Monday, September 08, 2008

Heidfeld: Best Driver Never to Win

That 25 second penalty imposed against Hamilton for yesterday's exciting conclusion at Spa was a miscarriage of justice. Truly unbelievable. But, the silver (no pun intended) lining was that Heidfeld got bumped from 3rd to 2nd place.

As Heidfeld reached the podium yesterday, Speed's very own David Hobbs noted that Heidfeld has reached the podium 11 times without winning. That is one shy of the record held by Swede Stefan Johansson, who placed 2nd and 3rd 12 times.


This leads to the question: Is Heidfeld the best Formula One driver to never win a race? Here are some stats for you to chew on, courtesy of the good people at F1 Rejects:
  • Most points without a win: Martin Brundle 98, Heidfeld 189
  • Most fastest laps without a win: Jean-Pierre Jarier/Chris Amon 3, Heidfeld 2
  • Most poles without a win: Chris Amon 5, Heidfeld 1
  • Most entries without a win: Andrea de Cesaris 214, Heidfeld 147
Obviously, Heidfeld still has another 3 to 5 seasons left in his F1 career. If he stays with BMW next year and there is parity with Ferrari and McLaren, he should be able to get that monkey off his back and win at least one race. If he does not but continues to finish well, then he will cement his place as the best F1 driver to never win a race. It's a distinction I'm sure Quick Nick would not be proud of.



The best Heidfeld overtaking compilation video online

CKY

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