Most impressive first victory by a driver

from my memory, in order of impressiveness

Schumacher,
Panis,
Rubens,
Fisi,
Maldonado

I think many people are forgetting that the toro rosso at the time, was designed by a certain mr adrian newey, and had better engines than the "main" team. Was it a good first victory? sure, he did what he had to do and didnt do a single mistake. One of the best ever? Nah no way.

I think many people are forgetting that the toro rosso at the time, was designed by a certain mr adrian newey, and had better engines than the "main" team. Was it a good first victory? sure, he did what he had to do and didnt do a single mistake. One of the best ever? Nah no way.

I am well aware of that, but it is pushing things too far to claim that he won the 1992 Belgian GP as a rookie when it was his second Belgian GP. It was his 18th race during a time of 16 race seasons.

It was his first real race at Belgium as the previous year he didn't even finish the opening lap. And it was his first full season in F1. Almost a rookie is how I would put it.

Some wins being discussed here are not the drivers first wins...

I think rather interestingly a lot of great drivers first wins were brilliant. Thinking of Senna at Estoril, Gilles Villeneuve in Canada, Vettel at Monza. Love the "announced arrival" aspect to those wins!

Almost all of these greatest maiden victories required the people with better cars/more experience/greater likelihood to win have some kind of issue that drops them back, and pretty much all of these require the winning car to suit that particular track that weekend, so people really should drop these pointless arguments.

Vettel's win was damn impressive, but he probably wouldn't have won in a different car.
Barricello's win was very impressive, but there was a random safety car that helped him a lot.
Raikkonen's win was impressive but his teammate retired ahead of him and many other leaders were taken out of the race.

and so on.

From what I've seen since I've been watching:

Maldonado @ Spain 2012
Drove a perfectly-controlled race and managed to bring Williams back onto the top step of the podium for the first time in ages.

Vettel @ Italy 2008
Wet race, dry setup, first win for the former Minardi team. The car was hardly as uncompetitive as Minardis usually were, but the combination of the driver, the team, the heritage, and the location made it very, very special, in my opinion.

Button @ Hungary 2006
When everybody else was losing their heads in the wet, Button--as we now know he tends to do in such situations--kept it on the road and managed to score Honda's first win as a constructor in heaven knows how long.

Alonso @ Hungary 2003
First win for Renault as a constructor in a very long time, if I'm not mistaken. He beat Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren and lapped Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. Need I say any more?

I also understand that Schumacher, Senna, and Barrichello (weird seeing his name next to theirs in the same context ) all had impressive first wins, as well.

Add Webber's to this and was pretty much the ones that sprang to mind but then again that's most people from the last 10 years

It's probably fair to say most people's first wins are impressive, they have to be to beat whoever is doing the best job at the time.

But then again, those four champ. condending cars, only two made it into top 10 in qual, and only one of them in top 5 in the race. Was those drivers really that slow that weekend, or did they just happen to be very slow in rain, at that weekend. Or did Toro Rosso have a good car that weekend?

Yes, those drivers were slow in that race. Not because the car was slow. The drivers and the team made some mistakes or the other given the chaotic situation, and as a whole did not maximize their potential. This has happened before. Sometimes a truly great driver in a not-so-top car performs better than other great drivers in top cars. Nothing against other drivers or cars, it is just a show of brilliance.

I do quote " Vettel acknowledged the support of his team, saying the set-up of the car perfectly suited the way the race developed".

I don't know what quote you are referring to. But, the only quote I heard from Vettel was a very telling one on set-up and that was on an entirely different context. He was comparing why Red Bull and Torro Rosso with same chassis had better performance in Torro Rosso throughout the remainder part of that season, not just in one wet race. He explained that Torro Rosso team went with an entirely different set-up direction and option. That set-up difference was for the whole stretch of the latter part of the season, not special wet set up for the race.

Has to be Vettel for me (ignoring wins from before i started watching F1). I had him on my radar already before that weekend but the way he pulled that win was a revelation.
For anyone who isn't a hater i think it was clear at this moment that a new star was born which was also echoed by the experts, commentators and the media at the time.
Something happend that day that only happens every 10-15 years in F1.

Has to be Vettel for me (ignoring wins from before i started watching F1). I had him on my radar already before that weekend but the way he pulled that win was a revelation.
For anyone who isn't a hater i think it was clear at this moment that a new star was born which was also echoed by the experts, commentators and the media at the time.
Something happend that day that only happens every 10-15 years in F1.

Yeah... I find it amusing that no matter what Vettel does, it is never down to his skill.. Even winning in a Torro Rosso..

he is an amazing driver and he proved it already in '08.

Obviously he has difficulty in reading comprehension because he kept on harping about Sebastian lucked into the right set-up in Monza, ignorant of the fact that Sebastian was on a dry setup for the race.

Do I now?

I need to watch that qualifying & race again to make it all 100% clear, but from memory Vettel indeed had a dry setup, and if you didnt notice the track dried out during the race! Others compromised their setups for the expected rain whilst Vettel's team gambled on a dry race when the predictions were for a wet one and that worked for them with the changable conditions. Not to mention the fact there was a rolling start AND he didnt have to deal with the spray of any other cars at any point! He also had the Grade A-spec Ferrari engine in the back (Ferrari had given Toro Rosso their gun-spec engine the race before from memory as they were trying to take points off McLaren) that was perfectly suited to Monza as it always is, as evidenced by Bourdais' qualifying position.

Vettel did well because he was young, but the planets lined up for him that weekend (as they always seem to do) by having someone like Kovalainen behind him holding everyone else up and allowing Vettel the luxury of delaying his first stop until it was 100% clear dry tires were faster.

I think many people are forgetting that the toro rosso at the time, was designed by a certain mr adrian newey, and had better engines than the "main" team. Was it a good first victory? sure, he did what he had to do and didnt do a single mistake. One of the best ever? Nah no way.

+1.

Edited by NotSoSilentBob, 11 December 2012 - 03:16.

Vettel does what he does best, but it wasn't the most impressive first victory IMO. The TR was the best package that weekend followed by the McLarens. IMO Maldonaldo's was more impressive as he was racing vs. Alonso.

Much as I dislike Maldonado, i'd agree with that as well.

92 Spa

Mark Webber, Fuji 2007.

Or would have been if not for two dumbas$ rookie idiots.


Still, his win at the Nurburgring in 2009 was just amazing.

Do I now?

I need to watch that qualifying & race again to make it all 100% clear, but from memory Vettel indeed had a dry setup, and if you didnt notice the track dried out during the race! Others compromised their setups for the expected rain whilst Vettel's team gambled on a dry race when the predictions were for a wet one and that worked for them with the changable conditions. Not to mention the fact there was a rolling start AND he didnt have to deal with the spray of any other cars at any point! He also had the Grade A-spec Ferrari engine in the back (Ferrari had given Toro Rosso their gun-spec engine the race before from memory as they were trying to take points off McLaren) that was perfectly suited to Monza as it always is, as evidenced by Bourdais' qualifying position.

Vettel did well because he was young, but the planets lined up for him that weekend (as they always seem to do) by having someone like Kovalainen behind him holding everyone else up and allowing Vettel the luxury of delaying his first stop until it was 100% clear dry tires were faster.

Now that people realise that he didn't luck into a wet setup, he must have lucked into a dry setup. Pure comedy gold.

Btw. why did Hamilton change to full wets when he was right behind Vettel mid race? It must have taken quite some skill from Vettel to be competitive with a dry setup when others changes to wets.

I also rarely hear about engines being the deciding factor apart from that single race. Not to mention that Ferrari also had Ferrari engines. (Btw. does that actually mean Vettel has won 3 WDCs with inferior engines? )

I wonder if some people would still keep underrating Vettel even when he wins his 10th WDC.

Depends: is that 10 WDCs in Neweymobiles?

Though I didn't get to watch it till much later on (jet lag's fault) I have to say that I nearly spat my sushi out (I was on holiday in Japan) when I saw that Vettel had won at Monza... since then I've discussed at length the favourable circumstances that he, his team and the car created that weekend, but it still doesn't take away the fact that this young kid was the only driver to really put it all together that weekend.

Other than that, I think Mansell's first win was rather impressive, harnessing the Brands Hatch crowd power to fight past his previous criticisms and rather low reputation when moving from Lotus. It was like he became the incredible driver he then was in one race, and never looked back. He found the right groove and knew that he should maintain this for the rest of his career.

Also, Fisichella? Surviving that grand prix in Brazil, in a weak Jordan against the likes of Kimi and McLaren... that was Fisico down to a tee... loved being the underdog.

Depends: is that 10 WDCs in Neweymobiles?

So I take it you don't rate Clark for his 2 WDCs in Chapmanmobiles?

So I take it you don't rate Clark for his 2 WDCs in Chapmanmobiles?

Or Hakkinen, or Mansell...

Wrong. All wrong. Race was red flagged by Alonso crashing into Webber´s car debris with a SC already deployed, not by a downpour.

Fisichella had just passed Räikkönen, and was pulling away, and every single Bridgestone tyred car was lapping fast while every single Michelin car was lapping slowly, because BS wet tyres coped with dryish tarmac way better. Every car had one more stop to make, as soon as turn 3 and last kink in the run up to the finish line finally got ready for slicks. There was like 15 laps to go and no sign of slicks being safe in turn 3 or main "straight", so Fisi would have opened a gap for still some laps. Would that be enough? Who knows.

Lucky?? Yes. He was on the right tyres and got near the frontrunners because of last SC. But no, it´s not how you tell it.

Exactly, it has to be Fisi, really shocking that im only the 3rd one who thinks so and I can't belive what's HP writting, lucky, you need some luck to win in the slowest car on the grid and it's not Fisi's fault that other divers crashed or couldn't keep their car on track, this is not luck, it's called skills to keep your car on the track in conditions like this. I can't see how some people think that Button's or Kovalainen's wins are the best, imo Fisi's win is way more impressive I can't remember any other driver to win in such a slow car as the Jordan was in 2003, the only one that could be was Hill in Hungary 1997 but he was very unlucky in the last lap, he was really stunning that day, the other guy in Arrows, Diniz was almost last while Hill was fighting for the win, crazy.

Edited by skyform, 11 December 2012 - 11:08.

Monaco 2004
Germany 2000

Exactly, it has to be Fisi, really shocking that im only the 3rd one who thinks so and I can't belive what's HP writting, lucky, you need some luck to win in the slowest car on the grid and it's not Fisi's fault that other divers crashed or couldn't keep their car on track, this is not luck, it's called skills to keep your car on the track in conditions like this. I can't see how some people think that Button's or Kovalainen's wins are the best, imo Fisi's win is way more impressive I can't remember any other driver to win in such a slow car as the Jordan was in 2003, the only one that could be was Hill but he was very unlucky in the last lap, he was really stunning that day, the other guy in Arrows, Diniz was almost last while Hill was fighting for the win, crazy.

Don´t get too cocky, it WAS lucky

He was left amongst the front runners by a safety car and his fuel strategy relative to others (plus the previous constant SC periods preventing him to get lapped anyway) that meant he didn´t stop when the last SC period happened, like Coulthard. And from then on he enjoyed a significantly faster car/tyre combo than them. Wouldn´t even take the driver of the day award, that was surely Räikkönen by a country mile.

But yeah, red flag did not help Fisichella, if we get facts straight. Instead it almost loses him a race he was most likely going to win if it went to the flag.

Now that people realise that he didn't luck into a wet setup, he must have lucked into a dry setup. Pure comedy gold.

Btw. why did Hamilton change to full wets when he was right behind Vettel mid race? It must have taken quite some skill from Vettel to be competitive with a dry setup when others changes to wets.

I also rarely hear about engines being the deciding factor apart from that single race. Not to mention that Ferrari also had Ferrari engines. (Btw. does that actually mean Vettel has won 3 WDCs with inferior engines? )

Correct me, if I'm wrong. That was the first ever and still the last pole or a win by a non-Ferrari, Ferrari-engined car. In addition to that, "It was the first time since 1970 that a customer car won a Grand Prix, the last time being Jackie Stewart in a March-Ford, at Jarama."

As there are number of great first race wins mentioned already I`ll just add the incredible (the one and only) race win of Olivier Panis at 1996 Monaco thriller for Ligier. It was wicked race with a lot of everything... one of the most eventful races of the 90's with just 4 car finished.

The first 3 ones that come to my mind:

- Monza 2008 - Sebastian Vettel
- Hungaroring 2006 - Jenson Button
- Barcelona 2012 - Pastor Maldonado

But there are others that deserve mention like Barrichelo (German GP 2000) or Fisichella (Brazilian GP 2003). There are others of course but this are from the races I saw. From the ones I didn´t saw Panis winning in Monaco in a Ligier is very impressive, Senna in Portugal, etc.

PS: I really have to watch that 1996 Monaco Grand Prix it must have been an hell of a race.

Edited by sportingcp, 11 December 2012 - 16:43.

Barrichello in Hockenheim 2000 was so emotional!

LOL. Lots of names and drives have been thrown in here as impressive with everyone either vocally or silently agreeing, but it is Vettel's first win about which people start an in-depth discussion whether it was impressive or actually wasn't.

Ops... I was remembering Senna´s first win at Interlagos, when I noticed we´re talking about the "first victory".

For me it´s Barrichello´s one.



OFF Topic:

Senna´s first victory at Interlagos. (1991)

- Raining as usual
- He lost the 3rd and 4th gear
- Exausted, he fainted for few moments as soon as the car stopped
- With strong cramps at the shoulders and neck (look how he struggled to raise the trophy)

(Podium Ceremony)

Most of the Interlagos´ crowd started crying when he crossed the line.

Edited by bernardoBR, 11 December 2012 - 21:32.

LOL. Lots of names and drives have been thrown in here as impressive with everyone either vocally or silently agreeing, but it is Vettel's first win about which people start an in-depth discussion whether it was impressive or actually wasn't.

Compare first wins of Jenson and Seb.

Both in wet conditions, but Seb had a Newey-designed car, Jenson had a Honda and a 10-place grid penalty due to engine failure.

Compare first wins of Jenson and Seb.

Both in wet conditions, but Seb had a Newey-designed car, Jenson had a Honda that scored double BMW's points and was good enough for a 2nd row lock-out that race, and a 10-place grid penalty due to engine failure.

Fixed that for you ;-)
Well, more for the innocent by-passers that might be tricked into your 'no context' double standard.

Edited by mnmracer, 14 December 2012 - 16:25.

Fixed that for you ;-)
Well, more for the innocent by-passers that might be tricked into your 'no context' double standard.

I was actually taking the mickey out of the 'Seb won in a Minardi' brigade.

But it would have been interesting to see how he'd have managed with a grid penalty - he'd have had to do some overtaking, that's for sure.

I was actually taking the mickey out of the 'Seb won in a Minardi' brigade.

But it would have been interesting to see how he'd have managed with a grid penalty - he'd have had to do some overtaking, that's for sure.

Vettel has shown often enough he could overtake in that Toro Rosso.
He did 17 > 4 in China and 19 > 5 in Monaco.

Edited by mnmracer, 14 December 2012 - 17:00.

Maldonado's win this year was pretty good this year. The crazy guy really deserved it that day and it stuck in my mind how good a drive it was.

Thinking back, Damon Hill's first win at Hungary in 1993 seemed pretty special at the time. All the more so because his engine had failed whilst leading and dropping out in the two races leading up to Humgary. I was wondering what he needed to do to win a race and I was pretty emotional when he won in Hungary and I have a nice signed photograph of him doing it again in 1996 on my study wall. He could so easily have had two championships in three years.

I can remember Mansell's first win in 85 too, that was pretty special for me too. I liked his bulldog never give up attitude.

I'll always remember Lewis Hamilton's first win in Canada in 2007 too.

I was pretty pleased when Webber won his first race in Germany in 2009 too and tbh I was a bit miffed that Vettel won RBR's first race just before then. I didn't have anything against Vettel, I just wanted Webber to be the first Red Bull driver to win for Red Bull Racing.

Ayrton Senna's first win in Portugal in '85 was pivotal. Here was a guy who was special. You could tell. One season in a Toleman and he jumps in a Lotus and wins his second race for them.

Little off topic but I desperately wanted Damon Hill to win at Hungary for Arrows for their first win in 1997. I remember going to a barbecue on the Saturday evening after qualifying and being asked by everyone where Hill had qualified. Not a single sould would believe me when I said he was (I think) 3rd on the grid and I confidently predicted to anyon who'd listen that he was going to win the race. I wanted Hill to debunk the myth that he could only win a Williams I suppose but I also knew they'dbeen working on race setup and had a good car round Hungary.

Slightly more off topic is Mansell winning for the first time out for Ferrari in Brazil in '89 in a car that wasn't expected to last more than a few laps and hadn't yet completed a race distance. Don't think anyone could believe what they were seeing. If my memory serves me well I think he had even booked an early flight out of Brazil in the expectation that he wasn't going to finish the race due to the car's new and problematic sequential gearbox. I have a 1:18 1990 Ferrari signed by Mansell too and every time I look at it I think of his exploits in an F1 car.

Sorry. I've gone on a bit!

Coulthards first win was actually pretty impressive. Pole, win flanked on the podium by Schumacher and Hill. But of course he was in a Newey car so therefore to some on this board it can't be, he was also a rookie if you take the Schumacher fan logic above...(despite the fact that he was on the podium the year before... )

I think some people should take a step back. Imagine their favorite driver had been driving the car in question rather than, well rather than Vettel! Because his wins this hands down in recent memory. Maldonado's was impressive too. Panis, Beltoise, Berger in Mexico, Senna obviously, Alboreto's was too, there's loads.

i'd say kubica's first victory was good.

His win wasn't that impressive at all, if you take into account how kimi, Hamilton and Alonso eliminated themselves from competition.

Sorry, what?

I was initally thinking about Panis in 96, just because that he was very fast, and kept in on the track. However, after reading about Beltoise here. I'm going to go for that win!

The Vettel-win wasn't that impressive for me. Bourdais was fast enough for a podium that day, and that tells me that STR had a somewhat perfect setup compared to the others. I remember some talk about many others not thinking it would be that much rain, and not having a full wet setup or something.
A very solid effort to bring it home at top. But, Toro Rosso was a fast car at the end of that season, and with a very good setup compared to others, it wasn't that impressive!

I second this notion. McLaren said Hikkie had problem getting the brakes to operating temperature and the STR had more of a wet setup.

From the ones I've seen, there have been many good ones, but Hungary 2006 was the best first victory ever IMO, and I'm not even a fan of Button; but to go on from 14th to win the race in wet conditions on a circuit which heavily limits overtaking, now that's how you want to win your first GP.

De Angelis, austria 1982 and Pironi at Belgium 1980 stand out for me

http://en.wikipedia....ates_Grand_Prix

Twenty-three-year-old Lotus rookie Emerson Fittipaldi captured his first Grand Prix win in only the fourth start of his Formula One career.
His victory was the seventh American win for Lotus, and it clinched the Driver's Championship for the team's fallen leader, Jochen Rindt, and the Constructor's Championship for Lotus and Colin Chapman

I think we also need to think about the opposition in those races. Vettel 2008 , the biggest threat was Kova??
And his car was pretty good for the track and conditions. Bourdais was 4th in Q.
Let see Spa 1992, Michael was against mighty Williams and Senna. He finish 36 sec ahead. He started third. I guess Spa 1992 wins.

Edited by ivand911, 28 June 2013 - 07:10.

His win wasn't that impressive at all, if you take into account how kimi, Hamilton and Alonso eliminated themselves from competition.

Kimi didn't eliminate himself to be fair.

Senna's first win (Estoril 85) stands out for me. Winning by over a minute in the pouring rain. You just knew that the somebody special had well & truly arrived.

Vettel's first win, in the STR on a wet weekend @ Monza, was similarly excellent. Again, you just knew this kid had the goods..

Edited by Craven Morehead, 28 June 2013 - 08:50.

Tony Brooks the first time he sat in an F1 car, beating the works Maseratis at Syracuse in 1955 with the Connaught.

Also, Schumacher's first win, in the rain @ Spa. Again, you just knew that this guy had what it took to stand toe to toe with the established front runners.

I would have to agree with that.

I wouldn't.

No doubt Barrichello drove very well but the win as much as earned with impeccable performance was gifted by the track invader who gave him a free pit stop and brought him right into to tail of the leaders.

Tony Brooks the first time he sat in an F1 car, beating the works Maseratis at Syracuse in 1955 with the Connaught.

Missed this thread first time round - how on earth did it take until page 5 for Brooks to get a mention?!

Beltoise and Senna's next up for me.

I'm not sure I would classify Gilles' first win as all that impressive - didn't Jumper retire from a huge lead? (and what would in itself have been a very impressive first win).

Missed this thread first time round - how on earth did it take until page 5 for Brooks to get a mention?!

Surprised me too, although the young whippersnappers are happy banging on about some young German chap who appears to polarise opinion somewhat...

Also a mention for Tom Pryce in the 1975 Race of Champions which he dominated by all accounts in some horrendous conditions and also the Monza Gorilla for his win at a saturated Osterreichring!

Recent: Monza 08', people can moan about setup and what not, but a win is a win, and it was a very impressive one to say the least.

I even remember the song from the official race edit... lol

1957 German Grand Prix

Have a read:
http://en.wikipedia....rman_Grand_Prix

EDIT:
oh sorry, first win only ;p

Edited by Jackmancer, 28 June 2013 - 14:42.