Which are the furthest back grid positions to have taken victory in Formula 1? We take a look at the furthest back F1 wins in the sport’s history!
22nd – John Watson, 1983 United States Grand Prix West
John Watson holds the record for the furthest back F1 win in history, having won the 1983 United States Grand Prix West from 22nd on the grid.
Watson and his McLaren team-mate Niki Lauda endured a difficult qualifying session for the Long Beach race, with poor qualifying tyres leaving them four seconds off the pace. Watson qualified 22nd, with Lauda 23rd.
Incredibly, the duo would secure a 1-2 finish on F1’s last visit to the Californian track. Lauda overtook Watson in the closing stages and the pair made progress together, finding themselves running in the top five by Lap 27. Watson overtook Lauda on Lap 32 and the McLarens continued to move forward. They assumed first and second places on Lap 45 and stayed there for the remaining 30 laps.
19th – Bill Vukovich, 1954 Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500 was not run to Formula 1 regulations but it was a round of the World Championship from 1950 to 1960.
In 1954, Bill Vukovich secured his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 win, taking victory having started 19th in the order. He did not assume the lead of the race until Lap 61 – and even then he only led one lap before making a pit stop. He led for a second stint as the 500-mile race reached its half way point and then led all of the last 50 laps to secure his place in the Indianapolis 500 record books.
18th – Rubens Barrichello, 2000 German Grand Prix
Rubens Barrichello secured his maiden Formula 1 win having started a lowly 18th on the grid at the 2000 German Grand Prix.
In his first year with Ferrari, Barrichello was forced to use the spare car for qualifying, with Michael Schumacher already occupying the T-car following a crash in practice. With rain falling, a delay in the pits meant that the track was already wet by the time Barrichello could set a lap, leading to him qualifying only 18th.
On Lap 25 of the 2000 German Grand Prix, there was a track invasion by a protester, which led to the Safety Car being deployed. Up to this point, Barrichello had gained 13 places and ran fifth. Unlike most other drivers, Barrichello did not make any pit stops for wet tyres – despite worsening conditions in the closing stages. He won the 45-lap race by seven seconds, taking the first win for a Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna in 1993.
17th – John Watson, 1982 Detroit Grand Prix
John Watson makes two appearances on the list of furthest back F1 wins. A year prior to his victory from 22nd on the grid at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West, Watson won from 17th on the grid at the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix.
F1’s first race in Detroit was red-flagged on Lap 7, when a fire started on the crashed car of Riccardo Patrese. An hour later, the race restarted. Watson had gained one place from his starting position in the opening stint and after maintaining positions until Lap 16, Watson’s race began to come alive.
Over the next 16 laps, he made his way up to second, with only Keke Rosberg ahead of him. An out of action third gear meant that Rosberg’s Williams was easy prey for Watson’s McLaren and he passed him on Lap 36. Scheduled for 76 laps, the race lasted only 62 thanks to the lengthy earlier delay. From taking the lead through to the chequered flag, Watson led throughout and set what was then a new record for the furthest back Grand Prix win.
17th – Kimi Raikkonen, 2005 Japanese Grand Prix
A last lap pass at Suzuka saw Kimi Raikkonen take victory in the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, despite starting only 17th on the grid.
There was a mixed up grid for the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, thanks to wet weather in qualifying. The single-lap qualifying format saw drivers take to the track in reverse championship order and with weather deteriorating as the hour went on, some of the usual frontrunners – like Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya – found themselves towards the back of the grid.
Raikkonen was also victim to the weather and could qualify no higher than 17th, setting a lap time of over two minutes. The Finn made immediate progress in the race and ran 12th by the end of the first lap. From there, he continued his steady progress through the field and led ahead of his last pit stop on Lap 45.
The McLaren driver’s pit stop put Giancarlo Fisichella back into the lead, where he had been for much of the mid-part of the Grand Prix. But Raikkonen behind was lapping much faster than the Renault driver. On the last lap of the race, into Turn 1, Raikkonen got the job done and secured an unlikely victory – his seventh of the 2005 season.
17th – Max Verstappen, 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
In 2024, Max Verstappen recorded the furthest back F1 win in 19 years by winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17th on the grid.
Such was the weather over the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, qualifying was postponed until Sunday morning. The weather conditions were not much improved when qualifying actually took place and there were plenty of on-track incidents. The timing of a red flag in Q2 left Verstappen unable to set a faster lap time and he exited having set the 12th fastest time in the session. A five place grid penalty for changing an engine unit component dropped him to 17th on the final grid.
As expected, Verstappen did not take long to make progress. By Lap 12, he ran sixth. The Dutchman was given a helping hand by a red flag period, which allowed him a free pit stop for wet tyres. Esteban Ocon led the race with Verstappen behind him – but that didn’t last long. Verstappen made his way by and went on to set the fastest lap of the race on 17 tours of the track. Having taken the lead of Lap 43 of 69, he won the race by almost 20 seconds.
Verstappen’s win from 17th on the grid at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix made him the first driver in Formula 1 history to have won from as many as ten different grid positions.
Every Formula 1 Win From 10th or Further Back on the Grid
The table below shows every time that a round of the World Championship has been won by a driver who started 10th or further back on the grid.
| Race | Winner | Team | Grid Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 Indianapolis 500 | Troy Ruttman | Kuzma | 10 |
| 1954 Indianapolis 500 | Bill Vukovich | Kurtis Kraft | 19 |
| 1955 Indianapolis 500 | Bob Sweikert | Kurtis Kraft | 14 |
| 1957 Indianapolis 500 | Sam Hanks | Epperly | 13 |
| 1959 United States Grand Prix | Bruce McLaren | Cooper | 10 |
| 1960 Argentine Grand Prix | Bruce McLaren | Cooper | 13 |
| 1961 French Grand Prix | Giancarlo Baghetti | Ferrari | 12 |
| 1962 Belgian Grand Prix | Jim Clark | Lotus | 12 |
| 1971 Italian Grand Prix | Peter Gethin | BRM | 11 |
| 1973 South African Grand Prix | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 16 |
| 1974 Argentine Grand Prix | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 10 |
| 1975 Spanish Grand Prix | Jochen Mass | McLaren | 11 |
| 1975 German Grand Prix | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham | 10 |
| 1977 Argentine Grand Prix | Jody Scheckter | Wolf | 11 |
| 1977 Austrian Grand Prix | Alan Jones | Shadow | 14 |
| 1978 South African Grand Prix | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus | 12 |
| 1981 Canadian Grand Prix | Jacques Laffite | Ligier | 10 |
| 1982 Belgian Grand Prix | John Watson | McLaren | 10 |
| 1982 Detroit Grand Prix | John Watson | McLaren | 17 |
| 1983 United States Grand Prix West | John Watson | McLaren | 22 |
| 1983 Dutch Grand Prix | René Arnoux | Ferrari | 10 |
| 1985 Dutch Grand Prix | Niki Lauda | McLaren | 10 |
| 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix | Nigel Mansell | Ferrari | 12 |
| 1990 Mexican Grand Prix | Alain Prost | Ferrari | 13 |
| 1995 Belgian Grand Prix | Michael Schumacher | Benetton | 16 |
| 1996 Monaco Grand Prix | Olivier Panis | Ligier | 14 |
| 1999 European Grand Prix | Johnny Herbert | Stewart | 14 |
| 2000 German Grand Prix | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 18 |
| 2003 Australian Grand Prix | David Coulthard | McLaren | 11 |
| 2004 Belgian Grand Prix | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren | 10 |
| 2005 Japanese Grand Prix | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren | 17 |
| 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix | Jenson Button | Honda | 14 |
| 2008 Singapore Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 15 |
| 2012 European Grand Prix | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 11 |
| 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 10 |
| 2018 German Grand Prix | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 14 |
| 2020 Italian Grand Prix | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 10 |
| 2021 Sao Paulo Grand Prix | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 10 |
| 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 10 |
| 2022 Belgian Grand Prix | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 14 |
| 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 17 |