Worst F1 drivers to have won a race...?
Discussion
Some Gump said:
@ everyone dissing Panis...
My memory is fuzzy, but I seem to think 2 or 3 people stacked ahead of him by pusing too hard, and 3/4 of the entire grid crashed behind him trying to keep up.
IMO a fantastic drive in average machinery.
To be fair, a third of the field were out after lap 3 due to a big collision on the first lap and a couple of separate incidents.My memory is fuzzy, but I seem to think 2 or 3 people stacked ahead of him by pusing too hard, and 3/4 of the entire grid crashed behind him trying to keep up.
IMO a fantastic drive in average machinery.
Damon Hill was on course for his only win at Monaco, with a 30 second lead, until his engine blew half way through the race.
Jean Alesi was then on course to win, before his suspension failed 20 laps later
The race had only 4 classified finishers, with one of those in the pits.
1000TCR said:
thegreenhell said:
Kovalainen never looked likely to win, and most races you wouldn't even know he was there. He was rarely even on the podium in the McLaren in Hamilton's championship year in 2008. He lucked into a single win after first Hamilton punctured from the lead, then Massa's engine blew up three laps from the end of the Hungarian GP. Otherwise a completely anonymous and forgetable career.
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed too. After he beat Loeb in a Peugeot 307 WRC and Schumacher in a Ferrari 360 at the Race Of Champions 2004 I thought he would become one of the all time greats in F1...Eric Mc said:
Read up on the facts of the races he won and you will see how lucky he was. The fact that he won nothing (nor even finished credibly) for the next 20 odd years says something.
There are plenty of drivers who have followed the same path but he did achieve something which many have not. I guess we will have to agree to disagree
Edited by Smollet on Wednesday 17th December 16:26
Smollet said:
Eric Mc said:
Read up on the facts of the races he won and you will see how lucky he was. The fact that he won nothing (nor even finished credibly) for the next 20 odd years says something.
There are plenty of drivers who have followed the same path but he did achieve something which many have not. I guess we will have to agree to disagree
Edited by Smollet on Wednesday 17th December 16:26
markcoznottz said:
Smollet said:
woof said:
That would have been the day that he had a those special Maldonado tyres that were delivered for his car only ?
That race was a total fix. I honestly believe that a deal was done on that day for him to win.
Well bully for you and all the other conspiracy theorists That race was a total fix. I honestly believe that a deal was done on that day for him to win.
I remember watching that Maldonaldo race and just kept questioning how was he able to make his tyres work and no one else could.
The Torro Rosso was better than the Red Bull that year, nothing amazing.
That said, I think people are focusing on the race the person won. I read the question more, who was crap the rest of the time and just lucked into a win. A huge chunk of the drivers mentioned were not all that bad, I dont think anyone who has won a world championship can be classed as a 'worst driver' full stop. Even Villneauve who I didnt rate much.
Maldonado is top of my list tbh, the Williams in the year he won wasnt all that bad, he just underachieved along with Senna. Got smashed by his rookie team mate then threw his toys out the pram. If they have a reasonable car I expect Grosjean to fully smash him too.
Also, while I wouldnt say he was terrible, Kovalainen was, for a race winner a bit naff.
That said, I think people are focusing on the race the person won. I read the question more, who was crap the rest of the time and just lucked into a win. A huge chunk of the drivers mentioned were not all that bad, I dont think anyone who has won a world championship can be classed as a 'worst driver' full stop. Even Villneauve who I didnt rate much.
Maldonado is top of my list tbh, the Williams in the year he won wasnt all that bad, he just underachieved along with Senna. Got smashed by his rookie team mate then threw his toys out the pram. If they have a reasonable car I expect Grosjean to fully smash him too.
Also, while I wouldnt say he was terrible, Kovalainen was, for a race winner a bit naff.
Not that i'm a fanboy, just putting things in some perspective - Maldonado did well in his rookie year. He hands down beat Barrichello when at the time when most people didn't want to see Rubens retire. There's a good driver in there if Pastor sorts himself out and gets consistently keeps it one piece.
Panis - before the race he said he was gonna win! There was a good retrospective report in F1 Rejects (if it ever comes back). He pulled off a number of overtakes.
Naninni - surprised by the backlash. In other forums people rated him. Good interview in Motorsport magazine. Pat Symonds says he was a talented driver - not WDC material but IMO he would have been a decent #2.
And all this backlash over inherited wins I'm surprised no one mentioned Button's first win in Hungary 06.
My nominations: Berger & Patrese at the 91 & 92 Japanese GPs, Senna & Mansell gifted them wins after winning their WDCs; Eddie Irvine gifted a win from Mika Salo at the 99 German GP, Salo deserved win on merit; Schumi's scandalous wins in Austria.
Panis - before the race he said he was gonna win! There was a good retrospective report in F1 Rejects (if it ever comes back). He pulled off a number of overtakes.
Naninni - surprised by the backlash. In other forums people rated him. Good interview in Motorsport magazine. Pat Symonds says he was a talented driver - not WDC material but IMO he would have been a decent #2.
And all this backlash over inherited wins I'm surprised no one mentioned Button's first win in Hungary 06.
My nominations: Berger & Patrese at the 91 & 92 Japanese GPs, Senna & Mansell gifted them wins after winning their WDCs; Eddie Irvine gifted a win from Mika Salo at the 99 German GP, Salo deserved win on merit; Schumi's scandalous wins in Austria.
Just wanted to say with regards to the Barcelona race Maldonado won, Hamilton was on pole by over half a second, even if he was underfueled he would still have got pole, or atleast qualified top 5. As it was he started from the pitlane and still finished higher than Button. The Red Bulls both had front wing changes too.
1000TCR said:
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed too. After he beat Loeb in a Peugeot 307 WRC and Schumacher in a Ferrari 360 at the Race Of Champions 2004 I thought he would become one of the all time greats in F1...
I don't think ROC is a great way to judge a drivers F1 potential. I mean DC just won it for crying out loud.cookracing said:
Do you mean his Toro Rosso win....?
No it's just my opinion of him, I think he's overratedIn the mordern (ish) era I think the strongest candidate is Nannini.
Panis runs him close but I rate all of Alesi, Maldonado, Trulli, Kovalanien above them.
Anyone considered Ralf Schumacher......? My god he was awful at Toyota and they paying him $20 million a year. He's the winner for most overpaid by a country mile.
Eric Mc said:
When did the "modern era" start?
I think for a lot of people "modern era" means "the era I started watching F1".
Around late 70/80's when downforce/aerodynamics became the driving force, larger slick tyres, and when tobacco/big brand sponsorship became the norm is what I'd count as 'modern'.I think for a lot of people "modern era" means "the era I started watching F1".
I don't categorise F1 into "modern" or "pre-modern". You could make all sorts of claims for "turning points" in the design of the cars or the organisation of the sport.
I would think such key points are -
the creation of F1 in 1946
the creation of the World Driver's Championship in 1950
the arrival of Mercedes in 1954
the growing dominance of the British teams in the mid/late 1950s
the switch to mid engine layouts in the late 1950s/early 1960s
the growing importance of TV in the 1960s
the arrival of wings and downforce in general in the late 1960s
the arrival of true commercial sponsorship in 1968
Bernie and his commercial deals in the mid 1970s
James Hunt's win in 1976 ( for the UK this really opened up F1 to a much wider audience)
Bernie and the creation FOCA in the early 1980s
the FISA/FOCA wars 1980-82
I would think such key points are -
the creation of F1 in 1946
the creation of the World Driver's Championship in 1950
the arrival of Mercedes in 1954
the growing dominance of the British teams in the mid/late 1950s
the switch to mid engine layouts in the late 1950s/early 1960s
the growing importance of TV in the 1960s
the arrival of wings and downforce in general in the late 1960s
the arrival of true commercial sponsorship in 1968
Bernie and his commercial deals in the mid 1970s
James Hunt's win in 1976 ( for the UK this really opened up F1 to a much wider audience)
Bernie and the creation FOCA in the early 1980s
the FISA/FOCA wars 1980-82
DanielSan said:
If the 2 above get a mention then surely Fisichella aswell?
Fair. Brazil 2003 was a bit of a farce, wasn't it? And his only other wins came when he was driving a Renault that was the class of the field.Plus Kovalainen beat him in his first season in F1, and we've seen how highly regarded he is on this thread.
I'm surprised that Vettel has had so many mentions in this thread. Maybe this season he hasn't performed as you'd expect from a 4 x WDC and people have reassessed their opinions of him based on that, but to suggest he's the worst EVER to win a race is laughable. If that were the case, just how lucky would he have to be to win 39 times, and where would that leave his teammate for the majority of those? Several votes for Vettel but none for Maarrrk Webber? Really?
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