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To win races, one must lead races first. This is the case with any championship, and more often than not, people who constantly lead the pack secure race wins at some point of time in their career. The current drivers' champion is the prime example of the same; the Briton led for over 80 laps before tasting his first victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix.
However, a few drivers are really unlucky as they couldn't register a single race win despite putting on excellent performances both in qualifying and during the race, and in this article, let us take a trip down the memory lane and look closer at the five unfortunate drivers who managed to lead races for an extraordinary number of laps but failed to secure a single race win throughout their career.
#5 Niko Hulkenberg - 43 laps
Nico Hulkenberg kicks off the list with 43 laps led since his Formula One debut in 2010.
The German driver's best chance to secure a spot on the podium came at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. Driving for Force India, the German started the race from the sixth place, ahead of the championship contender Fernando Alonso.
Hulkenberg had a strong start and maintained his position near the top of the gird. The German moved to the first place when intermittent rain forced most of the front-runners to pit for a set of intermediates.
Hulkenberg held his spot for 30 laps before being overtaken by Lewis Hamilton. The German went on to finish the race in the fifth place, netting Force India all-important points for the championship.
Niko Hulkenberg is still racing in Formula One, which gives him a chance to secure a race win and be off this unfortunate record list.
#4 Ivan Capelli - 46 laps
Ivan Capelli is one of those few Formula One drivers who retired from more than half the races that he competed. The Italian driver never took the top spot in his entire career but managed to secure three podiums between 1988 and 1990.
Interestingly, most of the laps that Capelli led in his career came at the 1990 French Grand Prix, which was eventually won by the local driver Alain Prost.
The Italian had a decent qualifying session that saw him start the race from the seventh place. Capelli moved to the lead at around the half-way point of the race and stayed on top for 45 laps.
With three laps to go, the Italian surrendered the lead to Prost due to engine trouble. Capelli finished the race in second to hand his team its first ever podium, which was also the last podium of his career.
#3 Jean-Pierre Jarier - 79 laps
The Frenchman takes the third spot on the list with 79 laps. Jean-Pierre Jarier has three pole positions and three podiums to his name in his twelve-year-long career.
His first disappointment came at the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix, which he started from the pole position. The French driver led the race for over twenty-five laps but encountered an issue with the fuel system, forcing his premature retirement from the race.
Disaster struck Jarier twice as the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix ended in similar fashion for the Frenchman.
Jean-Pierre Jarier started from pole and led over two-thirds of the race, but had to retire due to an oil leak, handing the lead to Gilles Villeneuve, who went on to claim a famous home victory.
After that race, Jarier clinched a couple of podiums but never managed to take the race lead for a victory until his retirement at the end of the 1983 season.
#2 Jean Behra - 107 laps
Jean Behra is one of the two drivers in the history of Formula One to lead over 100 laps without registering a race win.
The Frenchman found the most success while driving for the Maserati from 1955 to 1957. During those three years, Behra secured seven podiums, with five of them coming in the 1956 season.
Two second-place finishes at the 1956 and the 1957 Argentina Grand Prix were his career-best finishes.
Behra led the better part of the 1957 British Grand Prix before retiring due to a clutch failure. In his last season, while driving for the Ferrari, the Frenchman had a chance to break his unfortunate record at the iconic Monaco Grand Prix. Jean Behra led the season's opener for over 20 laps before being forced to retire due to an engine failure.
#1 Chris Amon - 183 laps
Chris Amon takes the top spot on the list. The New Zealander is widely regarded as one of the best drivers to never win a Grand Prix race.
Amon led 183 laps throughout his fourteen-year-long Formula one career but failed to convert that into a single race win. During his time in the sport, the Kiwi managed to secure five pole positions and eleven podiums.
The 1968 season was Amon's best chance to register a race win. Driving for the Ferrari, the New Zealander had excellent qualifying sessions that saw him secure three pole positions. However, he couldn't convert any of them to victories as he suffered multiple retirements that season either due to car trouble or accidents.
Unfortunately, the Kiwi led 72 laps of the Canadian Grand Prix but failed to make it across the finish line due to a problem with the machine's transmission system.
Chris Amon's best finish was a second place, which he achieved thrice in his career. Interestingly, his last podium at the 1972 French Grand Prix came from a pole position while driving for the Matra.
