The Worst F1 Drivers Ever

Among the 761 Formula 1 driver was 33 world champions, 109 winners - but just as many losers. Drivers who were hopelessly overwhelmed.

In part two of our series on the 1000th World Championship race, we explored who was the best Formula One driver of all time. The question can also be reversed: who is the worst of all times? Again, it is hard to say. Because even here, the car plays a huge role. Anyone who believes today in a Williams-Mercedes, a driver has no chance, who has forgotten which racing teams has already produced the Formula 1. No matter who drove the life racing car in 1990, he would not have been able to shine with it. The W12 engine (read correctly, the engine was in W configuration) was so weak-breasted that the car was between 15 and 30 seconds per lap slower than ordinary mid-range cars, so long distances are not always due to the driver. Sometimes, though. When asked about the slowest F1 driver of all times, the Swiss Ottorino Volonterio occupies a favorite position. He drove three World Championship races with a private Maserati 250F. At the Germany GP 1956 Volonterio came with four minutes and 25 seconds behind only 146% of the qualifying time of the pole setters - today drivers who are slower than 107% of the qualifying time, do not even start. In the race he finished sixth, but only six pilots came to the finish. His backlog: six laps - on the Nordschleife, where one lap took nine minutes and 41 seconds. In 3.5 hours of race time, he lost an hour!

Alex Yoong is considered one of the worst riders of all time. The 761 riders are joined by 52 others who could not qualify for a Formula 1 race. No one failed as often as the qualification as Claudio Langes (14 times). Now the Swiss sat in the EuroBrun-Judd in 1990 and certainly not in the fastest car of the field, but his teammate Roberto Moreno was missing several seconds. Among the 52 drivers who were never qualified, with Volker Weidler, Joachim Winkelhock, Michael Bartels, Kurt Kuhnke, and Günther Seiffert also five Germans. With Desiré Wilson, Giovanna Amati and Divina Galica three out of five women who have ever tried in Formula One. And with Bernie Ecclestone also the man who later became the big Formula 1 Zampano. He failed miserably twice in 1952 in a Connaught-Alta. There are riders who achieved world championship titles, victories, podium finishes and points, but also those who went out of their hands and set negative records. Luca Badoer holds the record of most races without ever scoring points (51). Ricciardo Patrese and Andrea de Cesaris dropped out prematurely 147 times - more than anyone else. In 1982 alone de Cesaris made 20 accidents on 16 race weekends! Gabriele Tarquini was 40 times unqualified, more often than that he was at the start (38 times).

*This article was first published in German at autobild.de