The last 20 years of its history Formula 1 cannot be understood without Spain. His rupture Fernando Alonso and recently took over Carlos Sainz have made the Iberian country synonymous with success in the top class of motorsport.

Everyone would know how to recite the names of the last to jump onto an F1 circuit, but there is much more history before Marc Gené, Pedro de la Rosa or Jaime Alguersuari. whatHow many Spanish pilots have there been over time? How many Grand Prix did they participate in? Below, all the information.

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The Spanish drivers who competed in F1

Although the first to complete a Formula 1 Grand Prix was Francisco Godia at the event held at his circuit Pedralbes in 1951It wasn’t until his arrival Alfonso de Portugal when a Spaniard gained a permanent place in a team in the 1956 season with Ferrari. As luck would have it, in the 1957 Mille Miglia, a few days before the Monaco Grand Prix and after a great result in Argentina, he died in an accident after a tire problem.

After years of emptiness, failed attempts at classification and many private initiatives, the generation that represents Adrian Campos and Luis Perez Sala closed a worrying period for Spanish motorsport in F1.

It was with his landing Marc Gene and Pedro Martinez de la Rosa at Minardi and Arrows, respectively, when Spanish drivers began to establish themselves in Formula 1, beginning an uninterrupted period from 1998 in which there was always a Spaniard on the grid. These would be followed Fernando Alonso, Jaime Algersuari, Roberto Mehri and Carlos Sainz as national representatives in the highest category.

From all these names alone Alonso, Sainz, de la Rosa and de Portago have managed to get on the podiumto which add to Gene, Alguersuari, Pérez-Sala and Godia as the only scorers.

Drivers who participated in Formula 1 Grand Prix

To mention only those drivers who took the start of a Grand Prix would tell half the story of F1 for the Spaniards. Well, in the past it was normal for the entry list to not be the same names that would be seen on Sunday, thus there were many who tried their luck with a private car in a particular event or as substitutes.

Joaquin Palacio at the 1951 Spanish Grand Prix at the Pedralbes circuit he signed but could not start in his private Maserati. Similar case with John Jover in the same event, albeit with a more painful result, having come in to qualify in eighteenth place but unable to start due to engine failure.

It took until 1960 for Julio Martinez-Pola He entered the Argentine Grand Prix in the hope of taking part, but ultimately did not, remaining as an inactive reserve driver.

In this way one arrives at George of Bagration in 1968 at the Spanish GP, where he entered but did not run because he did not have a car, as in 1974 at the same event, now with Surtees, but did not appear. Two years later, Emilio Zapico entered a private car named Mapfre-Williams powered by Ford for the event in Jarama.

Over the years, private initiatives have been lost and these hacks have become more sophisticated, making it difficult to detect cases like these. However, the presence of young pilots in free practice was more frequent. Here it is worth emphasizing Dani Clos, who took part in the South Korean, Belgian, Hungarian, German, Silverstone and Spanish GPs in 2012 with HRT. and Daniel Juncadella with Force India in 2014 at Brazil, Monza and Silverstone.