Weird Formula 1 stats
Twenty of the oddest facts in Formula 1's record books.
Worked out from every result since 1950, then checked against outside sources by two separate checks. Under each one are the pages that confirm it, so you can check it too.
60 years between Italian winners at Monza
Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Italian Grand Prix from 19th on the grid, the first Italian to win it since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966.
A 60-year home drought ended from almost the back of the grid.
Antonelli arrived at Monza leading the championship, then took a 30-place grid penalty for using too many engine parts. He started on hard tyres, gained seven places before an early red flag, and reeled in his teammate George Russell near the end. His first try at the first chicane sent him into the gravel, but he got past later on.
Read more: 2026 Italian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- Antonelli, 2026
- Won by an Italian
- Won by someone else
Check it: 2026 Italian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 2
27 Gilles Villeneuve's number
Jean Alesi's only win came on his 31st birthday, in Montreal in 1995, driving Ferrari's number 27, Gilles Villeneuve's old number, at the circuit named after Villeneuve.
Birthday, number and circuit all line up.
Alesi took the lead late in the race, when Michael Schumacher's Benetton had to pit with a problem. On the cool-down lap his Ferrari ran out of fuel at the hairpin, with fans already through the fences. Schumacher pulled up and gave him a lift back to the pits on top of his Benetton.
Read more: 1995 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Jean Alesi's First And Only F1 Win | 1995 Canadian Grand PrixFORMULA 1 on YouTube Check it: 1995 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 3
3 cars at the flag
Only three cars finished the full 75 laps of the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, which began in the wet; Olivier Panis won from 14th, his only win.
Only three cars made it to the end of a race that began in the wet.
Heavy rain fell just before the start, and pole-sitter Michael Schumacher hit the wall on the first lap. Damon Hill led by nearly 30 seconds until his engine blew coming out of the tunnel, then Jean Alesi's suspension broke. Panis, who had forced his way past Eddie Irvine at the Loews hairpin, gave Ligier its first win in 15 years.
Read more: 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · racefans.net
1996 Monaco Grand Prix: Race HighlightsFORMULA 1 on YouTube Check it: 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · RaceFans
- No. 4
0.5 points, the only ones a woman has scored
Lella Lombardi is the only woman to score World Championship points, and she scored half a point, for sixth in the shortened 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.
A record held by half a point, from a race stopped early.
Drivers had refused to practise because the barriers weren't bolted together properly, and the reigning champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, went home on race morning. On lap 26 Rolf Stommelen's rear wing broke and his car flew over the barrier, killing spectators. The race was stopped a few laps later, short of 60% distance, so half points were given for the first time. Lella Lombardi was sixth and took half a point.
Read more: 1975 Spanish Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Lella Lombardi's March, number 10, at the 1975 Race of Champions at Brands Hatch.Photo: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 5
2 places each in one race
At the scorching 1955 Argentine Grand Prix, Nino Farina and Maurice Trintignant each finished both second and third, by sharing two Ferraris.
Two drivers on the podium twice in the same race.
Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Roberto Mieres got through it without handing their car to someone else. Fangio drove all 96 laps and won, his leg burnt where it rubbed on the chassis frame heated by the exhaust. Two Ferraris each used three drivers, so their points were split three ways.
Read more: 1955 Argentine Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Check it: 1955 Argentine Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 6
53 years old, the oldest winner
Luigi Fagioli is the oldest Grand Prix winner, 53 years and 22 days, at the 1951 French Grand Prix; it was also his last championship race.
His record win was shared with Fangio, and he never raced in the championship again.
At his fuel stop, Alfa Romeo ordered Fagioli out of his healthy car so that Fangio, whose own car was misfiring, could take it over. Fangio drove it to the win and both men were credited. Fagioli finished 11th, 22 laps down, in Fangio's broken car, and is said to have been so furious that he never raced a Grand Prix again.
Read more: 1951 French Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Luigi Fagioli in the Alfa Romeo 159 at Reims, 1 July 1951, before he handed it to Fangio.Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 7
6 cars started
Portugal's only Formula 1 podium came at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, where just six cars started; Tiago Monteiro finished third for Jordan.
Portugal's only podium came on a day when 14 of the 20 cars pulled out after the formation lap.
Michelin said its tyres were safe for only 10 laps through the banked Turn 13, and the FIA refused to put in a chicane, so all 14 Michelin cars peeled into the pits after the formation lap. On the podium the two Ferrari drivers took their trophies and left.
Read more: 2005 United States Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · Tiago Monteiro (Wikipedia)
- Monteiro, third
- Started
- Pulled out after the formation lap
Tiago Monteiro's Jordan in qualifying at Indianapolis for the 2005 United States Grand Prix.Photo: Dan Smith (Rdsmith4), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 8
22 grid place, the lowest winner
John Watson won at Long Beach in 1983 from 22nd on the grid, still the furthest back any Formula 1 winner has started.
A street-circuit win from the back of the grid.
Neither McLaren could find a balanced set-up in qualifying, so Watson started 22nd and Niki Lauda 23rd. They finished first and second, in the last Formula 1 race at Long Beach.
Read more: 1983 United States Grand Prix West (Wikipedia) · John Watson (racing driver) (Wikipedia)
Front22nd- Watson, 22nd, 1983
- Antonelli, 19th, 2026
John Watson's McLaren MP4/1C at Brands Hatch, 1983, two weeks after his win from 22nd.Photo: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 9
9 wins in car number 0
Damon Hill won nine Grands Prix in a car numbered 0, in 1993 and 1994; nobody else has won a race with a zero.
Nine wins with a zero on the car, and nobody else has managed one.
Number 1 normally went to the reigning champion, but Nigel Mansell wasn't racing in Formula 1 after winning the 1992 title, and Alain Prost retired after winning in 1993. Both years Williams got 0 and 2 instead, and Hill, the junior driver, took the zero. His first win came at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Read more: Damon Hill (Wikipedia) · squadnumbers.com
Damon Hill's Williams FW15C at the 1993 British Grand Prix, the year he raced with 0.Photo: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Check it: Damon Hill (Wikipedia) · Squad Numbers
- No. 10
2 wins, both at Monza
The Faenza team, Minardi then Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and Racing Bulls, has won two Grands Prix, both at Monza, with Vettel in 2008 and Gasly in 2020.
An Italian team that only ever wins at its home race, twelve years apart.
Vettel's win came in the rain, from pole, with a year-old engine, and made him the youngest winner at the time, aged 21. Gasly started tenth: he pitted just before the pit lane was closed for a safety car, and leader Lewis Hamilton was penalised for going in while it was shut, which handed Gasly the lead.
Read more: 2008 Italian Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 2020 Italian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Vettel, 2008Gasly, 202019852026The Day Sebastian Vettel Made History! | Extended Highlights | 2008 Italian Grand PrixFORMULA 1 on YouTube - No. 11
2 New Year's Day wins
Jim Clark won the South African Grand Prix on New Year's Day twice, in 1965 and 1968; the second was his 25th and last win.
Same race, same date, same winner, three years apart.
The 1965 race had been meant to close the 1964 season but was put back a week, into the new year. Clark led from pole and even did an extra lap, because the chequered flag came out a lap early. His 1968 win took him past Fangio's record total, and it was the last Grand Prix he ever started: he was killed at Hockenheim three months later.
Read more: 1965 South African Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 1968 South African Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 12
239 starts to a first podium
Nico Hülkenberg finally got his first podium in his 239th start, finishing third at Silverstone in 2025 after starting 19th.
Third place, from 19th on the grid, after 238 starts without one.
It rained on and off at Silverstone, and Hülkenberg's team timed its tyre calls well. He passed Lance Stroll for third at Stowe, then held off Lewis Hamilton to the flag. It was Sauber's first podium since Kamui Kobayashi's in 2012, and its last before Audi took over.
Read more: 2025 British Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · Nico Hülkenberg (Wikipedia)
Starts
How Nico Hulkenberg Scored His First Ever Podium | 2025 British Grand PrixFORMULA 1 on YouTube Check it: ESPN · 2025 British Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 13
18 British wins in a row
British drivers won 18 championship races in a row, from the 1962 British Grand Prix to the 1964 Belgian, with Dan Gurney winning at Rouen just before and just after.
Gurney won at Rouen just before the run and just after it.
It began at Aintree, in the last Grand Prix held there, with Jim Clark leading every lap while Gurney slid down to ninth with a slipping clutch. It ended at Spa in 1964, only just: Gurney led most of the way and ran out of fuel, Graham Hill dropped out of the lead right at the end, and Clark won.
Read more: 1962 British Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 1964 Belgian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Rouen 1962Rouen 1964- Dan Gurney
- British winner
Jim Clark with the wreath after winning the 1963 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, one of the 18 British wins in a row.Photo: Joop van Bilsen / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 14
44 Canadian GPs since, none won by a Canadian
Gilles Villeneuve won the first Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal in 1978; in 44 Canadian Grands Prix since, no Canadian has won it.
The circuit carries his name, and he's still its only home winner.
It was the last race of 1978, on the new circuit on Île Notre-Dame. Jean-Pierre Jarier led from pole by 20 seconds until his Lotus developed an oil leak, and Villeneuve took his first win in front of his own fans. He was killed at Zolder in 1982, and the circuit was renamed after him.
Read more: 1978 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · Gilles Villeneuve (Wikipedia)
19672026- Villeneuve, 1978
- Won by someone else
Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari 312T3 at Brands Hatch in 1978, the car he won in at Montreal that October.Photo: Martin Lee, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Check it: Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 15
71 Belgian GPs, no Belgian winner
In 71 Belgian Grands Prix since 1950, no Belgian has won; Jacky Ickx won eight Grands Prix, none of them at home.
Eight wins for Ickx, none of them at home.
In his first season with Ferrari, in 1968, Ickx started his home race at Spa from the front row and finished third. He did win at Spa, just not in Formula 1: the Spa 24 Hours in a BMW in 1966, and the Spa 1000km in 1967.
Read more: Jacky Ickx (Wikipedia)
Jacky Ickx in his Ferrari, number 10, in practice for the 1968 Dutch Grand Prix, the season he was third at Spa.Photo: Joost Evers / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons Check it: Belgian Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · Jacky Ickx (Wikipedia)
- No. 16
40 Australian GPs, no Australian winner
No Australian has won the Australian Grand Prix in its 40 runnings as a championship race since 1985, despite Jones, Webber, Ricciardo and Piastri.
Race winners from Australia, and still no home win.
Alan Jones did win the Australian Grand Prix, at Calder Park in 1980 as the new world champion, but it wasn't a championship race and only two Formula 1 cars took part. Daniel Ricciardo finished second at home in 2014 and was then disqualified for illegal fuel flow. In 2025 Oscar Piastri lost control while running second and finished ninth.
Read more: Australian Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 2014 Australian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Oscar Piastri meeting fans on the Melbourne Walk at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.Photo: Yu Chu Chin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Check it: Australian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
- No. 17
55 years old at the start
Louis Chiron started the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix aged 55 years and 292 days, the oldest driver in a championship race, and finished sixth.
At 55 he was still racing, and he finished the race in sixth.
Chiron grew up in Monaco, where his father worked at the Hôtel de Paris and Louis worked there as a bellboy. In the same 1955 race, Alberto Ascari's Lancia went through the barriers into the harbour and he had to swim out. Monaco later put up a statue of Chiron and named the first chicane of the Swimming Pool section after him.
Read more: Louis Chiron (Wikipedia) · 1955 Monaco Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
A Lancia D50 at Goodwood in 2017, the model Chiron drove to sixth at Monaco in 1955.Photo: Neil (Flickr), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons - No. 18
19 years old on pole
Kimi Antonelli took pole for the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix aged 19, the youngest ever, breaking the record Sebastian Vettel had held since 2008.
The youngest pole record had stood for 18 years.
Vettel's record had come in the rain at Monza in 2008, in a Toro Rosso. Antonelli turned his pole into his first win the next day, leading a Mercedes one-two, and became the first Italian to win a Grand Prix since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006.
Read more: 2026 Chinese Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 2008 Italian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Kimi Antonelli's Pole Lap | 2026 Chinese Grand Prix | PirelliFORMULA 1 on YouTube - No. 19
1 win for Poland, ever
A year after a huge crash in Montreal, Robert Kubica won there in 2008, his only win and still the only one by a Polish driver.
Same circuit, opposite ends of the luck scale.
In 2007 Kubica hit the back of Jarno Trulli's Toyota and was launched into the wall before the hairpin; his BMW lost three wheels and flipped. He got away with a sprained ankle and concussion, and missed the next race, where Sebastian Vettel stood in. In 2008 Lewis Hamilton ran into Kimi Räikkönen in the pit lane, and Kubica's win put him top of the championship.
Read more: 2007 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia) · 2008 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Kubica's Canada Redemption | Canadian Grand PrixFORMULA 1 on YouTube - No. 20
5 brothers' one-twos
Michael and Ralf Schumacher finished first and second five times; the first, Montreal 2001, was won by Ralf, the younger brother.
Brothers, in the same race, in the top two places, five times.
Michael started on pole with Ralf alongside. Ralf looked for a way past for much of the race and couldn't, then got ahead in the pit stops and stayed there.
Read more: 2001 Canadian Grand Prix (Wikipedia)
Schumacher Brothers Make History | 2001 Canadian Grand PrixFORMULA 1 on YouTube
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