F1 Power Performers: Austria

In F1 Power Performers, we re-award points from every race at each track based on the current scoring system, in order to give a more fair representation of which drivers have excelled at each track during their careers. As well as the top five, we’ll also give the full list of points scorers at the end of each article. Here are the drivers who’ve excelled at the Austrian Grand Prix!


1. David Coulthard – 118 points

If every race at the Red Bull Ring – including in its previous guises as the Österreichring and the A1 Ring – had awarded points in the same way, 129 drivers would have scored here. Top of that pile is perhaps a surprising name: David Coulthard. From his seven appearances at the track, Coulthard never failed to score at the event and finished on the podium on all of his first five Austrian outings. Until last year, he was the driver who had completed the most racing laps of the track in history, touring the circuit 495 times. He won the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix by finishing two seconds ahead of polesitter Michael Schumacher.

Coulthard’s career at the track wasn’t all plain sailing though. In the 1999 event, McLaren team-mate Mika Hakkinen had started from pole, with Coulthard alongside him on the front row. But at the third turn on the opening lap, the Scot nudged Hakkinen, and the Finn spun to the back of the order. DC led for the first half of the race, but Hakkinen’s title rival Eddie Irvine overtook him after a slick pit stop. Nonetheless, that day was a minor blip in Coulthard’s Austria form book.


2. Jacques Laffite – 96 points

Another surprising name sits in second place on this list. Jacques Laffite made twelve appearances in total at the Österreichring and although six of those appearances resulted in DNFs, he finished in the top five on the other six occasions. Laffite won for Ligier at the 1981 Austrian Grand Prix and finished on the podium a further three times – in 1976, 1979 and 1982.


3. Alain Prost – 95 points

Just one point behind Laffite is fellow Frenchman Alain Prost. Between 1980 and 1987, Prost made eight appearances at the Österreichring and won the event three times. He still holds the record for most Austrian Grand Prix wins but sits only third in this list. That’s because aside from his three wins, his best result was only sixth place on his final appearance in 1987. Of Prost’s three wins at the track, it was his final one – in 1986 – which was the most impressive, as he took victory by over a lap.


4. Michael Schumacher – 93 points

The Red Bull Ring is the scene of Michael Schumacher’s most controversial F1 win. Back when it was named the A1 Ring in 2002, Rubens Barrichello was leading until the final corner, when he was instructed to let Schumacher by to take the victory. The move caused uproar among the other teams and fans, and rules banning team orders were subsequently introduced. It was the first time in six visits that Schumacher was victorious in Austria, though he had podium finishes here in both 1998 and 2001. He’d go on to take a more deserved victory on his final appearance at the circuit in 2003.


5. Alan Jones – 92 points

Alan Jones sits fifth in the power performers list in Austria. The Australian’s most notable performance here is his win from fourteenth on the grid in the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix. It remains the furthest back grid position from which a driver has won in the country. It was also the only time that the Shadow team won a Grand Prix. Unfortunately for Jones, the organisers had not prepared the Australian national anthem, so ‘Happy Birthday’ was played on a trumpet instead.

Jones won the event again two years later, this time from second on the grid when driving for Williams. He has three podium finishes to his name here, having also finished as runner-up in 1980. On his final two appearances at the track, in 1981 and 1986, Jones finished fourth both times.


On the bubble

Among the drivers just missing out on the top five are a number of the 2020 grid. Lewis Hamilton – whose only win at the event came in 2016 following a last lap overtake on Nico Rosberg – sits in sixth place with 85 points. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen, the winner of the last two Austrian Grands Prix sits eleventh on the list, and could break into the top five with another win in 2020. The Finnish pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas – both with multiple podium finishes at the event – are also in with a chance of moving up Austria’s power performers list. Raikkonen is tied with David Coulthard as the driver to have made the most points-scoring appearances at the track.


The Full List of points scorers:

The below list is based on all races at the track using the same scoring system as is currently used in Formula 1 – 25 points for a win, all the way down to a single point for tenth place plus the bonus point for Fastest Lap.

Pos Driver Points
1 David Coulthard 118
2 Jacques Laffite 96
3 Alain Prost 95
4 Michael Schumacher 93
5 Alan Jones 92
6 Lewis Hamilton 85
7 Ronnie Peterson 83
8 Kimi Räikkönen 77
9 Nelson Piquet 77
10 Carlos Reutemann 74
11 Max Verstappen 73
12 Niki Lauda 71
13 Valtteri Bottas 67
14 Mika Hakkinen 66
15 John Watson 63
16 Nico Rosberg 63
17 Rubens Barrichello 63
18 René Arnoux 58
19 Emerson Fittipaldi 57
20 Sebastian Vettel 57
21 Clay Regazzoni 55
22 Jacques Villeneuve 51
23 Elio de Angelis 49
24 Michele Alboreto 48
25 James Hunt 46
26 Eddie Irvine 43
27 Vittorio Brambilla 42
28 Denny Hulme 40
29 Ralf Schumacher 40
30 Gilles Villeneuve 37
31 Jenson Button 36
32 Nigel Mansell 36
33 Stefan Johansson 33
34 Daniel Ricciardo 30
35 Felipe Massa 29
36 Ayrton Senna 28
37 Jo Siffert 28
38 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 27
39 Teo Fabi 27
40 Jacky Ickx 26
41 Jochen Mass 26
42 Romain Grosjean 26
43 Thierry Boutsen 26
44 Jean-Pierre Jabouille 25
45 Jackie Stewart 24
46 Keke Rosberg 24
47 Patrick Tambay 24
48 Sergio Pérez 23
49 Giancarlo Fisichella 22
50 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 22
51 Rolf Stommelen 21
52 Charles Leclerc 20
53 Patrick Depailler 18
54 Carlos Pace 16
55 Damon Hill 16
56 Jody Scheckter 16
57 Kevin Magnussen 16
58 Marc Surer 16
59 Tim Schenken 16
60 Gunnar Nilsson 15
61 Hans-Joachim Stuck 15
62 Juan Pablo Montoya 15
63 Peter Revson 15
64 Tom Pryce 15
65 Chris Amon 14
66 Fernando Alonso 14
67 Johnny Herbert 14
68 Mika Salo 14
69 Alexander Wurz 13
70 Mike Hailwood 13
71 Eddie Cheever 12
72 Esteban Ocon 12
73 Jackie Oliver 12
74 Jean Alesi 12
75 Pedro Rodríguez 12
76 Reine Wisell 12
77 Jean-Pierre Jarier 11
78 Christian Danner 10
79 Graham Hill 10
80 Henri Pescarolo 10
81 Mario Andretti 10
82 Nico Hülkenberg 10
83 Olivier Panis 10
84 Pedro Diniz 10
85 Carlos Sainz Jr. 8
86 Didier Pironi 8
87 Gerhard Berger 8
88 Howden Ganley 8
89 Jos Verstappen 8
90 Lando Norris 8
91 Mauro Baldi 8
92 Arturo Merzario 6
93 Brett Lunger 6
94 Chico Serra 6
95 David Hobbs 6
96 Huub Rothengatter 6
97 Ignazio Giunti 6
98 Mark Webber 6
99 Pastor Maldonado 6
100 Pierre Gasly 6
101 Rupert Keegan 6
102 Stefan Bellof 6
103 Andrea de Cesaris 4
104 Derek Daly 4
105 François Hesnault 4
106 Harald Ertl 4
107 Marc Gené 4
108 Piercarlo Ghinzani 4
109 Allan McNish 2
110 Antônio Pizzonia 2
111 Dieter Quester 2
112 François Cevert 2
113 Gianni Morbidelli 2
114 Gijs van Lennep 2
115 Jonathan Palmer 2
116 Nick Heidfeld 2
117 Patrick Nève 2
118 Peter Gethin 2
119 Antonio Giovinazzi 1
120 Brian Henton 1
121 Corrado Fabi 1
122 Cristiano da Matta 1
123 Denny Hulme 1
124 Héctor Rebaque 1
125 Lance Stroll 1
126 Marcus Ericsson 1
127 Olivier Panis 1
128 Pascal Wehrlein 1
129 Riccardo Patrese 1

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