Thierry Boutsen

Thierry Boutsen won three Grands Prix, all three with Williams, and two of them in the rain. A Belgian born in 1957, he made his debut in 1983 with Arrows, and with that same team he was second at Imola in 1985, his first podium.

At Benetton he made his name as a consistent driver. In 1988 he finished third five times and was fourth in the championship, the best position of his career, in the year McLaren won fifteen of sixteen races. That took him to Williams for 1989, and there the wins came: Canada and Australia that year, both on a wet track.

The third is the one people remember. In Hungary in 1990 he started from pole, the only one of his career, and held on for the whole race with Ayrton Senna glued to his gearbox on a circuit where overtaking is almost impossible. He won by less than three tenths.

Williams did not keep him for 1991 and Boutsen spent his last seasons at Ligier and Jordan, and scored points only once more, fifth in Australia in 1992. He retired in 1993 with three wins, fifteen podiums and a reputation for not making mistakes.