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Over 1,100 Formula 1 grand prix events have been held in the championship’s 74-year history – but some oddities have only occurred once. Here are 10 of them…
Over the course of its 74-year history, Formula 1 has hosted more than 1,100 grand prix events, witnessing some unique occurrences that only happened once. Among these rare instances is the 18-year-old Ollie Bearman racing a Ferrari, a standout anomaly in the sport’s storied past. Another remarkable one-off event was Max Verstappen’s 2015 F1 debut in Australia at just 17 years and 166 days old, setting the record as the youngest-ever driver to start a race. Verstappen’s meteoric rise continued when, two weeks later in Malaysia, he became the youngest race finisher and points scorer with a hard-fought seventh-place finish. These extraordinary feats are likely to remain untouched, as the FIA imposed a new minimum age requirement of 18 for a driver to hold an F1 superlicence in 2016. Despite this rule change, Verstappen’s exceptional rookie year set the stage for his record-breaking career, making it exceedingly challenging for other drivers to surpass his achievements. Luca Badoer, known for his brief but memorable stints in F1, notably holds the record for the longest gap between races, extending to 50 appearances due to a combination of missed opportunities and bad luck. The sport has seen various unusual events unfold, such as the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, where adverse weather conditions resulted in no racing laps being completed after several attempts to start the race were thwarted by continual delays and safety concerns.
