Ocon is not alone. Which rider also managed the race without a pit stop?

After this year’s Turkish Grand Prix, Team Alpine’s Esteban Ocon has earned the attention of the media and fans. He managed to finish the race without a single pit stop. He admitted afterwards that he was worried about the tyre life towards the end, but a stop in the final laps would have lost him a points position. However, his case is not unique in history.

Mika Salo had the same adventure as Ocon in 1997 during the Monaco Grand Prix. The Finnish driver was then driving for the Tyrrell team, the predecessor of the now defunct B.A.R. He made his Formula 1 debut in 1994 for the Lotus team, and from the following season onwards, he defended the Tyrrell colours.

The situation before the race was as follows. Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Williams won qualifying, Salo was 14th, and his teammate Jos Verstappen was last to start.

The race itself provided an interesting spectacle, it was run in the rain and especially in Monaco it is a nightmare for most drivers. Drivers like Coulthard, Hill and Häkkinen were out of the race after the opening lap. Accidents and retirements accompanied the whole race, so only 10 of the 22 drivers made it to the finish.

The winner was the legendary Michael Schumacher. Mika Salo completed all 61 laps without a pit stop and finished in fifth place, even with minor damage to his car.

Verstappen also finished the race, specifically in eighth place. Tyrrell scored an unexpected but well-deserved success.

Comparing the performances of Ocon and Salo is quite pointless as the two races are separated by over 20 years and Formula 1 has changed a lot since then. But both have earned their place in the history of the queen of motorsport.

What sets them apart from other cases is the fact that they completed complete races that were not interrupted by, for example, a red flag or inclement weather similar to the Belgian race this year.

Sources used