Best rookie F1 drivers by performance
i About facts-figure section.In order to try to find the driver with the best debut in Formula 1, we will try several scenarios, such as the classification at the end of the season, number of victories, fastest lap, pole position, races finished in points and an average of them.
Season ranking
Apart from Farina, who in the first season managed to win the title of champion, no other driver managed this performance, but some of them came quite close to the title. Apart from the first season, Luigi Fagiolo(1950), Jacques Villeneuve(1996) and Lewis Hamilton(2007) finished the season in second place. Four drivers finished their debut season in 3rd place: Juan Manuel Fangio(1950), Eugenio Castellotti(1955), Jackie Stewart(1965) and Clay Regazzoni(1970).
| SEASON | DRIVER | RANK |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Giuseppe Farina | 1 |
| 1996 | Jacques Villeneuve | 2 |
| 1950 | Luigi Fagioli | 2 |
| 2007 | Lewis Hamilton | 2 |
| 1970 | Clay Regazzoni | 3 |
| 1965 | Jackie Stewart | 3 |
| 1955 | Eugenio Castellotti | 3 |
| 1950 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 3 |
| 1950 | Louis Rosier | 4 |
| 1954 | Karl Kling | 5 |
| 1952 | Mike Hawthorn | 5 |
| 1950 | Alberto Ascari | 5 |
| 2001 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 6 |
| 1957 | Masten Gregory | 6 |
| 1950 | Johnnie Parsons | 6 |
| 1959 | Dan Gurney | 7 |
| 1950 | Bill Holland | 7 |
| 2007 | Heikki Kovalainen | 7 |
| 2000 | Jenson Button | 8 |
| 1994 | David Coulthard | 8 |
| 1973 | James Hunt | 8 |
| 1950 | Birabongse Bhanudej | 8 |
| 2019 | Alexander Albon | 8 |
Performances in the debut season
We will try to analyze relative to an average of the following F1 performances: victory, podium, pole position, fastest lap and the race finished in points. For each performance, we will give each driver one point, we will calculate the percentage of success for each category and then we will make an average of the percentages that should highlight the differences between the drivers according to the rules imposed.
| WON | PODIUM | POLE | FASTL | IN POINTS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEASON | DRIVER | EN. | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | % AVG |
| 1950 | Johnnie Parsons | 1 | 1 | 100.00 | 1 | 100.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 100.00 | 1 | 100.00 | 80.00 |
| 1950 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 6 | 3 | 50.00 | 3 | 50.00 | 4 | 66.67 | 3 | 50.00 | 4 | 66.67 | 56.67 |
| 1950 | Giuseppe Farina | 6 | 3 | 50.00 | 3 | 50.00 | 2 | 33.33 | 3 | 50.00 | 4 | 66.67 | 50.00 |
| 2007 | Lewis Hamilton | 17 | 4 | 23.53 | 12 | 70.59 | 6 | 35.29 | 2 | 11.76 | 15 | 88.24 | 45.88 |
| 1996 | Jacques Villeneuve | 16 | 4 | 25.00 | 11 | 68.75 | 3 | 18.75 | 6 | 37.50 | 11 | 68.75 | 43.75 |
| 1950 | Mauri Rose | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 100.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 100.00 | 40.00 |
In the first place we will find Johnnie Parsons who in 1950 participated in only one F1 race, the one at Indianapolis, where although he started from the fifth position on the starting grid, he won the race, having the fastest lap of the race, obviously also gaining points.
But it would be hard to say that this is the best debut in Formula 1, so we will take into account the total number of races in that season.
| WON | PODIUM | POLE | FASTL | IN POINTS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEASON | Races | DRIVER | EN. | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | % AVG |
| 1950 | 7 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 6 | 3 | 42.86 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 48.57 |
| 2007 | 17 | Lewis Hamilton | 17 | 4 | 23.53 | 12 | 70.59 | 6 | 35.29 | 2 | 11.76 | 15 | 88.24 | 45.88 |
| 1996 | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | 16 | 4 | 25.00 | 11 | 68.75 | 3 | 18.75 | 6 | 37.50 | 11 | 68.75 | 43.75 |
| 1950 | 7 | Giuseppe Farina | 6 | 3 | 42.86 | 3 | 42.86 | 2 | 28.57 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 42.86 |
| 1950 | 7 | Luigi Fagioli | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 71.43 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 5 | 71.43 | 28.57 |
| 1965 | 10 | Jackie Stewart | 10 | 1 | 10.00 | 5 | 50.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 | 70.00 | 26.00 |
| 1970 | 15 | Clay Regazzoni | 8 | 1 | 6.67 | 4 | 26.67 | 1 | 6.67 | 3 | 20.00 | 6 | 40.00 | 20.00 |
| 1955 | 7 | Eugenio Castellotti | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 28.57 | 1 | 14.29 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 42.86 | 17.14 |
| 2001 | 19 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 17 | 1 | 5.26 | 4 | 21.05 | 3 | 15.79 | 3 | 15.79 | 5 | 26.32 | 16.84 |
| 1950 | 8 | Louis Rosier | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 25.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 50.00 | 15.00 |
| 1950 | 7 | Alberto Ascari | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 28.57 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 42.86 | 14.29 |
| 2014 | 19 | Kevin Magnussen | 19 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 5.26 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 12 | 63.16 | 13.68 |
| 2007 | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 5.26 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 11 | 57.89 | 12.63 |
| 2019 | 22 | Alexander Albon | 21 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 13 | 59.09 | 11.82 |
| 1950 | 7 | Johnnie Parsons | 1 | 1 | 14.29 | 1 | 14.29 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 14.29 | 1 | 14.29 | 11.43 |
| 1984 | 16 | Ayrton Senna | 15 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 18.75 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 6.25 | 5 | 31.25 | 11.25 |
Applying this rule, we have Juan Manuel Fangio in first place who, from the 7 races of the 1950 season, obtained three victories, three podium finishes, four pole positions, three fastest laps and four races finished in the points.
The second place is occupied by Lewis Hamilton who in the 17 races of his debut in 2007 managed 4 victories, 12 podium finishes, 6 pole positions, 2 fastest laps and scored points in 15 races.
Jacques Villeneuve was third in this ranking in his debut season in 1996.
The world champion from 1950, Giuseppe Farina occupies only the 4th position in this ranking. Farina wins the championship thanks to a 4th place finish in Belgium, the race won even by Fangio, otherwise both have three victories and three fastest laps each. The difference in the classification made up by us is in favor of Fangio because he had 4 pole positions compared to Farina's 2. At Monza, even though Fangio didn't finish the race, due to the fact that he had the fastest lap, he got a point, thus equaling Farina for the number of races finished with points, four for each in the 1950 season
Champions debut
If we only look at the debut of the pilots who became Formula 1 world champions in time, we find 10 who had a poor debut, failing to achieve any performance.
| WON | PODIUM | POLE | FASTL | IN POINTS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEASON | Races | DRIVER | EN. | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | NR | % | % AVG |
| 1950 | 7 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 6 | 3 | 42.86 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 48.57 |
| 2007 | 17 | Lewis Hamilton | 17 | 4 | 23.53 | 12 | 70.59 | 6 | 35.29 | 2 | 11.76 | 15 | 88.24 | 45.88 |
| 1996 | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | 16 | 4 | 25.00 | 11 | 68.75 | 3 | 18.75 | 6 | 37.50 | 11 | 68.75 | 43.75 |
| 1950 | 7 | Giuseppe Farina | 6 | 3 | 42.86 | 3 | 42.86 | 2 | 28.57 | 3 | 42.86 | 4 | 57.14 | 42.86 |
| 1965 | 10 | Jackie Stewart | 10 | 1 | 10.00 | 5 | 50.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 7 | 70.00 | 26.00 |
| 1950 | 7 | Alberto Ascari | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 28.57 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 42.86 | 14.29 |
| 1984 | 16 | Ayrton Senna | 15 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 18.75 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 6.25 | 5 | 31.25 | 11.25 |
| 1973 | 15 | James Hunt | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 13.33 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 13.33 | 4 | 26.67 | 10.67 |
| 1958 | 10 | Phil Hill | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 20.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 10.00 | 2 | 20.00 | 10.00 |
| 1952 | 8 | Mike Hawthorn | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 12.50 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 37.50 | 10.00 |
| 2015 | 22 | Max Verstappen | 19 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 10 | 45.45 | 9.09 |
| 1960 | 10 | Jim Clark | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 10.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 30.00 | 8.00 |
| 2000 | 16 | Jenson Button | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 6 | 37.50 | 7.50 |
| 1960 | 11 | John Surtees | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 9.09 | 1 | 9.09 | 1 | 9.09 | 1 | 9.09 | 7.27 |
| 1970 | 16 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 6 | 1 | 6.25 | 1 | 6.25 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 12.50 | 5.00 |
| 1980 | 16 | Alain Prost | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 25.00 | 5.00 |
| 1965 | 10 | Denny Hulme | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 20.00 | 4.00 |
| 2001 | 21 | Kimi Raikkonen | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 4 | 19.05 | 3.81 |
| 1991 | 16 | Michael Schumacher | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 18.75 | 3.75 |
| 2006 | 19 | Nico Rosberg | 18 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 5.26 | 2 | 10.53 | 3.16 |
| 2007 | 22 | Sebastian Vettel | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 | 9.09 | 1.82 |
| 1975 | 15 | Alan Jones | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 6.67 | 1.33 |
| 1968 | 15 | Mario Andretti | 2 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 6.67 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.33 |
| 1991 | 16 | Mika Hakkinen | 16 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 6.25 | 1.25 |
| 1964 | 10 | Jochen Rindt | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1958 | 11 | Graham Hill | 9 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1978 | 16 | Nelson Piquet | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1972 | 15 | Jody Scheckter | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 2001 | 22 | Fernando Alonso | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1955 | 9 | Jack Brabham | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1978 | 16 | Keke Rosberg | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1992 | 17 | Damon Hill | 8 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1971 | 16 | Niki Lauda | 1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| 1980 | 16 | Nigel Mansell | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
About facts-figures section
All the articles in this section follow the statistical data.
In this section, I'm just trying to find some pattern from a statistical point of view compared to the results from Formula1.
