John N
We’ve just come off a rollercoaster campaign and, with just 23 races to go this season, we’ll get to see the new generation of cars take to the track. This season will break records – but which ones are most likely to be broken?
- Most drivers’ championships
CURRENT RECORD: Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher – 7
Lewis Hamilton is on the cusp of making a lot of history. If he wins an eighth drivers’ World Championship, he will set a new record for the most titles won by a driver in F1 history. He currently has seven championships to his name, tying him with Michael Schumacher, and another win will put him ahead of The German.
- Longest gap between wins
CURRENT RECORD: Riccardo Patrese – 6 years, 211 days
Fernando Alonso has been on a long wait for his next F1 triumph, which would be the longest of the 21st century. If the Spanish driver wins this season, it will have been at least eight years and 312 days since his last win, eclipsing Riccardo Patrese’s record of six years and 211 days between the Italian’s 1983 South African GP and 1990 San Marino GP wins.
- Most Grand Prix appearances/most raced laps/most GP finishes
CURRENT RECORD: Kimi Raikkonen – 349 GPs/18,621 laps/278 finishes
By 2022, Fernando Alonso could overtake Kimi Raikkonen for the most appearances in a Formula 1 race. He’s currently on 333 races compared to Kimi Raikkonen’s 349. Alonso could also complete the most laps of any Formula 1 driver as he’s just 586 behind Raikkonen. The Spaniard could potentially break that record within the first 10 rounds of the season. The Alpine driver and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton are racing toward a podium finish when it comes to Grand Prix finishes, however. Hamilton is just five behind Alonso, who is 13 behind Raikkonen.
- Most races with a single constructor
CURRENT RECORD: Michael Schumacher – 179
This one could be broken very early in 2022 as Hamilton just needs to start two more Grands Prix with Mercedes to beat Michael Schumacher’s tally, which was set with Ferrari.
- Most wins at the same Grand Prix
CURRENT RECORD: Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton – 8
This won’t be the last accolade you see that Hamilton shares with Schumacher. The German won eight French Grands Prix over his career, while the Briton has had eight wins in Hungary and eight in Great Britain. One more at either venue, and it’s another one for the books.
- Most podiums in a season
CURRENT RECORD: Max Verstappen – 18
The first Dutch world champion, the youngest to ever win a GP, the youngest to land a podium in F1, and the youngest to ever start a GP, in 2021 Max Verstappen added to his achievements with the most podiums in a season (18).
- Most pole positions for an engine manufacturer
CURRENT RECORD: Ferrari – 231
Ferrari, after a solid pre-season test, has a chance to extend its records as the most successful F1 engine manufacturer in terms of wins (239), pole positions (231), fastest laps (260), and podiums (784) this season. Oh, and constructors’ championships, of which they have power. Second-place Mercedes can only break Ferrari’s record of pole positions this season.
- Most home podiums
CURRENT RECORD: Alain Prost and Lewis Hamilton – 11
Alain Prost took a whopping 11 French Grand Prix podiums over his career and is matched by, yes, Hamilton, on 11 British GP podiums. One more and it’s another record for Hamilton.
- Most laps led without a win
CURRENT RECORD: Chris Amon – 183
New Zealander Chris Amon, dubbed by many as the ‘unluckiest’ F1 racer of all time, led 183 laps without winning a Grand Prix. Mercedes’ recruit George Russell currently leads 59 laps in his debut season, but if he leads 125 more laps without winning then this dubious honor will be his.
- Most consecutive wins at the same GP
CURRENT RECORD: Ayrton Senna and Lewis Hamilton – 5
Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna share this record, with the Brazilian having won five Monaco Grands Prix in a row while Lewis Hamilton has a streak of five consecutive Spanish GP wins. A tough task, but six Spanish GP wins in a row will put Lewis at the top of this particular leaderboard.
- Most pole positions at the same GP
CURRENT RECORD: Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton – 8
Hamilton has taken the pole for eight consecutive Grands Prix, tying Ayrton Senna’s record of eight at the San Marino Grand Prix and Michael Schumacher’s record at the Japanese Grand Prix. One more pole position at either event and he will have the most pole positions at the same Grand Prix.
- Most consecutive race finishes
CURRENT RECORD: Lewis Hamilton – 48
Sainz is on a streak of 29 consecutive Grand Prix finishes, and he’s aiming to match Hamilton’s 47-race streak of finishing races from the 2018 British GP to the 2020 Bahrain GP. Hamilton’s mark was only broken by his positive Covid-19 test; if Sainz can finish 20 consecutive races, he’ll hold this record.
- Most frequent pairing on the podium
CURRENT RECORD: Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel – 56
Redbull driver Max Verstappen could become the most frequent pairing to stand on the Formula One podium if he joins Lewis Hamilton on the rostrum 10 times in 2022. With defending champion Lewis Hamilton having joined Sebastian Vettel on the podium 15 times in 2021, that record could be broken this season.
