From super subs to unforgettable comebacks – 7 times a stellar performance helped an F1 driver bounce back

There were plenty of talking points to emerge from the final Dutch Grand Prix, but a key one involved the return of Yuki Tsunoda and his determined drive at the wheel of the Racing Bulls machine.

Having lost his seat at Red Bull following a tricky 2025 season, Tsunoda had been on the sidelines as a test and reserve driver – but the Japanese racer took the opportunity to show what he could do when standing in for Liam Lawson, who in turn had been called up to substitute for an injured Isack Hadjar at the main team.

“I did everything I could today and I really enjoyed it,” Tsunoda said after just missing out on points in P11. It remains to be seen if it will be enough to secure the 26-year-old a full-time return to the grid, but he may well take heart from these past instances of drivers who bounced back following an eye-catching performance…

Nico Hulkenberg

One name who finished just a few positions ahead of Tsunoda in Zandvoort was Nico Hulkenberg, a driver who knows all too well about the impact that a solid stand-in drive can have.

After being left without a seat at the end of 2019 when he was dropped by Renault, Hulkenberg made not one but three substitute appearances for Racing Point during the 2020 campaign when Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll each contracted Covid-19.

While he was unable to start his first outing at Silverstone due to an issue with his car, the German seized his second chance during the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at the same venue one week later, taking third place on the grid behind the Mercedes cars before ending the race in P7.

His third ‘super-sub’ run at the Nurburgring saw him climb from the back of the field to eighth place, leading Racing Point to sign him as their official reserve for 2021 – a move that kept him in the minds of those in the paddock and, after two more stand-in weekends during 2022, arguably helped Hulkenberg to secure a full-time comeback with Haas in 2023.

The 39-year-old has since continued to thrive, having gone on to join the then-called Kick Sauber outfit – now Audi – last season where he scored a long-awaited maiden podium at the British Grand Prix.

Carlos Sainz

Unlike Tsunoda and Hulkenberg, Carlos Sainz has not yet found himself on the sidelines in Formula 1 – but the Spaniard did enter the 2024 campaign in the unusual position of already knowing that he would be leaving his team at the end of the year.

The blockbuster news during the winter that Lewis Hamilton would switch from Mercedes to Ferrari in 2025 took many by surprise – perhaps including Sainz, who would be the driver stepping aside at the Scuderia for the seven-time World Champion.

To make matters worse, the man from Madrid was forced to sit out Round 2 in Saudi Arabia after undergoing surgery for appendicitis, leading to then-F2 racer Ollie Bearman stepping in for a memorable substitute appearance of his own.

Sainz returned to action only two weeks later at the Australian Grand Prix and embarked on an incredible comeback performance, claiming second on the grid before taking his third career victory.

It was a remarkable story and acted as a reminder of Sainz’s skills, with the Spanish racer subsequently targeted by several teams for a 2025 seat. He would eventually go on to sign for Williams later in the year.

Alain Prost

Another name who had to find a way to bounce back after parting ways with Ferrari – albeit in a far more acrimonious fashion – was Alain Prost.

Following his switch from McLaren, Prost’s maiden campaign with the Scuderia in 1990 ended with him missing out on the title in controversial fashion to long-time rival Ayrton Senna.

Tensions started to build between the Frenchman and his team during 1991, with Prost publicly criticising Ferrari following their drop in competitiveness – and the then three-time World Champion was axed by the Italian outfit before the season was over.

With no time left to find a suitable seat for 1992, Prost was forced to take a sabbatical – but the driver known as ‘the Professor’ had not finished with F1 yet and returned to the grid with Williams for the 1993 season.

The potential of the partnership was clear from the offset as Prost converted pole position into victory at his first race back behind the wheel in South Africa. It set the tone for the rest of the championship, as from there onwards the French driver collected six further victories en route to his fourth title before retiring at the end of the campaign.

Mika Salo

While Prost bowed out of Formula 1 prior to 1994, that season would see Mika Salo make his debut towards the end of the championship for the Lotus team. The Finn went on to race for Tyrrell and Arrows in the years that followed, but was left without a seat in 1999.

However, an opportunity to return arose when he stood in for an injured Ricardo Zonta at BAR for three races – before an even bigger call-up came when Ferrari brought in Salo to replace Michael Schumacher for several rounds after the German broke his leg in a crash at Silverstone.

Despite having some illustrious shoes to fill, Salo acquitted himself well with a P9 finish on his first outing in Austria – but it was at Germany’s Hockenheim circuit one round later where the Finnish driver really caught the eye.

Salo lined up in fourth on the grid and went on to find himself in the lead of the race, before moving aside for team mate Eddie Irvine who was fighting McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen for the World Championship. Finishing P2 still marked Salo’s best career result and maiden F1 podium.

After another four appearances for Ferrari – which included a second rostrum at Monza – Salo’s contributions helped the squad to seal the Teams’ Championship, while his performances also impressed Sauber who signed him for a full-time return in 2000.

Valtteri Bottas

Another ‘flying Finn’ to have been through something of a relaunch is Valtteri Bottas. After experiencing a solid first season as a Mercedes driver in 2017 – during which he scored his maiden F1 victory – a winless 2018 campaign saw Bottas slip back to fifth in the standings, all while team mate Lewis Hamilton surged to a sixth World Championship.

Bottas later revealed that he considered walking away from the sport off the back of such a challenging year, having fallen into a “dark place” – but the Finnish racer instead took the opportunity to regroup during the winter and come back stronger for 2019.

That goal was one he aced at the first race of the campaign in Australia. After lining up behind polesitter Hamilton on the grid, Bottas overtook his team mate into the first corner and went on to claim a dominant win with a sizeable 20-second margin.

His return to the top prompted ‘Bottas 2.0’ to famously remark over the radio, “To whom it may concern, f*** you!”, a comment that he later admitted was “just all the frustration from the year before coming out”.

That performance marked the beginning of the Finn’s strongest season to date in Formula 1, during which he clinched four victories and ended the campaign in second place of the Drivers’ Championship.

Kevin Magnussen

As Bottas knows, a strong comeback performance can be the ultimate way to bounce back from a tough spell – or, in the case of Kevin Magnussen, mark a memorable return to the grid after a year away.

Following a four-year stint with Haas between 2017 and 2020, Magnussen was left without a seat for 2021 when the team opted for the all-new rookie line-up of Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.

The Dane subsequently turned his attentions to other categories of motorsport for the next year – before receiving a late call-up from Haas to replace Mazepin for the 2022 season, an opportunity that he accepted.

Despite his time away from the sport, Magnussen was promptly back up to speed at the first race in Bahrain and qualified an impressive seventh on the grid. He then turned this into a P5 result on race day, leading then-Team Principal Guenther Steiner to famously remark that it was “some f****** Viking comeback”.

There were further celebrations in store for Magnussen and Haas later in the year when he scored a surprise pole position in Sao Paulo. The partnership continued on until the end of 2024, with Magnussen having since returned to other series such as the World Endurance Championship.

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez has enjoyed an extensive F1 career since his debut for Sauber in 2011, the Mexican going on to race with McLaren for one season in 2013 before moving to Force India in the campaign that followed.

However, after remaining with the team over the course of the next few years, Perez was suddenly faced with an uncertain future when four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel signed to the squad ahead of their rebrand as Aston Martin for 2021, leaving him without a seat.

It did not take long for the driver from Guadalajara to put himself in the shop window following the news, going on to claim a P2 finish for the then-named Racing Point outfit in Turkiye – but even better was to come two rounds later in Sakhir.

Amid an eventful race – in which he slipped to the back of the field following a first-lap incident – Perez embarked on a notable recovery drive en route to a maiden F1 victory, making him the first Mexican driver to win a race since Pedro Rodriguez in 1970.

That performance doubtless helped Perez’s case as he fought for a spot on the 2021 grid, with Red Bull later signing him up to kickstart what would go on to be a four-year run at the championship-winning team.