It cannot be argued that a certain modicum of luck is required to take the chequered flag before everyone else in a Formula 1 race. First and foremost you need to drive in one of the faster vehicles on track to increase the possibility of performing overtakes and retaining the lead. Other factors include misfortune for your rivals and changing weather conditions suiting your strategy. A handful of F1 pilots were never able to get the lucky break needed to win an F1 race, and in this article we will focus on some of the more talented ones.

10. Derek Warwick

As with many drivers on this list, Derek Warwick did not have the luck of the draw when it came to the teams he chose to race for. He started off his F1 career with Toleman, but was never going to challenge for victories in the primarily backmarking team.

He moved to Renault for the 1984 season, but couldn’t have time his move to the French outfit more wrong as they had just begun to lose the edge that they had held since the start of the turbo era. Even so the Renault RE50 was still decently competitive. Warwick was actually leading a race in the ’84 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix before being forced to retire with a mere 12 laps to go. He managed 4 podium finishes over the calendar year.

He was offered a seat with Williams thereafter for the 1985 campaign, but refused the terms and stuck with Renault for another year. The downwards trajectory continued for the team and Derek only scored 5 points.

3 seasons with Arrows yielded no podiums let alone wins, but he did come close on 2 separate occasions in 1989. At the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepaguá, the Arrows pit crew performed a disastrous pitstop which saw the British driver lose 25 seconds. In the end he finished only 17 seconds behind winner Nigel Mansell, so it can be speculated that Warwick could have won the event.

Later in the season at the Canadian Grand Prix, Warwick was temporarily leading the race before being surpassed by Ayrton Senna. While Warwick retired with an engine failure, so did Senna. If Derek’s engine had held on he would have been the first to cross the line. There were no more chances for Warwick beyond this, and he retired from the sport in 1993.

9. Nico Hulkenberg

Not only did Hulkenberg never record a win, he also never managed a podium either. He holds the record for the greatest number of race starts without a podium, with 179.

He did have his fair share of opportunities though. In his debut season with Williams in 2010, Nico qualified on pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos thanks to a wet track catching out many of the frontrunners on the wrong set of tyres. In the race however he didn’t have the machinery to retain the top spot and finished in 8th.

Without a doubt his best chance was in 2012 at the same track. He was one of the fastest cars on track that Sunday, passing Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button early on with masterful overtaking manoeuvres in his Force India. In passing Button’s McLaren, Hulkenberg inherited the lead on lap 19. He held this advantage until lap 49 when a tough battle between him and Lewis Hamilton ensued. The tussle unfortunately ended with the German driver spinning into the side of the McLaren, taking them both out of contention.

Ever the consistent driver, Nico scored points in 54.2% of the races he started, but was unable to manage a victory to show for his efforts.

8. Martin Brundle

Brundle scored 9 podiums in an enviable employment, with 2 second-place finishes at the 1992 Italian Grand Prix and the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. However he could never go that one place higher for victory.

His debut season came in 1984 for Tyrrell. While he did manage several top-6 results with the British team, they were subsequently disqualified for technical infringements which saw all the points they had scored so far be nullified.

Two poor seasons with the dying Brabham team in 1989 and 1991 sandwiched a win in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, which captured the interest of Benetton who hired him for his services in the 1992 campaign.

He could have won the Canadian GP that year were it not for his transmission giving up. At the time his gearbox expired he was running in 2nd and rapidly closing in on Gerhard Berger in the lead.

Martin moved to McLaren in 1994, just as the Woking team were losing their grip as frontrunners in Formula 1. As long as the Peugeot engine didn’t go up in smoke, he recorded fine points finishes, along with 2 podiums that year.

2 more seasons in F1 with Ligier and Jordan were fruitful but never likely to muster victories, and he duly retired at the end of the ’96 season.

Brundle’s voice is instantly recognisable to British fans as one of the commentators alongside David Croft for Sky Sports F1.

7. Jean-Pierre Jarier

Jean-Pierre looked immediately racy on his first few seasons in F1 with the Shadow team. In 1975 he took 2 pole positions in a row in Argentina and Brazil, but luck was not on his side as he failed to convert either of them. Dismal reliability saw him retire from both events.

He suffered a lull in results for two years but was called up to replace Ronnie Peterson at Lotus after the Swedish driver perished in a first lap crash at the Italian Grand Prix. He took pole again at the Canadian Grand Prix and was easily leading for 49 laps before having to retire with an oil leak.

The Frenchman’s best season in terms of overall points was in 1979, where he finally managed to have a reliable car beneath his buttocks. It was quite fast as well, taking Jarier to 2 podiums and 11th in the Drivers’ Standings. He would only score 9 more points in the last 4 years of his F1 career.

6. Carlos Sainz Jr.

The only current F1 driver on this list, Sainz has proven himself to be one of the best drivers on the present grid. With the rulebook shake-up coming into force for the 2022 season, we may see Carlos on the top step for Ferrari or another team in the not-so-distant future.

Top 10 Drivers who Have Never Won an F1 Race (Part 1)

It cannot be argued that a certain modicum of luck is required to take the chequered flag before everyone else in a Formula 1 race. First and foremost you need to drive in one of the faster vehicles on track to increase the possibility of performing overtakes and retaining the lead. Other factors include misfortune for your rivals and changing weather conditions suiting your strategy. A handful of F1 pilots were never able to get the lucky break needed to win an F1 race, and in this article we will focus on some of the more talented ones.

10. Derek Warwick

As with many drivers on this list, Derek Warwick did not have the luck of the draw when it came to the teams he chose to race for. He started off his F1 career with Toleman, but was never going to challenge for victories in the primarily backmarking team.

He moved to Renault for the 1984 season, but couldn’t have time his move to the French outfit more wrong as they had just begun to lose the edge that they had held since the start of the turbo era. Even so the Renault RE50 was still decently competitive. Warwick was actually leading a race in the ’84 season at the Brazilian Grand Prix before being forced to retire with a mere 12 laps to go. He managed 4 podium finishes over the calendar year.

He was offered a seat with Williams thereafter for the 1985 campaign, but refused the terms and stuck with Renault for another year. The downwards trajectory continued for the team and Derek only scored 5 points.

3 seasons with Arrows yielded no podiums let alone wins, but he did come close on 2 separate occasions in 1989. At the Brazilian Grand Prix at Jacarepaguá, the Arrows pit crew performed a disastrous pitstop which saw the British driver lose 25 seconds. In the end he finished only 17 seconds behind winner Nigel Mansell, so it can be speculated that Warwick could have won the event.

Later in the season at the Canadian Grand Prix, Warwick was temporarily leading the race before being surpassed by Ayrton Senna. While Warwick retired with an engine failure, so did Senna. If Derek’s engine had held on he would have been the first to cross the line. There were no more chances for Warwick beyond this, and he retired from the sport in 1993.

9. Nico Hulkenberg

Not only did Hulkenberg never record a win, he also never managed a podium either. He holds the record for the greatest number of race starts without a podium, with 179.

He did have his fair share of opportunities though. In his debut season with Williams in 2010, Nico qualified on pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos thanks to a wet track catching out many of the frontrunners on the wrong set of tyres. In the race however he didn’t have the machinery to retain the top spot and finished in 8th.

Without a doubt his best chance was in 2012 at the same track. He was one of the fastest cars on track that Sunday, passing Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button early on with masterful overtaking manoeuvres in his Force India. In passing Button’s McLaren, Hulkenberg inherited the lead on lap 19. He held this advantage until lap 49 when a tough battle between him and Lewis Hamilton ensued. The tussle unfortunately ended with the German driver spinning into the side of the McLaren, taking them both out of contention.

Ever the consistent driver, Nico scored points in 54.2% of the races he started, but was unable to manage a victory to show for his efforts.

8. Martin Brundle

Brundle scored 9 podiums in an enviable employment, with 2 second-place finishes at the 1992 Italian Grand Prix and the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. However he could never go that one place higher for victory.

His debut season came in 1984 for Tyrrell. While he did manage several top-6 results with the British team, they were subsequently disqualified for technical infringements which saw all the points they had scored so far be nullified.

Two poor seasons with the dying Brabham team in 1989 and 1991 sandwiched a win in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, which captured the interest of Benetton who hired him for his services in the 1992 campaign.

He could have won the Canadian GP that year were it not for his transmission giving up. At the time his gearbox expired he was running in 2nd and rapidly closing in on Gerhard Berger in the lead.

Martin moved to McLaren in 1994, just as the Woking team were losing their grip as frontrunners in Formula 1. As long as the Peugeot engine didn’t go up in smoke, he recorded fine points finishes, along with 2 podiums that year.

2 more seasons in F1 with Ligier and Jordan were fruitful but never likely to muster victories, and he duly retired at the end of the ’96 season.

Brundle’s voice is instantly recognisable to British fans as one of the commentators alongside David Croft for Sky Sports F1.

7. Jean-Pierre Jarier

Jean-Pierre looked immediately racy on his first few seasons in F1 with the Shadow team. In 1975 he took 2 pole positions in a row in Argentina and Brazil, but luck was not on his side as he failed to convert either of them. Dismal reliability saw him retire from both events.

He suffered a lull in results for two years but was called up to replace Ronnie Peterson at Lotus after the Swedish driver perished in a first lap crash at the Italian Grand Prix. He took pole again at the Canadian Grand Prix and was easily leading for 49 laps before having to retire with an oil leak.

The Frenchman’s best season in terms of overall points was in 1979, where he finally managed to have a reliable car beneath his buttocks. It was quite fast as well, taking Jarier to 2 podiums and 11th in the Drivers’ Standings. He would only score 9 more points in the last 4 years of his F1 career.

6. Carlos Sainz Jr.

The only current F1 driver on this list, Sainz has proven himself to be one of the best drivers on the present grid. With the rulebook shake-up coming into force for the 2022 season, we may see Carlos on the top step for Ferrari or another team in the not-so-distant future.

His first few years in F1 didn’t particularly turn many heads despite being a regular inside the top 10. His best season before his move to McLaren in 2019 was the 2017 campaign where he scored a combined total of 54 points with Toro Rosso and Renault.

Nonetheless he was finally able to prove his worth at McLaren, scoring his first podium in the sport at the Brazilian GP. His trophy was awarded after the celebrations as the stewards later decided to give Lewis Hamilton a time penalty for his collision with Alexander Albon in the penultimate lap of the race.

The Spaniard came within a few metres of victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, where he was edged out by Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly.

Carlos moved to Ferrari last year with the hopes of winning races, and he almost did with 4 podiums to his name in 2021. Not to say he didn’t have as good a season as expected however; he beat venerable teammate Charles Leclerc to fifth in the Drivers’ Standings. He even momentarily lead the Russian Grand Prix until Lando Norris retook 1st on lap 13. He eventually finished in 3rd place.

Sainz Jr. finished an outstanding 15 races in a row in the points, better than any other driver in the 2021 World Championship.

Part 2 will come out soon…



His first few years in F1 didn’t particularly turn many heads despite being a regular inside the top 10. His best season before his move to McLaren in 2019 was the 2017 campaign where he scored a combined total of 54 points with Toro Rosso and Renault.

Nonetheless he was finally able to prove his worth at McLaren, scoring his first podium in the sport at the Brazilian GP. His trophy was awarded after the celebrations as the stewards later decided to give Lewis Hamilton a time penalty for his collision with Alexander Albon in the penultimate lap of the race.

The Spaniard came within a few metres of victory at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix, where he was edged out by Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly.

Carlos moved to Ferrari last year with the hopes of winning races, and he almost did with 4 podiums to his name in 2021. Not to say he didn’t have as good a season as expected however; he beat venerable teammate Charles Leclerc to fifth in the Drivers’ Standings. He even momentarily lead the Russian Grand Prix until Lando Norris retook 1st on lap 13. He eventually finished in 3rd place.

Sainz Jr. finished an outstanding 15 races in a row in the points, better than any other driver in the 2021 World Championship.

Part 2 will come out soon…