The road to your first victory in Formula 1 is often a rocky one. A variety of factors can ensure that a driver is not allowed to climb to the top step of the podium for a long time or even never. At the recent Miami GP, Lando Norris was finally crowned Formula 1 winner, handing the record for most podiums without a win back to the German Nick Heidfeld (13 podiums without a win). But the McLaren driver was still a bit short of the record of most races without a win. An overview of the top 10.
10th place: Mika Häkkinen – 96 races
Mika Häkkinen is the first on this not necessarily desirable list. The two-time world champion needed a total of 96 attempts since his Formula 1 debut with Lotus in 1991 before he was able to win a Grand Prix for the first time. Nevertheless, the debut victory of the then McLaren driver was more of a side note. Because Häkkinen won his first race at the European GP in 1997, the race in which Micheal Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve collided in the fight for the world championship in the last race of the season. Villeneuve won the World Cup, Häkkinen was the laughing third or first.
8th place: Lando Norris & Giancarlo Fisichella – 110 races
The newly crowned winner shares eighth or ninth place in the list with the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella. For Lando Norris, who so often narrowly missed his debut victory with eight second places, redemption came at the Miami GP 2024. Strong McLaren pace, a weak Verstappen, and some safety car luck ensured that the McLaren driver was in was finally able to celebrate his sixth Formula 1 season. You can read more about Norris’ sensational success here.
It also took Giancarlo Fisichella until the 110th race before he was able to win for the first time. The time had come at the Brazilian GP in 2003. In pouring rain, Fisichella, who was driving for Jordan at the time, overtook Kimi Raikkonen on lap 54 and took the lead. Shortly afterwards the race was stopped with a red flag and Räikkönen was initially declared the winner, as in such a case the result was counted two laps before the stoppage. However, a few days later an error in the timing was discovered and Fisichella was subsequently declared the winner. The Italian won two more races in his career.
7th place: Nico Rosberg – 111 races
Nico Rosberg needed one more race for his first victory. However, success was not achieved with Williams, where Rosberg started his Formula 1 career. The German was only able to achieve a podium finish in the traditional team. But that was about to change after his move to Mercedes. Two years after Rosberg signed with the Stuttgart car manufacturer, he won his first GP. With victory at the 2012 Chinese GP, in which Rosberg dominated from pole position, the German also took Mercedes’ first victory since his return and initiated the dominance of the Silver Arrows.
6th place: Jenson Button – 113 races
With Jenson Button’s first victory at the Hungarian GP in 2006, the Brit lived up to his reputation as a master of difficult conditions. The later 2009 world champion had ten podium finishes to his name, but he was missing one victory on his CV. In Budapest the time had finally come. Thanks to a grid penalty for replacing his engine, Button started from 14th place, but in combination with his team Honda, he reacted correctly to the changing conditions and after 70 sometimes chaotic laps was the first Grand Prix winner ahead of Pedro de la Rosa.
5th place: Jarno Trulli – 117 races
The Monaco GP 2004 was the birth of the ‘Trulli Train’. Jarno Trulli, who has yet to win once in 116 races in the premier class, was pulling a huge train of cars behind him that day. However, no one was able to overtake the then Renault driver. Even with the much smaller cars of the time, Monaco was anything but an overtaking paradise. Jenson Button bit his teeth against Trulli until the last lap. It was to be the Italian’s first and only victory in Formula 1.
4th place: Rubens Barrichello – 124 races
It took seven years or 124 races before Rubens Barrichello was able to win his first race in Formula 1. The Brazilian attracted attention with strong performances for Jordan and Stewart before moving to Ferrari in 2000 as the designated number 2 for Michael Schumacher. In the same season, Barrichello put an end to his lack of wins, more precisely at the German GP. The Ferrari driver worked his way up from 18th place, stayed on the track in the final phase of the race despite the rain and brought his car across the finish line in first place. The emotional images on the podium are still known today.
3rd place: Mark Webber – 130 races
As a teammate of Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber was often left behind during his time at Red Bull. But it was at Vettel’s home race, the 2009 German Grand Prix, that Webber was able to give his teammate his first big blow. Webber, who also took his first pole position at the time, wasn’t even stopped by a drive-through penalty that day and won the race comfortably. Vettel came second.
2nd place: Carlos Sainz – 150 races
Carlos Sainz now has three wins to his name, but the Spaniard had to wait a while for his first. It wasn’t until his 150th attempt that the Spaniard achieved his first success in the premier class. Sainz, who was 27 at the time, won the 2022 British Grand Prix after a truly heart-stopping finale. The Spaniard had lost his lead after a mistake to Max Verstappen, but in the end he benefited from a safety car, where Sainz got fresh tires and was able to leave his teammate Charles Leclerc behind.
1st place: Sergio Perez – 190 races
First place on this list is another big leap. Sergio Perez, who was considered a top midfield driver in his years before Red Bull, had to wait a total of 190 races for his first victory. At the Sakhir GP, the then Racing Point driver was finally able to break the spell. Perez defied all odds and was already in last place after a collision on the first lap, but gradually worked his way back up. In the end, the racing gods were on his side when Mercedes swapped the tires of Valtteri Bottas and George Russell and thus took themselves out of the race. Perez, on the other hand, massaged his tires until the end and ultimately celebrated a completely deserved and emotional victory.
