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Like any other competitive sport, F1 is about glory and at the end of the day, about some dazzling statistical gains. Isn't it? It's the highest form of motor-racing as some call it and while to others define it as the pinnacle in the world of single-seater Grand Prix racing.
This is it. Once you've made it to F1, it could be said, you've made a piece of history. But while some earn mega success all thanks to their dazzling feats such as wins, fastest laps, poles and of course, world titles, there are also some, or let's say, have been some who've earned the wrath of the critics.
Why? Because some F1 drivers hold records they never would've come to expect. Such as the ones below.
List of unwanted records held by drivers in F1
Hans Heyer – DNQ, DNF, DSQ all in a Single Race
Fernando Alonso once called it perfectly saying, "you first dream of being an F1 driver, then the other dream is to be an F1 race winning driver and then, if you make it, you dream of becoming a Ferrari Formula 1 driver."
But you never end up dreaming of being a Formula 1 driver who registers a Did Not Qualify, following it up with a Did Not Finish and unfortunately, Disqualified from an F1 race- do you?
However, that ignominious thing happened exactly to German driver Hans Heyer, who first started the Grand Prix without permission, ended up registering a "DNF" and then, as one found out, was disqualified for entering the race without having qualified for it.
The man from the famous region of Northrhine-Westphalia earned this deplorable triple-punishment at his home racing event in Germany back in 1977.
Luca Badoer – Most F1 Starts Without Scoring a Point (50)
While it is easy to criticise someone like a Nico Hulkenberg, who despite contesting in the F1 world for over a decade and a half has never scored a podium, what about a driver who's never scored a point despite having considerable F1 racing experience to his name?
Badoer, another Italian racer, wasn't really a great talent as it turned out. He holds the record for the most number of race starts without ever scoring a point. Can you beat that? He raced for 50 F1 Grands Prix but never scored one point, his best result being the P7 at San Marino Grand Prix that took place 32 years ago in 1973.
Teo Fabi – Multiple Pole Positions Without Leading a Lap
Even though the Milan-born driver is 70 years old today and is known to follow the sport he once competed in, there's always this record he holds that one is sure he'd dread even if anyone distantly reminds him of it. So what record is that?
Even though, Fabi, who once found himself grappling with F1 and IndyCar opportunities, took 3 poles in his career, he never once led a single lap. Not even once. Poor starts and on other occasions, mechanical issues, plagued his F1 Grand Prix career.
Martin Brundle – Most Races Without Leading a Lap (158)
You know him and probably regard him for being one of the distinguished voices in the realm of Formula 1 and for hosting the famed "Brundle's grid walk'. Right? But what you probably might not be aware of is the fact that the great Martin Brundle, who once formed part of the very F1 grid that even had the likes of Ayrton Senna on it, holds a poor record. So what is it?
During the course of his long F1 career, Brundle competed in no fewer than 158 F1 races but not once did the Briton lead a single Grand Prix lap. He got 9 podiums in his career but rather astonishingly, never led a single F1 race.
Charles Pic – Most Overtaken Driver in a Single Season (70)
Formula 1 is either about overtaking or being overtaken. In a way it's a very simple and uncomplicated sport, where if you are not hunting, then you are hunted.
Back in 2012, where the famed grid had several world champion drivers of the class and reputation of Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, and of course, the Iceman Kimi Raikkonen, there was a certain Charles Pic in there as well.
But he holds, to this day, a not so sparkling record; that of being overtaken 70 times in a single season. He was then with the noted Marussia team and didn't exactly come up to speed, literally speaking, on account of being constantly passed by others on the grid.
