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Formula One drivers from Spain

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Formula One drivers from Spain
Drivers15
Grands Prix584
Entries916
Starts876
Best season finish1st (2005, 2006)
Wins36
Podiums135
Pole positions28
Fastest laps31
Points3691.5
First entry1951 Spanish Grand Prix
First win2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
Latest win2022 British Grand Prix
Latest entry2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso in a Ferrari at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

There have been fifteen Formula One drivers from Spain, the most successful of them being Fernando Alonso who won the World Drivers' Championship twice. Alonso is the only Spanish champion and one of only two Spanish drivers to win a Grand Prix, the other being Carlos Sainz with his victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix.[1][2] Two other Spanish drivers have achieved a podium with Pedro de la Rosa and Alfonso de Portago having taken one a piece.[3]

Current drivers

Fernando Alonso debuted in Formula One with Minardi, but the team struggled to produce a competitive car. He moved to Renault to take up a test role and was then given a racing seat with the team in 2003. He won the drivers' championship in 2005 and retained the title the following year. At the time he was the youngest race winner and youngest champion,[4] though the records have since been surpassed by Sebastian Vettel.[5] He moved to McLaren for the 2007 season but had a tense relationship with the team, returning to Renault for the next two years. In 2010 he became the lead driver for Ferrari, winning five races on the way to second in the championship.[4][6] Alonso again finished 2nd in the championship in both 2012 and 2013. An Autosport survey taken by 217 Formula One drivers saw Alonso voted as the 9th greatest F1 driver of all time,[7] and he has been labelled as "the greatest all-round driver in the sport".[6] He left Formula One at the end of 2018, but returned for 2021, driving for Alpine.[8] He achieved a podium in Qatar,[9] and finished tenth in the championship.[9] As of 2022, he races for Alpine.[10]

Carlos Sainz Jr. began his Formula One career in 2015, driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso. He switched to Renault towards the end of 2017 and drove for them in 2018, and then moved to McLaren to replace countryman Alonso, where he drove in 2019 and 2020.[11] There, he achieved two podiums, and he finished sixth in the championship in both years.[9] Sainz then moved to Ferrari for 2021, where he achieved four podiums to finish fifth in the championship.[9] At the 2022 British Grand Prix, Sainz took his first pole position and his first GP victory, becoming the second Spanish driver to do either. As of 2022, he races for Ferrari.[12]

Former drivers

Pedro de la Rosa has had a lengthy career in Formula One having debuted in 1999. He spent two years with Arrows before taking up a testing role at Jaguar. He was given the race seat as a replacement for Luciano Burti after four Grands Prix and remained with the team for the following year. He moved to McLaren as a test driver, only properly returning to racing when Juan Pablo Montoya left the team in 2006. During the remaining eight races he scored 19 points including a second-place finish. He lost his race seat to Lewis Hamilton but stayed as a test driver until 2010 when he signed with BMW Sauber. He was dropped after 14 races and went back to his testing role with McLaren. He once again secured a race seat, driving for HRT in 2012.[13]

Jaime Alguersuari debuted at the age of 19 years and 125 days.

Jaime Alguersuari made his debut midway through the 2009 season. He became the youngest driver to compete in Formula One, racing at the age of 19 years and 125 days.[5] Toro Rosso released Sébastien Bourdais from his contract and signed Alguersuari who would also drive for the team in 2010 and 2011. He was dropped at the end of the year and did not pick up a racing seat for the 2012 season.[14]

Marc Gené started in Formula One in 1999 and drove for two seasons with Minardi. He signed as the test driver for Williams in 2001 and stood in for Ralf Schumacher once in 2003 and twice in 2004.[15]

Luis Pérez-Sala was the team principal for Spanish team HRT, taking on the role in December 2011. As a driver Pérez-Sala raced with Minardi for the 1988 and 1989 seasons, finishing fewer than half the races and scoring one point for a sixth-place finish at the 1989 British Grand Prix.[3][16]

Adrián Campos drove for Minardi in 1987 but had a very poor season, mainly due to mechanical unreliability.[3] He finished just one race, his home Grand Prix, and was dropped in 1988 after failing to qualify for three consecutive races.[17] In 1998 he started Campos Racing which competed in a variety of racing disciplines and achieved success with Marc Gené and Fernando Alonso. He successfully gained a place for the team on the 2010 F1 grid and it evolved, through a takeover led by Jose Ramon Carabante, into HRT.[18]

Roberto Merhi raced for Manor Marussia in 2015.

Alfonso de Portago competed at six race weekends across 1956 and 1957 with Ferrari.[3] He was classified as finishing second in the 1956 British Grand Prix, though he had given up his car to Peter Collins whose own Ferrari suffered a mechanical failure.[19]

Emilio de Villota was entered for 14 races over four seasons but only qualified for two of them.[3] Both races were with McLaren in 1977 and de Villota was unable to finish higher than 13th place.[20] His daughter, María de Villota, was a Formula One test driver but did not compete at a race weekend. In July 2012 she was testing a Marussia when she crashed into a support truck, suffering head injuries that ended her racing career and would contribute to her death in 2013.[21][22]

Paco Godia entered 14 races with Maserati over a career that spanned from 1951 to 1958.[23] His best result came in 1956 when he finished in 4th place at the Italian and German Grands Prix.[3]

Alex Soler-Roig made his debut in 1970 with Lotus but did not start any of the three races he was entered for. He switched to March for the following year and though he started four Grands Prix he was unable to finish any of them, nor did he complete the two races he began for BRM the following year.[24]

Juan Jover (1951), Antonio Creus (1960), and Emilio Zapico (1976) all entered for just one Grand Prix each but did not complete their race.[3]

Timeline

Current drivers
Carlos Sainz Jr. 2015–2022
Fernando Alonso 2001–2018, 2021–2022
Former drivers
Juan Jover 1951
Paco Godia 1951, 1954, 1956–1958
Alfonso de Portago 1956–1957
Antonio Creus 1960
Alex Soler-Roig 1970–1972
Emilio Zapico 1976
Emilio de Villota 1976–1978, 1981–1982
Adrian Campos 1987–1988
Luis Pérez-Sala 1988–1989
Pedro de la Rosa 1999–2002, 2005–2006, 2010–2012
Marc Gené 1999–2000, 2003–2004
Jaime Alguersuari 2009–2011
Roberto Merhi 2015

See also

References

  1. ^ "Drivers". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Barcelona Practice 3: Vettel peaking at the right time". YallaF1.com. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Take 12 Spaniards – a nation's racing history". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Fernando Alonso (biography)". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  5. ^ a b Manishin, Glenn. "All-Time F1 Records". Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Fernando Alonso". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Fernando Alonso". Autosport. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  8. ^ "Fernando Alonso to make sensational return to F1 with Renault in 2021". formula1.com. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d "Standings". Formula 1. Retrieved 9 April 2022.[failed verification]
  10. ^ "Fernando Alonso - F1 Driver for Alpine". Formula 1. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  11. ^ "Sainz, Norris to stay at McLaren in 2020". ESPN.com. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Carlos Sainz - F1 Driver for Ferrari". Formula 1. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Pedro de la Rosa". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  14. ^ "Jaime Alguersuari". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Marc Gené". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Luis Perez-Sala". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  17. ^ "Adrián Campos". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  18. ^ "HRT (team profile)". Formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  19. ^ "Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1956". GrandPrix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Emilio de Villota". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  21. ^ "Maria de Villota: Driver loses right eye after crash". BBC News. 4 July 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  22. ^ "Paco Godia". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  23. ^ "Alex Soler-Roig". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
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