.

Esteban Ocon resisted the pressure of a Sebastian Vettel who was always on the lookout, close to the rear wing of the Frenchman, to take his first victory in Formula 1 and give Alpine the first win under its new name (the first since Japan 2008 for the Enstone team).

With the scare of the accident at the start of the 2022 Formula 1 British Grand Prix still present, Carlos Sainz achieved the first and historic victory of his life in the highest category of motorsport thanks to an incredible performance. The driver from Madrid climbed to the top of the podium at the Silverstone circuit after benefiting from the final strategy, in which he rode a set of softs to overtake his team-mate, Charles Leclerc.

With tears and smiles in the Maranello box to see the Spaniard win for the first time, the new winner of a grand prix got rid of one of the biggest weights he had since he debuted in the 2015 season with Toro Rosso.