Formula One: 7-time Champion Michael Schumacher most successful with 91 victories
Race Starts
Rubens Barrichello is the most experienced driver in Formula One history with 293 race starts. It is hoped that the Japanese Grand Prix in October this year will see him race his 300th race, the first in the sport. Michael Schumacher has taken part in 258 and Riccardo Patrese in 256 races. Barrichello has served as a driver for 17 years which is the longest duration for any driver.
Victories
Schumacher is the most successful driver in Formula One with 91 race victories or success in over 35% of all his races. Alain Prost has won 51 or 25.25% percent races and Ayrton Senna has won 41 out of 162 races with a success ratio of 25.31%. In terms of percentages, Lee Wallard has won 50% of the races but the American only took part in 2 races. Former champion Manuel Fangio has won 46.15% races having won 24 out of 52 races. Bill Vukovich has amassed a 40% success ratio.
Schumacher tops the list as far as most wins in a season are concerned. He won 13 out of 18 races in 2004 and 11 out of 17 races in 2002. The next best is Nigel Mansell with 9 victories in a 16-race season of 1992. Alberto Ascari in 1952 won 75% of the season races when he clinched 6 wins from 8 races. Schumacher with his 13 victories in 2004 is placed second with 72% and Jim Clark won 70% races in 1963.
Both Schumacher and Ascari also hold the record for most consecutive wins. Ascari won 7 races in 1952-53 and Schumacher won 7 races in 2004 winning all races from European GP to Hungarian GP. The best season start ever has been from Schumacher and Mansell as both won 5 opening races each in 2004 and 1992 respectively.
The highest number of wins as a rookie driver has been amassed by both Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton as both drivers won 4 races in their debut seasons in 1996 and 2007 respectively. Three drivers have won their first ever race and these are Nino Farina, Johnnie Parsons and Giancarlo Baghetti. There have been some who took forever to win their first race. Webber tops the list with 130 starts before his first win followed by Barrichello with 123 and Jarno Trulli with 119. Andrea de Cesaris, Nick Heidfeld and Martin Brundle are three unlucky drivers as they started 208, 167 and 158 races respectively without a win.
When it comes to heroics, John Watson is the man. He won the 1983 US GP having started 22nd on the grid. Bill Vukovich and Barrichello both have own races starting from 19th and 18th places respectively.
Pole Positions
Michael Schumacher has the highest number of poles with 68, followed by Senna’s 65 and Jim Clark’s 33. Senna holds the record for consecutive pole positions when he took pole position in 8 consecutive races in 1988-89. Senna, Prost and Schumacher all three have recorded 7 consecutive pole positions. Nigel Mansell won 14 pole positions out of 16 possible in 1992 which is a record. He is closely followed by Senna with 13 pole positions in 1988 and 1989.
Fastest Laps
In his 258 races, Schumacher has recorded 76 fastest laps followed by Alain Prost 41 and Kimi Raikkonen 35. Schumacher in 2004 and Kimi Raikkonen in 2008 both set 10 fastest laps during the season. Ascari has set 7 consecutive fastest laps in 1952-53 while Raikkonen set 6 fastest laps in consecutive races in 2008.
Podium Finishes
Michael Schumacher has been on the podium for a record 154 times ahead of Prost with 106 and Senna with 80 podiums. In 2002, Schumacher finished all 17 races on the podium. In 2005, Alonso finished 15 out of 19 races on the podium. Schumacher has claimed 19 consecutive podiums in 2001-02.
Points
Schumacher tops the list having scored most points in F1 history with a total count of 1403. He is followed by Prost with 798.5 and Alonso with 675. Schumacher has finished 195 of his races in points, Barrichello has 132 and Prost 128 finishes in points.
Lewis Hamilton has the highest average points per race with 6.28 after scoring 383 points in 61 races. Schumacher scores 5.42 points every race while Fangio scores 5.34.
Schumacher holds the record for most points in a season with 148 in 2004 and 144 in 2002. He is followed by Alonso who scored 134 points in 2006 and 133 in 2005.
Doubles and Triples
Schumacher holds the record for 40 doubles (pole and win in same race) and 22 triples. He has led a total of 5,108 laps or 24,126 km. Jim Clark has the record for most Grand Chelems, which is leading entire race from pole and scoring the fastest lap.
Championships
Schumacher has won a record 7 championships, followed by Fangio’s 5. No driver has won a championship in his debut season with the exception of the first F1 season.
Youngest and Oldest
Jaime Alguersuari is the youngest driver to start a race at 19 years and 125 days. Oldest driver to start a race is Louis Chiron at 55 years and 292 days. Sebastian Vettel is the youngest race winner with 21 years and 73 days. The oldest man to win a race is Luigi Fagioli at 53 years and 22 days. Vettel is also the youngest pole sitter while Nino Farina the oldest. Hamilton is the youngest driver to win a race at 23 years and 300 days.
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