IN NUMBERS: The 10 longest waits for a podium in F1 history

For many years, Nico Hulkenberg had carried the unwanted F1 record of holding the most race starts without a podium finish – but the German driver finally ridded himself of that statistic by taking P3 in the British Grand Prix. He was not alone in having to bide his time for his first rostrum, however, with the names below facing the longest waits in F1 history for that elusive top-three result…

10. Felipe Massa – 57 starts

Felipe Massa arrived into F1 with Sauber in 2002, the young Brazilian bringing with him plenty of promise. But after being dropped at the end of the campaign, Massa spent a year as a test driver for Ferrari before returning to the grid with Sauber one year later.

Gaining experience with the Scuderia seemed to pay off for the man from Sao Paulo, who did enough in 2004 and 2005 to earn himself a spot on the Ferrari race team as Michael Schumacher’s team mate in 2006.

With his best finish at this point being a P4, Massa finally took the next step by achieving his debut podium at the European Grand Prix on his 57th race start, claiming third place behind Schumacher and Renault’s Fernando Alonso.

It would prove to be the first of 41 rostrums for Massa during his F1 career, in which he also went on to achieve 11 wins and 16 pole positions.

9. Gianni Morbidelli – 60 starts

While he is perhaps one of the lesser-known drivers in this list, Gianni Morbidelli amassed a total of 67 Grands Prix starts across six different seasons in the sport, racing for teams including Minardi and Sauber.

But it was not until race number 60 – by which point he was driving for the Footwork outfit – that Morbidelli stood on the podium, when Adelaide hosted the Australian Grand Prix for a final time to close out the 1995 campaign.

Morbidelli lined up in P13 on a grid of 23 cars, while the Williams of Damon Hill started from pole position. It soon proved to be a race of attrition, as all of the cars near the front of the pack – with the exception of Hill – retired from the Grand Prix.

This gave Morbidelli – whose best result prior to this had been a P5 – an opportunity for a strong result and it was one that the Italian seized, crossing the line in third to clinch what would be his sole rostrum appearance on an afternoon where only eight drivers were classified.

8. Esteban Ocon – 66 starts

The first of three current drivers to make an appearance on this countdown, Esteban Ocon made his F1 debut at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix with the Manor team. Two seasons at Force India followed, in which his best finish was a P5.

After being replaced at the team by Lance Stroll in 2019, Ocon spent a year as a Mercedes reserve driver before returning to the grid with Renault in 2020. It proved to be a season of mixed fortunes for the Frenchman – but better was to come at the penultimate round in Sakhir.

In an action-packed race, Ocon worked his way up from P11 on the grid to take second place, marking an emotional maiden podium on his 66th F1 start. The rostrum was one of firsts, with Sergio Perez claiming his debut victory for Racing Point.

Since then, Ocon has finished within the top trio on a further three occasions, one of these being his first-ever win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.

6= Johnny Herbert – 67 starts

Johnny Herbert enjoyed an extensive F1 career, taking part in 161 Grands Prix from his debut in the 1989 Brazilian Grand Prix through to his final appearance at the 2000 season finale in Malaysia.

While he ended his first race in P4 at the wheel of a Benetton, the Briton did not manage to match this in the years that followed whilst driving for the likes of Tyrrell, Lotus and Ligier – but a return to Benetton at the end of 1994 hinted at better prospects.

At the fourth Grand Prix of the campaign in Spain – and on his 67th race start – Herbert stood on the podium for the first time thanks to a P2 finish, with World Champion team mate Michael Schumacher leading a 1-2 result for the squad.

Four races later, Herbert followed this up with his maiden victory at the British Grand Prix. He went on to achieve five more rostrums in his F1 career, the final one being his memorable victory for Stewart Grand Prix at the 1999 European Grand Prix.

6= Pedro de la Rosa – 67 starts

Tied with Herbert on a wait of 67 starts before scoring a podium is Pedro de la Rosa, with the Spaniard’s opportunity not arriving until a surprise return to the grid.

After making his debut for Arrows in 1999, De la Rosa completed two seasons with the team before spending the next two years at Jaguar. He then became a test driver for McLaren in 2003, and was later called upon to replace an injured Juan Pablo Montoya at the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix, in which he equalled his best result of P5.

When Montoya left the squad midway through 2006, De la Rosa again stepped up to fill the Columbian’s seat – and on his third appearance of that season in Hungary, the Spanish driver finished P2 in what would prove to be the only podium of his F1 career.

De la Rosa was joined on the rostrum by Honda’s Jenson Button, who had just clinched his debut win. Speaking of whom…

5. Jenson Button – 68 starts

That aforementioned victory in Budapest came on Button’s 113th race start – and while his wait for a podium was not quite as long, the Briton still had to hold out until his 68th Grand Prix to reach the top three.

While he impressed during his debut season with Williams in 2000, a subsequent two-year spell with Benetton/Renault proved more challenging. After being released at the end of 2002, Button moved to BAR Honda.

Things were improving in 2003, but it was in 2004 that it all came together for Button. Just two races in, the Briton achieved his debut rostrum with a P3 result in Malaysia – and he went on to rack up a further nine podiums during that year, putting him in a then career-best third in the championship.

That was just the beginning for Button, who amassed a total of 50 podiums, 15 wins and not to mention the 2009 World Championship across a career spanning 306 race starts.

4. Mika Salo – 73 starts

Nico Hulkenberg (more on whom later) garnered a reputation for being a ‘super sub’ when he stepped in for unwell drivers between 2020 and 2022 – but more than 20 years earlier, that title arguably could also have been given to Mika Salo.

Salo had made 68 race starts for teams including Lotus, Tyrrell and Arrows between 1994 and 1998 when he found himself without a full-time drive for the 1999 season. He was called upon to replace an injured Ricardo Zonta at BAR Honda for three races – before then substituting for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari across six Grands Prix after the German broke his leg.

It proved to be an inspired decision, with Salo leading the race in only his second outing for the squad at Hockenheim. The Finn ultimately moved aside to let team mate Eddie Irvine through as part of the latter’s championship bid – but Salo still took P2, marking his first podium on his 73rd start.

He returned to the rostrum with a P3 finish at Monza in his penultimate appearance for the Scuderia. Stints with Sauber and Toyota followed in 2000 and 2002 respectively, but Salo did not reach the podium again.

3. Martin Brundle – 91 starts

Better known these days as a pundit and commentator, Martin Brundle made 158 starts during his career as a Formula 1 driver, competing for teams including Tyrrell, McLaren and Jordan between 1984 and 1996.

The Briton technically first stood on the podium during his debut season, crossing the line in second place for Tyrrell in Detroit – but with the team later being disqualified from that year’s championship for a technical infringement, the result no longer stood.

This meant that Brundle’s wait for a rostrum went on – and it was not until the 1992 French Grand Prix, with Brundle now racing for Benetton on his 91st start, that it finally came to an end, the British driver turning P7 on the grid into a P3 finish.

It was the first of a total of nine rostrums for Brundle, five of which were achieved with Benetton in that 1992 campaign before he scored two apiece with Ligier and McLaren.

2. Carlos Sainz – 101 starts

Paired with fellow rookie Max Verstappen for his debut season at Toro Rosso in 2015, Carlos Sainz had to watch on as his team mate received promotion to the main Red Bull outfit five races into 2016, the Dutchman promptly winning in Spain on only his 24th race start.

For Sainz, patience was a virtue when it came to reaching the rostrum himself. After impressing at Toro Rosso and Renault, the Spaniard joined McLaren in 2019 as part of an all-new line-up alongside Lando Norris.

Sainz came into his own during his time with the Woking-based outfit, something that he demonstrated at the penultimate race in Brazil by climbing from P20 on the grid to P4 at the line.

And when Lewis Hamilton – who had initially finished in third – was hit with a five-second time penalty for a collision with Alex Albon post-race, Sainz was promoted one place, handing him his debut top-three result on his 101st start.

As things stand, Sainz has earned a total of 27 podiums, 25 of which were earned during his four-year stint with Ferrari. Can he add to that number during his new era with Williams? Only time will tell…

1. Nico Hulkenberg – 239 starts

And now to the man who was quite rightly in celebratory mood at the British Grand Prix after standing on the podium for the first time – following a lengthy wait of 239 Grand Prix starts.

Nico Hulkenberg arrived on the F1 grid back in 2010 with Williams aged 22, a season in which he claimed a surprise pole position in Brazil. But the German had to be patient when it came to following that accolade up with a visit to the rostrum.

Across stints with Force India, Sauber and Renault, Hulkenberg did not manage to better his then career-best race result of P4. After losing his seat at the end of 2019, he then returned for several substitute appearances in place of unwell drivers across 2020 and 2022 – which acted as the perfect reminder of his talents.

Making his comeback for Haas in 2023, Hulkenberg delivered some strong results – but it was not until his switch to Kick Sauber and a dramatic weekend at the 2025 British Grand Prix that the racer from Germany finally broke his podium duck.

Starting from P19 on the grid, the veteran driver showed his experience as he navigated changing conditions to work his way forwards – before ultimately holding off a challenge from Lewis Hamilton to seal P3, bringing Hulkenberg a long-awaited podium on his 239th start.