Drivers with the most F1 grand prix starts without a podium

Nico Hulkenberg shrugged off the unwanted record of having the most Formula 1 starts without a podium by taking third at the 2025 British Grand Prix.

The shock result came at the German’s 239th grand prix start, as the Sauber driver benefited from correctly timed pitstops while rivals faltered with strategy at a wet Silverstone.

It was a long time coming for Hulkenberg, who joined F1 with a lot of promise in 2010, having just claimed the GP2 title with Fred Vasseur’s ART Grand Prix team.

But his F1 career has not gone as hoped, with Hulkenberg spending the last 15 years fighting in the midfield while not even featuring full-time from 2020 to 2022.

Nevertheless, the podium was still a great achievement, so who now stands in the top five for having the most grand prix starts without a top-three finish?

Adrian Sutil – 128 grand prix starts

Years in F1: 2007-11; 2013-14
Teams: Spyker, Force India, Sauber
Grand prix starts: 128
Best result: 4th at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix

Adrian Sutil forged a very respectable F1 career for himself, contesting seven seasons of the championship between 2007 and 2014, beating team-mates like Paul di Resta and finishing as high as ninth in the 2011 standings.

But not once did Sutil claim a top-three finish across his 128 grands prix, meaning he now holds the record for the most F1 starts without a podium.

For most of his career, Sutil was never really in a position to fight for a podium, as the German was at the back in his first couple seasons before being firmly rooted to the midfield scrapping over the remaining point finishes in a race.

Yet in 2009, Sutil did come relatively close on a few occasions despite finishing 17th in that year’s championship.

The first chance came at the Nurburgring when Sutil, thanks to penalties and retirements ahead, climbed from seventh to second in the opening stint. But, a collision with Kimi Raikkonen at pit exit meant he had to stop again for a new front wing, costing the Force India driver any chance of a points finish, let alone a podium.

Just two months later at Monza, Sutil secured his best-ever qualifying result of second for the Italian Grand Prix, yet dropped to fourth in the race. The Force India driver did pressurise Raikkonen late on, but Ferrari’s man held on to third, with fourth still a solid result for Sutil, who also claimed the fastest lap that day.

Sutil’s third and final realistic shot of a podium that year came in Brazil, when he qualified third at Interlagos but retired on lap one after Toyota’s Jarno Trulli collided into him.

Pierluigi Martini – 119 grand prix starts

Years in F1: 1984-85; 1988-95
Teams: Toleman, Minardi, Scuderia Italia
Grand prix starts: 119
Best result: 4th at the 1991 San Marino and Portuguese grands prix

Pierluigi Martini, Minardi M189 Ford

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Pierluigi Martini became synonymous with the underdog Minardi outfit, driving for the Italian team in all but two of his 10 F1 seasons – the Emilia-Romagna native entered one grand prix, his debut weekend, for Toleman but failed to qualify, and contested the 1992 campaign with Scuderia Italia.

Minardi was a hugely popular team with quite the cult following, yet it had one of the smallest budgets in F1 so was never really expected to fight for a podium. On the occasions that it found itself in the higher positions, it was usually down to luck or circumstance.

In the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, for example, Martini, who qualified fifth, led for a single lap – the only time Minardi led a race – because he was running a longer stint than rivals ahead. Two years later, meanwhile, the Italian twice recorded his best finish of fourth in a grand prix, coming at his local Imola track and Estoril in Portugal.

At Imola, Martini climbed from ninth, which was impressive in itself, but largely down to Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Jean Alesi, Riccardo Patrese and Roberto Moreno all retiring up ahead. Martini eventually finished a lap behind JJ Lehto in third.

Portugal was similar in that Martini progressed from eighth largely thanks to various drivers retiring. The battle for the final podium spot was tighter on this occasion, as Martini finished just 10s behind Ferrari’s Jean Alesi.

Outside of that, slower machinery meant Martini was never a podium challenger and the Italian only scored 10 points finishes in his 119 grand prix starts. He had more success in sportscars though, taking victory in the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours for BMW.

Philippe Alliot – 109 grand prix starts

Years in F1: 1984-90; 1993-94
Teams: RAM, Ligier, Larrousse, McLaren
Grand prix starts: 109
Best result: 5th at the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix

Philippe Alliot, Ligier JS33B Ford

Photo by: Ercole Colombo

Philippe Alliot was a firm backmarker during his seven F1 campaigns, with 17th in 1987 and 1993 being his best championship finishes. So it’s no surprise that he failed to stand on a podium during his career, having claimed just five points finishes.

His best result was fifth at the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix, in which Alliot rose from 14th for Larrousse, but that was largely down to several drivers retiring. That’s highlighted in the fact that he finished two laps off race winner Prost and a lap behind third-placed Martin Brundle, so a podium was never really possible.

Unlike others on this list, Alliot didn’t have any podium near-misses, and the Frenchman holds the record for the most F1 starts without leading a lap. On the face of it, one might think driving for McLaren would have given him a realistic shot, but that was only for a single race as a stand-in for the suspended Mika Hakkinen at the 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix, which Alliot retired from low down due to a mechanical failure.

Nevertheless, Alliot still had a good career, taking three overall podium finishes at Le Mans, as well as three victories in the World Sportscar Championship.

Yuki Tsunoda – 99 grand prix starts

Years in F1: 2021 – present
Teams: AlphaTauri, RB, Racing Bulls, Red Bull
Grand prix starts: 99
Best result: 4th at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Yuki Tsunoda, Red Bull Racing Team

Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images via Getty Images

Yuki Tsunoda is the only current driver on this list, as the 25-year-old has made 99 grand prix starts without standing on the podium. To be fair to Tsunoda, it is only in 2025 that he has finally joined a squad capable of fighting at the front, having driven for Red Bull’s ‘B’ team for four years.

Tsunoda made his debut with the Faenza squad, then named AlphaTauri, in 2021, but he endured a tough rookie campaign, being regularly beaten by team-mate Pierre Gasly while often crashing in practice sessions. But it was topped off with a career-best of fourth at the Abu Dhabi finale, though the Japanese driver never really looked capable of fighting for a podium that day.

Tsunoda just hasn’t been in a position to fight for a podium since, despite gradual progression over the years while competing for Team Faenza throughout its many guises. There was hope though, when he finally received a promotion to Red Bull after two grands prix in 2025, that he would be fighting for trophies.

The Japanese driver even publicly stated his aim of scoring a podium on his Red Bull debut at Suzuka, but Tsunoda, like many of his predecessors, has struggled adapting to the car and going up against his world champion team-mate Max Verstappen.

Tsunoda is still fighting in the midfield, scrapping over the lower points-paying positions rather than finally standing on an F1 podium for the first time.

Pedro Diniz – 98 grand prix starts

Years in F1: 1995-00
Teams: Forti, Ligier, Arrows, Sauber
Grand prix starts: 98
Best result: 5th at the 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix and 1998 Belgian Grand Prix

Pedro Diniz, Forti Corse

Photo by: Motorsport Images

While a current Sauber driver takes himself off this list, a former employee of the Swiss outfit comes back onto it, as Pedro Diniz now has the fifth most grand prix starts without a podium. He pips Marcus Ericsson onto the list by one, as Diniz failed to finish inside the top three across his 98 grand prix starts.

Diniz was never in a position to fight for a podium finish either, with many labelling him as just a ‘pay driver’ throughout his six-season stint between 1995 and 2000. The Brazilian made his debut with Italian backmarker Forti, scoring zero points in his rookie year before taking his sponsorship money to land a seat at Ligier for 1996.

Again, he was fighting more towards the back scoring just two points – sixth at both Barcelona and Monza – for the French team, before moving once more for his third year in F1. This time he went to Arrows, bringing approximately $13million worth of sponsorship money, where he spent two seasons – with world champion Damon Hill and Mika Salo being his team-mates.

It was at Arrows that he secured his best result in a grand prix, claiming fifth at the Nurburgring in 1997 and then Spa the following year. On neither occasion was he close to finishing on the podium though, finishing some way off the driver in third.

In 1999 he left Arrows for Sauber, where Diniz then spent the final two years of his F1 career scoring three points finishes in that time. Despite his sponsorship money, he couldn’t find an F1 seat for 2001 so he left the championship as a driver, with his family instead purchasing a 40% stake in the Prost team as Diniz took up a management role.