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.[2] The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The polesitter is the driver that has qualified for a Grand Prix in pole position, at the front of the starting grid.[3] Out of the 1,115 completed (as of the), the driver that has started in first has gone on to win the race 476 times.[4]
Qualifying is traditionally contested on the Saturday (Friday for some events) of a Grand Prix weekend to determine the drivers' positions on the starting grid of the race held on the Sunday (although from to, in a small number of the events, so-called sprint races are held on the Saturdays, in which case the qualifying session is held on the Fridays of those Grand Prix weekends. In 2021 the winner of the sprint was credited with pole position. In 2022 the pole-sitter of the sprint race was officially awarded the pole position in those events. From a separate qualifying session is held for sprints, named sprint shootout. The fastest qualifier in sprint shootouts is not generally credited with a pole position). Historically, there have been a number of different qualifying systems; previously, each driver was only allowed a single lap to set his qualifying time.[5] 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.[6]
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most pole positions,[7] having qualified first on occasions. Michael Schumacher is second with 68 pole positions.[8] Ayrton Senna is third with 65 poles. Senna and Max Verstappen jointly hold the record for most consecutive pole positions; Senna qualified in first place in eight in a row from the to the, with Verstappen's record streak lasting from the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to the 2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.[9] [10] Sebastian Vettel is the youngest polesitter; he was 21 years, 72 days old when he qualified in first place for the .[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 .[12] As of the, 106 drivers have been on pole position in the 1,115 since the first World Championship race, the, with the most recent driver to achieve their first pole position being Kevin Magnussen at the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.[13] [14] [15] Since 2014, the driver with the most pole positions in a season has been awarded the Pole Trophy.[16] The inaugural Pole Trophy was won by Nico Rosberg,[17] while Max Verstappen is the most recent recipient of the award with 12 poles in 2023.
Driver has competed in the season | |||
scope=row width=40px align=center style="background-color:#D0F0C0" | Formula One World Champion | ||
---|---|---|---|
scope=row width=40px align=center style="background-color:#cedff2" | Has competed in the 2024 season and a Formula One World Champion |
Driver | scope=col | Nationality | scope=col | Poles | scope=col | Entries | scope=col | Seasons active | scope=col data-sort-type="text" | First pole | scope=col data-sort-type="text" | Last pole |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | scope=row style=background:#cedff2 | – | data-sort-value="2007-06" | 2007 Canadian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2023-11" | 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix | ||||||
2 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 68< | -- Please do not change this to 69; although Schumacher was fastest in qualifying for the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, due to his grid penalty he is not considered the polesitter --> | 308 | –, – | data-sort-value="1994-04" | 1994 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2006-11" | 2006 French Grand Prix | |||
3 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 65 | 162 | – | data-sort-value="1985-02" | 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1994-03" | 1994 San Marino Grand Prix | ||||
4 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 57 | 300 | – | data-sort-value="2008-14" | 2008 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2019-17" | 2019 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||
5 | – | data-sort-value="2019-12" | 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2024-11" | 2024 Austrian Grand Prix | |||||||
6 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 33 | 73 | – | data-sort-value="1962-02" | 1962 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1968-01" | 1968 South African Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 33 | 202 | –, | data-sort-value="1981-10" | 1981 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1993-15" | 1993 Japanese Grand Prix | |||||
8 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 32 | 191 | –, – | data-sort-value="1984-08" | 1984 Dallas Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1994-16" | 1994 Australian Grand Prix | ||||
9 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 30 | 206 | – | data-sort-value="2012-03" | 2012 Chinese Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2016-17" | 2016 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||
10 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 29 | 52 | –, – | data-sort-value="1950-02" | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1958-01" | 1958 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||
11 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 26 | 165 | – | data-sort-value="1997-15" | 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2000-13" | 2000 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||
12 | – | data-sort-value="2019-02" | 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2024-14" | 2024 Belgian Grand Prix | |||||||
13 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 24 | 177 | –, – | data-sort-value="1974-03" | 1974 South African Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1978-03" | 1978 South African Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 24 | 207 | – | data-sort-value="1980-04" | 1980 United States Grand Prix West | data-sort-value="1987-13" | 1987 Spanish Grand Prix | |||||
15 | scope=row style=background:#cedff2 | , –, – | data-sort-value="2003-02" | 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2012-10" | 2012 German Grand Prix | ||||||
16 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 20 | 122 | – | data-sort-value="1993-08" | 1993 French Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1996-15" | 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix | ||||
– | data-sort-value="2017-03" | 2017 Bahrain Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2021-19" | 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix | ||||||||
18 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 18 | 131 | –, – | data-sort-value="1968-11" | 1968 United States Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1982-15" | 1982 Italian Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 18 | 165 | – | data-sort-value="1979-11" | 1979 Austrian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1983-09" | 1983 British Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 18 | 353 | –, – | data-sort-value="2003-09" | 2003 European Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2018-14" | 2018 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
21 | 17 | 100 | – | data-sort-value="1969-03" | 1969 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1973-11" | 1973 German Grand Prix | |||||
22 | 16 | 67 | – | data-sort-value="1955-06" | 1955 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1961-01" | 1961 Monaco Grand Prix | |||||
16 | 272 | , – | data-sort-value="2006-14" | 2006 Turkish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2014-08" | 2014 Austrian Grand Prix | ||||||
24 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 14 | 33 | – | data-sort-value="1951-06" | 1951 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1954-09" | 1954 Spanish Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 14 | 93 | – | data-sort-value="1976-01" | 1976 Brazilian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1977-15" | 1977 United States Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 14 | 123 | – | data-sort-value="1973-02" | 1973 Brazilian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1978-12" | 1978 Austrian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 14 | 326 | – | data-sort-value="1994-11" | 1994 Belgian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2009-16" | 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||||
28 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 13 | 179 | – | data-sort-value="1962-03" | 1962 Belgian Grand Prix | data-sort=value="1968-07" | 1968 British Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 13 | 128 | – | data-sort-value="1959-05" | 1959 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1970-02" | 1970 Spanish Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 13 | 122 | – | data-sort-value="1968-08" | 1968 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1972-10" | 1972 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 13 | 165 | – | data-sort-value="1996-01" | 1996 Australian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1997-17" | 1997 European Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 13 | 95 | – | data-sort-value="2001-12" | 2001 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2005-16" | 2005 Belgian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 13 | 217 | – | data-sort-value="2009-09" | 2009 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2013-17" | 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | |||||
34 | 12 | 210 | – | data-sort-value="1987-12" | 1987 Portuguese Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1997-10" | 1997 German Grand Prix | |||||
12 | 247 | – | data-sort-value="1995-02" | 1995 Argentine Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2001-07" | 2001 Monaco Grand Prix | ||||||
36 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 10 | 62 | – | data-sort-value="1968-06" | 1968 French Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1970-09" | 1970 Austrian Grand Prix | ||||
37 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 8 | 113 | – | data-sort-value="1960-08" | 1960 Portuguese Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1968-09" | 1968 Italian Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 8 | 257 | – | data-sort-value="1981-01" | 1981 United States Grand Prix West | data-sort-value="1992-11" | 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 8 | 309 | – | data-sort-value="2004-04" | 2004 San Marino Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2012-12" | 2012 Belgian Grand Prix | |||||
40 | scope=row | 7 | 180 | – | data-sort-value="1976-13" | 1976 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1981-07" | 1981 Spanish Grand Prix | ||||
41 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 6 | 51 | –, | data-sort-value="1960-09" | 1960 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1961-06" | 1961 German Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 6 | 149 | – | data-sort-value="1972-04" | 1972 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1974-14" | 1974 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 6 | 55 | –, – | data-sort-value="1979-03" | 1979 South African Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1980-03" | 1980 South African Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 6 | 117 | –,, – | data-sort-value="1979-09" | 1979 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1980-09" | 1980 German Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 6 | 146 | – | data-sort-value="1972-01" | 1972 Argentine Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1981-15" | 1981 Caesars Palace Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 6 | 182 | – | data-sort-value="2001-10" | 2001 French Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2005-18" | 2005 Japanese Grand Prix | |||||
47 | scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 5 | 36 | – | data-sort-value="1950-01" | 1950 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1954-01" | 1954 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 5 | 108 | – | data-sort-value="1968-02" | 1968 Spanish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1972-06" | 1972 French Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 5 | 139 | – | data-sort-value="1970-13" | 1970 Mexican Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1976-03" | 1976 United States Grand Prix West | |||||
scope=row | 5 | 123 | –, – | data-sort-value="1983-02" | 1983 United States Grand Prix West | data-sort-value="1984-05" | 1984 French Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | 5 | 128 | – | data-sort-value="1982-10" | 1982 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1986-10" | 1986 German Grand Prix | |||||
– | data-sort-value="2022-10" | 2022 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2023-15" | 2023 Singapore Grand Prix | ||||||||
53 | 4 | 47 | – | data-sort-value="1958-05" | 1958 Belgian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1958-11" | 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix | |||||
4 | 72 | – | data-sort-value="1980-06" | 1980 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1982-09" | 1982 German Grand Prix | ||||||
4 | 256 | – | data-sort-value="2004-06" | 2004 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2009-04" | 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix | ||||||
4 | 231 | – | data-sort-value="1998-10" | 1998 Austrian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2009-12" | 2009 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||||
57 | scope=row | 3 | 26 | –, | data-sort-value="1951-05" | 1951 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1955-01" | 1955 Argentine Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 3 | 39 | – | data-sort-value="1958-02" | 1958 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1959-06" | 1959 German Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 3 | 87 | –, | data-sort-value="1962-06" | 1962 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1964-03" | 1964 Belgian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 3 | 143 | , – | data-sort-value="1975-01" | 1975 Argentine Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1978-16" | 1978 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row style=background:#D0F0C0 | South Africa | 3 | 113 | – | data-sort-value="1976-07" | 1976 Swedish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1979-07" | 1979 Monaco Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 3 | 109 | – | data-sort-value="1983-14" | 1983 European Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1985-05" | 1985 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 3 | 71 | , – | data-sort-value="1985-09" | 1985 German Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1986-13" | 1986 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
– | data-sort-value="2016-06" | 2016 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2018-19" | 2018 Mexican Grand Prix | ||||||||
– | data-sort-value="2022-02" | 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2023-05" | 2023 Miami Grand Prix | ||||||||
– | data-sort-value="2022-13" | 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2024-12" | 2024 British Grand Prix | ||||||||
– | data-sort-value="2021-15" | 2021 Russian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2024-13" | 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix | ||||||||
68 | scope=row | 2 | 14 | – | data-sort-value="1957-08" | 1957 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1958-03" | 1958 Dutch Grand Prix | ||||
scope=row | 2 | 100 | – | data-sort-value="1968-12" | 1968 Mexican Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1971-08" | 1971 Austrian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 2 | 154 | –, | data-sort-value="1977-06" | 1977 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1978-09" | 1978 French Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 2 | 68 | – | data-sort-value="1979-04" | 1979 United States Grand Prix West | data-sort-value="1981-04" | 1981 San Marino Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 2 | 215 | – | data-sort-value="1984-03" | 1984 Belgian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1985-01" | 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 2 | 202 | – | data-sort-value="1994-12" | 1994 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1997-13" | 1997 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
scope=row | 2 | 160 | – | data-sort-value="1997-05" | 1997 Monaco Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1999-14" | 1999 European Grand Prix | |||||
75 | 1 | 6 | –, – | data-sort-value="1950-03" | 1950 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1950-03" | 1950 Indianapolis 500 | |||||
1 | 5 | – | data-sort-value="1951-02" | 1951 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1951-02" | 1951 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 9 | – | data-sort-value="1952-02" | 1952 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1952-02" | 1952 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 6 | – | data-sort-value="1953-02" | 1953 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1953-02" | 1953 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 6 | – | data-sort-value="1954-02" | 1954 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1954-02" | 1954 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 5 | , – | data-sort-value="1955-03" | 1955 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1955-03" | 1955 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 14 | – | data-sort-value="1955-04" | 1955 Belgian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1955-04" | 1955 Belgian Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 6 | , –, | data-sort-value="1956-03" | 1956 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1956-03" | 1956 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 6 | – | data-sort-value="1957-03" | 1957 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1957-03" | 1957 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 6 | , – | data-sort-value="1958-04" | 1958 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1958-04" | 1958 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 8 | – | data-sort-value="1959-02" | 1959 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1959-02" | 1959 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 108 | – | data-sort-value="1959-03" | 1959 Dutch Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1959-03" | 1959 Dutch Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 7 | – | data-sort-value="1960-03" | 1960 Indianapolis 500 | data-sort-value="1960-03" | 1960 Indianapolis 500 | ||||||
1 | 29 | – | data-sort-value="1961-07" | 1961 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1961-07" | 1961 Italian Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 42 | – | data-sort-value="1966-03" | 1966 French Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1966-03" | 1966 French Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 7 | , – | data-sort-value="1966-07" | 1966 Italian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1966-07" | 1966 Italian Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 32 | , – | data-sort-value="1972-11" | 1972 Canadian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1972-11" | 1972 Canadian Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 112 | – | data-sort-value="1973-03" | 1973 South African Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1973-03" | 1973 South African Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 95 | , – | data-sort-value="1974-07" | 1974 Swedish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1974-07" | 1974 Swedish Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 73 | – | data-sort-value="1975-03" | 1975 South African Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1975-03" | 1975 South African Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 79 | – | data-sort-value="1975-07" | 1975 Swedish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1975-07" | 1975 Swedish Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 42 | – | data-sort-value="1975-10" | 1975 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1975-10" | 1975 British Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 82 | –, | data-sort-value="1980-14" | 1980 United States Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1980-14" | 1980 United States Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 214 | – | data-sort-value="1982-03" | 1982 United States Grand Prix West | data-sort-value="1982-03" | 1982 United States Grand Prix West | ||||||
1 | 164 | – | data-sort-value="1990-10" | 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="1990-10" | 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 185 | – | data-sort-value="2005-07" | 2005 European Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2005-07" | 2005 European Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 99 | –,, | data-sort-value="2008-03" | 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2008-03" | 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix | ||||||
1 | 112 | – | data-sort-value="2008-09" | 2008 British Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2008-09" | 2008 British Grand Prix | ||||||
, –, – | data-sort-value="2010-18" | 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2010-18" | 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix | ||||||||
1 | 96 | – | data-sort-value="2012-05" | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2012-05" | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix | ||||||
– | data-sort-value="2020-14" | 2020 Turkish Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2020-14" | 2020 Turkish Grand Prix | ||||||||
–, – | data-sort-value="2022-21" | 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix | data-sort-value="2022-21" | 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix |
Poles | Driver(s) | ||
---|---|---|---|
19 | |||
8 | |||
126 | 6 | ||
9 | |||
5 | |||
48 | 13 | ||
46 | 3 | ||
1 | |||
39 | 15 | ||
38 | 3 | ||
4 | |||
2 | |||
1 | |||
3 | |||
15 | 2 | ||
14 | 2 | ||
13 | 1 | ||
7 | 2 | ||
6 | 2 | ||
3 | 1 | ||
1 | |||
1 | 1 | ||
1 | 1 | ||
1 |
Driver has competed in the season | ||
Bold | Won the World Championship in the same year |