Lewis Hamilton made headlines when he won the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix for Ferrari on Sunday, marking his maiden victory with the Scuderia as well as his first triumph in his 40s. He\u2019s far from the only older driver to enjoy the glory of a race win, but where does he rank on the list? Let’s delve into the 10 oldest F1 Grand Prix winners\u2026<\/p>\n
Luigi Fagioli \u2013 53 years, 22 days (1951 French Grand Prix)<\/p>\n
Italy\u2019s Luigi Fagioli holds this honour by quite a way, having made his debut in the championship\u2019s inaugural 1950 season at the age of 52. Competing for Alfa Romeo, he was nicknamed the \u2018Abruzzi Robber\u2019 for his ability to snatch race leads when others were forced to retire.<\/p>\n
With five podiums under his belt in 1950, he began the following season seeking to clinch his first victory, but could only qualify seventh at the French Grand Prix. His team mate, the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, started from pole position and looked as strong as ever until suffering an engine issue 10 laps in.<\/p>\n
When Fagioli came in for a pit stop, the team ordered that he swap with Fangio to allow him to chase down the win in a healthy car. The switch did indeed result in success for the Argentine driver, while Fagioli wound up P11 \u2013 he was nevertheless classified as sharing first place in one of three instances where two drivers would be credited with victory. Allegedly furious about the decision, the veteran quit soon after and never raced a Grand Prix car again.<\/p>\n
Giuseppe Farina \u2013 46 years, 9 months, 3 days (1953 German Grand Prix)<\/p>\n
You may know him as the first F1 World Champion, but Giuseppe Farina \u2013 known as \u2018Nino\u2019 to many \u2013 also remains the second-oldest race winner in history. After failing to stand on the top step in his maiden campaign with Ferrari<\/a>, he arrived at the Nurburgring for the 1953 German Grand Prix with that sole mission in mind.<\/p>\n His team mate Alberto Ascari qualified on pole, two positions above him, before encountering the concerning issue of losing a wheel early in the race. With lap times approaching 10 minutes around the challenging circuit, Farina made the most of a tussle between Fangio and Mike Hawthorn for the now-available race lead, passing both on Lap 8.<\/p>\n Despite a remarkable charge through the field by Ascari in another Ferrari, he wasn\u2019t able to break into the top three and Farina secured his fifth and final career victory, beating Fangio to the chequered flag by over a minute. It was his last hurrah as a string of injuries and tragedy, including the death of Ascari, led to his retirement from the sport in 1955.<\/p>\n Juan Manuel Fangio \u2013 46 years, 1 month, 11 days (1957 German Grand Prix)<\/p>\n The Nurburgring makes a second entry as it played host to Fangio\u2019s last victory in the 1957 German Grand Prix \u2013 his 24th overall. Often referred to as one of the greatest performances in motorsport, it helped him to clinch his fifth World Drivers\u2019 Championship with two rounds of the season to go.<\/p>\n Taking pole position for Maserati, he built up a commanding lead of around 30s over Ferrari\u2019s Hawthorn and Peter Collins, with the Argentine driver noting that they were attempting to last the entire race without refuelling or switching tyres. Hoping that he could edge them out with a lower fuel load, Fangio\u2019s strategy was somewhat cancelled out when a mechanic dropped a nut under his car. When they eventually found it, he had fallen to P3 with a sizeable deficit to Collins up ahead.<\/p>\n However, the 46-year-old was never one to be written off and went on to repeatedly break the lap record before fighting his way past the two Ferraris, crossing the line a few seconds ahead of Hawthorn. Now with five titles to his name, he retired from F1 the following season but remained a key figure in motorsport until his death in 1995.<\/p>\n Piero Taruffi \u2013 45 years, 7 months, 6 days (1952 Swiss Grand Prix)<\/p>\n With roots in motorcycle racing, Piero Taruffi combined his F1 career with competing in sportscars, but only claimed a single win in the World Championship at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix.<\/p>\n It was the opening round of the season and, due to the financially damaging withdrawal of Alfa Romeo at the end of 1951, the sport had started using Formula 2 rules. This boosted the size of the grid as more constructors were willing to take part, leading to 22 drivers starting the weekend.<\/p>\n Taruffi\u2019s Ferrari team mate Farina led from pole until his car broke down, handing the Italian first place on track. Grabbing the opportunity to win with both hands, Taruffi lapped every driver bar one on his way to victory, which ended up being his best result in 18 entries between 1950 and 1956.<\/p>\n Jack Brabham \u2013 43 years, 11 months, 5 days (1970 South African Grand Prix)<\/p>\n Still the only driver to win the title in a car of his own make, which he achieved in 1966, Jack Brabham was a three-time World Champion winding down his career when the 1970 season kicked off.<\/p>\n The Australian had seriously injured his foot the previous year and was ready to retire, but couldn\u2019t find any top drivers to replace him so decided to stick it out for one more campaign. At the season opener held at the Kyalami Circuit, he qualified third but suffered an early setback when he got inadvertently caught up in contact between Chris Amon and Jochen Rindt.<\/p>\n After tumbling down the order, Brabham battled his way back through and sailed past reigning champion Jackie Stewart to move into the lead, holding off a charge by McLaren<\/a>\u2019s Denny Hulme to achieve his 14th and last win before retirement<\/p>\n Sam Hanks \u2013 42 years, 10 months, 17 days (1957 Indianapolis 500)<\/p>\n Between 1950 and 1960, points won in the Indy 500 counted towards the F1 World Championship, even though drivers frequently ran cars with different specifications between the two.<\/p>\n None of the regular F1 competitors decided to partake in the 1957 edition, resulting in an all-American grid with Sam Hanks starting on the fifth row in his 13th attempt at the annual race. With the lead exchanging hands multiple times in the first stint, the battles saw Hanks close up to the front and surge into P1.<\/p>\n He went on to lose the lead twice before securing it for good on Lap 135, earning both the honour of winning the prestigious event and eight points in the F1 standings. It was the only round of the season he drove in, but Hanks nevertheless finished P8 thanks to his Indianapolis victory and retired at the end of the year.<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton \u2013 41 years, 5 months, 7 days (2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix)<\/p>\n Some drivers left the sport after winning in the later part of their careers, but Hamilton<\/a> made it look like he\u2019s starting a new chapter with Ferrari rather than closing the book. Eager to return to his best after an underwhelming 2025 season, the Briton followed up a pair of podiums in Canada and Monaco with a win at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hamilton delivered a stunning lap in the dying moments of Q3 to get onto the front row, and he held onto P2 behind polesitter George Russell<\/a> in the opening stint. His race came alive in the pits as the Ferrari man executed a bold three-stop strategy to pass Mercedes and employ his fresher tyres to win the Grand Prix.<\/p>\n His history-making 106th victory saw the seven-time World Champion become the first driver to triumph in his 20s, 30s and 40s and opened up a potential title challenge \u2013 he currently sits 41 points behind Kimi Antonelli<\/a> in the standings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Nigel Mansell \u2013 41 years, 3 months, 5 days (1994 Australian Grand Prix)<\/p>\n