Ocon is Formula 1’s third new winner in less than a year

2021 Hungarian Grand Prix stats and facts

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Esteban Ocon became Formula 1’s latest new winner in yesterday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

By the standards of recent seasons, Formula 1 has seen a rush of new winners over the last 12 months. Ocon follows Sergio Perez and Pierre Gasly in taking his maiden victory during that time.

That’s three new winners in the space of 21 races. To put that change into perspective, the previous three new winners emerged over the 85 races prior to that.

Ocon is the 111th driver to win a race counting towards the world championship. He’s also the 14th French driver to win a race, of which five others are one-time winners: Gasly, Jean Alesi, Olivier Panis, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Francois Cevert.

Alpine is the 37th different constructor to win a race, though these statistics are complicated somewhat by changing team identities. Alpine is the successor identity to previous race winners Renault (thought not the original Renault), Lotus (though not the original Lotus) and Benetton.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, Monza, 2020
Two of F1’s recent new winners are from France
By the same token, Alpine is the third different constructor to claim its first win in 21 races. But it, like the other two, previously won races under different identities: Racing Point was Jordan and AlphaTauri was Toro Rosso.

This was the first time Ocon had led a grand prix and his first victory since the opening race of the 2015 GP3 championship at the Circuit de Catalunya. He won that title after a highly unusual run of nine consecutive second places.

When Ocon pitted from the lead yesterday, team mate Fernando Alonso headed the field for two laps, the first time he has done so since the same race seven years earlier.

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Williams’ long wait for a point is over
Unusually, the FIA originally listed Sebastian Vettel in second place in its final classification yesterday, despite his disqualification. This departure from past practice was altered when it issued a “corrected” classification today, with Lewis Hamilton second and those behind him all moved up one place as well. Assuming it stands – Aston Martin have served notice of their intention to appeal – it will be Vettel’s first disqualification of his 268-race career.

Carlos Sainz Jnr therefore took the fourth top-three-finish of his career. As with his first, he didn’t appear in the official podium ceremony, and so far has only stood on the rostrum twice (if we ignore his unofficial celebration at the end of the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix).

The Williams drivers also moved up, to seventh and eighth. The team’s cup was already overflowing, having ended their longest-ever pointless streak, more than two years since their last top 10 finish. Their promotion means that in one race they scored more points than in the last three seasons combined.

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Start crash, Hungaroring, 2021
Norris’ points run was ended by Valtteri Bottas
If George Russell was vexed at being out-scored by the team mate he has never failed to out-qualify, he didn’t show it. Nicholas Latifi took his first points with seventh and Russell his best finish to date with eighth, one place higher than he managed in his one-off drive for Mercedes last year.

Yuki Tsunoda also claimed the best finish of his career in sixth. Team mate Gasly bagged the fastest lap for the third time, and now has as many as champions Keke Rosberg and Jochen Rindt, plus Bill Vukovich, Tony Brooks, Bruce McLaren, Richie Ginther, Chris Amon and Jean-Pierre Jarier.

The first-lap crash rained bad luck down on several drivers, notably Lando Norris, whose 15-race streak of consecutive points finishes came to an end. It also triggered yet another disruption to a race – this was the fourth to be red-flagged this year, already one more than last season, with more than half of it left to run.

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Have you spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the Hungarian Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.

2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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79 comments on “Ocon is Formula 1’s third new winner in less than a year”

  1. Alex Albon is going to be busy trying to recreate the first corner crash

    1. They’ll have to bring back The Torpedo for this one

      1. Ahah, true!

  2. The sad part for F1 is that it takes a first corner incident involving 8 cars and a strategy fumble from the race leader so there can be a new race winner.
    If 2022 regulations change that I wont care how the car look or how “less pinnacle-y of motor sport” it is.

    1. Exactly. How to interpret the headline? I think it shows how bad the show has become that its only the third. Freak incidents are needed, otherwise the outcome is certain: Hamilton wins.

  3. Team Enstone’s 1st win since 2013 Australian GP – Additionally, 1st for a Renault-powered car since the 2018 Mexican GP. 1st Enstone-outfit podium finish since 2015 Belgian GP.

    Also, 1st French driver/constructor win since Prost in the 1980s.

    The 2nd time in two seasons, La Marseille got played on a podium (the previous occasion until Gasly’s Monza win was Alonso’s victory for Renault in the 2008 Japanese GP at Fuji Speedway.)

    Gasly’s 3rd FLAP (his previous two came in 2019 Chinese and Monaco GPs for RBR) is RB B-team’s 2nd FLAP over both identities (after Kvyat’s 2016 Spanish GP FLAP).

    Coincidently, the 2nd consecutive race in which Hamilton loses bonus point towards the end to an RB-owned team driver.

    Following Norris’ and Perez’s first 2021 DNFs, HAM, SAI, RIC, GIO, and SCH still have a chance of reaching chequer in every race this season.

    1. Another just in case:
      Team Enstone’s 1st win since 2013 Australian GP – Additionally, 1st for a Renault-powered car since the 2018 Mexican GP. 1st Enstone-outfit podium finish since 2015 Belgian GP.

      Also, 1st French driver/constructor win since Prost in the 1980s.

      The 2nd time in two seasons, the French national anthem got played on a podium (the previous occasion until Gasly’s Monza win was Alonso’s victory for Renault in the 2008 Japanese GP at Fuji Speedway.)

      Gasly’s 3rd FLAP (his previous two came in 2019 Chinese and Monaco GPs for RBR) is RB B-team’s 2nd FLAP over both identities (after Kvyat’s 2016 Spanish GP FLAP).

      Coincidently, the 2nd consecutive race in which Hamilton loses bonus point towards the end to an RB-owned team driver.

      Following Norris’ and Perez’s first 2021 DNFs, HAM, SAI, RIC, GIO, and SCH still have a chance of reaching chequer in every race this season.

      1. 1st podium since Ricciardo’s P3 in 2020 Emilia-Romagna GP.
        My bad, as I wasn’t attentive enough when considering previous podiums.

        1. Another error, Ocon’s Sakhir GP P2.

    2. Also, 1st French driver/constructor win since Prost in the 1980s.

      Panis won with Ligier in Monaco 1996. Ligier had a Japanese engine back then though, so this win & Prost in the 80s are a bit more French :)

      1. Yeah, wondered about that one too @pluisje

  4. Assuming Alonso inherits fourth it will be his highest finish in a grand prix since the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix. Sunday was also the first time since the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix that a team mate of Alonso won a grand prix. And unless we see a second Alpine miracle this season it will be the first time since 2004 that a team mate of Alonso won a race in a year that Alonso didn’t also win. Of course Alonso followed the 2004 season up by winning the title in 2005 so maybe that is a good omen for next year’s rule changes!

    1. Sunday was also the first time since the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix that a team mate of Alonso won a grand prix.

      That is a brilliant stat! Ocon has succeeded where the likes of Massa, Raikkonen and Button failed. It means teammates of Alonso have now won eight races (Trulli 1, Fisichella 2, Hamilton 4, Ocon 1), while Alonso has 32. Not a bad record.

      1. @f1frog – Now let’s hold the horses for a second. The only one who failed was Massa, and only because of “Fernando is faster than you” move. Raikkonen and Button failed as much as Fernando himself, since none of them had a winning car whilst team mates.

        1. Fair enough. I shouldn’t have used the word ‘failed’ as it implies it was their fault.

    2. Sunday was also the first time since the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix that a team mate of Alonso won a grand prix

      @ads21 That is indeed a great stat. It prompted me to look up how many wins Alonso has in that time period, which is 13. 2 in 2008, 5 in 2010, 1 in 2011, 3 in 2012, 2 in 2013.

    3. This is a shame, cause it was a great race for alonso and he could’ve maybe got on the podium too, was very close to sainz, if the vettel decision stands. He had another podium chance in singapore 2017 but got hit and car got damaged, before that need to go back to the last ferrari year to find a podium.

  5. In Indycar it is usually 3rd in three weeks

  6. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    2nd August 2021, 19:39

    I think Sainz and Norris and the next most likely drivers to win their first race.

    1. Ocon, Gasly and Perez (in Bahrain 2) have all been freak results. Sainz and Norris are top 6 contenders in a normal race, they aren’t the kind of people that profit from freak results.

      Formula 1 has had one dominant team for 8 seasons now (Mercedes), with occasional challenges from Red Bull or Ferrari. Unless you are sitting in a Red Bull or Mercedes in 2021, you are not going to get a win in any normal race. 2022 might be different, but could just as easily throw McLaren and Ferrari to the back of the grid as to the front.

    2. @freelittlebirds They had a higher chance than Ocon, yet Ocon became a winner, while they still haven’t.
      Last season, they also had a higher probability than Gasly, Perez about the same.
      Anyway, now that Ocon is the most recent new race winner, Norris and Sainz machinery-wise are the most likely candidates in succeeding him as the next one in this order, followed by Stroll.

  7. Vettel’s 1st ever disqualification from a race in his F1 career. This is his only 2nd disqualification in his overall racing career after 2005 Spa Formula 3 Euro series Race 1. Curiously, that disqualification also coincided with a first-time race winner. It was Adrian Sutil then, Esteban Ocon now.

    Esteban Ocon, like his team-mate, has taken his maiden win at Budapest, and also for the Enstone based team. Also, when Alonso won his 1st race in 2003, it was during his 2nd F1 career after having been reserve driver for 2002. Similarly, Ocon is also on his 2nd F1 career when he won the race.

    Lewis and Fernando fighting on track is a rare sight these days. But Hungaroring surely has to hold a special place in that saga whenever it is written. It was here in 2007 where Fernando stopped Lewis from setting a qualifying lap. It was 2014 in the wet when Fernando kept a fast Hamilton behind to win his (so far) last podium. And again in 2021, it was Lewis vs Fernando for 10 laps which allowed Ocon to win his 1st race.

    1. Alonso won his 1st race in 2003, it was during his 2nd F1 career after having been reserve driver for 2002. Similarly, Ocon is also on his 2nd F1 career when he won the race.

      And both of their first wins were at the Hungaroring too.

      1. @keithedin He noted that.

  8. Fernando’s laps in the lead after 7 years is actually the longest gap in F1 history, beating Checo’s record set between Austria 2014 a Turkey 2020.
    This also puts Fernando ahead of Kimi in terms of longest interval between first and last lead, but still one year short of Schumi. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this record fall next year. But Kimi might snatch it himself this year if Alfa can conjure a strategy for him to take lead for a lap.
    AlphaTauri and Alpine have both won races in their first season. This is not as unusual as I thought. 10 teams have managed that so far (not even counting the Indy 500 entries). Team have now achieved this as Benetton and Alpine. They also won during their first year as Lotus.

  9. The last 5 French F1 wins were by 5 different drivers:
    1993 Germany – Prost
    1995 Canada – Alesi
    1996 Monaco – Panis
    2020 Italy – Gasly
    2021 Hungary – Ocon

    This is the third time that France has had 5 consecutive wins by 5 different drivers. The two previous occurrences were:
    – Trintignant, Cevert, Beltoise, Laffite, Depailler from Monaco 1958 to Monaco 1978.
    – Arnoux, Pironi, Laffite, Jabouille, Prost from South Africa 1980 to France 1981.

    If we include the rounds of the Indianapolis 500 when they were part of the F1 World Championship, the United States have done better than that (8). The last 7 runnings (1954 to 1960) were won by 7 different drivers, and add to that Phil Hill’s maiden win at Monza 1960.

    But the record belongs to Italy, with 10 different consecutive winners:
    1953 Germany – Farina
    1953 Switzerland – Ascari
    1956 Argentina – Musso
    1961 France – Baghetti
    1964 Austria – Bandini
    1966 Italy – Scarfiotti
    1975 Austria – Brambilla
    1982 Monaco – Patrese
    1982 Austria – De Angelis
    1982 Las Vegas – Alboreto

    1. with these rare stats
      you earn my congrats

    2. I also very much enjoyed these stats. Thank you.

    3. You have looked up all those stats for no reason whatsoever and they are essentially pointless.

      But I’m a stats guy, so I love stuff like that

    4. What about Brazil ‘03 with Fisichella?

    5. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd August 2021, 15:36

      @maimai really great stats – amazing just to see the names of all those drivers

  10. When was the last time a single national anthem was played? Would it have been Japan 2016 when Rosberg won for Mercedes?

    1. Yes it was.

      Also worth noting we got a French driver winning in a French car with a French engine.
      The last time it happened was Alain Prost in Austria 1983 for Renault (and Renault engine of course).

      The last win of a French driver in a French car was Olivier Panis in Monaco 1996 for Ligier (with Mugen-Honda engine).

      1. Still doesn’t quite beat Jean-Pierre Jabouille’s win for Renault in 1979: French driver, car, engine, tyres, fuel and in the French Grand Prix.
        ‘Formula 1: all the races’ gets the credit for this one.

  11. Frenchman Ocon won the race because Lewis Hamilton didn’t pit when he should have. The last Frenchman to win a Grand Prix, Pierre Gasly, won because Hamilton pitted when he shouldn’t have.

    1. Wow, true, that’s a great one, monza 2020.

    2. Another brilliant stat! Racefans readers are absolutely on fire in this article.

    3. The lesson – Only pit when you’re supposed to

      Cool stat though

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        3rd August 2021, 15:37

        The lesson – Only pit when you’re supposed to

        indeed :-)

  12. Alonso is the first F1 driver to lead an F1 race after leading the Indy 500 since..?

    1. If I’m not totally wrong since JB Montoya in 2000/01. He won the 500 in 2000 and in 2001 he was leading a race (Monza) highly likely it was even earlier that season.

      1. Earlier indeed, it was in JPM’s third race in Brazil 2001 where he took the lead of an F1 race for the first time.

    2. @qeki Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jacques Villeneuve also leap to mind. I’m sure there are more.

      1. Mansell maybe?

  13. Esteban Ocon is the first race winner since Eddie Irvine to have both initials consist of vowels. A surprisingly select group kicked off by Alberto Ascari.

    1. a stat living up to your name, Sir

    2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd August 2021, 15:38

      @mrfabulous if they ever have a special F1 Jeopardy, run and claim your win!

      1. The full list of members of that surprisingly select group is:

        Alberto Ascari
        Eddie Irvine
        Innes Ireland
        Esteban Ocon

        Opinion is still divided about whether Elio de Angelis (RIP) should feature on the list.

        Whilst on the topic, special mention should go to Juan Manuel Fangio for not only being a five times World Champion and all-round driving god, but for also managing to shoe-horn all five vowels into his name – a feat few other drivers have managed…..

        :)

  14. Mercedes’ 213th pole as an engine supplier – equals Renault, only trails Ferrari (231).

    Hamilton’s 8th Hungaroring pole – equals Senna at Imola, Schumacher at Suzuka, and Hamilton himself at Melbourne.

    4th consecutive year in which Bottas has started 2nd in Hungary – he has never started on pole there.

    First time since 2009 that neither Ferrari has qualified in the top 6 in Hungary. On both occasions, one of the Ferraris reached a qualifying session that they were unable to set a time in (Massa in Q3, Sainz in Q2).

    Both of Ocon’s podiums have come in the only 2 races to date where Russell has scored points. On both occasions Leclerc, Perez and Verstappen were all involved in first-lap incidents.

    First time since 2008 (Kubica, Kovalainen, Vettel) that we have had 3 first-time winners in the space of 12 months.

    Only the second Hungarian GP in which Hamilton has finished on the podium but not won – the other being 2014 (where he was also running last in the early stages).

    13 classified finishers is the fewest since Mugello last year (12).

    Giovinazzi is the only driver to have finished 10th exactly once this year (Raikkonen, Gasly, Alonso, Stroll and Tsunoda have all done so twice).

    All teams have now had at least 1 non-mechanical DNF this season.

    Norris’ first no-score since Portugal 2020. Alonso now has the longest unbroken streak (6 – last no-score was Monaco).

    McLaren’s first no-score since Russia 2020. Red Bull now have the longest unbroken streak (15 – last no-score was Imola 2020).

    First time Bottas has retired on Lap 1.

    The last 4 times that Sainz has started 15th or lower have seen him finish inside the top 5.

    Thanks to statsf1 and the official F1 site for some of these.

    1. @paulgilb 14 finishers actually, but yes, the fewest since Tuscan GP.

      1. 13 with Vettel’s DQ.

  15. Could Lewis be the first driver to come into for a pitstop in the lead, have a normal stop with no problems/delays and come out in last?

  16. The first victory for Ocon and Alpine was also the first Grand Prix win for the Enstone-based team since the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, when they were known as Lotus F1; the first Grand Prix win for any of Renault’s owned or co-owned Formula 1 teams since the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix in the hands of Fernando Alonso and the first Grand Prix win for Renault as a full-works engine manufacturer since the 2014 Belgian Grand Prix with Daniel Ricciardo, when Renault was Red Bull Racing’s engine partner.

    As for Estaban Ocon he is the first driver to win a Grand Prix after taking at least one sabbatical year from Formula 1 (technically one year and a half because the covid-related delay of 2020 season) since Kimi Räikkönen won the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    And for Fernando Alonso his fourth place (after finishing fifth on track but being promoted one place higher because of Vettel’s disqualification) represents his best Formula 1 result since the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix, when he was still driving for Ferrari. As such, it’s not only the highest race finish of his comeback for 2021 season, but also constitutes a better finishing position than all of his GP results achieved during his second stint at McLaren (when he never finished higher than fifth).

    1. *a better race result than all of his GP final positions achieved during his second stint at McLaren (when he never had been classified higher than fifth).

      As it was stated, technically he didn’t finish fourth but inherited that place so, he finished fifth but was classified fourth, which was his final race result.

    2. @rodewulf Max’s 2018 Mexican GP victory was the most recent Renault-powered one. Renault’s last season as Red Bull’s supplier, even if under Tag Heuer logo was on the PU cover.

      1. @jerejj Yes, that’s correct. This is one of those things that the official records differ from the practical ones. Tag Heuer was merely a rebadging of a Renault engine. As I thought it had appeared in most stats for simplicity (reasonably considering the engine as still the same power unit despite the brand change), if you look after Renault as officially full-works engine manufacturer then you have to go back a few years before that.

  17. Ocon is the First driver in the history won after starting in the pit lane.

    1. @Erivaldo Doesn’t count as the actual race start itself took place on the grid.

  18. Ronan (@clontarfbohs)
    3rd August 2021, 5:10

    Ocon was the fifth driver to take his maiden win at the Hungaroring:
    1993 – Damon Hill
    2003 – Fernando Alonso
    2006 – Jenson Button
    2008 – Heikki Kovalainen
    2021 – Esteban Ocon

    Boutsen (1990) and Ricciardo (2014) both scored their second career victories at the track having taken their maiden wins at the Canadian Grand Prix, albeit with Boutsen’s first win having come one season previous. Other milestones include Hamilton’s first win in a Mercedes (2013) and Mansell wrapping up his first and only World Championship (1992).

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      3rd August 2021, 15:31

      @clontarfbohs Great info! Thanks for sharing!

  19. As a result of Ocon’s win more than half (11 – Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo, Vettel, Leclerc, Ocon, Alonso, Gasly and Raikkonen) the current grid are now race winners.

    People throw jibes at a couple of drovers on the grid, but I don’t recall there ever being a stronger field in my 29 years of being an F1 fan.

    1. True, the field is really strong, think that russel could’ve been a race winner as well if not for super bad luck! Norris and sainz are also great contenders to win next, norris seems more talented.

    2. And Sainz, Norris and Russell are overdue their first wins already.

      It truly is a great field today.

  20. Winners from same country, born on same year.
    1906 Giuseppe Farina and Piero Taruffi (Italy)
    1918 Johnnie Parsons and Bill Vukovich (USA)
    1926 Jimmy Bryan, Pat Flaherty and Bob Sweikert (USA)
    1929 Mike Hawthorn, Graham Hill and Stirling Moss (UK)
    1930 Richie Ginther and Troy Ruttman (USA)
    1944 Francois Cevert and Patrick Depailler (France)
    1996 Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon (France)

    All three sets of US drivers are due to Indy 500 (Ginther isn’t 500 winner but Ruttman is)

  21. Ocon became the 5th driver who took his maiden win in Hungaroring after Hill 1993, Alonso 2003, Button 2006, Kovalainen 2008.

    This was Team Enstones first win in this track since 2003 and first podium since 2013 with Raikkonen 3rd.

    Team Enstone has now three wins in this track the first one came with Schumacher in 1994.

    Ocon became the 14th french driver to win a race. GB leads that table with 19 different winners. Usa and Italy are 2nd with 15 different winners.

    After Alain Prost’s last win in 1993 German GP a french driver has won 4 times and all of those have been different winners Alesi in Canada 1995, Panis in Monaco 1996, Gasly in Monza 2020 and Ocon in Hungary 2021.

    Gasly’s fastest lap was 92nd for France they are now only 1 behind Finland. They both are behind UK 248 and Germany 159.

    Alonso has now led 85 different GPs and is one GP behind Senna. Hamilton has 170, Schumacher 142 and Vettel 106.

    Alpine became the 6th constructor who has at least one win in both F1 and WRC. The other ones are Toyota, Renault, BMW, Porche and Mercedes Benz.

    1. But and Ricciardo’s two plus Ocon’s one podium in 2020 for Renault? Aren’t those Enstone-based team’s podiums as well?

      1. @rodewulf Yes they are but I was only counting Hungaroring results.

        1. @qeki Then you’re right. ;)

    2. Toyota didn’t win in F1!

      1. Why did I forgot that one. I was so sure they did but they didn’t..

      2. Toyota didn’t win in F1!

        Sad but true

  22. Are we up to nine drivers on the podium this year and we’re only halfway down? What’s the record?

    1. There were 18 in 1982. I don’t know whether this is the record or not.

  23. Season stat rather than race stat I happen to stumble upon.

    If you have been watching F1 for 30 years or less you have never known a season without a Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton win.

  24. #First time since 1996 Monaco a French Driver won in a French Car
    #First time since 2016 Japanese GP, we have had National Anthem played only once
    #Ocon joins the list of illustrious drivers like Alonso, Button and Kovalainen who notched up their first win at Hungary
    #First win for an engine carrying the Renault badge since 2014 Belgium.
    #First team since Brawn GP in 2009 to score a win in their debut season.
    #First points finish for Williams since 2019 Germany.
    #First double points for them since Italy
    #Best finish for Williams Azerbaijan 2018
    #Alonso recorded his best finish since 2018 Australia
    #Norris streak of 15 consecutive points ends
    #Alonso led a lap for the first time since ages
    #Haas move into P3 in the list of most starts without a podium. Minardi hold the record at 340.
    #first race since Hungary 2014 we have a Renault, Ferrari, Mercedes engines on the podium. Ricciardo won, Alonso P2 and Hamilton P3.
    #Haas record their best finish since Eifel GP 2020.

  25. I’m still trying to work out whether Nikita Mazepin is still in with a mathematical chance of winning this years World Drivers’ Championship.

    It’s complicated by having various rounds being under threat of not now going ahead, but the odds are beginning to look a bit bleak……. :(

  26. The TP who won the F1 race, won the MotoGP Championship for both rider and team last year.

  27. Was Verstappen’s stop on lap 40 the fastest pitstop this year?

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