Which F1 driver has the longest career without scoring a single podium?

F1 has been around since the 1950s and as the years have gone by, has managed to become the premium motor racing event all across the globe. The interest level of the fans in the pinnacle of motor racing has gone on increasing year after year and the bulk of the credit for it goes to the F1 drivers who drive their respective cars at high speeds during Grand Prix events.

The F1 drivers are the heartbeat of the sport and without them, there would be no F1. They are the ones who play a big part in holding the interest of the fans during races with their super skills and slick overtaking maneuvers. Moreover, with the modern F1 cars, the drivers can express themselves way more than the drivers of the past generations were able to do.

While winning racing events and finishing on podiums is the goal of every driver at the pinnacle of motor racing, not all are able to achieve the feat. There have been a lot of drivers in the history of the sport, who have not been able to score even a single podium during their long F1 career. With the help of this piece, the focus is going to be on the Top 5 drivers with the longest careers without scoring a single race win.

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List of the top 5 drivers with longest careers without a podium finish

5. Pedro Diniz

Pedro Diniz is a Brazilian businessman who used to make his trade in F1 during the 1990s. He began karting at the age of eighteen and did not achieve any major success, but despite that, in 1995 he dared to enter the pinnacle of motor racing with the Forti F1 team. Diniz despite not performing well for the team continued with Forti because of the major financial backing his family provided to the team. During his career, he drove for a total of 4 teams in the sport until 2000 and took part in a total of 98 Grand Prix events. However, despite his best efforts, he was not able to score even a single podium finish.

4. Philippe Alliott

The man who comes in at number four on the list is none other than the former French F1 driver, Phillipe Alliott. He joined F1 in 1984 with the Skoal Bandit RAM F1 team but did not have a great time. Moreover, in 1986 an opportunity at the Ligier team opened for him, and decide to switch teams. He showed improvement at his ne team but it was not significant.

He competed in F1 until 1990 and then decided to take a break only to return in 1993 with Larrousse. He also had a spell with McLaren before retiring from the sport in 1994. During his stop-and-start career, he took part in a total of 109 races but was not able to score a podium place. However, he did manage to score a 5th place finish once in his career.

3. Pierluigi Martini

Pierluigi Martini is an Italian motorsports racing driver who made his F1 debut in the year 1984 driving for the Toleman team in the absence of Ayrton Senna. Martini during his F1 career, participated in a total of 124 Grand Prix events but was never able to land his car in the top three places. The best he managed during his career was a fourth-place finish. Moreover, in the process of making it into the points positions on a few occasions, he was able to amass a total of 18 F1 championship points in his career. He drove for a total of three teams in F1 namely Toleman, Minardi, and, Scuderia Italia.

2. Adrian Sutil

The second man on the list is the former German motorsports racing driver, Adrian Sutil. He drove in F1 from 2007 onwards and was able to prolongate his career until the end of the 2014 season of the sport. He drove with car number 99 for teams like Force India, Spyker, and Sauber. Moreover, during his time at the pinnacle of motor racing, he took part in a total of 128 races but was not able to land his car in the podium places. The best he managed was a fourth-place finish four times in his career. But despite the disappointment of never scoring a podium, he did manage a total of 124 points in his career.

1. Nico Hulkenberg

The man who comes in at the top position on the list is none other than Nico Hulkenberg. The German made his F1 debut in 2010 and is one of the unluckiest drivers in the history of the pinnacle of motor racing. He has come extremely close to scoring a podium place on multiple passions in the sport, but because of one or the other reasons, things just haven’t panned out in his career. So far in his F1 career, he has had a total of 184 starts but just hasn’t been able to score an F1 podium which has eluded him since his debut.

However, unlike the rest of the drivers on the list, Hulkenberg is still going strong in F1 and can set the record straight by scoring a podium finish in the time he has got left in the sport. He still has the hunger and desire to do well in the sport, and who knows, with a bit of luck he might be able to score a podium place before the sun sets for good on his F1 career. Considering the unfortunate incidents and the total number of events that he has taken part in F1, he very much deserves to stand on the F1 podium at least once in his career.

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