To the dismay of many fans, ability isn’t always rewarded with accolades in motorsports. We asked our readers earlier this week who their favorite racing drivers are who have never won a championship. While motorsport has an expansive landscape with various summits that competitors attempt to conquer, most answers focused on the pinnacle: Formula 1. For those of you who weren’t around when the question was asked, I excluded the drivers that I mentioned: Stirling Moss, Daniel Ricciardo and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin. Without further ado, here are to best titleless drivers put forward:
Felipe Massa, the nearly world champion
Felipe Massa, suggested by user Haricot_Rouge, and Ferrari believed that he had secured the world championship in 2008 for less than a minute during the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix. Massa won the race, but Lewis Hamilton clinched his first title by one point with a last-lap pass around Timo Glock for fifth place. The Brazilian would never win another Formula 1 race. Massa was struck by a spring on the head in 2009 and was relegated to a second driver role behind Fernando Alonso when he recovered.
Rubens Barrichello, the Red Baron’s wingman
Rubens Barrichello, suggested by users Tripe46 and FragOut, spent the peak of his career as Michael Schumacher’s teammate. Like his compatriot Massa, he fell into a second driver role at Ferrari. Barrichello finished runner-up in the world championship in 2002 and 2004 during Schumacher’s reign of five straight titles. He would also play an important role as Jenson Button’s teammate during Brawn GP’s miraculous 2009 championship season.
Ronnie Peterson, the Swedish icon
Ronnie Peterson, suggested by user Benno Jones, also finished runner-up twice in the F1 World Drivers’ Championship in 1971 and 1978. However, the latter result would come posthumously. Peterson was killed during a race start crash at that season’s Italian Grand Prix. His teammate, Mario Andretti, would win the title after completing the final two rounds without scoring any points. The era’s lack of reliability effectively secured 1st and 2nd in the standings for the Lotus drivers.
Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari’s lost savant
Gilles Villeneuve, suggested by user Riley Escobar, had an unlikely meteoric rise to Formula 1 from Canada. The two-time champion in the junior Canadian Formula Atlantic category caught the eye of Formula 1 in 1976 after he beat several stars, including the eventual champion James Hunt, in a non-championship Atlantics race at Trois-Rivières. Villeneuve was an F1 championship runner-up at Ferrari by 1978, his sophomore season. In 1982, he died in a crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Gerhard Berger, F1’s resident prankster
Gerhard Berger, a talented and successful F1 driver with no championship wins, although my favorite thing about him are the pranks he was involved in with Senna.
Submitted by: towman
Robert Kubica, the missed champion of the 2010s
Robert Kubica – probably the greatest “what if?” in recent memory. If it wasn’t for that rally accident, he’d likely come close, if not won the championship. He won Le Mans and came back to F1 with essentially one hand. That’s insane and shows his skill and dedication.
Submitted by: Haricot_Rouge
Robert Kubica – Seeing him survive the ’08 Canadian GP wreck, a horrific rally accident and then make a triumphant return to racing to win at Le Mans and make a brief statement drive in an F1 car…*chef’s kiss*
Submitted by: FragOut
Ken Block, Gymkhana legend and rallying bridesmaid
Maybe one that not a lot of people think of, but most know of… Ken Block. Dude certainly won a few rallies and races, but never a championship. I thought he had won a Rally America season, but he always lost out to Pastrana or Higgins. Came close in RallyX a few times, but no overall titles. Had the pleasure of meeting him one time when I worked as a valet. Nicest guy you could’ve met. RIP the legend.
Submitted by: Cabooze66
