Winning a Formula 1 Grand Prix is hard work. While Lewis Hamilton can make it look so easy sometimes, it’s anything but. It’s so tough that most drivers go their entire careers without ever claiming the chequered flag.
Luckily for some drivers, though, they did still get the sweet taste of victory at least once in their careers.
SBOBET takes a look back at some of the most recent “one-win wonders” to find out what went right for them in that particular race — and what went wrong for the rest of their careers.
Jean Alesi – 1995 Canadian GP
Alesi had the look of a future F1 star when he made his debut with Tyrrell back in 1989. He had a famous battle with the great Ayrton Senna in the first race of the 1990 season in the United States en route to a second-place finish.
Alesi would join Ferrari the next season, a decision that was not the best for his career in hindsight. He came close on several occasions but just seemed unable to get over the hump.
After years of waiting, though, Alesi’s moment finally came in 1995 in Montreal. The Ferrari driver got a huge slice of luck as leader Michael Schumacher was struck with a mechanical problem with just 11 laps to go.
Alesi, who was running in second, raced to the lead and eventually won the race — on his birthday, no less.
But for the rest of his career, his luck would never be quite as good as that time in Canada. Despite 16 podium finishes, he would never win another F1 race until he retired in 2001.
Jarno Trulli – 2004 Monaco GP
Trulli was truly a terrific driver… in qualifying. The Italian had crafted a reputation as a qualifying specialist who could put together some blinding one-lap efforts to start high up in the grid but was unable to translate that form in the actual race. Entering his eighth season in F1 in 2004, he had yet to record a single Grand Prix victory.
Trulli’s long wait for a win finally came to an end in Monaco of all places. Not only did he record his first career pole, but he went on to claim the chequered flag after a challenging race which saw eight retirements.
That included the great Michael Schumacher, who was in the most dominant form of his career. The German won 12 of the first 13 races of the season, with Monaco the only exception.
Trulli was fortunate Schumi suffered that setback, which helped pave the way for his win. But the Italian couldn’t quite put together that type of complete performance again in his career.
Robert Kubica – 2008 Canadian GP
Montreal has been the site of the most memorable races in Robert Kubica’s career, both good and bad. In the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix — where Lewis Hamilton famously won his first career F1 race — the Pole suffered a horrific crash.
Remarkably, Kubica came back just a year later to claim an emotional victory in Montreal. With the help of a two-stop strategy, he topped BMW team-mate Nick Heidfeld to score the first win of his career. It was also the first — and to date, only — win by a Polish driver in F1.
Despite his immense talent, though, Kubica wouldn’t claim another chequered flag again. He would make a surprise return to F1 in 2019 after another near-fatal crash, but he is just a test driver for Alfa Romeo this year and looks unlikely to make any Formula 1 2020 highlights.
Heikki Kovalainen – 2008 Hungarian GP
Valtteri Bottas has been a fine No. 2 driver behind Lewis Hamilton. The Finn has claimed an impressive seven wins in three years with Mercedes and is among the top contenders according to the Formula 1 2020 odds.
Fellow Finn Heikki Kovalainen, on the other hand, didn’t do nearly well as Hamilton’s sidekick. He spent two largely disappointing seasons with McLaren, grabbing just one win in the process.
Kovalainen was also quite lucky to get that win, too, as Felipe Massa’s engine failure with just three laps to go saw the Finn win the 2008 Hungarian GP.
Kovalainen would finish second in Italy just three races later, but that would prove to be the last podium finish in his F1 career, which ended in 2013.
Pastor Maldonado – 2012 Spanish GP
Much like Kubica, Maldonado also holds the distinction of being the one and only F1 winner from his home country. But again, like Kubica, the Venezuelan probably should have won more than one race in his career given his impressive talent.
Maldonado’s lone victory came at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. Much like the rest of the drivers on this list, he had a slice of good fortune as Lewis Hamilton had to start from the back of the grid after a fuel violation in qualifying.
As a result, Maldonado was promoted to pole, the only one of his career. He then went on to drive a brilliant race, holding off hometown hero Fernando Alonso to give Williams their first win in eight years.
But the volatile Venezuelan, who had a reputation as a dangerous driver, couldn’t keep it together for an entire weekend again in his career.
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