The Furthest Back F1 Wins

Which are the furthest back grid positions to have taken victory in Formula 1? We take a look at the furthest back F1 wins in the sport’s history!

22^nd – John Watson, 1983 United States Grand Prix West

John Watson holds the record for the furthest back F1 win in history, having won the 1983 United States Grand Prix West from 22^nd on the grid.

Watson and his McLaren team-mate Niki Lauda endured a difficult qualifying session for the Long Beach race, with poor qualifying tyres leaving them four seconds off the pace. Watson qualified 22^nd, with Lauda 23^rd.

Incredibly, the duo would secure a 1-2 finish on F1’s last visit to the Californian track. Lauda overtook Watson in the closing stages and the pair made progress together, finding themselves running in the top five by Lap 27. Watson overtook Lauda on Lap 32 and the McLarens continued to move forward. They assumed first and second places on Lap 45 and stayed there for the remaining 30 laps.

19^th – Bill Vukovich, 1954 Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 was not run to Formula 1 regulations but it was a round of the World Championship from 1950 to 1960.

In 1954, Bill Vukovich secured his second consecutive Indianapolis 500 win, taking victory having started 19^th in the order. He did not assume the lead of the race until Lap 61 – and even then he only led one lap before making a pit stop. He led for a second stint as the 500-mile race reached its half way point and then led all of the last 50 laps to secure his place in the Indianapolis 500 record books.

18^th – Rubens Barrichello, 2000 German Grand Prix

Rubens Barrichello secured his maiden Formula 1 win having started a lowly 18^th on the grid at the 2000 German Grand Prix.

In his first year with Ferrari, Barrichello was forced to use the spare car for qualifying, with Michael Schumacher already occupying the T-car following a crash in practice. With rain falling, a delay in the pits meant that the track was already wet by the time Barrichello could set a lap, leading to him qualifying only 18^th.

On Lap 25 of the 2000 German Grand Prix, there was a track invasion by a protester, which led to the Safety Car being deployed. Up to this point, Barrichello had gained 13 places and ran fifth. Unlike most other drivers, Barrichello did not make any pit stops for wet tyres – despite worsening conditions in the closing stages. He won the 45-lap race by seven seconds, taking the first win for a Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna in 1993.

17^th – John Watson, 1982 Detroit Grand Prix

John Watson makes two appearances on the list of furthest back F1 wins. A year prior to his victory from 22^nd on the grid at the 1983 United States Grand Prix West, Watson won from 17^th on the grid at the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix.

F1’s first race in Detroit was red-flagged on Lap 7, when a fire started on the crashed car of Riccardo Patrese. An hour later, the race restarted. Watson had gained one place from his starting position in the opening stint and after maintaining positions until Lap 16, Watson’s race began to come alive.

Over the next 16 laps, he made his way up to second, with only Keke Rosberg ahead of him. An out of action third gear meant that Rosberg’s Williams was easy prey for Watson’s McLaren and he passed him on Lap 36. Scheduled for 76 laps, the race lasted only 62 thanks to the lengthy earlier delay. From taking the lead through to the chequered flag, Watson led throughout and set what was then a new record for the furthest back Grand Prix win.

17^th – Kimi Raikkonen, 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

A last lap pass at Suzuka saw Kimi Raikkonen take victory in the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, despite starting only 17^th on the grid.

There was a mixed up grid for the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix, thanks to wet weather in qualifying. The single-lap qualifying format saw drivers take to the track in reverse championship order and with weather deteriorating as the hour went on, some of the usual frontrunners – like Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya – found themselves towards the back of the grid.

Raikkonen was also victim to the weather and could qualify no higher than 17^th, setting a lap time of over two minutes. The Finn made immediate progress in the race and ran 12^th by the end of the first lap. From there, he continued his steady progress through the field and led ahead of his last pit stop on Lap 45.

The McLaren driver’s pit stop put Giancarlo Fisichella back into the lead, where he had been for much of the mid-part of the Grand Prix. But Raikkonen behind was lapping much faster than the Renault driver. On the last lap of the race, into Turn 1, Raikkonen got the job done and secured an unlikely victory – his seventh of the 2005 season.

17^th – Max Verstappen, 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

In 2024, Max Verstappen recorded the furthest back F1 win in 19 years by winning the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 17^th on the grid.

Such was the weather over the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, qualifying was postponed until Sunday morning. The weather conditions were not much improved when qualifying actually took place and there were plenty of on-track incidents. The timing of a red flag in Q2 left Verstappen unable to set a faster lap time and he exited having set the 12^th fastest time in the session. A five place grid penalty for changing an engine unit component dropped him to 17^th on the final grid.

As expected, Verstappen did not take long to make progress. By Lap 12, he ran sixth. The Dutchman was given a helping hand by a red flag period, which allowed him a free pit stop for wet tyres. Esteban Ocon led the race with Verstappen behind him – but that didn’t last long. Verstappen made his way by and went on to set the fastest lap of the race on 17 tours of the track. Having taken the lead of Lap 43 of 69, he won the race by almost 20 seconds.

Verstappen’s win from 17^th on the grid at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix made him the first driver in Formula 1 history to have won from as many as ten different grid positions.

Every Formula 1 Win From 10th or Further Back on the Grid

The table below shows every time that a round of the World Championship has been won by a driver who started 10th or further back on the grid.