F1 News
Lando 'Nowins'? These drivers waited longer to get their first win!
- Cas van de Kleut
After 110 race starts, Lando Norris won his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miami. So the man who was regularly called Lando 'Nowins' is now finally rid of that nickname. Despite Norris taking a long time to win a Grand Prix, there were other drivers who had completed more races before being allowed to stand on the top step of the podium. There are even some big names who took longer than the McLaren driver.
With 110 races, Norris sees himself in eighth place among the drivers who took the longest time to win their first. The Briton had a chance to win before, at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix, but then his win slipped away in the rain.
World champions took longer to win first victory in F1
Two former world champions took just a little longer than Norris. Nico Rosberg, who took the world title in 2016, needed just one more race than the McLaren driver. The German needed 111 races for his first victory. Jenson Button, the 2009 world champion, managed to win for the first time after 113 races.
Jarno Trulli took his first and last victory at the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix, by putting his car on pole position on Saturday. This was at his 117th race in Formula 1. Rubens Barichello picked up more wins than Trulli, but did not pick up a victory until his 124th race, at the 2000 German Grand Prix. Mark Webber, former Red Bull Racing driver needed 130 Grands Prix. His first victory took place in 2009, also at the German Grand Prix.
Perez and Sainz took longest to win first in F1
The two drivers who took the longest over their first victory are still active in Formula 1 today. Carlos Sainz had a free run to victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix due to a strategic error with Charles Leclerc. This was during his 150th race. The absolute number one is Sergio Perez. The Mexican won for the first time at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. The then Racing Point driver did this in an extraordinary way: he almost was out of the race on the first lap, but managed to fight his way from the back of the field to first place. He did this only after 190 races, though, making him the driver with the most races before his first victory.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi.