325 replies to this topic

[Tsarwash]

All these threads and talk of the greatest ever are making me feel far too positive and happy. So I thought that it was my duty as an Englishman to try to bring us all down and inject some negativity into these forums to make us feel normal again. So I thought that we ought to focus on some of the more mediocre careers that are within the history of F1. I was looking at this page, http://en.wikipedia....ula_One_drivers and wondered who had the worst record of any F1 driver, and whether it was representative of them being the worst ever F1 entrant. I'm not sure of course how comprehensive or accurate the list is, and also rules have changed, but one name jumped out to me quite close to the top. Luca Badoer, fifty starts and not a single point. It must be said that 48 of those starts were with Minardi or Lola or Forti so you would hardly expect them to be leading the race. Does anybody have a worse record than that ? I might add a poll later if people come up with good suggestions and anybody is interested in voting.

[Captain Tightpants]

Jean-Denis Deletraz

[/thread]

[Disgrace]

Only one has had his superlicense revoked. The one... the only.. Yuji Ide!

[Seanspeed]

So many best/worst thread these days....

Edited by Seanspeed, 05 March 2011 - 01:22.

[Disgrace]

So many best/worst thread these days....

Soon, the first race of the new season is. Yes, it is... hmmm...

[gm914]

So many best/worst thread these days....

I started a thread last night with the topic "Best driver never to have won a single race". It was 1 star-red and pulled off by the Mods within a minute

[Slowinfastout]

I can has the internets.

[Tsarwash]

I have found this guy, Piercarlo Ghinzani who had 76 starts from 111 attempts. He took one fifth place in all that time, which was at Dallas in 1985 where uh... five drivers crossed the finishing line. To be fair, I have never heard of the team that he was very loyal to, and actually he may have got the very best out of that equipment that was possible. Fair play to him, he stuck with that team, Osella Squadra Corse for 5 seasons even though the results suggest they never looked like reaching for the top.

http://en.wikipedia....rcarlo_Ghinzani

[MONTOYASPEED]

Jos Verstappen

[V8 Fireworks]

Jos Verstappen

Now just wait for Frans...

[LB]

Ghinza was ok, I'll give you a hint to find the worst F1 driver, look at other championships too. Ghinza was Euro and Italian F3 champion. Ide was hopeless but still nowhere near the worst, Deletraz was terribly slow and out his depth. Giovanni Lavaggi was another one from the nineties that was painfully slow in a f1.

If you go back to the 50's and 60's you get the occasional entrant that would struggle to actually get within 120% never mind 107% Count Ottorino Volonterio leaps to mind!

[7timesbetterthantherest]

95% of all the Japanese drivers to have driven in Formula-One ... period.

But I miss BONZAI- SATO !!

[Radoye]

95% of all the Japanese drivers to have driven in Formula-One ... period.

Ah c'mon...

[Madera]

Michael Andretti?

[primer]

Now just wait for Frans...

Why, is Jos Verstappen an alien?

Alex Yoong would be the worst, from recent history. That guy was laughably slow and yet managed to get a drive due to how much money the Malaysians were investing in their F1 project.

Edited by primer, 05 March 2011 - 04:08.

[johnmhinds]

95% of all the Japanese drivers to have driven in Formula-One ... period.

But I miss BONZAI- SATO !!

Ukyo Katayama was ok.

[Tsarwash]

If you go back to the 50's and 60's you get the occasional entrant that would struggle to actually get within 120% never mind 107% Count Ottorino Volonterio leaps to mind!

Sort of by coincidence I was just looking at Ottorino Volonterio on Wiki as I thought he might be a contender. Three starts, the first Spain '54, a shared drive. Qualified last and retired in the second half of the race. Next race was Nürburgring '56. Qualified third last and was SIX laps behind Fangio. So when Fangio and Moss raced just over 500 miles, the Count was at least 140 miles behind them, and probably a bit more. Last race, another shared drive, Monza '57. They performed better this time, being only fifteen laps behind which means they completed 414 miles compared to the five hundred by the leaders. At least he never crashed the car while racing F1.

Digging further gets us Bernard Collomb whose best championship result of six races was last at the Nürburgring '63, five laps behind out of 15, qualifying second last in the process.

I might continue digging to see if there is anybody whose only appearance resulted in a first corner crash or something. I know that there are a few who never managed to ever pre qualify for the race, but that's no fun.

[Risil]

Well... Gregor Foitek didn't even have the 'supernatural talents' defence.

[FerrariFanInTexas]

Andrea de Cesaris (sp?)

We called him "de Crasheris"

[Tsarwash]

Ayrton Senna followed by Michael Schumacher.....both the worst..... both could care less if they killed someone while attaining their goals and that
is too bad as they both had sueprnatural talents....

I know it's late, but try to make sense, please.

[Altitude]

I might continue digging to see if there is anybody whose only appearance resulted in a first corner crash or something.

Marco Apicella, Jordan Hart, 1993 Italian Grand Prix. (The accident wasnt his fault - he got taken out when JJ Lehto forgot to brake for the first chicane).

[Vitesse2]

Jeez, have you guys never come across Formula 1 Rejects?

[Group B]

Ayrton Senna followed by Michael Schumacher.....both the worst..... both could care less if they killed someone while attaining their goals and that
is too bad as they both had sueprnatural talents....

They certainly both pulled some unacceptable stunts, but to be fair their brain farts were in the uber spotlight because they were at the front and on camera; I imagine there've been plenty of undesirable moves down the field over the years that barely got noticed.

[TheNewStig]

Ralf Schumacher.
Just ask Gascoyne.

[Rob G]

Otto Stuppacher gets my vote. His lap times were measurable with a sundial. In his last attempt, at Watkins Glen, in qualifying he was nearly half a minute slower than the polesitter.

[Disgrace]

Ralf Schumacher.
Just ask Gascoyne.

Is there a personal feud I'm unaware of?

[Group B]

Ralf Schumacher.
Just ask Gascoyne.

Ralf, on his day, was the fastest guy on track. He may have had his flaws, but he can't be the worst ever F1 driver.

[stevewf1]

Most entries without ever making a start:

Claudio Langes - 14 (14 dnpq)
Pedro Chaves - 13 (13 dnpq)
Perry McCarthy - 11 (1 dnq, 5 dnpq, 2 wth, 2 exc, 1 dna)
Volker Weidler - 10 (1 dnq, 8 dnpq, 1 exc)
...

[Go_Go]

FA

[DarthWillie]

Chanoch Nissany, who spoke the memorable line: The car has to much grip

[Amphicar]

Probably not the worst but seriously underwhelming: Johnny Dumfries (aka John Crichton-Stuart, Marquis of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Viscount Kingarth, Lord Montstuart Cumbrae and Inchmarnock, Baron Cardiff, and Viscount Mountjoy). Long on name, short on talent, he was chosen as team-mate to Ayrton Senna in 1986 after Senna had vetoed Derek Warwick.

[Group B]

Probably not the worst but seriously underwhelming: Johnny Dumfries (aka John Crichton-Stuart, Marquis of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Viscount Kingarth, Lord Montstuart Cumbrae and Inchmarnock, Baron Cardiff, and Viscount Mountjoy). Long on name, short on talent, he was chosen as team-mate to Ayrton Senna in 1986 after Senna had vetoed Derek Warwick.

Which begs the question; how good was Warwick?

[Andy865]

Dunno about Dumfries, He was pretty hot at le mans wasn't he?

[domhnall]

Richard Hammond

[AvranaKern]

Ayrton Senna followed by Michael Schumacher.....both the worst..... both could care less if they killed someone while attaining their goals and that
is too bad as they both had sueprnatural talents....

[Augurk]

Richard Hammond

Win

[Andretti Fan]

Karl Oppitzhauser:

Entered the 1976 Austrian GP in a private March 761 but was not allowed to practise or qualify because of his lack of experience!

[Amphicar]

Dunno about Dumfries, He was pretty hot at le mans wasn't he?

He shared the 1988 winning Jaguar XJR-9LM with Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace. Bear in mind that Lammers drove for 13 of the 24 hrs and Andy Wallace is a 3 time Daytona 24 hrs winner.

[zack1994]

Which begs the question; how good was Warwick?

well warwick weren't that great so i don't know why senna vetoed him

[frp]

Dunno about Dumfries, He was pretty hot at le mans wasn't he?

And 1984 British F3 Champion.

This is an odd kind of discussion: of all the tens of thousands of people who have raced cars, which of the select few who made it to F1 was the least amount better than most of those who didn't make it to F1?

Apparently serious suggestions for 'worst' have also included an International F3000 Champion, a European F3 Champion, and a guy who led over half of the Belgian GP at Spa.

[Rob G]

Karl Oppitzhauser:

Entered the 1976 Austrian GP in a private March 761 but was not allowed to practise or qualify because of his lack of experience!

I still say Stuppacher was worse. Even though he and Oppitzhauser were both prohibited from taking part, at least Karl had the good sense to give up!

[primer]

Chanoch Nissany, who spoke the memorable line: The car has to much grip

Did he really?!

[JosTheBoss]

Jos Verstappen

[Radoye]

Certainly worth mentioning - Al Pease, black flagged from '69 Canadian GP for being dangerously slow, although that had more to do with the car than driver, Pease was a capable sports car racer and is considered somewhat of a motorsport legend in Canada. But he remains the only one to this day ever to be disqualified from an F1 race for being too slow.

Also Hans Heyer, who famously started the '77 German Grand Prix despite actually failing to qualify - he simply drove out of the pits after the field has started and joined the race. His adventure ended with a mechanical breakdown and it wasn't until the end of the race that the stewards noticed something wasn't right, so he was disqualified and banned from F1 altogether.

[D.M.N.]

46 posts into this thread, and no one has mentioned Taki Inoue? Disappointing.

[Amphicar]

46 posts into this thread, and no one has mentioned Taki Inoue? Disappointing.

Well post#12 adopted a spread-betting approach that probably included Taki!

[Dispenser89]

Bernie Ecclestone.

[jureF1]

well warwick weren't that great so i don't know why senna vetoed him

I think Derek was great driver. Some says that he is the best driver never to win a race in formula 1. And Senna vetoed him because he knew that Derek was very good sorry for off topic

[Radoye]

And Senna vetoed him because he knew that Derek was very good sorry for off topic

Senna vetoed Warwick because he wanted the team to hire his friend and protege Mauricio Gugelmin instead. But when Gugelmin failed to obtain a superlicense in time, they had to take Dumfries.

[jureF1]

Senna vetoed Warwick because he wanted the team to hire his friend and protege Mauricio Gugelmin instead. But when Gugelmin failed to obtain a superlicense in time, they had to take Dumfries.

Ok, thank you for new information. I heard different story