Can someone break Red Bull stranglehold? Ten of the most SURPRISING wins in F1

Jack Walker
Tuesday 28 March 2023 13:18 - Updated: 13:52

Red Bull has been utterly dominant in the opening two races of the new F1 season with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez sharing a race victory each.

The performance of the RB19 has led to suggestions the team could become the first to complete a clean sweep of wins across the season.

But here to provide hope for the neutrals and prove the unexpected can happen in the sport, GPFans looks at 10 of the most memorable and surprising victories.

10. Sergio Perez – Sakhir 2020

Racing Point clinched a fairytale victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix with Sergio Perez defying the odds to secure a maiden F1 win.

The Mexican had crashed with Verstappen and Charles Leclerc on the opening lap of the race, forcing a pit stop for repairs on the opening lap and leaving him last in the pecking order.

But Perez moved his way methodically through the grid and by the time Mercedes botched a pit stop for George Russell and Valtteri Bottas when double-stacking, the Racing Point was in position to capitalise.

A puncture for Russell as he closed back into Perez sealed the deal and likely led to his move to Red Bull.

9. Pierre Gasly – Monza 2020

Perez's triumph wasn't the only shock result that year - another first-time winner was crowned.

Pierre Gasly had been demoted to Toro Rosso after a disappointing half-season with Red Bull in 2019 but after a rebrand to AlphaTauri, success came at the Italian Grand Prix.

A red flag was thrown when Charles Leclerc crashed heavily at the Parabolica for Ferrari, allowing Gasly to change tyres under the stoppage and forgo a racing-speed pit stop.

Lewis Hamilton was penalised for entering the pits when closed, allowing Gasly to inherit the lead.

Somehow, Gasly kept the advances of McLaren's Carlos Sainz at bay to secure a memorable victory.

“What did we just do?” he screamed down the AlphaTauri radio before bursting into tears on the top step of the podium.

8. Pastor Maldonado – Barcelona 2012

Pastor Maldonado's time in F1 may be chequered, but no one will ever take away his sole victory.

The Venezuelan inherited pole from Hamilton, who failed to provide a fuel sample after qualifying, but lost the lead at the start to Fernando Alonso.

But Maldonado was able to stick within range of the Ferrari and regained the lead with a brilliant pitstop from the Williams crew.

He then kept Alonso at bay for the rest of the race to claim the former world championship-winning constructors' first race win since 2003 and, until now, its 114th and final victory.

7. Esteban Ocon – Hungary 2021

The seas rather parted for Esteban Ocon at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas played skittles with his Mercedes, careering into both Red Bull's as well as Lando Norris' McLaren in wet conditions at turn one, forcing a red flag to clear the debris.

The FIA called for a standing restart but with the track sufficiently dry, the entire field peeled into the pits other than leader Hamilton, who bizarrely waited for the lights to extinguish alone.

This left Ocon in a fight for the win with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel and while the German would ultimately be disqualified anyway, the Alpine remained in front to secure the win.

6. Giancarlo Baghetti – France 1961

Giancarlo Baghetti is one of only two drivers to win on their F1 debut, after Giuseppe Farina who won the very first F1 race.

Having won two non-championship races in Syracuse and Napoli, Baghetti was picked by the Federazione Italiana Scuderie Automobilistiche (FISA) to race its borrowed Ferrari 156 when they scratched together an entry for the French Grand Prix. The 1961 season was a close battle between Ferrari teammates Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips who locked out the front row of the grid with Baghetti 11th. But the factory Ferraris all hit trouble on race day and, with Reims mostly made up of straights, the Ferrari’s engine power in Baghetti’s car was a major advantage.

He came out of nowhere to out-drag Dan Gurney’s Porsche to the line to take his only championship race win.

5. Jenson Button – Canada 2011

The McLaren was a fast car, no doubt about it, but this race can be summed up in one word: Carnage.

Jenson Button started seventh, collided with team-mate Lewis Hamilton, had to pit SIX times to repair damage and switch between dry, intermediate and wet tyres as conditions varied across the four-hour race completion time - interrupted by a lengthy red-flag period for rain.

Running last with 30 laps to go, the Briton took full advantage when Vettel made a mistake on the final lap by sweeping past to claim a stunning victory.

4. Jody Scheckter – Argentina 1977

Jody Scheckter was to become an F1 champion with Ferrari in 1979 but two years prior, the South African was helping Walter Wolf Racing secure a first F1 victory.

Beating a grid including James Hunt and Niki Lauda, Scheckter rose from 10th on the grid and avoided mechanical gremlins to overcome his rivals, winning a chaotic event in Argentina to open the season, and Wolf's time in F1.

Two more wins would come but a victory on the team's debut sees Scheckter's win slot into fourth in our list.

3. Sebastian Vettel – Monza 2008

The race that announced Vettel as a future F1 superstar, the 2008 Italian Grand Prix saw the German secure a stunning victory.

What was impressive was that Vettel was purely the fastest for Toro Rosso. Conditions may have been tricky but there was no carnage to capitalise on.

Vettel took pole and was in complete command for the entirety of the race, eventually taking the win by 12 seconds.

It's no wonder he went on to win four consecutive world titles.

2. Giancarlo Fisichella – Brazil 2003

Jordan had been challenging for titles in the late 1990s but was running out of steam by the time F1 began in 2003.

By the time the sport arrived in Brazil for round three, Giancarlo Fisichella had finished 12th in Australia and retired in Malaysia.

But utter chaos befell Interlagos in the wet, with numerous drivers succumbing to a river of water across the track at turn three - Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya two of the victims.

Ten drivers retired from the race and Fisichella was left in a battle with Kimi Raikkonen for the win.

When Mark Webber crashed, followed by Alonso, late in the race and a safety car was called, Fisichella and Raikkonen pitted. But a red flag was then thrown for excessive debris.

Confusion over who was leading on the last lap of green flag racing led to Raikkonen being handed the victory, despite Fisichella being in front.

The matter was resolved ahead of the next race, with Fisichella's first F1 win, and Jordan's last, confirmed.

1. Olivier Panis – Monaco 1996

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix is often seen as the most important of any F1 season given the narrowness of the Principality's streets.

But for Olivier Panis' only F1 victory, the Frenchman simply needed to keep his Ligier out of the barriers.

In wet conditions, driver after driver crashed out until only THREE remained in circulation - though seven were officially classified.

Panis kept his nose clean and climbed to third before Damon Hill and Jean Alesi both retired from the race lead.

Panis remains the only driver to win at Monaco having started outside the top 10.

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