10 of the greatest recovery drives after starting at the back of the grid

After claiming six pole positions so far in 2026, Kimi Antonelli already knows that he will not be starting from P1 in front of his home crowd at the Italian Grand Prix, with Mercedes opting to make an engine change that will result in a grid penalty.

All is not necessarily lost for the Italian, however, as many drivers before him have proven by embarking on stunning recovery drives from a starting position at the back of the field.

From overcoming changing weather conditions to claiming first-ever podiums and wins, we’ve been taking a look back at some of those impressive rises through the order…

Max Verstappen, 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

We begin with one of the most recent – and memorable – examples of a storming drive from the back, courtesy of Max Verstappen when F1 visited Sao Paulo in 2024.

The weekend had already proven eventful prior to race day, with Qualifying postponed from Saturday to early on Sunday after treacherous weather hit Interlagos. Conditions still proved challenging during the grid-deciding session, which featured five red flags.

There was another shock when Verstappen exited Q2 in 12th place – and after being hit with a five-place penalty for using a new power unit, the Dutchman dropped back further to P17.

Despite further rainfall during the race, Verstappen took the conditions in his stride as he climbed up the order. The Red Bull driver went on to overtake Alpine’s Esteban Ocon for the lead just past the halfway point and quickly opened up a significant gap, later going on to take victory with a margin of 19.477s back to Ocon.

It was a remarkable performance from Verstappen and one that has often been ranked as amongst the best of his career to date, as well as earning a place on our list of F1’s greatest races.

Lewis Hamilton, 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix

Like Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton is no stranger to scything his way through the field – indeed, the seven-time World Champion famously had a recovery drive of his own in Sao Paulo back in 2021, going from being disqualified in Friday’s Qualifying to taking fifth in the Sprint and then winning Sunday’s race.

But in terms of an instance where he went directly from the back of the grid to near the very front, we have selected the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, a race in which Hamilton was forced to start from the pit lane after his car experienced a fire prior to Saturday’s Qualifying.

It marked the continuation of a difficult run for the Briton, who had lost ground to Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg in the title fight entering into the weekend. “This is a track that you cannot overtake on so I think I will struggle to get in the top 10 tomorrow or at least the top five,” a downbeat Hamilton said after Qualifying. “I will probably leave here more than 20 points behind Nico.”

With rain hitting the track before Sunday’s race, the drivers were faced with tricky conditions and Hamilton was amongst those caught out, having suffered a spin on the opening lap. However, while others struggled and crashed out as the event progressed, the Silver Arrows racer kept his composure and worked his way forwards.

By the final few laps he had caught the leaders – and while he could not quite beat Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, Hamilton held onto third despite pressure from a chasing Rosberg, cutting the German’s championship lead in the process.

Sebastian Vettel, 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Next up is another pit lane to podium drive, which – like Hamilton’s – occurred during a tense championship fight. Sebastian Vettel was leading the 2012 standings arriving into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend, with a total of five drivers remaining mathematically in contention for the crown.

The German initially qualified in P3 but was later disqualified due to there not being enough fuel in his car for a sample to be taken, meaning that he would start from the pit lane – which also offered up an opportunity for his closest title rival, Fernando Alonso, to make gains from P6.

“As far as we are concerned there are still plenty of chances tomorrow,” a positive Vettel said. It would prove to be a fitting prediction, as the German embarked on a stunning performance during Sunday’s race to cut through the field.

To make the situation even tougher, Vettel had to carry out not one but two recovery charges after a pit stop for damage saw him drop back down the order again – and while two Safety Car phases helped him to close in on his rivals, the Red Bull man still had to work hard in order to secure his ultimate finish of P3.

The drive was hailed as one of Vettel’s best at the time and, with it ensuring that he only lost three points to Alonso in the title fight, the World Champion would go on to seal his third title two rounds later in Brazil.

Mark Webber, 2011 Chinese Grand Prix

One year earlier, Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber had a noteworthy drive through the field himself at the Chinese Grand Prix.

At only the third round of the season, Webber’s early chances of challenging Vettel’s title defence took a dent when he failed to progress beyond Q2 during Qualifying in Shanghai, meaning that he would start the race from down in 18th on the grid.

After citing the cause as Kers-related issues on his car, the Australian had his work cut out to score points on Sunday – but he was in a determined mood and carried out numerous overtakes as he surged up the order.

Off the back of some thrilling wheel-to-wheel battles, Webber worked his way up to a stunning P3 behind Vettel in second.

“I had to pass everybody, I really earned it,” the Red Bull driver said afterwards. “The car put up such a fight and the guys never gave up.”

Kimi Raikkonen, 2005 Japanese Grand Prix

Kimi Raikkonen put in a number of memorable drives across his extensive Formula 1 career, which spanned 19 seasons, 21 wins and one World Championship. Arguably one of his greatest, however, occurred at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2005.

Changing weather conditions at Suzuka on Saturday resulted in a mixed-up Qualifying, with the one-lap format used at the time meaning that the frontrunners ended up setting their times in increasingly wet weather – putting Raikkonen back in P17.

However, with the Finn feeling confident in his McLaren, it did not take long for him to ascend through the field come Sunday on a dry track. As his long-time performance coach Mark Arnall recalls: “It was just like every time he came past, he’d pretty much gained a position.”

The final stages of the race set up a thrilling finale in which Raikkonen was hunting down the Renault of Giancarlo Fisichella for the lead – and it was on the final lap that ‘the Iceman’ sensationally made a move to grab P1.

While Raikkonen had to settle for being runner-up in the Drivers’ Championship that season – missing out to Renault’s Fernando Alonso – his surge up the order that day in Suzuka remains a standout moment.

Michael Schumacher, 1995 Belgian Grand Prix

Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps was an important circuit in Michael Schumacher’s career, with it playing host to both his first F1 race in 1991 as well as his maiden victory one year later.

It was in 1995, however, that one of the German’s most memorable performances at the track took place. After suffering a crash earlier on during a practice session, Schumacher could put his Benetton no higher than P16 during a wet-dry Qualifying.

The championship leader was quick to gain positions in Sunday’s race however and, having reached the lead by Lap 16, went on to battle with title rival Damon Hill amid further rainfall at Spa.

Despite still running on slick tyres – with Hill having switched to the wet-weather compound – Schumacher managed the challenging conditions well, although his defensive tactics against the Williams driver would later earn him a one-race suspended ban.

Amidst all of this, Schumacher went on to take victory for the 12th time in his career, before adding a second World Championship to his name a few rounds later at the Pacific Grand Prix.

Rubens Barrichello, 2000 German Grand Prix

A few years later, Schumacher was leading the championship for Ferrari in the 2000 season ahead of his home race at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit – but it would be team mate Rubens Barrichello who enjoyed the standout drive of that weekend.

While Schumacher had qualified in P2, Barrichello wound up back in 18th place. The former’s race came to an early end when he made contact with Benetton’s Giancarlo Fisichella on Lap 1, putting him out of the running and marking his third consecutive retirement.

Barrichello, meanwhile, set about carving his way through the field in a chaotic race that featured everything from changing weather conditions and collisions through to an intruder on the track and two Safety Car phases.

The Brazilian ultimately moved up into the lead and held on to clinch his maiden F1 win, a dramatic turnaround from his P18 grid slot.

Emotional scenes followed on the podium, with Barrichello in tears as he processed what he had just achieved. It would mark the first of his nine victories for Ferrari, while he claimed two more with Brawn GP in the team’s title-winning 2009 campaign.

Emerson Fittipaldi, 1980 USA West Grand Prix

Emerson Fittipaldi achieved great success in Formula 1 during the early 1970s, collecting 14 Grand Prix wins as well as two World Championships – with the second of which in 1974 also being a historic moment in that it marked McLaren’s first title triumph.

The latter half of the decade did not bring quite the same levels of glory for the Brazilian when he moved to the family-owned Fittipaldi Automotive outfit, but a standout moment came unexpectedly at the 1980 USA West Grand Prix.

After another tough Qualifying, Fittipaldi prepared to start the event from the very back of the grid in P24 – but on race day, while many ahead of him retired from the running, the two-time World Champion kept on going and climbed up the order.

Fittipaldi was running in fourth place by the final quarter of the Grand Prix and ultimately managed to keep McLaren’s John Watson at bay to seal P3, marking his first podium finish in two years.

It would also prove to be the last rostrum for Fittipaldi, as he called time on his F1 career at the end of the season.

Nico Hulkenberg, 2025 British Grand Prix

Having made his F1 debut back in 2010, Nico Hulkenberg had long carried the unwanted statistic of being the driver to record the most race starts without scoring a podium. That would all change in dramatic fashion, however, at the British Grand Prix in 2025.

Qualifying did not go especially well for Hulkenberg, the Kick Sauber driver ending the session down in P19 and commenting afterwards: “This track layout simply doesn’t suit us as well as others. Hopefully, some changeable conditions tomorrow will give us an opportunity to fight back.”

The conditions did indeed prove changeable on Sunday, but Hulkenberg and the team rose to the occasion and managed the challenges of a wet-dry encounter to climb up to a P3 – and while Lewis Hamilton put the pressure on during the latter stages, Hulkenberg held on to earn his long-awaited first rostrum.

Reflecting on the achievement – which came on his 239th start – a beaming Hulkenberg hailed the result as “pretty surreal”.

“I think we were just really on it – the right calls, the right tyres in the right moment,” he remarked. “We made no mistakes and it’s quite incredible.”

John Watson, 1983 USA West Grand Prix

Finally, we come to the driver who set the record for winning from the furthest back on the grid.

McLaren’s John Watson lined up in P22 for the 1983 USA West Grand Prix ahead of team mate Niki Lauda, the pair having experienced set-up and tyre issues in Qualifying.

Watson – who had experience of successfully climbing through the order, having won from 17th on the grid in Detroit one year earlier – again made a series of overtakes to move up the pack, followed by Lauda.

As rivals ahead of them fell away, the McLarens continued their ascent and Watson led home a team 1-2 to claim a remarkable win – marking a record-making gain of 21 positions from where he started.

It would prove to be the fifth and final of the Northern Irishman’s wins in Formula 1, while 1983 was also his last full season in the sport.