20 replies to this topic

[mp4]

People,
I took a look and there are, I think, 29 drivers who have only won one race in their careers.
Excluding JPM and Olivier Panis, as they still compete, who do you think is the best driver to compete and only step to the top of the podium once?
Alesi was fun to watch but there are others who were pretty darned good.

Lemme know what you think.

Cheers

[ThomasR]

For sure Jean would be a good call. I always liked him, look at Phoenix against Senna
Or his 5th place in Canada where he threw his helmet to the spectators (with radio system!!!)
But I was really stunned when I read that Cevert only won once in his (short) career. But I can't call him, he died 11 years before my birth. Was kinda Rubens for Jackie Stewart???
But I heard so much good things about Francois, may be he's da man, huh?
There's also an Alessandro Nannini, not the best in F1, but a damn good DTM driver for Alfa and he made also well in the LC2 Lancia Group C

I can't the decide between the 2 frenchmen, but because of the fact I saw Jean live in F1 at the TV and at the track in DTM, i take him


Or I call the Monza Gorilla for crashing on the parade lap

but the best would be to say, name the best driver with a maximum of 6 GP wins, you understand
GV!!!

[Bladrian]

It's a pity Chris Amon doesn't qualify, or I'd nominate him .......

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by mp4
People,
I took a look and there are, I think, 29 drivers who have only won one race in their careers.

Of course this is pedantic, but there are a few others that won only one race! There is more than just F1 or the WDC.

Among the 29 WDC GP one-time winners are quite few 'fifties Indy winners: difficult to compare....
Having seen him race a few times I have a -very- soft spot for JP Beltoise , but the best of the lot - apart from Montoya of course- might have been Francois Cevert.
But then - Taruffi, Ginther, Bandini, Pace, Ireland, Musso - some company....

[Rob G]

Here are the one-time WDC race winners, with an * denoting a driver whose victory came in the Indy 500:

Lee Wallard*
Sam Hanks*
Johnny Parsons*
Troy Ruttman*
Pat Flaherty*
Jim Rathmann*
Luigi Fagioli
Piero Taruffi
Rodger Ward*
Bob Sweikert*
Jimmy Bryan*
Luigi Musso
Jo Bonnier
Innes Ireland
Richie Ginther
Giancarlo Baghetti
Lorenzo Bandini
Ludovico Scarfiotti
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Francois Cevert
Peter Gethin
Carlos Pace
Jochen Mass
Vittorio Brambilla
Gunnar Nilsson
Alessandro Nannini
Jean Alesi
Olivier Panis
Juan Pablo Montoya

My sentimental favorites are Alesi and Montoya, but Stewart did hold Cevert in very high regard. Who knows what he might have accomplished. Also, Fagioli was a much more successful driver than his WDC victory tally shows.

[Ralliart]

My vote - Francois Cevert

[Ross Stonefeld]

Montoya, by an entire post code. But only because he hasnt been in F1 long enough to be a one hit wonder.

[Flying Panda]

I dont see how you could go past Bandini.
He was in the process of making it 2 wins when he died.

[911]

My pick would be Jean Alesi....but, then again, I wasn't around to see drivers race in the 60s & early 70s. From what I've read, Cevert was something else, too.

911

[marhal]

My vote: Cevert. A great driver with a wonderful master..................

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by Flying Panda
I dont see how you could go past Bandini.
He was in the process of making it 2 wins when he died.

Don't think so - he made his tragic mistake at the chicane while 2nd behind Hulme, and he was visibly tiring...

[ensign14]

Of the pre-war one-off major race winners, Richard Seaman. Not counting his Donington GP that year which was not against the best continental drivers.

[Mark Beckman]

Originally posted by 911
My pick would be Jean Alesi....but, then again, I wasn't around to see drivers race in the 60s & early 70s. From what I've read, Cevert was something else, too.

911

But I have seen every GP that Alesi has been in and I aint impressed.

200 GP's, 5 years with Ferrari and then jumps into MS's 1995 WDC winning car for 1996/7 and the best is 1 GP win, a couple of pole postions, 4 fastest laps and a couple of exciting passing moves?


For me Scarfiotti is the great standout of that list....

1956 - won class on Mille Miglia (Fiat 1100)
1957 - won class on Mille Miglia (Fiat 1100). Won Italian Hillclimb ch'ship
1958 - 2nd in non-title Naples GP (Osca). Won Italian Hillclimb championship
1959 - Won Italian Hillclimb championship in factory OSCA
1960 - 4th Targa Florio (Ferrari) with Cabianca and Mairesse
1962 - European Mountain Climb champion (Ferrari)
1963 - 2 F1 GP (Ferrari), 1 point. (6th Holland). DNS France - practice
accident. Won Sebribg 12hrs with Surtees, and Le Mans 24hrs with
Bandini
1964 - Won Nurburgring 1000km with Vaccarella, 2nd
at Mosport. 2nd in Monza 1000km. European Mountain climb champion
1965 - Won EuropeanMountain championship (Ferrari)
1966 - 2 F1 GP (Ferrari) 1 win (Italy). ret Germany. 2nd
in Nurburgring 1000km. Won non-championship GP at Spa
1967 - 2nd at Daytona and Monza 1000km. Dead heat win in Syracuse GP
with Parkes. 2nd at Le Mans (Ferrari)
1968 - 2nd in BOAC 500 (Porsche). Crashed into trees while practising
for Rossfeld hill-climb. Ran straight on at a corner and was killed

[Barry Boor]

The problem here is that some of these drivers drove a whole F1 career and won once: Alesi, Bonnier, Ireland, Ginther, Beltoise etc etc etc whereas others had their careers terminated in tragic circumstances.

This fact alone leans me towards Lorenzo Bandini because I think that had he survived and stayed with Ferrari for a few more years, he may not only have won more races but may even have been a serious championship challenger.

[Bladrian]

Giancarlo Baghetti had a great run going for a while ...... up till about the time he entered his second race.

[Barry Boor]

Giancarlo Baghetti had a great run going for a while ...... up till about the time he entered his second race.

IMHO absolutely THE most clear-cut case of RIGHT PLACE - RIGHT TIME in the history of F1!

[Mark Beckman]

Originally posted by Barry Boor
The problem here is that some of these drivers drove a whole F1 career and won once: Alesi, Bonnier, Ireland, Ginther, Beltoise etc etc etc whereas others had their careers terminated in tragic circumstances.

This fact alone leans me towards Lorenzo Bandini because I think that had he survived and stayed with Ferrari for a few more years, he may not only have won more races but may even have been a serious championship challenger.

Imagine what would be written about Alboreto if he had been killed in 1986.

You just never know the fortunes of a Driver.

[dmj]

My heart here goes for Ginther, even if brain should look elsewhere. But i must vote for Richie because of a certain Monaco race he didn't win. If that race is (and sometimes is) considered as one of greatest moments in F1 history, then Ginther has 50, or, let's say 49% share in making it so great. And that's enough for me.

[BRG]

There are several contenders here IMO. Discounting those taken from us prematurely, who would probably have gone on to greater things had they been spared (Cevert, Pace, Nilsson et al), we have :-

Alesi - perhaps most popular and emotional first/sole win
Beltoise - the wettest solitary win
Gethin - the closest single winner
Baghetti - to win once, but on your WDC debut, is special

But I think the award should go to Vittorio Brambilla who has the unique record of being the only guy to win just half a GP in his career, and the only guy to crash his car after half-winning! Forza Brambles!

[David M. Kane]

Cevert...plus he was a wonderful pianist...

[Disco Stu]

Originally posted by Mark Beckman:
Imagine what would be written about Alboreto if he had been killed in 1986.

Interesting point. I'd imagine he'd be revered as a future champion and one of the great lost talents as opposed to being regarded as a pretty good driver who hung around in bad cars a few years too long. Likewise, had Cevert not been killed and raced another 5-6 years without winning another Grand Prix, he'd probably get about as much attention on this thread as Jochen Mass or Olivier Panis, instead of being one of the favorites.

One other question to ponder, what if the greatest driver on this list wasn't really a Grand Prix driver? Rodger Ward? Jimmy Bryan?