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 Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.[3] The polesitter is the driver that has qualified for a Grand Prix in pole position, at the front of the starting grid.[4] 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.[5] Out of the 1,035 completed Grands Prix (as of the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix), the driver that has qualified on pole position has gone on to win the race 435 times.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most pole positions,[9] having qualified first on 98 occasions.[10]Michael Schumacher is second with 68 pole positions.[11]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.[12]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.[13] 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.[14] As of the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, 101 drivers have been on pole position in the 1,035 Grands Prix since the first World Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix.[10][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 Charles Leclerc was the most recent recipient of the award with 7 poles in 2019.[18]
By driver
All figures correct as of the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
| * | Driver competed in the 2020 season |
|---|---|
 |
Formula One World Champion |
 |
Competed in the 2020 season and a Formula One World Champion |
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By nationality
All figures correct as of the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
| Country | Poles | Driver(s) |
|---|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
284 | 17 |
 Germany
|
166 | 8 |
 Brazil
|
126 | 6 |
 France
|
79 | 9 |
 Finland
|
66 | 5 |
 Italy
|
48 | 13 |
 Austria
|
46 | 3 |
 United States
|
39 | 15 |
 Argentina
|
38 | 3 |
 Australia
|
35 | 4 |
 Spain
|
22 | 1 |
 Canada
|
16 | 3 |
 Sweden
|
15 | 2 |
 Belgium
|
14 | 2 |
 Colombia
|
13 | 1 |
 Switzerland
|
7 | 2 |
 Monaco
|
7 | 1 |
 New Zealand
|
6 | 2 |
 South Africa
|
3 | 1 |
 Netherlands
|
3 | 1 |
 Poland
|
1 | 1 |
 Venezuela
|
1 | 1 |
Most pole positions per season
All figures correct as of the 2020 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
| Driver competed in the 2020 season | |
| Bold | Won the World Championship in the same year |
See also
References
- ^ "About FIA". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Williamson, Martin. "A brief history of Formula One". ESPN. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Hughes & Tremayne 2002, pp. 82-83
- ^ "Glossary". Formula One. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 7 April 2020. p. 3-4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Wins by grid position". StatsF1. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 2018.
- ^ "Deciding the grid - A history of F1 qualifying formats". Formula One. 17 March 2016. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Practice and qualifying". Formula One. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Baldwin, Alan (4 March 2020). "Factbox: Some of the records in Lewis Hamilton's sights". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ a b "Pole positions - By number". StatsF1. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Lewis Hamilton's sixth F1 world title: the stats". BBC Sport. 3 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Lynch, Steven (22 June 2012). "The winning formula - Ask Steven". ESPN. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 2012.
- ^ "'There are a lot of emotions' - Leclerc delighted with maiden F1 pole". Formula One. 30 March 2019. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Lynch, Steven (29 March 2013). "Team treachery - Ask Steven". ESPN. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2015.
- ^ "British GP is secure: Ecclestone". BBC Sport. 20 June 2009. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 2010.
- ^ "FIA introduce penalty points system and pole position trophy for F1 in 2014". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. 14 December 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ Benson, Andrew (8 November 2014). "Nico Rosberg snatches pole from Lewis Hamilton in Brazilian GP". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Leclerc clinches 2019 pole position prize - despite being fourth fastest". Formula One. 16 November 2019. Archived from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ a b Diepraam, Mattijs (1 December 2019). "Pole positions in World Championship events". 6th Gear. Forix. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av "Pole Positions In a Year". StatsF1. Archived from the original on 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Leclerc clinches 2019 pole position prize - despite being fourth fastest". formula1.com. Formula One World Championship Limited. 16 November 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2020.
- ^ "Pole positions 2019". statsf1.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 2020.
Bibliography
- Hughes, Mark; Tremayne, David (2002). The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula 1. Parragon. ISBN 0-75258-766-8.
External links
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