Max Verstappen tops the list of youngest race winners in Formula 1
- Published
Max Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix in his first race for Red Bull
It is the pub quiz question that will likely never have to be rewritten. Just who is the youngest man to win a Formula 1 race?
The answer, of course, is Max Verstappen of the Netherlands, who finished first at the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday. But which other drivers past and present achieved success at a young age - and who had to wait a bit longer?
1. Max Verstappen (18 years, seven months, five days)
This is a record that could stand for some time. Max Verstappen's win in Spain came only seven days after he was promoted from junior team Toro Rosso to Red Bull
2. Sebastian Vettel (21 years, two months, 11 days)
Sebastian Vettel did not need to be promoted to Red Bull to clinch his first win, doing it with Toro Rosso at the Italian Grand Prix in September 2008. The Red Bull switch and four subsequent world titles came a little later
3. Fernando Alonso (22 years, 26 days)
Fernando Alonso's youthful smile has turned to a scowl as his career has progressed. Sure, two world titles followed in 2005 and 2006 after his August 2003 maiden win for Renault at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but recent seasons have been immensely frustrating for a man expected to have been even more decorated than he is
4. Troy Ruttman (22 years, two months, 19 days)
Alonso had beaten a record that had stood for more than 50 years. American Troy Ruttman had been the youngest when he won the Indianapolis 500 in May 1952 - one of only eight races in that F1 season
5. Bruce McLaren (22 years, three months, 12 days)
New Zealander Bruce McLaren claimed the first win of his career in the Cooper-Climax at the United States Grand Prix in December 1959. Not content with mere racing honours, in 1963 he founded the McLaren team - now that's a legacy
6. Lewis Hamilton (22 years, five months, three days)
Without a single tattoo or hip-hop celebrity in sight, Lewis Hamilton won his first race in June 2007 with success for McLaren at the Canadian Grand Prix. A further 42 would follow, the third most of all time
7. Kimi Raikkonen (23 years, five months, six days)
Kimi Raikkonen has taken the chequered flag on 20 occasions in his F1 career - and the first of those came with McLaren at the Malaysian Grand Prix in March 2003. A season in which the Finn would race against Max Verstappen's dad, Jos
8. Robert Kubica (23 years, six months, one day)
So much potential, yet only one win in Canada 2008 for BMW Sauber after a rally crash ended the Pole's F1 career
9. Jacky Ickx (23 years, six months, six days)
Driving in the wet? It was no problem for Ferrari's Jacky Ickx as he won the French Grand Prix in July 1968. The Belgian went on to win eight F1 races in his career
10. Michael Schumacher (23 years, seven months, 27 days)
Michael Schumacher had to be on the list of young winners - at the Belgian Grand Prix in August 1992 while racing for Benetton - given that he had another 90 wins to make him by far the most successful F1 driver of all time
Notable others
19. Ayrton Senna (25 years, one month)
Ayrton Senna was 25 when he first won for Lotus at the Portuguese Grand Prix in April 1985 - in the pouring rain. Conditions for which his mesmerising talent will be best remembered
25. Stirling Moss (25 years, nine months, 29 days)
What better way to win your first Grand Prix than to become the first driver to win your home race? That's what happened to Mercedes' Stirling Moss in July 1955 when he won the British Grand Prix. How very British (apart from the fact he won in a Mercedes)
It's not all about the youth - some had to wait their whole careers
Luigi Fagioli (53 years, 22 days)
Italian Luigi Fagioli, in his Alfa Romeo, is the oldest man to be credited with a Formula 1 win during the French Grand Prix in July 1951. Like Max Verstappen's record, we think this could be one that will also never be broken. Unless Nigel Mansell fancies another comeback
Giuseppe Farina (43 years, six months, 13 days)
Italian Giuseppe Farina won the first World Championship race of the modern era with victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in May 1950. In front of King George VI
Juan Manuel Fangio (38 years, 10 months, 27 days)
F1 legend Juan Manuel Fangio, who went on to win the world title five times, was the first driver to win the Monaco Grand Prix - and a statue of him is still there today
Graham Hill (33 years, three months, five days)
Great Britain's Graham Hill claimed his first F1 win in May 1962 at the Dutch Grand Prix - the first of four wins that season as he became only the second Briton, after Mike Hawthorn, to win the Formula 1 drivers' Championship
Damon Hill (32 years, 10 months, 29 days)
Graham's son, Damon, also took his sweet time, first triumphing for Williams at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 1993. Three seasons later Hill would win his only world title
Source: Forix
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