It’s more than 20 years since a driver started his maiden Formula 1 World Championship race from pole position. And in the 66 years of motorsport’s premiership it’s only happened six times. Remembering that the Indianapolis 500 was a round of the Drivers’ Championship for the first 11 years, we’ve avoided using the term Grand Prix. These, then, are the six occasions when a new recruit has pitched up and caused an immediate upset.
JAN 25th 2017
Super Six… Debut F1 World Championship polesitters
Giuseppe Farina – British GP, Silverstone, 13 May 1950
Clearly, whoever secured pole position for the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship race, which took place at Silverstone in May 1950, was going to find himself heading this list. That honour went to Italian Giuseppe Farina, who was fastest in qualifying for the British Grand Prix aboard his factory Alfa Romeo 158. Interestingly, it’s the only time that a debut polesitter has converted his advantage into race victory.
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 0.2s (Luigi Fagioli, Alfa Romeo 158).
Walt Faulkner – Indianapolis 500, 30 May 1950
The American had raced in the AAA National series in 1949 and came to his country’s biggest race for its inauguration into the World Championship armed with a JC Agajanian Kurtis Kraft roadster powered by the ubiquitous 4.5-litre Offenhauser engine. He duly secured pole position, but come race day Faulkner never led a lap of the great race, dropping to seventh, three laps behind the winner at the chequered flag. His only other World Championship outings were four more Indy 500s, with the 1955 race giving him a best result of fifth in a shared drive.
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 3.13s (Fred Agabashian, Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser).
Duke Nalon – Indianapolis 500, 1951
The only other occasion in which an Indy 500 pedaller has stuck his massive, front-engined roadster on pole first time out came in 1951. Duke Nalon stopped the clock with a faster time than his rivals to give his 3.0-litre Novi-engined Kurtis Kraft the top spot. In the main event, however, Nalon failed to lead a lap and retired late on, with 151 of the 200 laps on his scoresheet. He tried Indy twice more, taking 11th on his final visit in 1953 – from 26th on the grid!
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 2.85s (Lee Wallard, Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser).
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Image courtesy of LAT
Mario Andretti, United States GP, Watkins Glen, 1968
Andretti was a star of the US scene, having won two USAC Indycar titles, the Sebring 12 Hours and Daytona 500 NASCAR before he went anywhere near a Grand Prix car. When the Formula 1 call did come he more than upheld his reputation. He was entered for the Italian GP at Monza in one of three works Gold Leaf Lotus 49Bs but was not credited with a time or grid position as he jetted off the next day to compete in an IndyCar race, thereby taking no further part in the Monza weekend. For his first legitimate Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen a month later, he took pole position in the #12 49B. Sadly, though, the clutch failed after 12 laps.
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 0.07s (Jackie Stewart, Matra MS10-Ford).
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Carlos Reutemann – Argentinian GP, Buenos Aires, 1972
Imagine the jubilant scenes when a local racer, who’d done a couple of seasons of European Formula 2, turned up for his first Formula 1 race on home soil and stuck his car on pole. That’s what happened in Buenos Aires when Carlos Alberto Reutemann topped the qualifying timesheets for the Argentinian GP, opening round of 1972. Armed with a Brabham BT43, Reutemann gave the partisan crowd a real fillip. In the race itself, reigning Champion Jackie Stewart disappeared up the road, while the qualifying hero faded to seventh, two laps in arrears.
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 0.22s (Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell 003-Ford).
Jacques Villeneuve – Australian GP, Melbourne, 1996
French-Canadian Jacques Villeneuve joined the F1 circus with Williams for 1996, having wrapped up the Indycar title – and secured Indy 500 victory – the year before. No one quite knew what to expect from the son of revered Ferrari hero Gilles Villeneuve, but he made them all sit up and take notice by outqualifying team-mate and title favourite Damon Hill to take pole on the streets of Melbourne. And he very nearly became only the second driver since Farina back in 1950 to win from pole on his debut. A late reliability issue with five laps remaining meant he had to give best to Hill.
Gap to second-fastest qualifier: 0.138s (Damon Hill, Williams FW18-Renault).
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