Greatest Underdog Performances in Motorsport

[Har1MAS1415]

Yes, I know, another new thread.

I promise not to get carried away this time.

For example:

Keke Rosberg winning the 1978 BRDC International Trophy at Silverstone in his Theodore TR1. I know it was a non-championship race, but we're talking a car that only qualified once in the first 7 races of the 1978 F1 season and never finished any other races.

 

[Grand Prix]

The 1935 German Grand Prix was the greatest of them all.

Tazio Nuvolari won the event in an Alfa Romeo P3, an aging design compared to the Mercedes W25 and Auto Union Type B, and was down by roughly 100 hp. Although it must be said, the wet conditions did allow the under powered P3 to compete on better terms. Nuvolari drove so fast the entire race that he had made up for a botched pit stop which cost him 2 minutes and 14 seconds. Manfred von Brauchitsch in the lead Mercedes destroyed his tires on the final lap just trying to stay ahead.


An excellent example of one of Nuvolari's 4-wheel drifts can be seen at 00:44.

Nuvolari embarrassed 8 Silver Arrows in front of a crowd of 300,000 German spectators and Adolf Hitler. Hermann Goering was seen tearing apart his planned victory speech in anger. No records of the Italian anthem were present for only a German victory was expected, so Tazio brought out his own from the trunk of his car for the podium ceremony. Overall, Nuvolari was given a lovely reception from the spectators.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Damon Hill almost winning the 1997 Hungarian GP for Arrows.

 

[Har1MAS1415]

Nicolas Hamilton coming 6th in the wet at Donington Park in the 2023 British Touring Car Championship. He got up to as high as 4th at one point which would have retrospectively become a podium after Ronan Pearson was disqualified.

Bit biased, I admit, because of my own disability.