Photo: Masbrolla / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. (Credit links at the end of the content)
We continue our journey of bringing forgotten names back into the spotlight, but this time we’re trying a unique approach. While we previously focused more on drivers with fewer than 30 Grand Prix starts, we’re now exploring their names through interesting statistics, unusual records and memorable moments in F1 history. Our next story looks at an unusual group; Zero Starts: 6 Drivers With the Most F1 Entries.
Drivers With the Most F1 Entries THAT Never Started a Race
Do you know that there are plenty of drivers who entered Formula 1 races but never actually made it to the starting grid?
F1 history is full of interesting stories involving drivers who experienced these unusual situations, as well as teams that did everything they could to compete but never managed to start a race. These are exactly the kinds of forgotten stories we want to bring back to the fans.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Formula 1 was an especially difficult place for newcomers. The grid was overcrowded, teams struggled financially, and the introduction of pre-qualifying meant that some drivers had to survive an additional session on Friday before they could even participate in official qualifying.
The drivers featured below entered multiple Grands Prix but never managed to start an official World Championship race. This article looks at six of the drivers with the most F1 entries without a single race start.
David Kennedy – 7 Entries, Zero Official Championship Starts
David Kennedy’s F1 story was another example of a promising driver joining a team at the wrong moment.
The Irishman earned his opportunity with Shadow Racing Cars for the 1980 season after finishing runner-up in the 1979 British F1 Championship.
Shadow was already an established team in Formula 1, but by 1980 it was struggling financially. Kennedy was given the Shadow DN11, a car that also struggled to compete against its rivals. The situation became increasingly frustrating as the team attempted to improve the machinery, but Shadow lacked the resources to develop a competitive ground-effect car. Its financial problems also made it difficult to maintain a consistent racing programme.
Across his seven official F1 entries, Kennedy was unable to secure a recognised World Championship race start. However, there was an unusual twist to his story: he actually qualified and competed in the 1980 Spanish Grand Prix. The event was initially part of the World Championship calendar, but following the conflict between FISA and FOCA, the race was stripped of its championship status.
As a result, Kennedy’s appearance didn’t count as an official F1 start, despite the fact he started the race.
Kennedy’s opportunity disappeared as Shadow’s financial problems continued, and the team eventually withdrew from the championship.
Volker Weidler – 10 Entries, Zero Race Starts
Volker Weidler’s F1 career lasted just one season, but it provided one of the most unusual examples of how team circumstances could determine a driver’s fate.
The German driver arrived in F1 in 1989, he joined Rial Racing, a small team that entered the season with the Rial ARC2. Although the car showed occasional flashes of competitiveness, it wasn’t consistently fast enough to compete with the midfield teams.
Wiedler spent much of the first part of the season trapped in Friday morning pre-qualifying, he repeatedly failed to make it into the qualifying sessions, while his teammate Christian Danner managed to produce better results.
So there was unexpected opportunity after Danner finished fourth at the United States GP, and that result helped Rial escape the pre-qualifying for the second half of the season, and there was a chance for Weidler to compete directly in the main qualifying sessions.
However, in his first opportunity, things ended in disappointment. At the German GP, Weidler was exluded after an illegal push-start during practice, and because he was disqualified before official qualifying began, he didn’t get to make a qualifying attempt that weekend.
He returned for the Hungarian Grand Prix but again failed to secure a place on the starting grid. He was 6.5 seconds slower than the pole sitter, and with only 26 drivers allowed to start the race, he was left out once again. That proved to be his final F1 appearance, ending a season in which he had entered 10 Grands Prix without making a single race start.
Joachim Winkelhock – 7 Entries, Zero Race Starts
Winkelhock was another promising driver whose F1 opportunity disappeared before he could make a single race start.
He arrived in F1 in 1989, Winkelhock signed with the French AGS team, which was operating with limited resources, and assigned the AGS JH23B, a car that struggled to compete with the stronger midfield and backmarkers on the grid.
The biggest obstacle for the German driver was the pre-qualifying system, in 1989, as many as 39 cars could be entered for a weekend, while only 26 could take part in the race. Drivers from the less competitive teams therefore had to fight for one of the limited places in Friday morning’s pre-qualifying session before they could even reach official qualifying.
Joachin Winkelhock entered seven Grand Prix during the first half of the season, but he failed to progress beyond pre-qualifying every time. His final race appearance came at the French GP, after which the team replaced him with Yannick Dalmas.
Winkelhock’s career ended without a race start, but away from F1, he achieved one of the biggest victories of his career by winning the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Perry McCarthy – 10 Entries, Zero Race Starts
Perry McCarthy’s F1 experience is one of the strangest and most frustrating. The British driver entered the 1992 with the struggling team Andrea Moda Formula, a team that had financial problems, and organisational chaos.
McCarthy had taken an unusual route towards F1, interesting fact is that he worked on North Sea oil rigs to help finance his racing ambitions.
However, the problems in F1 began immediately, Andrea Moda struggled to prepare its cars, and McCarthy frequently found himself without the equipment or technical support needed to compete.
For example at the Spanish GP, his weekend ended almost as soon as it began, with his car stopping shortly after leaving the pit lane.
There were other difficult weekends that didn’t end well for him, McCarthy reportedly described being sent out with inadequate preparation, while the Canadian GP brought further problems with the availability of suitable engines. Instead of trying to improve his performance, he spent much of the season dealing with circumstances that made meaningful progress almost impossible.
However, McCarthy never managed to start a Formula 1 race. Nevertheless, his unusual career didn’t end there. He later became widely recognised outside motorsport as the original anonymous Stig on the television programme Top Gear.
Pedro Chaves – 13 Entries, Zero Race Starts
Pedro Chaves arrived in F1 with considerable expectation after winning the 1990 British Formula 3000 Championship.
The Portuguese driver had showed his potential in the junior categories and appeared ready to take the next step in his career. Unfortunately, his opportunity came with one of the least competitive teams on the grid.
For the 1991 season, Chaves signed with Coloni, a small Italian team that was already struggling financially; and his car was the Coloni C4, an outdated machine powered by a Ford Cosworth Engine. Against better-developed competitors, it was an extremely difficult package to drive, particularly during the demanding pre-qualifying sessions.
The situation barely improved throughout the season, Chaves entered 13 Grand Prix and attempted pre-qualifying on every occasion, but failed to reach official qualifying even once. Coloni C4 lacked the pace, and it wasn’t enough to compete against the other backmarkers at the time.
The breaking point came at the Portuguese GP, his home race, after months of frustration over the team’s financial commitments, Chaves reportedly left Coloni F1 Team.
He arrived in F1 as a young champion, but his opportunity in Formula 1 had turned into an difficult experience, and his departure effectively ended his F1 career.
Forgotten US F1 Drivers: F1 has also featured several American drivers who tried to make their mark in the sport. In US Formula 1 Drivers Since the 1980s to Today (Volume 2), we look back at their careers, challenges and experiences on the Grand Prix grid.
Claudio Langes – 14 Entries, Zero Race Starts
Claudio Langes holds one of the most unfortunate records in F1 history. The Italian entered 14 Grands Prix during the 1990 season but never managed to qualify for a single Formula 1 race. His unsuccessful campaign with EuroBrun Racing made him one of the most recognisable names among the sport’s non-starters.
EuroBrun was facing serious financial difficulties, and its decision to return to a two-car operation for 1990 made the situation even more complicated as the team used the outdated ER189 chassis, which struggled against newer and better funded machinery, and with the grid overcrowded, Langes had to participate in Friday morning pre-qualifying, where only the fastest drivers could progress to the next stage of the weekend.
His teammate Roberto Moreno occasionally managed to show the car’s potential, but Langes repeatedly found himself at the back of the field. Across 14 entries, he failed to escape pre-qualifying, ending every weekend before the official qualifying sessions.
EuroBrun eventually withdrew from F1 before the end of the season, bringing Langes’ disappointing F1 adventure to an end. His record remains a reminder of how difficult it was for drivers from smaller teams to compete in an era when financial strength could be just as important as talent!
Our Previous Article: Another interesting look at unusual Formula 1 records is our story 6 F1 Drivers With the Longest Careers Without a Pole Position, exploring the drivers who spent years in the sport but never managed to secure a pole position.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: Masbrolla / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.
