First win Perez puts him at the bottom of this stats list

Old F1 heroes

At the top of this record list, we see names like former champion Farina Giuseppe, Johnnie Parsons and Giancarlo Baghetti. The first one an F1 fan might remember, but for the rest of almost the entire top ten, you have to be a seasoned F1 enthusiast. All three drivers mentioned won their first race. Juan Manuel Fangio is still a familiar name in the top ten with his first win in his second race. The statistics list shows that it used to be easy to win a race immediately. Indeed, there are eight drivers from the 1950s and two from the early 1960s who are in the top ten.

In eleventh place, we encounter some more recent names, although Emerson Fittipaldi who took his first win in his fourth race also recorded his win in the 1970s. Jacques Villeneuve, like Fittipaldi, also won during his fourth race, but did so in 1996, showing that he could be champion. The following year, the Canadian did just that. Of the current grid, Lewis Hamilton ranks highest at spot sixteen with his first win in his sixth race. With more competition and a more difficult road to an F1 seat, Hamilton and Villeneuve's achievements may be of a different order.

Perez the ultimate late bloomer

Max Verstappen shares the 58th spot in this list with Pastor Maldonado and none other than his own father-in-law Nelson Piquet. The Dutchman won his 24th F1 race and was thus slightly 'slower' than four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel who took his first win after 22 races. Until late in the 2020 season, Mark Webber was the king of the latecomers. Indeed, Webber did not take his first win until his 130th race. The dubious honour that goes with this throne was taken away from him in 2020 by the ultimate late bloomer Perez who took his first win after a whopping 190 Grands Prix.