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The first Formula 1 season was held in 1950, and the sport has come a long way since then. It has seen numerous changes during its long and illustrious history and has also given us quite a lot of memorable moments to ponder upon.
Most of these moments often revolve around famous victories, black flags or even overtakes. However, Formula 1 is full of surprises, and seven drivers won a race without even leading a single lap. These drivers were not at their best on the race day and certainly did not see the chequered flag first. Moreover, these drivers did not even manage to lead a single lap; however, fate was on their side, and at the end of the Grand Prix, they were awarded maximum points and declared as the Grand Prix winners.
Let us take a trip down the memory lane and look closer at the seven racers who recorded a win despite never even leading a single lap of the race.
#1 Luigi Fagioli - 1951 French Grand Prix
The first such incident happened during the second Formula 1 season itself. Driving the Alpha Romeo, Fagioli had a mediocre qualifying session that saw him start the race from the seventh place. His teammate Juan Manuel Fangio, however, had an excellent qualifying session and started the race from pole position.
Fangio led the race at the start, but his car soon developed problems, which promoted the team to order Fagioli to surrender his car to the Argentine driver. The Italian obliged and Fangio went on to win the French Grand Prix. As a result of this, the points were shared, and Fagioli was also credited with the victory, who took the chequered flag in the eleventh place. Also, he became the oldest driver to win a Formula 1 race.
The whole incident did not go well with the Italian, who quit Formula 1 after the 1951 French Grand Prix.
#2 Luigi Musso - 1956 Argentine Grand Prix
Luigi Musso was credited with a win in the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix after sharing his car with his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. Driving for Scuderia Ferrari, Fangio started the race from pole while Musso started from the third spot.
Fangio was forced to retire after developing mechanical problems during the early stages of the Grand Prix. However, Ferrari called Luigi Musso to the pits and ordered him to surrender his car to Fangio to which the Italian duly obliged.
An inspired drive by the Argentine driver combined with a series of unfortunate mechanical failures to the race leaders, Fangio secured the victory for Ferrari. Luigi Musso was also awarded the victory, and the points were shared amongst the teammates.
#3 Tony Brooks - 1957 British Grand Prix
Tony Brooks' win at the 1957 British Grand Prix was the third and final time a victory was shared between two drivers. Brooks started the race from third while his teammate Stirling Moss started it from pole position.
Tony Brooks was still recovering from his injuries sustained earlier, while his teammate was flying at the top of the grid. However, Moss soon found himself in the pits after his car faced a mechanical issue. Brooks returned to the pits and handed over the car to Moss as he was not confident of going the race distance.
A fired-up Moss charged out of the pits and began his fight to claim the top spot. Mechanical failures and accidents at the top of the grid helped Moss take the lead and finally a very memorable Grand Prix victory at his home race.
Tony Brooks was also awarded the victory for sharing the car with Stirling Moss.
#4 Niki Lauda - 1978 Italian Grand Prix
Crossing the finish line first was Ferrari's Mario Andretti; however, the win would not be credited to the Italian driver. Much to the Italian's disappointment, Andretti had a perfect weekend that day as he started the race from pole and even set the fastest lap of the race.
A horrific accident on the very first lap that would be the cause for the eventual death of Ronnie Peterson meant that the race was red-flagged before the leaders could complete a lap.
The race was restarted late evening with reduced race distance saw Andretti and Villeneuve battle it out for the top stop. However, both the drivers received a one-minute penalty for jumping the start. The eventual race winner Niki Lauda held his ground firmly in the third spot.
Andretti took the chequered flag followed by Villeneuve and Lauda. Since Lauda finished within a minute of the leaders, he jumped into first place after the penalty was added to Andretti and Villeneuve.
#5 Alain Prost - 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix
Alain Prost won the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix after the top two drivers were disqualified from the race for not meeting the minimum weight requirements.
Prost started the race from the pole position, but after a slow start, he was shunted from the lead before the end of the first lap. The Frenchman could never recover and never saw the top of the grid at Jacarepaguá. The home driver Nelson Piquet driving the Brabham along with Keke Rosberg driving the Williams surged ahead as the race progressed and took the chequered flag as number 1 and number 2.
However, the two drivers were disqualified for not meeting the minimum weight requirements, and the win was awarded to Alain Prost, much to the disappointment of Nelson Piquet.
#6 Elio de Angelis - 1985 San Marino Grand Prix
Three years later, in 1985, Alain Prost was taken off the top step of the podium for not meeting the minimum weight requirements.
Often regarded as one of the most bizarre races in Formula 1 history, the San Marino Grand Prix had everything in it, including accidents, engine failures and drivers running out of fuel.
After the race-favorite Ayrton Senna ran out of fuel in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. Johanson, who took the lead from Senna also ran out of fuel in the same lap allowing Alain Prost to take the chequered flag first followed by Elio de Angelis, Bousten and Tambay. Bousten had run out of fuel right before the finish line, and he pushed the Arrows-BMW car across the finish line to complete the race.
Prost's disqualification meant that Eli de Angelis would pick up the second and last win of his Formula 1 career.
#7 Damon Hill - 1994 Belgium Grand Prix
The 1994 Belgium Grand Prix saw the disqualification of the eventual champion Michael Schumacher for flouting the rules concerning the aerodynamics of the vehicle.
Schumacher started the race from second, Hill started it from third, while Barrichello started the race from pole position. However, the Brazilian was passed by the German on the very first lap to take the lead.
Michael Schumacher spun off the track during the early stages of the Grand Prix but managed to keep the lead. Driving the Williams, Hill had a decent pace and finished the race second behind the German.
The stewards found that the skid block underneath the German's car had excessive wear and stripped Schumacher off a victory. Benneton's appeal was denied, and the win was granted to Damon Hill, who won the race without even leading a single lap.
