It’s easy to forget a race when the winner leads every lap from pole. But Formula 1’s real magic often comes from behind, where grid penalties, pit lane starts, and wet-weather chaos turn ordinary Sundays into legend. Just ask Nico Hülkenberg.
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Hülkenberg’s drive joins an elite club of comeback performances. Here are ten other times when the back of the grid was just the start of something spectacular.
John Watson | 1983 United States Grand Prix (Long Beach)
There are recovery drives, and then there’s John Watson in Long Beach. Starting 22nd, with teammate Niki Lauda beside him in 23rd, Watson tore through the Californian street circuit to take an emphatic win. Tire issues in qualifying made the McLaren look second-rate on Saturday. On Sunday, it was untouchable. No one’s started that far back and won since.
Jenson Button | 2011 Canadian Grand Prix
A four-hour race, six pit stops, a penalty, a puncture, and a last-lap overtake for the win. Button’s Montreal miracle is the sort of performance you might think was scripted, until you watch the replays. Everything went wrong, right up until the moment he forced Vettel into an error on the final lap. A race that had no business being won was suddenly his.
Carlos Sainz | 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix
There was no fanfare when Sainz rolled out of the pits to start 20th at Interlagos. His McLaren had stalled in qualifying, and expectations were modest. But a smart one-stop strategy and clean overtakes moved him up to fourth at the flag, which became third when Lewis Hamilton was penalized. A quiet comeback that said a lot about the driver he was becoming.
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Sebastian Vettel | 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Disqualified from qualifying. Started from the pit lane. Damaged his front wing early. And yet, by the final laps in Abu Dhabi, Sebastian Vettel was trading blows with Jenson Button for the final podium spot, and winning that battle, too. A third-place finish under those conditions kept his title bid alive, and said more about Vettel than any pole-to-flag victory could.
Ayrton Senna | 1984 Monaco Grand Prix
Fifth Grand Prix. Thirteenth on the grid. Torrential rain in Monaco. And suddenly, a rookie in a Toleman was reeling in Alain Prost. Senna passed him moments before the race was controversially red-flagged. Though he was demoted back to second, the impression was lasting: the paddock no longer saw a rookie. They saw a future champion.
Jim Clark | 1967 Italian Grand Prix
Clark was leading comfortably at Monza when a puncture dropped him a full lap down. Many would have packed it in. Clark responded by un-lapping himself and charging through the field back into the lead. A fuel issue on the final lap let the win slip away, but third place after such a blow remains one of the great what-ifs of F1.
Rubens Barrichello | 2000 German Grand Prix
Technical gremlins put Barrichello 18th on the grid at Hockenheim. What followed was a rain-drenched, safety-car-scattered charge that ended with him in tears on the top step. It was his first win, and one of Ferrari’s most emotional. Barrichello drove with the weight of years on his shoulders. That Sunday, it lifted.
Max Verstappen | 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
The rain hit hard. Qualifying was delayed, and a power unit penalty sent Verstappen to 17th. What followed was a display of dominance. While others scrambled for grip, Verstappen found lines no one else could hold. He took the lead before the halfway mark, and never gave it back.
Lewis Hamilton | 2016 Belgian Grand Prix
Spa’s long straights and unpredictable nature make it a prime hunting ground for recovery drives. Hamilton made the most of it in 2016, starting 21st thanks to grid penalties. He stayed out of trouble early, tiptoed through crashes and red flags, and took third, preserving his championship lead in a title fight where every point mattered.
