While some Formula 1 drivers have a knack for turning strong finishes into race victories, others consistently get themselves into the mix but struggle to break through the glass ceiling and take that elusive first win. With that in mind, the 30 drivers with the most podium finishes without ever winning a Grand Prix have now been revealed, as per Stats F1.

Relentless and ruthlessly efficient winners include Max Verstappen, whose pole-to-win ratio stands at an incredible 78 per cent, while Lewis Hamilton's remarkable consistency has seen him remain at the top of his game for years and claim seven World Championships. Four of those titles came between 2017 and 2020, allowing him to draw level with Michael Schumacher on the all-time record.

However, when drivers of that calibre are dominating the sport and consistently raising the bar, there is often little room for others to get a look-in. Some racers spend their entire careers knocking on the door of victory, only to see the ultimate prize slip through their fingers time and time again.

Below are the 30 drivers who have recorded the most podium finishes without ever standing on the top step of a Grand Prix podium - racers who have come agonisingly close to tasting victory on numerous occasions, but have ultimately fallen just short of the chequered flag's greatest reward.

10 Derek Warwick

Podium finishes: 4

Derek Warwick is widely recognised as one of the best Formula 1 drivers never to win a Grand Prix , finishing on the podium 4 times across his 162 F1 race entries. All of those finishes came during his strong 1984 season with Renault , including second places at the Belgian Grand Prix (Zolder) and his home British Grand Prix (Brands Hatch).

He nearly won on his Renault debut in Brazil in 1984 before a suspension failure forced him to retire while leading. He then made the famous but ill decision to turned down a move to Williams for 1985 to stay with Renault, just as the team's performance collapsed.

9 Andrea De Cesaris

Podium finishes: 5

Italian Formula 1 driver Andrea de Cesaris achieved 5 career podium finishes across his 208 Grand Prix starts (1980-1994), yet never won a race.

Best known for his time with Alfa Romeo, he finished second three times in the space of one year between 1983 and 1984, at the East US GP, the South African GP, and the German GP.

8 Luigi Villoresi

Podium finishes: 8

Luigi Villoresi never won an official Formula One World Championship Grand Prix , though he achieved 8 podium finishes and 49 championship points across his career .

While he was never crowned world champion, he won multiple non-championship F1 races, the prestigious Mille Miglia in 1951, the Targa Florio (1939, 1940), and the Acropolis Rally in 1958. He raced in a Ferrari, Maserati, and a Lancia.

7 Martin Brundle

Podium finishes: 9

Now better known as an F1 broadcaster with Sky Sports, often caught being rejected interview opportunities by high-profile celebrities on the grid, Martin Brundle had a successful career on the racetrack himself between 1984 and 1996.

He achieved nine podium finishes, which included two second-place finishes (at the 1992 Italian Grand Prix driving for Benetton and the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix driving for McLaren). His strongest year came in 1992 with Benetton , where he scored five podium finishes and finished 6th in the Drivers' Championship. Incredibly, he never led a single race lap either, though.

6 Eddie Cheever

Podium finishes: 9

While he didn't win in F1, Eddie Cheever claimed multiple sports car victories and famously won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both driver and team owner.

In the F1, he drove for Renault, Arrows, Tyrrell, Ligier, and Alfa Romeo, and his best finish were runner-ups finishes at the 1983 Belgian and Detroit Grands Prix.

5 Jean Behra

Podium finishes: 9

Jean Behra never won a World Championship Formula One Grand Prix , though he was widely regarded as one of the fastest and bravest drivers of the 1950s. One of his two second-place finishes include the famous incident in the 1957 Argentina GP when winner, Juan Manuel Fangio in Maserati 250F, overlapped everyone but his closest rival.

The Frenchman's story came to a tragic ending aged just 38 when he fatally crashed during a sports car/support race at the AVUS circuit in Berlin on August 1, 1959, shortly after being dismissed by Ferrari.

4 Romain Grosjean

Podium finishes: 10

Romain Grosjean had 10 career podiums, primarily for Lotus, including a stretch in 2013 when he finished 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 2nd, and still wasn't able to get over the line in first place.

Sadly, that era was dominated by just four drivers, with only Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and Mark Webber ever topping the podium in 2013.

3 Chris Amon

Podium finishes: 11

New Zealander Chris Amon finished in the top three of 11 of just 96 F1 races he competed in between 1963 and 1976. That's an incredible level of consistency as he also started in pole position on five occasions (with 19 front-row starts overall).

Amon raced for 13 different teams during his career, most notably Ferrari (where he scored 6 of his 11 podiums), March , and Matra . Despite immense raw speed and leading numerous races comfortably, he suffered from chronic mechanical failures, bad luck with team moves, and reliability issues. F1 champion Mario Andretti famously joked about his run of bad luck.

2 Stefan Johansson

Podium finishes: 12

Former Swedish driver Stefan Johansson secured his maiden F1 podium at the 1985 Canadian Grand Prix and raced for the Scuderia through the 1985-1986 seasons. He then partnered with Alain Prost during the 1987 season to finish top three on five occasions with McLaren, before then squeezing onto the podium with a third-place finish at the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix while representing Onyx.

Johansson's bad luck mostly came down to being with the wrong team at the wrong time. Ferrari were enduring their slump with him as their driver, before he joined McLaren during a transition period. This was also coupled with the fact he was mostly seen as a secondary to more established names in the sport.

1 Nick Heidfeld

Podium finishes: 13

German driver Nick Heidfeld holds the official Formula 1 record for the most podium finishes without a race win, with 13 podiums across 183 Grand Prix starts.

Nicknamed "Quick Nick," he finished as the runner-up a heartbreaking eight times during his 12-year career (2000-2011). Like Stefan Johansson, Heidfeld was a highly consistent driver who repeatedly fell just short due to midfield machinery, near-misses with top seats, and bad luck on the track.