Pedro Rodríguez became the first and only driver
from Mexico to win a Formula 1 World Championship race when he scored the
victory in the 1967 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, 51 years to the date
of this blog (January 2). Rodríguez, driving the No. 4 Cooper-Maserati,
finished about 26 seconds ahead of John Love, a native of Southern Rhodesia,
the predecessor of the current state of Zimbabwe, in Africa.
Rodríguez – the older brother of Ricardo Rodríguez,
the sport’s first Mexican driver – won his second and final race in the 1970
Belgian Grand Prix – the final race on the original 8.761-mile, 14.1-kilometer
Spa-Francorchamps circuit – outlasting New Zealand’s Chris Amon about just over
a second.
In the 47 years since Rodríguez won at Spa, other
Mexican-born drivers have tried to emulate the feat. Most notably, Sergio Pérez,
born in Guadalajara, became the only other Mexican driver to earn a podium spot
when he finished second in the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang
International Circuit.
Here are some of the statistics in which Mexican drivers
have achieved while competing in Formula 1 (in no particular order).
- - Pedro Rodríguez (Mexico City):
o
Races: 54
o
Wins: 2
o
Podiums: 7
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 1
o
Laps Led: 86
o
Races Completed: 29
o
Best Race Finish: 1st (twice)
o
Best Finish in Championship: 6th (1966, 1967)
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: 4th (1968,
Mexico City)
- - Ricardo Rodríguez (Mexico City):
o
Races: 5 (6 entries)
o
Wins: 0
o
Podiums: 0
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 0
o
Laps Led: 0
o
Races Completed: 2
o
Best Race Finish: 4th (1962 Belgian Grand Prix)
o
Best Finish in Championship: 13th (1962)
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: N/A
- - Moisés Solana:
o
Races: 8
o
Wins: 0
o
Podiums: 0
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 0
o
Laps Led: 0
o
Races Completed: 3
o
Best Race Finish: 10th (1964 Mexican Grand Prix)
o
Best Finish in Championship: N/A
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: 10th (1964,
Mexico City)
- - Héctor Rebaque (Mexico City):
o
Races: 41 (58 entries)
o
Wins: 0
o
Podiums: 0
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 0
o
Laps Led: 0
o
Races Completed: 15
o
Best Race Finish: 4th (three times – 1981 San
Marino, British, Dutch Grand Prix)
o
Best Finish in Championship: 10th (1981)
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: N/A
- - Esteban Gutiérrez (Monterrey):
o
Races: 59
o
Wins: 0
o
Podiums: 0
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 1
o
Laps Led: 2
o
Races Completed: 46
o
Best Race Finish: 7th (2013 Japanese Grand Prix)
o
Best Finish in Championship: 16th (2013)
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: 19th (2016,
Mexico City)
- - Sergio Pérez (Guadalajara):
o
Races: 134 (137 entries)
o
Wins: 0
o
Podiums: 7
o
Pole Positions: 0
o
Fastest Laps: 4
o
Laps Led: 23
o
Races Completed: 121
o
Best Race Finish: 2nd (twice)
o
Best Finish in Championship: 7th (2016, 2017)
o
Best Finish in Mexican Grand Prix: 7th (2017,
Mexico City)
Sources:
-
Wikipedia: Pedro Rodríguez; Ricardo Rodríguez;
Sergio Pérez;
Moisés Solana; Héctor Rebaque; Esteban Gutiérrez; Formula
One drivers from Mexico (website)
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