Credit: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (CROPPED) (Credit links at the end of the content)
While our focus has been on bringing the stories of forgotten F1 drivers back to the spotlight, we also try to bring these stories together through unique articles on our website. From drivers with the most podium finishes without a championship to those with fewer than 30 Grand Prix starts, our next feature looks at the F1 drivers with most wins without a championship.
Winning a Formula 1 race is one of the greatest achievement in motorsport, but collecting victories doesn’t always guarantee a place among the world champions.
Throughout F1 history, several great drivers have enjoyed double-digit Grand Prix wins without ever securing the Drivers’ Championship.
Some came agonisingly close, losing the title by a single point, while others spent their best years competing against dominant teammates or strong rivals.
Valtteri Bottas – 10 Grand Prix Wins
Valtteri Bottas established himself as one of the most consistent performers of the modern F1 era. During his years at Mercedes, the Finnish driver became a regular front-runner, delivering impressive qualifying performances and playing an important role in the team’s championship success.
With 250+ Grand Prix starts, Valtteri Bottas collected 10 victories, 20 pole positions and 67 podium finishes. His arrival at Mercedes in 2017 placed him alongside Lewis Hamilton, following Nico Rosberg’s retirement after winning the 2016 title. It was an opportunity for Bottas to fight for the biggest prizes in the sport, but competing against a teammate who was at the peak of his powers made the challenge particularly difficult.
Bottas finished runner-up in the championship in both 2019 and 2020, with Hamilton taking the title on each occasion, although he helped the team to win Constructors’ Championship, but the individual crown remained beyond his reach.
Valtteri Bottas remains one of the F1 drivers with 10 wins but no World Championship. However, his F1 story isn’t necessarily over, and whether he will win a championship or add more victories to his career remains something we will have to wait and see.
Gerhard Berger – 10 Grand Prix Wins
Gerhard Berger was one of the most recognisable personalities of F1 during the 1980s and 1990s. The Austrian driver became a respected competitor for several major teams, including Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes.
Berger made 210 Grand Prix starts, recording 10 victories, 12 pole positions and 48 podium finishes. His first win came at the 1986 Mexican GP with Benetton, marking the beginning of a career that would see him compete regularly at the front of the grid.
One of his most memorable achievements came in 1987, when he won the Japanese and Australian Grands Prix for Ferrari. Later, he played an important role at McLaren, but sharing a garage with Senna meant that winning races and fighting for titles were two different challenges.
Berger finished third in the championship in both 1988 and 1994, but never managed to claim the title.
He also holds a unique place in Benetton’s history, having secured both the team’s first Grand Prix victory in 1986 and its final one in 1997.
Although a world championship never came his way, Berger remains one of the most respected drivers of his era.
RELATED CONTENT: Gerhard Berger is among the drivers who raced for both Ferrari and McLaren during their F1 careers. The Austrian enjoyed successful spells with both teams, securing race victories and becoming an important figure in each team’s history.
Ronnie Peterson – 10 Grand Prix Wins
Known as “The SuperSwede“, Ronnie Peterson was one of the most spectacular drivers ever to compete in F1. Famous for his sideways driving style, extraordinary car control and natural speed, the Swedish driver became a fan favourite during the 1970s.
Ronnie Peterson made 123 Grand Prix starts, securing 10 victories, 14 pole positions and 26 podium finishes.
He finished runner-up in the World Championship twice. In 1971, driving for March, Peterson finished second behind Jackie Stewart. Seven years later, he repeated that achievement with Lotus, although his 1978 campaign was particularly challenging, despite being close to fighting for the championship that year.
With three races remaining in the championship, Mario Andretti had 63 points, while Ronnie Peterson had 51. The title fight was still open, but one incident changed everything at 1978 Italian GP, marking the end of the SuperSwede’s racing career.
He certainly left his mark in F1. Finishing runner-up in the championship in only his second year, driving for March, showed that a bright future lay ahead of him. He remains one of the drivers who won 10 F1 races without ever becoming world champion, but his spectacular performances ensured that Ronnie Peterson would never be forgotten in F1 history.
Rubens Barrichello – 11 Grand Prix Wins
Rubens Barrichello enjoyed one of the longest careers in F1 history, competing for more than 18 seasons and making an incredible 322 Grand Prix starts, but never winning a World Championship.
The Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello recorded 11 victories, 14 pole positions and 68 podium finishes during his career in Formula 1.
But he reached the highest levels of the sport during his Ferrari years, partnering Michael Schumacher between 2000 and 2005. Together, they helped Ferrari dominate F1, although Schumacher’s positions as the team’s leading championship contender often meant that Barrichello had to settle for supporting his teammate.
He finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship in 2002 and 2004, both times behind Schumacher, his best opportunity to challenge for the title came in 2009, when he joined the new team Brawn GP.
Barrichello won two races that season and remained in contention for much of the championship, but ultimately finished third behind teammate Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel.
With 11 wins in F1, Barrichello’s dream of becoming world champion never came true. He wasn’t able to win the title during his career, but he remains a driver who left his mark on the sport by winning races and becoming one of the most loved Brazilian drivers during the late 1990s and 2000s.
Felipe Massa – 11 Grand Prix Wins
Felipe Massa was the driver who replaced Rubens Barrichello at Scuderia Ferrari, and he came very close to becoming a Formula 1 world champion. He enjoyed his most successful years with Ferrari, establishing himself as one of the fastest drivers on the grid.
Across 269 Grand Prix starts, Massa recorded 11 victories, 16 pole positions and 41 podium finishes, all of his wins came with Ferrari from 2006 until 2013.
His greatest season came in 2008, when he fought Lewis Hamilton for the Drivers’ Championship until the very last moment. Massa delivered an impressive performance throughout the year, winning six races and arriving at the season finale in Brazil with a realistic chance of securing the title.
At Interlagos in 2008, Felipe Massa did everything required to become world champion. He led the race and crossed the finish line first, securing victory in front of his home crowd. Ferrari celebrated what appeared to be a historic moment, with the team and Brazilian fans believing Massa had won the championship. However, the drama was not over. On the final lap, Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock, who was running on dry-weather tyres, while Hamilton was on intermediate tyres. At the final corner, Hamilton secured the fifth position he needed to take the title, beating Massa by just one point.
It was one of the most dramatic conclusions in F1 history, leaving Massa just seconds away from the championship. If Hamilton hadn’t overtaken Glock on the final lap, Felipe Massa would not be on the list of drivers with the most wins without a championship. But that moment changed everything. The Brazilian never managed to repeat that level of championship contention, but his 2008 campaign remains one of the most memorable performances by a driver who never won the title.
Carlos Reutemann – 12 Grand Prix Wins
Photo Credit: Carlos Reutemann with team owner Frank Williams, by Hans van Dijk for Anefo / Spaarnestad Photo, Nationaal Archief. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 NL via Wikimedia Commons (CROPPED)
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Carlos Reutemann was one of the most talented and enigmatic drivers of the 1970s and early 1980s. The Argentine driver competed for Several prestigious teams, including Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams, collecting victories throughout his career.
In 146 Grand Prix starts, Carlos Reutemann secured 12 wins, 6 pole postiions and 45 podiums.
Reutemann’s best year in F1 came in 1981, his first season with Williams, he started the season strongly and remained involved in the championship battle.
However, the season became increasingly complicated as tensions developed within the team, at the final race in Las Vegas, Reutemann struggled with his car and finished eighth, while Nelson Piquet finished fifth and secured enough points to take the championship, the final standings saw Piquet beat Reutemann by just one point.
Reutemann finished runner-up in 1981 before retiring from F1 in 1982, leaving behind a career filled with victories and a championship opportunity that slipped away at the final hurdle. He remains one of the F1 drivers with more than 10 wins who never managed to become world champion.
Related Content: Reutemann also played an important role at Ferrari, joining the team after Niki Lauda’s incident in 1976. His time with the Scuderia came during the clashes between Lauda and Enzo Ferrari, which eventually led to the Austrian’s departure at the end of the 1977 season.
David Coulthard – 13 Grand Prix Wins
The Scottish driver spent more than 10 years in Formula 1 but never managed to win a championship, enjoying successful spells with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
David Coulthard made 246 Grand Prix starts, collecting 13 victories, 12 pole positions and 62 podium finishes during his years in F1, his first victory came at the 1995 Portuguese GP with Williams.
He joined McLaren in 1996, partnering Mika Häkkinen, and helped the team challenge for championships during those years. What’s more interesting is that David Coulthard won an F1 race with McLaren before Häkkinen claimed his first victory with the team.
However, although Coulthard regularly fought at the front, he found himself competing against some of the greatest drivers of the time, including his teammate Häkkinen and Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher. His best championship result came in 2001, when he finished runner-up behind Schumacher.
David Coulthard remained with McLaren until the end of 2004 before completing his F1 career with Red Bull. Although the championship eluded him, Couldthard’s 13 victories made him one of the most successful drivers never to win the world title.
Sir Stirling Moss – 16 Grand Prix Wins
Sir Stirling Moss is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers never to win the F1 championship.
Despite making only 66 Grand Prix starts, Moss achieved an incredible 16 victories, 16 pole positions and 24 podium finishes, meaning he won 24.24% of the races he entered. That is why he is considered one of the greatest drivers never to win the title. And that record is even more impressive because he competed against some of the greatest names in the early history of the championship.
Stirling Moss finished runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship four consecutive times between 1955 and 1958, he also finished third on three occasions, a remarkable consistency throughout his career.
His closest championship opportunity came in 1958, when he lost the title to fellow British driver Mike Hawthorn by just one point.
One of the most famous stories from that season involved the Portuguese GP, Moss defended Hawthorn against a potential disqualification after an incident, helping his rival retain the points he had earned. Those points ultimately proved decisive in the championship battle.
Moss’s decision demonstrated the sportsmanship for which he became famous, even though it arguably cost him his best opportunity to win the title.
Stirling Moss retired from F1 in 1962. Although he never secured the championship, his 16 Grand Prix victories and remarkable achievements ensured that he would forever be remembered as F1’s uncrowned king.
The Drivers Who Won Without Becoming World Champions
These eight drivers achieved something that remains extremely difficult in F1, winning at least 10 Grand Prix without ever claiming the Drivers’ Championship.
Their stories are very different, some lost the title by a single point, others spent their best years alongside teammates, while drivers such as Stirling Moss and Ronnie Peterson became legends through their exceptional speed and achievements.
So, what can we expect in the future as this list potentially expands? Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri are the closest drivers, with nine F1 wins each without a championship, followed by George Russell with eight victories. We believe these drivers could soon join the list, but their stories are still being written, and winning a world championship remains a possibility for all three.
However, for these eight competitors, the ultimate trophy remained out of reach, but their victories and contributions to F1 history ensured that their names would stand among the sport’s most accomplished drivers.
Editor’s Note: What we do here is bring memories back, share unique stories and, at the same time, remember the important moments and careers of Formula 1 drivers. Some drivers may also deserve a place in other articles, but our main goal is to bring these stories together, celebrate their achievements and make sure they are not forgotten. You can find more similar stories in our Forgotten F1 Drivers series.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (CROPPED)
