2023 Hall of Fame Award: The nominees

The Monégasque local qualified 19th in a Lancia D50 before ultimately climbing to an heroic sixth on race day — besting the likes of Stirling Moss, Alberto Ascari and Juan Manuel Fangio along the way. But by no means was this the first time Chiron had defied the laws of nature on home soil.

His racing career spanned over 35 years and endured through a global war — before which he made his name on the global stage by winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 1931. After the World Championship for Formula 1 cars was formed in 1950, Chiron joined the grid as an established name and, although victory would elude him, he proved his Monte Carlo mastery by finishing on the podium during the series’ first trip to the principality.

Even after his eventual retirement, he remained an active member of grand prix weekends in his home town — waving the chequered flag throughout the 1960s — and has been honoured as an F1 and motor racing icon ever since.

Jacques Villeneuve

Few posed a more charismatic figure on an F1 podium quite like Jacques Villeneuve — and in 1996 he topped quite a few.

As the son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, the young Canadian certainly had the weight of the world on his shoulders when he entered the paddock for the first time in Melbourne. But any pressure was soon shrugged off, as he took pole position ahead of Williams team-mate Damon Hill by two-tenths of a second. As he pulled away into the lead of the Grand Prix, a debut victory looked to be within reach… until Hill’s gradually browning ran wing became obvious: Villeneuve’s car was leaking oil and he had to let his team-mate through to take victory.

He finished second in Australia, and at the third round in Argentina, which was soon followed by a brilliant performance at the Nürburgring, where, despite qualifying almost a second off the pace, the rookie would lead Michael Schumacher across the line by seven-tenths of a second.

Three further victories at Silverstone, Hungary and Portugal for Villeneuve set a new record for the most wins ever achieved by a rookie driver, which was only equalled 11 years later by Lewis Hamilton. Hill took the drivers’ crown, but Villeneuve didn’t have to wait long. Exactly 365 days and seven race wins later, he became F1’s world champion of 1997, and — save for drivers who competed in the first 1950 season — the first to win a title after only two seasons; another record equalled by Hamilton in 2008.

Villeneuve raced in F1 until midway through the 2006 season – racing for BAR — but never again achieved the same success he found with Williams. Nevertheless, his bigger-than-life character and overwhelming pace is fondly remembered.

Chris Amon

Chris Amon’s sublime talent at the wheel of a racing car naturally drew him to the very front of the F1 grid. He scored 5 pole positions, 11 podium finishes and led an impressive 183 laps — the most of any driver in F1 history without a race win. It remains one of the most unfortunate records in motor sport, particularly as he was spoken about in the same breath as the likes of Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart.

Several CanAm successes and a memorable win at the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours with Bruce McLaren, attracted the attention of Ferrari in 1967. As a member of the Scuderia in both the World Endurance Championship and F1, Amon quickly became a star — winning both the Daytona 24 Hours and the Monza 1000kms. But misfortune plagued his ultimate goal of becoming a world champion in F1.

In ’67, Amon was arguably in the hunt, courtesy of four podium finishes in the first six grands prix, but was ultimately held back by reliability issues — his substantial lead at the US Grand Prix reduced to nothing by an oil fire. In ’68 his luck took another dive and he retired from eight out of eleven rounds despite three pole positions and five additional front row starts. The following year, Ferrari failed to produce a title-winning car but Amon was still able to deliver the odd miracle drive — which again were ruined by hard luck. In Spain, he was leading by well over 40sec before his engine gave out and in Monaco he was running a close second before his diff failed.

A frustrating mix of success and misfortune moved with him to Matra and Amon ultimately called it quits on his F1 career aged just 34 and returned to New Zealand as a sheep farmer. The records may not show it, but on his day, Amon is remembered among the best to ever grace a grand prix grid.

Luigi Fagioli

Luigi Fagioli was perhaps past his prime racing years when he lined up for the 1951 French Grand Prix. Much like Chiron, he’d done the majority of his successful racing before World War II, and even went wheel-to-wheel with the Monégasque driver on the streets of Monte Carlo in 1931 — ultimately finishing a close second.

But at the age of 53, he now brought an element of experience to an Alfa Romeo team which possessed two main advantages: a title-contending car and Juan Manuel Fangio. The Argentine driver scored pole position, while Fagioli qualified sixth. But a chaotic race would earn Fagioli his place in F1 history.

While battling for the lead with Nino Farina and Alberto Ascari, Fangio’s Alfa Romeo developed a misfire — forcing him into an early pitstop and effectively out of the race. While Fagioli was making steady progress, even leaping up into third after several other cars failed around him, the Italian was called into the pits and ordered to trade places with Fangio so that he could continue his championship charge. Although furious, Fagioli complied and was forced into Fangio’s broken machine, which he’d ultimately limp home in last place. But, as Fangio went onto win the race, Fagioli was jointly credited with the victory — the only one of his career.

It’s an unusual tale, but it marked the peak of the Italian’s F1 achievements — joined by five podium finishes in 1950 — and made him F1’s oldest ever race winner. It’s perhaps only one of only a few records that are likely never to be beaten.