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The first F1 win is always special for a driver. Not every driver, though, has an equal opportunity when it comes to challenging for wins and podiums. The sport is very dependent on the car that the driver has under him, even then, it still comes down to the driver to accomplish the result. On the current grid of 20 drivers, as many as 12 drivers have won a race this season.
By all metrics, this is a mega number and shows how talented the grid is. The latest addition to this list was Lando Norris, with a commanding win in Miami. Having said that, how many races did it take for each of these drivers to win their first career race? Let's take a look.
Drivers that took the fewest races to win their first F1 race
#12 Sergio Perez (190 races)
Sergio Perez took 190 races to secure his first F1 win. The Mexican spent most of his early career driving midfield cars that were just not capable of fighting for wins. He did have quite a few eye-catching podiums as well as a result.
What stood out in his first win was the fact that the Racing Point was certainly a strong car, but the fact that Perez made his way through the field after an early race collision was what made it even more impressive. The Mexican nailed the race execution and his speed in the car just propelled him to the lead of the race and hence the win.
#11 Carlos Sainz (150 races)
Carlos Sainz is one driver who has made his career by picking up the right opportunities. The Spaniard moved from Torro Rosso to Renault to McLaren and then eventually to Ferrari.
It wasn't until he got his hands on a Ferrari in 2022 that he had a car capable of fighting for wins. As he's done for the most part of his career, Carlos Sainz made the most of the opportunity in the 2022 F1 British GP to beat the likes of Charles Leclerc (his teammate), Sergio Perez, and Lewis Hamilton.
#10 Lando Norris (110 races)
The latest entry to this list is Lando Norris. The driver has been knocking at the door of a win for a while now. Famously, he almost did it in 2021 in Sochi before the rain ruined everything.
In the 2024 F1 Miami GP, there was no one stopping him. Lando benefitted from a late-race safety car that got him the lead. After that, it was just about managing the race which he did brilliantly.
#9 George Russell (81 races)
George Russell won his first race in the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP, and he did that by fending off teammate Lewis Hamilton in the same car. Unfortunately for George, he joined the Mercedes when the team's competitive era came to an end.
The ground effect era was the one where Red Bull and Ferrari got a headstart over everyone else. Brazil was possibly the only race where Mercedes could have won and it was George who nailed everything and got the win comfortably.
#8 Valtteri Bottas (81 races)
Valtteri Bottas moved to Mercedes in 2017, and everyone expected him to be decently competitive against Lewis Hamilton. The Finnish driver did a strong second-driver support act throughout his stay on the team, but there were a few races where he outperformed Lewis.
The 2017 F1 Russian GP was one such race. After jumping Sebastian Vettel at the start, Bottas would manage the race from there and pick his first win in the sport.
#7 Esteban Ocon (78 races)
Esteban Ocon has never driven a front-running car in his career and that's what makes his race win astounding. Winning the 2021 F1 Hungarian GP by fending off Sebastian Vettel was an impressive feat and made the Alpine driver a race winner.
#6 Daniel Ricciardo (57 races)
Daniel Ricciardo's first win was quite spectacular as he pulled off late race overtakes in the 2014 F1 Canadian GP to secure his first triumph at Red Bull.
2014 was the first year of Mercedes dominance and Canada was the first race where the team encountered reliability issues. Daniel was the first to jump on it and win a memorable first race.
#5 Pierre Gasly (55 races)
Winning a race just weeks after the death of your friend can be hard. That's precisely what Pierre Gasly achieved in 2021. After a late race red flag neutralized everything, Gasly took advantage of a perfect start and won his first career race in the F1 Italian GP.
#4 Charles Leclerc (34 races)
It might come as a surprise, but 34 races was a long time coming for Charles Leclerc to win his first race. The Ferrari driver impressed in his very first year with the team. Only in the 2019 Fq Belgian GP did everything come together for Charles, as he just dominated the weekend from start to finish.
#3 Fernando Alonso (30 races)
It's not often that you lap the reigning champion en route to winning your first race. A fresh-faced Fernando Alonso made it happen in 2004 F1 Hungarian GP. The pole position to lead the race to win it commandingly was something that surprised quite a few.
Alonso became the youngest driver to win an F1 race, and a lot of it was a result of a precocious talent starting to blossom.
#2 Max Verstappen (24 races)
Max Verstappen was the blue-eyed boy in the turbo hybrid era that everyone kept an eye on. When he was promoted mid-season to Red Bull, it was a shock to the system for everyone involved.
As it appears now, it was a shock for everyone but Max, as he benefited from an almighty teammate collision between the Mercedes drivers and won his first-ever race for Red Bull at the 2016 F1 Spanish GP.
#1 Lewis Hamilton (6 races)
Lewis Hamilton was a phenomenon when he first stepped on the big stage in 2007. McLaren was a title contender, but nobody would have thought Lewis would be in title contention.
In just his 6th race in Canada, Lewis Hamilton triumphed for the first time by securing pole position and the win as he beat the likes of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen on the way.
