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One-hit Formula 1 wonders
Forget record breakers like Schumacher and Vettel, F1 history is full of drivers who had just one day in the sun. In the first of a three-part series, Kevin Turner looks at the one-time F1 winners
By Kevin Turner
AUTOSPORT features editor
JEAN ALESI
1995 Canadian GP
Ferrari 412T2
He burst onto the Formula 1 scene with Tyrrell in 1989 and memorably battled Ayrton Senna for the lead in Phoenix the following season. Jean Alesi looked set to be a multiple winner, but a move to Ferrari and some appalling luck kept him off the top step of the podium.
That was until the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix and the Frenchman's 31st birthday. Alesi qualified fifth and moved past Ferrari team-mate Gerhard Berger just as the Williams of David Coulthard spun off in front of them.
With Michael Schumacher's Benetton streaking away in front, the Ferraris closed on Damon Hill, struggling with his Williams. Alesi made it by at the hairpin on lap 17 and left Berger to battle his way past Hill.
After the stops, Schumacher was around half a minute clear and Alesi had settled for yet another second place. Then, with a little over 11 of the 69 laps to go, Schumacher hit gearbox trouble. Alesi swept by and cruised home to finally record his first F1 victory in his 91st GP.
"It felt unbelievable to win; I finished second 16 times," Alesi told AUTOSPORT years later. "OK, I won, but it was more of a relief than anything.
"It was a tough weekend, I had to overtake a lot of people to run second to Michael. And then his car stopped and I thought: 'Finally!' Then I was worried about the
fuel, because Gerhard had run out before his pitstop. I ran out on the slowing-down lap!"
Many more near misses and 16 further podiums followed, but Alesi's luck would never hold like it did that day in Montreal.
JEAN-PIERRE BELTOISE
1972 Monaco GP
BRM P160B
His Monaco success wasn't just one of the best one-off victories, it was one of the great F1 drives of all time. Jean-Pierre Beltoise had arrived in grand prix racing in 1967, won the '68 European F2 title, and had scored six
F1 podiums with Matra by the time he arrived in Monte Carlo with BRM.
Beltoise qualified fourth before torrential rain hit on raceday. After an extra practice session to allow drivers to acclimatise to the conditions, the field set off.
Beltoise immediately shot by front-row men Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus 72) and Jacky Ickx (Ferrari 312B2) to lead up the hill towards Casino. After three laps he was five seconds clear of Clay Regazzoni's Ferrari and his lead grew further when 'Regga' slid down a slip road and took Fittipaldi with him.
In his AUTOSPORT report, Patrick McNally said: "Beltoise drove with inspired confidence. Any thoughts that it was a sprayless road that enabled him to pull away were quickly dispelled by the way he handled traffic. He passed people on the left, right and centre and wasn't above putting a wheel on the pavement if the situation demanded it."
Ickx, an established wet-weather ace who had taken his first championship victory by almost two minutes in the rainy 1968 French GP, took up the chase. But he was powerless to stop Beltoise, who set fastest lap by over half a second. He eventually came home almost 40 seconds clear, with Fittipaldi a lap behind in third.
Beltoise scored no other points in 1972 and would only record one more podium, but on that day in Monaco he had defeated the best in the world.
ALESSANDRO NANNINI
1989 Japanese GP
Benetton B189
The 1989 Japanese GP is remembered for the infamous clash between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, Senna's recovery to victory and subsequent exclusion. But it also gave Alessandro Nannini an F1 win before his helicopter crash in '90.
The Benetton driver qualified sixth and immediately rose to fourth, behind Prost, Senna and the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger. Just after half-distance, Berger hit gearbox trouble and the challenging Nigel Mansell dropped out 10 laps later, leaving Nannini well clear in third.
With such a big gap to the McLarens he backed off. "It was a prudent course to take, but later we were all, Sandro included, to wish he had kept up the pace," wrote AUTOSPORT's Nigel Roebuck. "It would have prevented
a great deal of controversy."
Thus, when the McLarens clashed and Senna toured around to the pits for a new nosecone, Nannini inherited a lead that was not as big as it could have been. Senna charged back and overtook Nannini with just over two laps to go.
But Nannini still got to stand on the top of the Suzuka podium, as Senna was disqualified for not returning to the track where he had left it, and Benetton's second F1 victory was confirmed.
INNES IRELAND
1961 United States GP
Lotus 21
Stirling Moss might have given Lotus its first world championship wins as a constructor – in privateer Rob Walker entries – but it was Innes Ireland who gave Colin Chapman's Team Lotus its breakthrough.
Ireland's 1961 season had not been good and he only qualified eighth at Watkins Glen, despite the absence of the pacesetting Ferraris. His practice efforts had not been helped by a steering failure that sent him flying into trees at 100mph…
Jack Brabham's Cooper and the Lotus of Moss put on a fierce battle at the front of the field, pulling clear of Ireland, who engaged Bruce McLaren (Cooper), Graham Hill (BRM) and Dan Gurney's Porsche in a battle for third.
Ireland moved to the front of the group, which became the lead when both Brabham and Moss hit trouble.
The Ireland-Hill battle "was as good as the Moss-Brabham one had been" claimed AUTOSPORT's report, but the BRM then had to pit with a loose magneto.
Ireland was left to beat Gurney by just over four seconds. It would be his last world championship outing for Team Lotus, Colin Chapman rewarding Ireland by firing him ahead of 1962.
RICHIE GINTHER
1965 Mexican GP
Honda RA272
He was an experienced hand when he joined the fledgling Honda operation, having taken podiums for Ferrari and BRM, and had finished second in the 1963 F1 standings despite not winning.
Richie Ginther's 1965 season was one of improvement with the Japanese firm, and the American had already qualified the RA272 third three times before the season finale in Mexico City.
Honda had tested at the circuit in the days before practice and the car was on the pace straight away, Ginther qualifying third again behind Jim Clark's Lotus and Dan Gurney (Brabham).
His start wasn't the best, but he still led at the end of the opening lap, helped by Clark suffering with a sick engine. Clark retired and by the time Gurney had worked his way by the other Lotus of Mike Spence to run second, Ginther was seven seconds clear.
"The Honda was using less road than most in the esses, and despite the fact that Gurney was in an inspired mood, no change seemed imminent," wrote Bill Gavin in AUTOSPORT.
And so it proved. Gurney lapped faster than his qualifying effort, but Ginther held on by 2.89s to win the last race of the 1.5-litre formula.
THE TRIO OF 1975
Carlos Pace (Brabham BT44B), Brazilian GP
Jochen Mass (McLaren M23), Spanish GP
Vittorio Brambilla (March 751), Austrian GP
In the 1970s the almost ubiquitous Cosworth DFV engine allowed a number of F1 teams to build competitive racers, and three different drivers took their only world championship successes during 1975.
The Brabham BT44B was one of the best chassis at the start of the season and allowed rising Brazilian star Carlos Pace a chance to shine. He qualified second in the opening round in Argentina and took his only F1 world championship pole at Kyalami, outpacing team-mate Carlos Reutemann by just 0.07s. In between he also scored his one race victory, on home turf at Interlagos.
When the dominant Shadow of Jean-Pierre Jarier, which had built up a lead of half a minute, was struck by fuel-metering problems, Pace moved to the front. Emerson Fittipaldi's McLaren kept the pressure on, but Pace kept him at arm's length and took a popular win by six seconds.
Jochen Mass's win in Spain was not greeted with the same level of enthusiasm, but that was not the McLaren driver's fault. The Montjuich Park race was controversial before practice, the safety provisions being considered inadequate.
Mass's team-mate Fittipaldi refused to start and there were a number of accidents before the leading Hill of Rolf Stommelen suffered a rear-wing failure. He hit the barriers hard, took off and killed four spectators.
There was a delay before the chequered flag was thrown, and future sportscar star and Le Mans 24 Hours victor Mass was a none-too-happy winner of a chaotic half-points race.
Vittoria Brambilla's Austrian GP also came in a shortened event, but the end result was more comic than tragic. The March driver qualified eighth and moved up to sixth on the opening lap of the wet race.
He then "rapidly overtook five more men to arrive in the lead on the 19th lap", reported AUTOSPORT's Pete Lyons. "He simply drove away from everyone and was ahead by 24 seconds" when the race was stopped as conditions worsened.
Surprised at the premature end, Brambilla backed off, lost control of the car and crashed. A memorable way to take your only win.
SHARING THE JOY
Luigi Fagioli (Alfa Romeo 159), 1951 French GP
Luigi Musso (Lancia-Ferrari D50), 1956 Argentinian GP
Two of the one-time winners owe their successes to the car-sharing that was a part of racing in the 1950s.
Italian Luigi Fagioli was one of the top drivers of the pre-war era, but younger racers had come to the fore by the time he lined his Alfa Romeo 159 up seventh for a one-off 1951 outing in the French GP.
While team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio fought the Ferrari of Alberto Ascari for the lead, Fagioli ran further back in the top six. But when Fangio's Alfa hit ignition trouble, the Argentinian was switched to Fagioli's fourth-placed machine, with Fagioli eventually taking over his team-mate's repaired 159.
Fagioli brought that car home 11th, but Fangio began a charge, going after the Ferraris and reigning world champion team-mate Giuseppe Farina. When Farina hit tyre problems, Fangio was left to fight the Ferraris and he went on to win by almost a minute, making Fagioli – then 53 – the oldest driver to win a points-paying F1 race.
Fangio played a key role in Luigi Musso's 1956 Argentinian GP success too. Musso was an up-and-coming talent who had already won the non-championship Pescara GP in '54. He qualified on the front row in Buenos Aires and took an initial lead before Froilan Gonzalez (Maserati) went by.
Musso gradually fell back to fifth, but that was still better than Fangio, who struggled from the start with his problematic Lancia-Ferrari.
Musso was fourth when he was brought in to hand his car over to Fangio, who charged up to second. When Stirling Moss's Maserati lapsed onto five cylinders, Fangio was left to complete another victory.
Musso would be an F1 frontrunner over the next couple of years, but was killed at the 1958 French GP before he could add to his singleton success.
CAN THEY ADD MORE?
Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber F1.08), 2008 Canadian GP
Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren MP4-23), 2008 Hungarian GP
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes F1 W03), 2012 Chinese GP
Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34), 2012 Spanish GP
The four most recent one-time winners are still active, but have varying chances of winning again.
Robert Kubica would surely have racked up more wins and perhaps a title or two beyond his 2008 Canadian Grand Prix victory had it not been for his rally crash at the start of '11. Although many hope he can return, his injuries seem set to restrict him to competition cars with roofs.
The loss of his Caterham drive has pushed Heikki Kovalainen further away from backing up his sole win for McLaren at Budapest in 2008, but Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado could move off the list if their respective Mercedes and Williams teams can produce the goods.
THE COMPLETE LIST
Excluding the Indy 500, which counted for the world championship between 1950 and 1960, 24 drivers have tasted success just once…
Luigi Fagioli Alfa Romeo 159
1951 French GP (Reims)
Veteran became the oldest world championship race victor after Fangio took over his Alfa Romeo and went on to win.
Piero Taruffi Ferrari 500
1952 Swiss GP (Bremgarten)
The only man other than Alberto Ascari to win a points-paying race in 1952. Ascari was absent from the Swiss GP because he was competing at Indianapolis.
Luigi Musso Lancia-Ferrari D50
1956 Argentinian GP (Buenos Aires)
Helped Fangio to his fourth world title by handing his car over to the Argentinian at the opening 1956 round.
Jo Bonnier BRM P25
1959 Dutch GP (Zandvoort)
Finally gave BRM its first world championship race victory with a fine performance from pole in his P25.
Giancarlo Baghetti Ferrari 156
1961 French GP (Reims)
Famously won his first three F1 races, the non-championship Syracuse and Napoli GPs, then pipped Dan Gurney's Porsche to the line in France.
Innes Ireland Lotus 21
1961 United States GP (Watkins Glen)
Benefited from the retirements of Moss and Brabham to take the first world championship race win for Team Lotus.
Lorenzo Bandini Ferrari 156
1964 Austrian GP (Zeltweg)
Rising Italian talent scored his only success as the bumpy Zeltweg surface shook many of the cars apart.
Richie Ginther Honda RA272
1965 Mexican GP (Mexico City)
Gave Honda and Goodyear their first F1 successes after leading every lap in Mexico.
Ludovico Scarfiotti Ferrari 312
1966 Italian GP (Monza)
After a classic Monza slipstreamer, Jack Brabham retired from the lead and Scarfiotti edged clear to keep Ferrari in the constructors' title hunt.
Peter Gethin BRM P160
1971 Italian GP (Monza)
Famous race held the records, for many years, of the closest and fastest world championship GP. The top five cars were covered by 0.61s!
Francois Cevert Tyrrell 002
1971 United States GP (Watkins Glen)
Some rated the Frenchman as a future world champion when he was killed at the 1973 US GP, leaving only his sole win at the same Watkins Glen track from two years before.
Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM P160B
1972 Monaco GP (Monte Carlo)
Dominant wet-weather performance in unfancied BRM, recording one of the slowest Grand Prix wins of the post-war era.
Carlos Pace Brabham BT44B
1975 Brazilian GP (Interlagos)
Brabham star inherited victory when the flying Shadow of Jean-Pierre Jarier broke down.
Jochen Mass McLaren M23
1975 Spanish GP (Montjuich Park)
Won the shortened and controversial Spanish GP after a fatal accident involving Rolf Stommelen.
Vittorio Brambilla March 751
1975 Austrian GP (Osterreichring)
Another to star in the wet, though infamously crashed after taking the flag in the shortened event.
Gunnar Nilsson Lotus 78
1977 Belgian GP (Zolder)
Winning the Belgian GP was the highlight of the Swede's short F1 career; he died of cancer in 1978.
Alessandro Nannini Benetton B189
1989 Japanese GP (Suzuka)
Promising Italian was handed victory after Senna-Prost clash, Senna's disqualification and the failure of the Ferraris.
Jean Alesi Ferrari 412T2
1995 Canadian GP (Montreal)
One of the unluckiest drivers in recent F1 history had a rare day of things going his way when Schumacher's leading Benetton hit trouble.
Olivier Panis Ligier JS43
1996 Monaco GP (Monte Carlo)
Inspired drive from 14th on the grid allowed Panis to take a fine win after Schumacher crashed, Damon Hill's Williams blew up and the Benetton of Alesi retired.
Jarno Trulli Renault R24
2004 Monaco GP (Monte Carlo)
Scored a great victory from pole, chased by Jenson Button, helped by bizarre accident in the tunnel between Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya behind the safety car.
Robert Kubica BMW Sauber F1.08
2008 Canadian GP (Montreal)
Kubica made the most of BMW Sauber's pace to lead home Nick Heidfeld in a team one-two.
Heikki Kovalainen McLaren MP4-23
2008 Hungarian GP (Hungaroring)
Troubled McLaren career was given a boost when Felipe Massa's Ferrari engine failed, handing Kovalainen victory.
Nico Rosberg Mercedes F1 W03
2012 Chinese GP (Shanghai)
Made good use of a superb pole effort to give Mercedes its first win as a constructor for nearly six decades.
Pastor Maldonado Williams FW34
2012 Spanish GP (Barcelona)
Enigmatic Venezuelan drove a strong race to defeat Fernando Alonso and give Williams its first victory for over seven years.
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