In order to win in Formula One, you have to have a brilliant driver behind the wheel, a smart team that knows how to pull the trigger in crucial moments, and a fast car. These are the all-important components that you need all the time to become successful at the pinnacle of motorsport.
However, the real thrill happens when you get to watch something take place unexpectedly. Let's face it, people love an underdog story. Aren't we all at the edge of our seats with the lightning start that Kimi Raikkonen made in last year's Portuguese Grand Prix? The unpredictability factor keeps us on our toes, not knowing what might happen next.
These cars witnessed those surprises. Some of them in a good way, and others, in a rather more disappointing way. Here's the list of F1 cars that surprisingly won a Grand Prix, and those who surprisingly didn't.
10 Surprise Win: Toro Rosso STR3
Before he made the list of F1's highest-paid drivers, Sebastian Vettel proved that he was world champion material by winning the 2008 Italian Grand Prix while driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
In a rain-soaked Monza, Vettel drove to pole position and race win in a car that normally challenges at the midfield with the STR3, beating the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen in far superior cars. Since then, Toro Rosso didn't win a Grand Prix until 12 years later, when Pierre Gasly also had a surprise victory at the very same race track, now with Toro Rosso rebranded as Alpha Tauri.
9 Should Have Won: McLaren MP4-19
After Kimi Raikkonen challenged Michael Schumacher for the drivers' crown in 2003 and lost by only two points despite running a two-year-old McLaren MP4-17D, the Woking outfit had high hopes that the new MP4-19 would take that final step in beating the Ferrari and Schumacher combination.
With a narrow nose and tight aerodynamic bodywork, it certainly looked like a Grand Prix winner. However, a string of retirements due to unreliability early in the season quickly extinguished the hopes of McLaren in winning the championship. Their fortunes only turned when they introduced the MP4-19B midway through the season.
8 Surprise Win: Honda RA106
Honda bought out British American Racing in 2005. As such, the new challenger from the Brackley factory was named the RA106, Honda's first Formula One car since the 1960s with the RA271 and 272.
It did not quite have the pace to challenge front-runners Ferrari, Renault, and McLaren, but they did spring a surprise when Jenson Button won the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Button made the right call in switching to the right tires at the right moment when the conditions improved from rain to dry weather, and that's what ultimately led him to his first victory and Honda's first win as a chassis and engine manufacturer in over 30 years.
7 Should Have Won: Ferrari SF16-H
When Sebastian Vettel took three victories in the 2015 season, Ferrari was expected to take the fight to Mercedes for the championship when the SF16-H was introduced for 2016.
Despite being faster than its predecessor, the SF16-H was not able to win a single Grand Prix in the 2016 season due to the domination of Mercedes and the resurgence of Red Bull Racing, which dropped Ferrari to 3rd in the constructors' championship.
6 Surprise Win: Williams FW34
Following a dismal year in 2011, Williams improved their fortunes in 2012 with the FW34. Boosted by a renewed partnership with Renault as their engine supplier, the Grove-based team sprung a surprise when they were suddenly having a front-running pace in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix.
In the hands of Pastor Maldonado, the FW34 took pole position and a race win in the Circuit de Catalunya. It may have not been clear how the car suddenly had a race-winning pace on the day of Sir Frank Willams' 70th birthday, but nevertheless, any win is a good win.
5 Should Have Won: Toyota TF109
Toyota's last Formula One car, the TF109, had all the aerodynamic trickery and a clear pace advantage it had against its rivals early in the season. Unfortunately for Toyota, their Formula One program ended without even recording a race win.
A pole position in the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix was only the main highlight on what would be Toyota's most expensive failure. The Cologne-based Japanese team pulled out at the end of 2009 due to the economic crisis, and with the stillborn TF110 featuring radical aero solutions, one could only imagine what could have happened had Toyota stayed for one more year.
4 Surprise Win: Racing Point RP20
At the start of the 2020 season, rival teams were scratching their heads when Racing Point revealed the RP20, which looked like a complete copy of the 2019 Mercedes-AMG W10.
Nevertheless, Racing Point was a midfield team throughout the 2020 season. But the stars finally aligned for the team in the Sakhir Grand Prix, where Sergio Perez charged from being last after Lap 1 to winning the race.
3 Should Have Won: Lotus 95T
The Lotus 95T had all the makings of a championship-winning car. It had good looks, the Renault Gordini V6 engine, it was one of the most powerful on the grid, and it had a team that was known to be revolutionary in shaping up the course of Formula One.
However, time and time again, the 95T was denied a race victory by the all-conquering McLaren MP4/2 in 1984. Lotus came close to winning in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix when Nigel Mansell was leading before he crashed out.
2 Surprise Win: Jordan EJ13
The EJ13 was a backmarker throughout the course of the 2003 season, mainly due to a lack of developmental budget by the privateer team Jordan. Its Cosworth V10 engine was also the least powerful one on the grid. But the thing is, they don't always race in the dry, and rain is the great equalizer.
In a wet and wild 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix, even the best ones such as Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya all got caught out by the difficult torrential conditions. Giancarlo Fisichella was brilliantly running first when the race was stopped due to a massive incident near the Start/Finish straight and giving the storied Jordan team their final win as a constructor.
1 Should Have Won: BAR-Honda 006
Quite similar to the Lotus 95T, the BAR-Honda 006 was a fast car. It was consistent in all the races that it participated in, and BAR had the drivers to deliver when it matters. However, it was only bad timing that the 006 went up against one of the greatest F1 cars ever, the Ferrari F2004.
Jenson Button took pole position in the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix, and added 11 podiums to give BAR its best-ever finish in Formula One, placing 2nd in the constructors' championship, only behind the dominant combo of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari.