In Formula 1, not everyone gets a podium finish. Drivers can still have long, successful careers in racing yet not get up to P3 and above.
In honour of Nico Hulkenburg finally breaking the longest streak of race starts without a podium during the Silverstone Grand Prix, here is the updated list of no-podium holders in F1 history.
Adrian Sutil
Adrian Sutil was active in F1 during the years 2007-2011, with a short break that he returned from for seasons 2013-2014. During these years, he raced for Spyker, Force India and Sauber. Despite starting in 128 GPs, he never managed to reach the P3 position.
However, he narrowly missed out on this in the 2009 Italian Grand Prix, where he placed 4th. Another shot at a podium arose in Brazil, where he qualified 3rd but ultimately had to retire after a Toyota crashed into him.
Pierluigi Martini
Martini was active during 1984-1985, then 3 years later in 1988-1995 with the teams Toleman, Minardi and Scuderia Italia. Overall, he holds 119 GP starts yet couldn’t push past 4th place.
In the 1991 San Marino and Portuguese Grand Prix, he placed 4th, and this was his best result. Martini was a popular driver amongst fans. However, his car was not the fastest on the grid and he also had minimal funding, therefore he wasn’t set or expected to fight for a podium.
He moved to sportscars and had more success there, taking a win in the 1999 Le Mans.
Phillippe Alliot
Alliot had a winless run of 10 years from 1984-1994. He raced in 109 Grand Prixs in this time and represented RAM, Ligier, Larrousse and also McLaren. Despite his long run in F1, his best rank was 5th at the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix. During his career he only managed 5-point finishes, so it is no surprise that a podium position was not achievable. Like Martini, he moved to Le Mans also. He took 3 overall podium finishes as well as 3 victories in the WSC.
Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda is still racing on the grid and has been since 2021. During this time, he has raced in 99 Grand Prixs for teams AlphaTauri, Racing Bulls and Red Bull Racing.
His best result to date is 4th in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It is not going well for Tsunoda at all, he made the swap from VCARB to RBR after they swapped Lawson out for him. Accepting this swap was clearly not a good decision for Yuki as he constantly finishes in the lower bottom 10.
Pedro Diniz
In his 5 years of racing in F1 from 1995-2000, he started in 1998 GPs for the teams Forti, Ligier, Arrows and Sauber. During this time, his best race results were 5th at the 1997 Luxemburg Grand Prix, as well as the Belgian Grand Prix. Many labelled him as just a “pay driver”, and he was never believed to be a contender for a podium position.
He actually never got close to 3rd position. Oftentimes, he would finish way behind the driver whilst maintaining a 5th place finish.
Overall, not every driver can be the most successful on the grid. In fact, some go their whole careers waiting for something big to happen.
However, this was not the case with Hulkenburg! A massive well done to him- his patience has certainly paid off.