Least Number of Drivers per Season

Should we get to the end of the season without Piquet (or others) getting sacked, this year could be the season with the lowest number of drivers to start a race in the history of formula one. this is again testament to how close F1 is at the moment, and how strong the midfield is

here are the stats for recent years (not including those who failed to qualify). in brackets is the number of teams entered that year.

2008 - 22* (11)
2007 - 26 (11)
2006 - 27 (11)
2005 - 27 (10)
2004 - 25 (10)
2003 - 24 (10)
2002 - 23 (11)
2001 - 26 (11)
2000 - 23 (11)
1999 - 24 (11)
1998 - 23 (11)
1997 - 27 (12)
1996 - 24 (11)
1995 - 35 (13)
1994 - 45 (14)
1993 - 35 (13)
1992 - 35 (16)
1991 - 37 (18)

you can see the pattern emerging, and this remains throughout the 1980s and beyond, with more teams, and various drivers not qualifying or only entering a few races. and of course the Indy 500 expanded the entry list significantly in the early years


the only possible exceptions would be 1969, which i believe had 21 drivers classified - despite 30 drivers starting a race, and 2002, which had 22 drivers classified with Davidson (the 23rd) failing to finish in both of his races.

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X (@ed24f1)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2008 08:05PM by SchueyFan.

Even the 50s had more than 22 drivers? :O

yes, mainly due to the Indy 500 - but i think all of them had 22+ drivers anyway.

for example, 1950 had 79 (!) drivers who started a race, and the Indy 500 had 33 starters that year. A lot of drivers just entered one or two races.

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X (@ed24f1)

I think it goes to show that there are much less "rent-a-drivers" in F1 now. Yes there is the odd driver there who probably doesn't have quite what it takes to race at this level, but by and large they are all competent, and not there solely because they've brought along a big sponsor.

How did 35 drivers end up racing in 1995?!

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Everyone knows that million-to-one chances happen 9 times out of 10; indeed, it's a common requirement in fairy tales. If the human didn't have to overcome huge odds, what would be the point? Terry Pratchett - The Science Of Discworld

GPGSL S5 Race driver for IED.

I remember in the second half of '95 we had to suffer one of the most lamentable pay drivers ever - Giovanni Lavaggi. Man, the guy was sooo slow it was unreal! He might've been driving Pacifics and Minardis, but still... Minardi even chose him over Fisi halfway thru '96! Possibly the worst sense of priority ever...

It's a great stat above because you can see how after '94 F1 got so much more professional.

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1995:

Benetton:
Michael Schumacher
Johnny Herbert

Williams:
Damon Hill
David Coulthard

Ferrari:
Jeans Alesi
Gerhard Berger

Jordan:
Rubens Barrichello
Eddie Irvine

Ligier:
Olivier Panis
Martin Brundle
Aguri Suzuki

Mclaren:
Mark Blundell
Mika Hakkinen
Nigel Mansell
Jan Magnussen

Sauber:
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Karl Wendlinger
Jean-Christophe Bouillon

Tyrrell:
Mika Salo
Ukyo Katayama
Gabrielle Tarquini

Arrows/Footwork:
Max Papis
Taki Inoue
Gianni Morbidelli

Minardi:
Pierluigi Martini
Luca Badoer
Pedro Lamy

Forti:
Pedro Diniz
Roberto Moreno

Simtek:
Jos Verstappen
Dominico Schiaterella

Pacific/Lotus:
Bertrand Gachot
Andrea Montermini
Jean Denis-Delatraz
Giovanni Lavaggi

35! Wow, got there! Started off by memory, then had to consult wiki.


then realised there is a list on F1.com

Oh well, it was a fun way to spend 10 minutes!

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I always liked non-professional drivers, noblemans and tourists in f1, it gave the sport uniqe
feel. There was always something like dozen professionals, and the rest were paying drivers,
but it didnt bother me. Because IMO what is the point of tight midfield? We are not generally
interested who will finish 10th, unless a guy named Lavaggi or Deletraz manages to do so, because
it would be a great feat for them. But to see DC, Button or Trulli finishing 10th means nothing
neither to them, neither to me. So lets say in early '90 (when I started watching) there was always
four groups of drivers. The ones that will fight for win (Senna, Mansell, Prost), the ones that will
fight for remaining place on the podium (Berger, Alesi, Patrese), the ones that will fight for points
(de'Cesaris, Martini, Brundle, Blundell) and the ones that were happy just to finish (Belmondo, Bartles)
There was a lot to cheer for. Personally I was happy when Belmondo managed to qualify his Pacific (f3000 car adapted to F1) in 1994 for a few races.
Although he managed it under strange and sad circumstances (other drivers withdrawing due to crashes etc.)
And those drivers brought needed money to the team. IMO Ligier from 1996 had perfect combination of
talented (Panis) and paying (Diniz) driver, and they won a race.

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