The five F1 drivers with the worst win percentages of all time including two stars on the 2026 grid

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Formula 1 is a championship which rarely springs up a surprise Grand Prix winner. But when it does, F1 makes for spectacular viewing and entertainment.

Fans are all too familiar with the levels of domination produced by the likes of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel since the 2010 season.

What about those who, for their entire careers, have slaved away with the hope that one day they might reach the top step of the podium? Some never reach it at all – just ask Nico Hulkenberg how painful the wait was for his first rostrum, having needed 239 races.

Some drivers also only get to stand on the top step of an F1 podium once in their careers. And those who commit to many more years of service after their time at the top is up (and even before for two drivers on this list), they have incredibly low win percentages.

There are often a variety of factors why a driver may have a low win percentage. But that does not prevent them from being included in the list of the top five Formula 1 drivers with the lowest win percentages among those who have taken at least one race victory.

1. Jarno Trulli – 0.40%

Jarno Trulli is someone who could have achieved so much more than he did in Formula 1 if he had been given the opportunity to.

The Italian was dropped by Renault before the end of the 2004 season, the year in which he scored his only win at the Monaco Grand Prix of all places. He also missed out on their championship-winning years with Fernando Alonso in 2005 and 2006.

Trulli followed his Renault exit with a promising stint at Toyota, but the team ultimately failed to deliver much of note despite the automotive giant’s heavy investment in the sport before pulling the plug.

2. Jean Alesi – 0.50%

Despite being a Ferrari driver for five seasons in the 1990s, Jean Alesi managed to win just one race across a 12-year F1 career that saw him compete in 201 races.

Admittedly, it was during a tough period for the Scuderia and in between two periods of constant championship contention.

But the Frenchman ended up being a bit of a lost talent after arriving on the scene with plenty of buzz surrounding him.

“When you get to Formula 1, it’s no longer just about applying intellect – it’s also about having prodigious talent. Alesi had that in spades,” Rob Beresford told The Race in 2020.

Alesi never quite applied the promise he had to its full extent and managed just the one race win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, giving him a 0.50% win percentage.

3. Pierre Gasly (0.56%)

Pierre Gasly scored his lone Formula 1 win to date in a race filled with chaos, after pouncing on an uncharacteristic mistake from the dominant Hamilton to win the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.

His victory was all about a well-timed (and ultimately very fortuitous) pit stop on Lap 19 of 53, as the Frenchman brought his AlphaTauri in just before the safety car came out and forced the pit lane to close.

Race control closed the pit entry to recover the stricken Haas of Kevin Magnussen, who could only limp his car into the pit entry before retiring. But Mercedes star Hamilton incorrectly boxed at the end of the following lap, and he drew a stop-and-go penalty.

Gasly ultimately inherited the lead of the 2020 Italian GP once Hamilton pulled in to serve his penalty, having jumped Williams rival Lance Stroll at the Lap 28 restart after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed and brought out the red flags.

It meant so much to Gasly to win at Monza just over one year on from being demoted back to AlphaTauri by Red Bull that he was reduced to tears on the podium. The victory was a little bit of retribution for everything he had been through, including losing his close friend Anthoine Hubert in 2019.

4. Esteban Ocon (0.56%)

Such is the intensity of the Formula 1 calendar nowadays that Esteban Ocon has completed 180 races in his career ahead of the 2026 season since debuting with Manor in 2016.

Yet his standalone win at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix was remembered well for then-Alpine teammate Alonso’s staunch defence of Mercedes’ Hamilton, as well as Valtteri Bottas causing a pile-up at the first corner when he sent McLaren’s Lando Norris crashing into Verstappen.

Taking advantage of the mixed conditions and timing his pit stop to perfection left Ocon leading virtually the whole event.

But Ocon may not have been able to do so without Alonso’s late intervention to scupper Hamilton’s charge, with the Briton forced to settle for third place behind Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel.

5. Olivier Panis (0.63%)

Olivier Panis’ singular Formula 1 victory came at one of the greatest races of all time – the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix. It was a classic because just three of the 22 drivers completed all 75 laps of the race.

Mika Hakkinen even picked up the final point for sixth place despite crashing out on lap 70. Panis held his nerve to help deliver Ligier’s ninth and final win in the rain.

Sadly, Panis broke both his legs during the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix and was never the same driver again. He claimed fewer points in his final six full-time seasons than he did in his first two.

It’s a case of what could have been for Panis, who had managed two podiums within six races before his brutal accident in 1997.