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The F1 championship battle has more often than not featured what we would call the "usual suspects." Drivers that are the crème de la crème, drivers like Michael Schumacher or Fernando Alonso, drivers that would be considered the elites of the sport.
Even on the current grid, if we talk about potential title contenders, we talk about Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and a few others. Throughout the history of F1, however, there have been scenarios where a new surprise contender emerges out of nowhere and challenges for the title. In this piece, we take a look at the top three unlikely contenders for the F1 title in the history of the sport.
#3 Eddie Irvine (1999 F1 season)
Wins: 4
Podiums: 9
When you are the designated 'number-two' driver at Ferrari with Michael Schumacher as the lead, you don't expect to challenge for the title. The 1999 season, however, featured something that no one would have expected. It all started at the 1999 F1 British Grand Prix where a crash for Schumacher ruled him out for multiple races and effectively out of championship contention.
Ferrari, equipped with a title-worthy contender, turned its attention to its 'number-two' driver Eddie Irvine. The Irishman, on his part, responded brilliantly, winning four races and only losing out on the title by two points to Mika Hakkinen.
This was one of the earliest circumstances where a support act turned into a title contender and almost clinched the title.
#2 Felipe Massa (2008 F1 season)
Wins: 6
Podiums: 10
Felipe Massa was a like-for-like replacement for Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari. The young Brazilian replaced his compatriot and was essentially expected to be the support act for the lead driver. Massa, making his debut with the team in 2006, did the job admirably that year for Michael Schumacher and in 2007 for Kimi Raikkonen.
For the 2008 season, with Raikkonen being the defending champion, Massa was expected to carry on in the role of the support driver. The tide, however, turned at Ferrari as the Brazilian started getting the better of Raikkonen and took over the role of the lead driver at Ferrari.
Such was the rise of Massa that he would end up winning 6 races that season, even with the eventual champion Lewis Hamilton winning only 5. He would, however, lose out on the title by just one point thanks to a final lap overtake of Timo Glock by Hamilton.
#1 Mark Webber (2010 F1 season)
Wins: 4
Podiums: 10
By the time Red Bull became a title contender in 2010, Mark Webber was already a 34-year-old. The team had a young charger in Sebastian Vettel, who was touted to be the next Michael Schumacher. To add to this, the 2009 season had featured Vettel getting the better of Webber for the most part and finishing ahead of him in the standings (84-69.5 on points).
The 2010 season, however, featured a completely different narrative at Red Bull. The German, plagued by reliability issues and incidents on track, was always playing catch-up while Webber, who picked up four wins throughout the season, was leading the championship for the most part.
Heading into the final race of the season, the Australian was in a championship battle with Fernando Alonso while Vettel and Lewis Hamilton had an outside chance of winning the title.
As it turned out, a strategic blunder by Red Bull for Webber dropped him out of contention in the race, with Vettel going on to lift the title. The Aussie would finish third in the drivers' standings despite leading the championship at one point.
