List of Formula One polesitters
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.[2] The polesitter is the driver that has qualified for a Grand Prix in pole position, at the front of the starting grid.[3] Drivers are awarded points based on their position at the end of each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each calendar year is crowned that year's World Champion.[4] Out of the 1,024 completed Grands Prix (as of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix), the driver that has qualified on pole position has gone on to win the race 430 times.[5]
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Qualifying is traditionally contested on the Saturday of a Grand Prix weekend to determine the drivers' positions on the starting grid. Historically, there have been a number of different qualifying systems; previously, each driver was only allowed a single lap to set his qualifying time.[6] Drivers currently have to compete in three rounds before pole position is determined. The first round, known as Q1, is contested by twenty drivers in an 18-minute session, at the end of which the five slowest cars are eliminated. This is followed by Q2, a 15-minute session, where the slowest five are again eliminated. The remaining ten cars contest Q3, the final 12-minute session to determine their places on the grid and who will sit on pole position.[7]
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most pole positions, having qualified first on 92 occasions.[8] Michael Schumacher is second with 68 pole positions.[9] Ayrton Senna is third with 65 poles. Senna holds the record for the most consecutive pole positions; he qualified in first place eight Grands Prix in a row from the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix to the 1989 United States Grand Prix.[10] Sebastian Vettel is the youngest polesitter; he was 21 years, 72 days old when he qualified in first place for the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.[11] The oldest person to qualify in pole position was Nino Farina, who was 47 years, 79 days old when he was polesitter for the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix.[12] As of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix, 100 drivers have been on pole position in the 1,024 Grands Prix since the first World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix.[13][14] Since 2014, the driver with the most pole positions in a season has been awarded the Pole Trophy.[15] The inaugural Pole Trophy was won by Nico Rosberg,[16] while Charles Leclerc was the most recent recipient of the award with 7 poles in 2019.[17]
By driver
All figures correct as of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix
* | Driver has competed in the 2020 season |
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Formula One World Champion | |
Has competed in 2020 season and a Formula One World Champion | |
By nationality
All figures correct as of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix
Country | Poles | Driver(s) |
---|---|---|
278 | 17 | |
166 | 8 | |
126 | 6 | |
79 | 9 | |
63 | 5 | |
48 | 13 | |
46 | 3 | |
39 | 15 | |
38 | 3 | |
35 | 4 | |
22 | 1 | |
15 | 2 | |
15 | 2 | |
14 | 2 | |
13 | 1 | |
7 | 2 | |
7 | 1 | |
6 | 2 | |
3 | 1 | |
2 | 1 | |
1 | 1 | |
1 | 1 |
Most pole positions per season
All figures correct as of the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix
Driver has competed in the 2020 season | |
Bold | Won the World Championship in the same year |
* Season still in progress.
References
- "About FIA". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- Hughes & Tremayne 2002, pp. 82–83
- "Glossary". Formula One. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- "2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 7 April 2020. p. 3–4. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- "Wins by grid position". StatsF1. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- "Deciding the grid – A history of F1 qualifying formats". Formula One. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- "Practice and qualifying". Formula One. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Baldwin, Alan (4 March 2020). "Factbox: Some of the records in Lewis Hamilton's sights". Reuters. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- "Lewis Hamilton's sixth F1 world title: the stats". BBC Sport. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- Lynch, Steven (22 June 2012). "The winning formula – Ask Steven". ESPN. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- "'There are a lot of emotions' - Leclerc delighted with maiden F1 pole". Formula One. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Lynch, Steven (29 March 2013). "Team treachery – Ask Steven". ESPN. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- "Pole positions – By number". StatsF1. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- "British GP is secure: Ecclestone". BBC Sport. 20 June 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
- "FIA introduce penalty points system and pole position trophy for F1 in 2014". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 14 December 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- Benson, Andrew (8 November 2014). "Nico Rosberg snatches pole from Lewis Hamilton in Brazilian GP". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
- {cite web|url=https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.leclerc-clinches-2019-pole-position-prize-despite-being-fourth-fastest.1PAwoZShgPbqODUEO2dp2D.html |title=Leclerc clinches 2019 pole position prize – despite being fourth fastest |publisher=Formula One |date=16 November 2019 |accessdate=13 April 2020 }}
- Diepraam, Mattijs (1 December 2019). "Pole positions in World Championship events". 6th Gear. Forix. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- "Pole Positions In a Year". StatsF1. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- "Leclerc clinches 2019 pole position prize – despite being fourth fastest". formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- "Pole positions 2019". statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
Bibliography
- Hughes, Mark; Tremayne, David (2002). The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula 1. Parragon. ISBN 0-75258-766-8.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)