BEST F1 DEBUTS OF ALL TIME

Published on 10 January 2024 at 16:00

Since the 1950 British Grand Prix, there has been 775 Formula One drivers who have entered into the competition. But which drivers made a successful debut race and what did they achieve? Let's take a look...

1. LEWIS HAMILTON

We are going down-under for this one and going back to 2007 where Sir Lewis Hamilton made his debut at the Melbourne Albert Park track with McLaren-Mercedes. Driving alongside Spaniard Fernando Alonso, the then 22-year-old, finished on the podium at his first race and continued for nine races in a row including Montreal and Indianapolis.

This jumped him up to the lead in the world championship table; 12 points clear of Alonso before the team were accused of obtaining and using Ferrari information illegally also known as the 'spygate'.

He remained with the team until 2012 bringing home one world championship in 2008, until his departure to Mercedes in 2013 where he would go on to win six more.

2. JOHNNY HERBERT

If you are a true Formula One, you'll most likely of heard of Johnny Herbert. Joining the Sky Sports F1 team back in 2012, he became a popular face for fans until his exit in 2022.

But he was more than just a presenter; he was also a 7x podium sitter.

Herbert entered the Grand Prix scene back in 1989 after a fatal crash the pervious year at Brands Hatch in the FIA Formula 3000 series. With a number of surgeries, Herbert was back behind the wheel for his first race in Rio, Brazil. 

He joined the Benetton team and came out with an exceptional performance being 10.493 seconds behind winner and team-mate Sandro Nannini. Following his crash, the Brit was replaced after six rounds of the competition for recovery.

3. KEVIN MAGNUSSEN

McLaren seem to have a strong connection to Australia as Kevin Magnussen made his debut in 2014. 

Crossing the line third but then being promoted to second after Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull were disqualified for exceeding the maximum fuel limit.

This is currently his only podium in his F1 career with 164 race starts but the team back at Haas-Ferrari are sure hoping that another one will come around in the future.

4. JACKIE STEWART

Sir Jackie Stewart finished third in the championship behind the legends of Jim Clark and winning team-mate Graham Hill.

The Scotsman impressively landed a top spot on the podium at his first race as a rookie at the 1965 Italian Grand Prix.

He went on to become a three-time world champion and an F1 icon.

5. JACQUES VILLENEUVE

Son of former Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve, the Williams rookie took pole position in hid first race in Formula One and came out with a second place finish behind his teammate Damon Hill.

Overall, Villeneuve celebrated four victories across the season at tracks such as Silverstone and Hungary.

Ending his rookie season in second place in the championship, just nine point off champion Hill, he took the crown the year after.


Harley Parker 

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