Carlos Sainz announced his services for 2025 most effectively with a spectacular return to action at the Australian Grand Prix, pushing Max Verstappen to pole position and then victory. But which other drivers have stood out with standout performances over the years? We have created 10 varied examples…
James Hunt – 1975 Dutch Grand Prix
James Hunt began his F1 career with the private Hesketh Racing team, achieving several podium finishes in the 1973 and 1974 campaigns before truly announcing himself in the paddock with a big win at the 1975 wet and dry Dutch Grand Prix.
READ MORE: 5 reasons why James Hunt remains an F1 icon
Hunt started the race third, only behind the Ferraris of Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni, but managed to switch from rain tires to slicks to take the lead. As the dry conditions stabilized and Lauda closed in again, Hunt brilliantly defended his position to take the checkered flag.
It was a performance that caught the attention of bosses up and down the pit lane and, when Hesketh ran into financial problems that briefly appeared to leave Hunt without a seat for the following year, the British driver was picked up by McLaren, where he would win the 1976 world title.
Ayrton Senna – 1984 Monaco Grand Prix
It was a similar story for Ayrton Senna, who came to F1 after a brilliant junior career with the plucky Toleman team, scoring his first points at the South African and Belgian Grands Prix in 1984 before literally making a splash in Monaco.
Amidst torrential rain, Senna fought his way from 13th on the grid to the top 10, then the points awarding positions and finally the podium places, tying alongside leader McLaren of Alain Prost as the race received a red flag, thus confirming the French. as a winner.
Still, it was an impressive performance that, in the words of race engineer Pat Symonds, “made a big impression on a lot of people.” Senna was in demand from then on and, the following year, he found himself winning races with Lotus.
Jean Alesi – United States Grand Prix 1990
Jean Alesi caused his own storm in the driver market when he competed wheel-to-wheel with the aforementioned Senna for victory in the 1990 United States Grand Prix, even though the former was driving an underpowered Tyrrell and the latter was driving the which would be the championship-winning McLaren that year. .
Having made good use of Pirelli’s soft qualifying tires to secure fourth place on the grid and then take the lead into the first corner, Alesi later came under pressure from the Goodyear-shod Senna, but instead of giving up without fighting, he made the Brazilian work hard for the victory.
ALTERNATIVE STORIES: What if Jean Alesi had gone to Williams and not Ferrari?
While Senna emerged victorious, their thrilling fight, which lasted several laps, is an iconic moment in the F1 history books and contributed to Tyrrell, Williams and Ferrari fighting over his services for 1991; the Scuderia ultimately won that battle.
Rubens Barrichello – 1999 French Grand Prix
Rubens Barrichello had already impressed with Jordan in the early stages of his F1 career, scoring a podium in Japan in 1994 and finishing runner-up in Canada the following year, but it was with Stewart – and particularly throughout the 1999 season – that its stock skyrocketed.
At that year’s French Grand Prix, amid wet conditions, Barrichello timed his qualifying laps to take an unexpected pole position before putting to rest any doubts about whether or not he deserved a podium finish on race day. race, keeping a train of Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine behind him.
Coupled with podium finishes at Imola and Nurburgring (where he contributed to a memorable third place behind teammate Johnny Herbert), and a spell leading his home race at Interlagos, the sport’s key players couldn’t ignore to Barrichello and he duly signed with Ferrari for the year 2000.
Mark Webber – 2002 Australian Grand Prix
Another driver who (pardon the pun) left his mark at home was Mark Webber, the Australian starred on the streets of Melbourne in 2002 when he dragged his Minardi, which was at the back of the grid, to a surprising and highly points finish. valuable.
While a multi-car incident in Turn 1 and several more DNFs played a key role in the outcome, the rookie drove like a pro to keep his car on the track and reach the finish line in a remarkable fifth place, having bravely defended an attack by Mika Salo’s Toyota in the closing stages.
READ MORE: Webber explains the trick he pulled on Salo to secure points on his F1 debut with Minardi
Webber’s provisional race-by-race deal with Minardi quickly became a contract for the remainder of the season, but several rival teams were interested in him for 2003 and, after exploring his options, he opted for a works Jaguar driver.
Giancarlo Fisichella – Belgian Grand Prix 2009
Giancarlo Fisichella, a slightly left choice for this feature, was in the final stages of his F1 career (with much success under his belt) during the 2009 season, but the Italian’s performance at that year’s Belgian Grand Prix was so impressive that it triggered a Ferrari dream move.
Driving a highly updated and slippery Force India that came to life on the fast-paced Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Fisichella put in one of the qualifying laps of his life to take pole position and then nearly won the race, only being was checked by the KERS-assisted Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen after a Safety Car opened the door.
Second place was still a notable result for Force India, which had not scored any points until then, and Fisichella’s part in that achievement led Ferrari (without the injured Felipe Massa and struggling to get Luca Badoer up to speed) to swoop in and give him the advantage. seat next to Raikkonen from the next race.
Sergio Pérez – Malaysian Grand Prix 2012
Sergio Pérez appears on this list twice (around eight years apart) and the first was for an excellent performance with Sauber during a rainy race at Sepang in 2012, when he came very close to overtaking Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by an improbable victory.
Perez started ninth, but jumped up the order with an early change from intermediate to full wet tires and battled with Alonso when the race got underway again after a suspension due to the conditions, increasing the pressure and getting even closer as the couple switched to slick tires. .
GREAT HITS: From perfect laps from pole to charged comebacks: Pérez’s best moments in F1
While Perez couldn’t make a move, second place (the Mexican’s first podium) earned him plenty of plaudits and sparked plenty of talk that he could join Alonso at Ferrari in the near future. According to him, McLaren secretly hired him for his first opportunity in a big team.
Sergio Pérez – Sakhir Grand Prix 2020
Perez’s time at McLaren lasted just one season as he struggled to make an impact alongside experienced world champion teammate Jenson Button, which meant a return to midfield with Force India, which later morphed into Racing Point.
However, despite many podium runs with the Silverstone operation, there was no room in the inn for 2021 when another rebrand to Aston Martin saw four-time champion Sebastian Vettel placed alongside Lance Stroll, son of the team owner Lawrence.
LOOK: The inside story of Sergio Pérez’s incredible victory between last and first at the Sakhir GP
However, Pérez turned the narrative on its head at Sakhir in 2020, when he fought his way through the field after a first lap incident and recorded an emotional first victory, in the process convincing Red Bull to look beyond his own talent pool and give him a seat next to Max Verstappen.
Nyck de Vries – Italian Grand Prix 2022
Nyck de Vries had to wait a long time to compete in a Grand Prix, initially switching to sports car racing and embarking on a season in Formula E when he concluded his career in junior single-seaters, after having reached a dead end in full-time F1 terms. opportunities.
However, by keeping his foot in the door as a reserve driver for Mercedes, which also included the teams supplied by the brand, De Vries was in the right place at the right time to intervene when Alex Albon suffered appendicitis before the Italian de 2022. Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Albon’s deputy De Vries explains how he went from F1 TV pundit to F1 driver at Monza
Having driven in FP1 with Aston Martin, the Dutchman hit the ground running when he jumped into the Williams cockpit from final practice, overtaking teammate Nicholas Latifi in qualifying and the race to achieve an excellent P9 result. It was a performance that tempted AlphaTauri to give him a seat for 2023, although he lost it after half a season after failing to repeat those Monza highs.
Oliver Bearman – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
Still fresh in the memory, Oliver Bearman sent the F1 paddock into a frenzy with his sensational substitute performance at this year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, filling Carlos Sainz’s seat at Ferrari when he too was battling appendicitis.
After Sainz fought his way through FP1 and FP2, believing at the time that his problems were related to food poisoning, the aforementioned diagnosis saw Bearman removed from F2 and placed in the Ferrari cockpit for FP3. , where the young Brit immediately impressed.
INSIGHT: How Ferrari’s Bearman supersub made its mark on and off the track in Saudi Arabia
Bearman’s confidence grew and grew as he got more laps under his belt, almost beating seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton for a place in the pole position shootout and then racing to a very respectable seventh place. It’s no surprise that he has been linked with a full-time trip by 2025.