After Liam Lawson’s two-race Red Bull profession, what are F1’s shortest stints? One driver had his licence REVOKED after 4 GPs, one other virtually DIED in catastrophe rookie season, whereas one was sacked after studying to stroll once more

Liam Lawson‘s savage Red Bull sacking has got us thinking… what are the shortest driver stints in Formula One history? 

Some ground rules: Obviously, we’re not counting current rookies who have only whizzed through two races, and we’re not looking at drivers who were always intended to be temporary stand-ins. 

There are plenty of folk who only have one race under their belt. In that category, you get the thrilling tale of Markus Winkelhock, who stood in for Spyker at the 2007 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring and took the lead in wet conditions before a hydraulic failure on lap 15. The streets won’t forget. 

But no, that’s for another time. We’re only including drivers who came in with every intention of hanging around for years, only to be booted out unceremoniously not long later.

Some comfort reading for Lawson, perhaps, who you imagine can have a long career ahead despite the decision from the Christian Horner-led team to replace him with Yuki Tsunoda.

Yuji Ide (four races) 

Yuji Ide’s ill-fated stint with Super Aguri in 2006 ended because, put bluntly, he was nowhere near the required level.

Indeed, the Japanese team binned him off after four races following advice from the FIA, who subsequently revoked his Super Licence, meaning he was not allowed to compete.

It’s easy to see why. Ide had become something of a safety hazard. He retired from three of his four Grands Prix and in the one he did finish, in Australia, he crossed the line three laps down on winner Fernando Alonso after multiple spins. 

At the Australian GP, he had been blamed for blocking Rubens Barrichello during his qualifying lap, knocking him out in the first session. 

In his final race at Imola, Italy, he caused a first-lap crash with Christijan Albers, whose vehicle ended upside down. He was thus replaced by reserve driver Franck Montagny.

Anyone who competes in Formula One is a stellar driver. Ide simply didn’t have enough experience – team chief team principal Aguri Suzuki claimed he had just 200km of testing before debuting in Bahrain.

No wonder he was nowhere near the pace. Ide started back of the grid every time, apart from his debut, where Kimi Raikkonen had not submitted a qualifying lap.  

Nicolas Kiesa (five races) 

A tale of Formula One horror stories would not be complete without an entry from Minardi, although in fairness to Nicolas Kiesa, this was no disaster stint.

Kiesa was called up by the minnows to replace Justin Wilson, who had left to join Jaguar, for the final five races of the 2003 season.

The Dane impressed in that period, completing all five of his Grands Prix, although he never outqualified old hand Jos Verstappen from the garage next door.

Kiesa looked like he might have done enough to continue in the folowing season, but he failed to gather sufficient sponsorship and Zsolt Baumgartner got the nod instead. 

From there, Kiesa became a test driver for Jordan and raced in various series, including competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Nyck De Vries (10 races) 

Nyck De Vries had an F1 debut to remember in 2022, standing in for Alex Albon at Williams and finishing ninth, earning Driver of the Day.

That promising show was part of the reason why AlphaTauri signed him up for the 2023 campaign, but the Dutchman only got 10 races being being canned. 

Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Helmut Marko issued a brutal justification: ‘We expected him to be at least equal to his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda this year, but that was not the case. He was always three-tenths of a second slower. We didn’t see any improvement.’

Tell us what you really think, why don’t you?

De Vries had been culpable for some unforced crashes and was replaced by Daniel Riccardo, one of the most marketable men in the business. 

Other drivers were not so impressed. ‘Very harsh,’ was Sebastian Vettel’s verdict. 

‘That is how Red Bull do it,’ said Lewis Hamilton. ‘I am not surprised to see Daniel back, but I was surprised to see the decision they took over poor Nyck. He is such a talented young man and a nice guy so there will be opportunities for him in the future.’

Not yet, unfortunately.  

Karun Chandhok (10 races)

Karun Chandhok has made a successful career as a Formula One broadcaster and analyst, but his stint on the track wasn’t quite as glowing.

The rookie was dropped after 10 races by newbies HRT in the 2010 season, having finished no higher than 14th in any of his outings. 

And he might have wished he finished further back than that. His 14th-placed classification came at the Monaco Grand Prix where, for his troubles, Jarno Trulli’s car managed to mount his. ‘This wasn’t a great weekend for me,’ the Italian admitted.

Only the roll-hoop had protected Chandhok’s head.  

After finishing consistently near the back of the grid, Chandhok was dropped by HRT after 10 races for the German GP and the team never looked back.

He did secure a reserve seat at Lotus for the following season but only got one drive.  

Patrick Friesacher (11 races)

Patrick Friesacher had the world at his feet when, in 1994, he was signed by Red Bull as their first-ever junior driver aged 14. 

However, a crash in Austria in 1997 left him with severe leg injuries and he had to learn how to walk again. 

Learn to walk he did and, in 2005, he finally achieved his dream of taking an F1 seat, albeit knowing he was in for a tough season with Minardi.

He didn’t get to see it out. The Austrian’s final race came at the British Grand Prix, where he finished last, four laps behind victor Juan Pablo Montoya.

Friesacher’s sponsors didn’t pay up and he was thus dropped by the underdog Italian outfit. 

He had only managed to complete five of his races and was consistently a backmarker, but he did score a sixth-placed berth at the United States Grand Prix… which only six drivers finished.