F1's one-hit wonders: from Panis to Pastor – pt1

111 drivers over Formula 1’s 72-year-long history have stood on the top step of the podium. While many have gone on to win multiple grands prix and even championships, not everyone has been so successful. Bested by their team-mates, being shackled by lacklustre machinery, affected by life threatening injuries and sometimes simply not good enough some have never been able to repeat their greatest day in racing.

Excluding the Indy 500 winners (which was included in the championship from 1950-60), the list of F1’s single-time winners runs to 24 drivers.

Here’s part 1 of our rundown on grand prix racing’s one-hit wonders.

Olivier Panis – 1996 Monaco GP

Frenchman Olivier Panis drove in F1 for ten seasons but won only one race – at the most difficult track and under the strangest of circumstances. It was in the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, when only four cars took the chequered flag.

Rain began to fall on Sunday, so a fifteen minute session was added to the session for drivers to get used to the soaked track.

In a race which went to the two-hour maximum for a grand prix, pole-sitter Michael Schumacher crashed into the wall, as did Jos Verstappen. The two Minardis collided, whilst Jordan team-mates Rubens Barrichello and Martin Brundle both spun. A Sunday afternoon battle of attrition, only four cars remained at the end.

Panis started 14th on the grid, but after a series of brave passing moves, timing his only pitstop to perfection, and switching to dry tyres at just the right moment meant he inherited the lead when Jean Alesi retired late on. A Frenchman winning in a French car at Monaco sent the home crowd wild. This would also be the last victory by a driver under the Tricolore until Pierre Gasly’s win at the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

Luigi Fagioli – 1951 French GP

At 53 years of age, Luigi Fagioli is F1’s oldest ever championship race winner – a record which will likely never be broken.

Fagioli was part of Alfa Romeo’s debut world championship campaign in 1950, then aged 52. Though plagued with health problems and crippling rheumatism, the Italian still put in some a fantastic performances during his short time in the series. He had five podium finishes in the first six races, and despite not having won a race that season, he still finished third in the championship.

The only race he won was his last. In a shared drive with Juan-Manuel Fangio, Fagioli took victory at the 1951 French Grand Prix in Reims, simultaneously becoming the oldest driver and the only driver born in the 19th century to win a grand prix.

Having left F1 to drive sports cars in 1952, Fagioli was involved in what appeared to be a minor crash while practising for the then sports car-based Monaco Grand Prix. However, he later succumbed to his internal injuries, but his name was immortalised.

Carlos Pace – Brazil 1975

Not many sportsmen receive the honour of having a stadium or circuit named after them, but Carlos Pace was special. The Brazilian had a short-lived F1 career, having raced in only five seasons until his tragic death in an aircraft accident in 1977. Having participated in 73 grands prix, he stood on the podium six times, started from pole once, and won the race that matters the most to a driver – his home race at Interlagos.

Pace qualified sixth on the grid and was trailing behind for the majority of the race. However with eight laps remaining, long-time leader Jean-Pierre Jarier’s Shadow suffered mechanical issues and had to retire, victory falling into Pace’s hands. It was also a local 1-2 as Brazilian team-mate Emerson Fittipaldi finished second.

Almost a decade after Pace’s death, the circuit was renamed from ‘Autódromo de Interlagos’ to ‘Autódromo José Carlos Pace’ in 1985.

Pastor Maldonado – Spain 2012

With sometimes reckless behaviour on the track that earned him his own Twitter page and website called ‘Has Maldonado crashed today’, Pastor Maldonado’s reputation is often chalked down to being a state-sponsored pay driver. But the Venezuelan has accolades at every level of motorsport.

In 2004, he won Italian Formula Renault 2.0, and finished third in the 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 championship. He also won the 2010 GP2 championship, beating Sergio Perez, Jules Bianchi and other future F1 stars.