Lewis Hamilton will become the sixth driver to reach the milestone of 300 F1 races when the 2022 French GP begins. Fernando Alonso is the only active driver to have more than 300 races to his name, although Sebastian Vettel could join the team. exclusive club if it continues in 2023.
Due to serious injuries and risks, combined with smaller calendars, F1 drivers’ careers tended to be shorter in the past, plus there were also non-championship events not included in these numbers.
Two-time champion Graham Hill held the record for over a decade before Jacques Laffite equaled his tally of 176 races at the 1986 British GP. Sadly, Laffite was involved in an accident at Brands Hatch that ended his F1 career.
Riccardo Patrese later increased the record to 256, but there are now eight drivers who have broken that number:
1. Kimi Raikkonen
Departures: 349
Years: 2001-09, 2012-21
Wins: 21
Poles: 18
Fast laps: 46
Titles: 1 (2007)
Kimi Raikkonen graduated to F1 with Sauber as a 21-year-old in 2001. He was so impressive that he was signed by McLaren in 2002 and stayed with the team for five seasons.
His first win came at the 2003 Malaysian GP and he went on to take eight more wins alongside McLaren. He came close to winning the 2005 title but was frustrated by car problems and left for Ferrari after a disappointing 2006 campaign.
Raikkonen won on his Ferrari debut at the 2007 Australian GP and claimed his only drivers’ crown by taking advantage of the infighting at McLaren between Hamilton and Alonso.
Back then, Felipe Massa started to lead Ferrari, but Raikkonen stepped up after the Brazilian’s accident in qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian GP. He also won the Belgian GP before being released from his contract. at the end of the season.
Raikkonen tried rallying and NASCAR before returning to F1 with Lotus. He won the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP on his way to third place in qualifying and the following year’s Australian GP.
He rejoined Ferrari in 2014, but largely played a supporting role, first to Alonso and then to Vettel. Raikkonen took his 21st and last F1 victory at the 2018 United States GP before joining Alfa Romeo and ending his career there after three seasons.
2.Fernando Alonso
Departures: 344
Years: 2001, 2003-18, 2021-present
Wins: 32
Poles: 22
Fast laps: 23
Titles: 2 (2005-06)
Of all the drivers on this list, Alonso probably has a record that reflects his impressive performances over two decades.
After making his F1 debut for Minardi in 2001, Alonso took his first win at the 2003 Hungarian GP with Renault, after a year as a test driver.
In 2005 he won his first title, which he successfully defended in 2006, defeating one of the greatest talents in F1 history; Michael Schumacher.
Alonso joined McLaren in 2007. His car was fast, but so was precocious rookie Hamilton and the battle between them helped Raikkonen win the title that campaign. Alonso, who clearly felt left out, broke his contract and went back to Renault.
Alonso opted for Ferrari in 2010 and it could be said that he reached his best moment there. The Spaniard came close to taking the crown in both 2010 and 2012, but Ferrari started the turbo-hybrid era poorly and Alonso left after a disappointing 2014.
The McLaren-Honda combination proved disastrous and Alonso was missing for four seasons before taking a break from F1. He won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice and added the world endurance title to his resume, then returned in 2021 with Alpine as he continues his quest for that elusive third top-flight title.
3. Rubens Barrichello
Departures: 322
Years: 1993-2011
Wins: 11
Poles: 14
Fast laps: 17
Titles: 0
Rubens Barrichello began his F1 career with Jordan and stayed with the team for four seasons. Often impressive in wet conditions, Barrichello took his first F1 pole position in a rain-affected session at Spa in 1994, then took a brilliant second place in the 1997 Monaco GP at the wheel of Stewart.
The Brazilian joined Ferrari in 2000 alongside Schumacher and eventually scored his first F1 win in his 123rd start, coming from 18th on the grid to win the German GP.
Replaced by Massa in 2006, Barrichello joined Honda in 2006. He endured three difficult years alongside Jenson Button and the team struggled financially in 2008 when Honda decided to pull out of F1.
Resurrected as Brawn, the team had the better car at the start of 2009, but it was Button who made the most of it. Red Bull grew stronger as the campaign progressed, leaving Barrichello with two wins and third place in the standings while Button clinched the title.
After two years at Williams, Barrichello retired from F1 at the end of 2011 having made a record 322 races at the time.
4. Michael Schumacher
Departures: 306
Years: 1991-2006, 2010-12
Wins: 91
Poles: 68
Fast laps: 77
Titles: 7 (1994-95, 2000-04)
Michael Schumacher, one of the legends of motorsport, made his F1 debut with Jordan at the 1991 Belgian GP. He was immediately hired by Benetton, and took his first F1 victory at Spa in 1992, becoming a championship contender from from 1994.
Schumacher took the 1994 crown after a clash with rival Damon Hill in Adelaide as F1 was recovering from the death of Ayrton Senna.
Schumacher moved to Ferrari in 1996, following a period of rebuilding. The German scored some of his best wins over the next three years, but it wasn’t until 2000, and after missing part of the 1999 season due to injuries sustained in a Silverstone crash, that he scored his third championship success.
From then on, the floodgates opened and Schumacher claimed a further four crowns, with 2002 and 2004 being some of his most dominant seasons in F1 history. A rule change and Alonso’s rise at Renault finally ended his streak in 2005, but Schumacher bounced back and narrowly lost the 2006 title to the Spaniard before retiring.
After three years away from the sport (and a motorcycle accident), Schumacher returned to Mercedes in 2010. There were glimpses of his old self, but Schumacher retired for good after three seasons without adding to his then-record 91 GP wins.
5. Jenson Button
Departures : 306
Years: 2000-17
Wins : 15
Poles : 8
Fast laps: 8
Titles: 1 (2009)
Jenson Button came to F1 with Williams and impressed in 2000, but lost his seat to Indycar star Juan Pablo Montoya, so he joined Benetton.
He wrestled alongside Giancarlo Fisichella in 2001 but improved in 2002 and later joined BAR. He handily defeated teammate and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve in 2003 before starring the following season.
Button was one of the standouts that season, but Ferrari’s dominance meant a first F1 victory remained elusive.
Button’s first success finally came at the 2006 Hungarian GP, thanks to a brilliant drive in difficult conditions from 14th on the grid. However, Honda’s competitiveness receded after that and Button’s F1 career faded when the team folded at the end of 2008.
Button then joined Hamilton at McLaren, taking eight wins between 2010 and 2012. He also scored more points than Hamilton during the same period, largely thanks to arguably Button’s best F1 campaign in 2011 which earned him second place in the championship.
Button made his final F1 outing, replacing an Alonso at the 2017 Monaco GP.
6. Lewis Hamilton
Departures: 299
Years: 2007-present
Wins: 103
Poles: 103
Fast laps: 60
Titles: 7 (2008, 2014-15, 2017-20)
Seven world titles, 103 wins and 103 pole positions. Hamilton entered F1 in 2007 with a string of junior titles to his name, and immediately gave his team-mate, two-time McLaren world champion Alonso, some headaches. There were mistakes, especially in the pitlane at the Chinese GP, but his speed was never in doubt.
Having narrowly missed out on the title in his debut year, Hamilton overtook Ferrari’s Massa in 2008. Hamilton and McLaren were sporadically quick between 2010 and 2012 but were unable to defeat the Vettel-Red Bull combination and the Brit left the team afterward. of a frustrating lack of reliability in 2012.
The Silver Arrows became the dominant force when the turbo hybrid rules arrived in 2014, with Hamilton taking the 2014 and 2015 titles. He normally had a lead over teammate Nico Rosberg, but a combination of poor starts and problems with Hamilton’s car he helped the German snatch the 2016 crown.
Following the retirement of Rosberg and the arrival of Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton arguably reached his peak in 2017-18, winning two more titles despite strong challenges from Ferrari. The successes continued in the brilliant Mercedes machinery and in 2020 Hamilton equaled Schumacher’s record of seven world titles.
Rule tweaks hampered Mercedes for 2021 and Red Bull held a slight lead, but Hamilton still became the first driver to score 100 GP world championship wins in Russia. Despite clashes with his main rival Max Verstappen, Hamilton remained in title contention and could have won the title during the Abu Dhabi final.
7. Sebastian Vettel
Departures: 288
Years: 2007-present
Wins: 53
Poles: 57
Fast laps: 38
Titles: 4 (2010-13)
His F1 debut with BMW in 2007 heralded Vettel’s arrival in F1 and he was soon starring for Toro Rosso. He took the team’s first F1 win at the 2008 Italian GP in the wet and graduated to the Red Bull team for the following year.
The RB5 was a championship contender in 2009. A few mistakes and a strong start from Brawn kept the titles out of Red Bull’s grasp, but Vettel took four wins on his way to second behind Button.
Vettel was part of a four-way title fight in 2010 and wins in the final rounds in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, combined with poor strategy from teammate Mark Webber and Ferrari rival Alonso, gave him his first F1 crown.
Nothing stopped Vettel and Red Bull in 2011 and 2013, but 2012 was closer. Vettel did not like the first Red Bull of the turbo-hybrid era and fought alongside his new teammate Daniel Ricciardo. He was just fifth in qualifying and was winless before heading to Ferrari.
The change rejuvenated Vettel and he picked up three wins on his way. Vettel battled for the title in 2017 and 2018 but made mistakes and usually lost in wheel-to-wheel fights with Hamilton. Vettel was twice runner-up, but thereafter the balance of power at Ferrari shifted as Charles Leclerc replaced Raikkonen in 2019.
8. Felipe Massa
Departures: 269
Years: 2002, 2004-17
Wins: 11
Poles: 16
Fast laps: 15
Titles: 0
Massa showed potential at Sauber in 2002 and 2004-05. He really began to mature alongside Schumacher at Ferrari in 2006, when he scored his first two F1 wins, in Turkey and his native Brazil.
He helped teammate Raikkonen to the crown in 2007, and Massa reached his best form the following year leading the Ferrari attack.
Massa still had an advantage over Raikkonen when his 2009 Hungarian GP qualifying accident ended his season. He returned in 2010 but rarely matched Alonso, being asked to step aside for his new teammate during the 2010 German GP.
Massa took a gamble on Williams in 2014, just as the famed team got a boost from Mercedes’ turbo-hybrid power. His teammate Bottas was quickest but it was Massa who took pole position at the Austrian GP and was 2.6sec short of winning the Abu Dhabi GP.
After retiring from F1 at the end of 2016, Massa was recalled by Williams to replace Bottas, who was headed to Mercedes. Williams had regressed a bit, but Massa overtook rookie teammate Lance Stroll before retiring from F1 for good.
