There are teams that win everything and drivers who can never master a circuit, there are statistics that repeat themselves for decades and numbers that seem to haunt their victims, these are the most famous curses in the top category.
Formula 1 is a sport of precision, but sometimes things happen that no engineering can explain, there are statistics that repeat themselves for decades, teams that seem condemned and drivers who never manage to win at a certain circuit, these are the "curses of F1." Coincidence, destiny or just bad luck? Fans have been debating it for years.
The most famous of all is Ferrari's curse at Monza. Since 1966, no Italian driver has won the Italian Grand Prix driving a Ferrari. Fifty-eight years have passed, and we are counting. Drivers like Fisichella and Giovinazzi have tried, but they never succeeded.
The last time a local won at home with the Maranello team was Scarfiotti, and even though drivers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso won at Monza, they weren't Italian.
Another famous curse is that of the defending Red Bull champion. When a driver wins the title with the energy drink, the following year he suffers a nightmare. Sebastian Vettel won four in a row, but in 2014 his car was a disaster and he left for Ferrari. Max Verstappen won in 2021, but in 2022 he started with two retirements in three races. The curse says that Red Bull never defends a title well, although Verstappen managed to partially break it.
There's also the curse of the number 27, that number was carried by drivers like Villeneuve and Alboreto at Ferrari, the former died at Zolder in 1982 and the latter had a serious crash in 1985. The number 27 was temporarily retired because it seemed to bring bad luck.
Monaco's curse is also famous, Fernando Alonso has never won in the principality despite being one of the best drivers in history in the rain, he has poles, fastest laps and podiums, but the win always slipped away. In 2024 he brushed glory with Aston Martin, but finished seventh, Alonso has already accepted that Monaco doesn't want anything to do with him.
And one of the most curious is the curse of the rookie who wins his first race, only three drivers have achieved it in history: Giancarlo Baghetti in 1961 (the most forgotten), and two other more recent cases, but all of them had irregular careers after that dream debut. Winning your first race seems like a blessing that is also a condemnation, because the pressure rises and expectations skyrocket.
Coincidence or destiny? Engineers will say they're just statistical coincidences, drivers, on the other hand (many of them superstitious to the core), believe that some things just can't be explained. F1 is speed, but it's also mystery.