F1 drivers and home races: Extra motivation or guarantee of bad luck?
Column
- GPblog.com
For many drivers it is the most important race of the season: their home race. In 2021, 15 of the 20 drivers have had a home Grand Prix in their Formula 1 career and four of them have even managed to win in their own country.
Winning on home soil
Lewis Hamilton currently holds the record for most wins at a home Grand Prix. The seven-time champion has won the British Grand Prix no less than eight times in his career. Fernando Alonso has managed to win twice in Spain, while Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen have both won once on home soil.
In addition, only one other driver of the 2021 grid has been on the podium in his home country. That was Sergio Perez, who secured a well-earned third place in the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix.
Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo and Antonio Giovinazzi have all scored points in their home country, but have never been on the podium. Ricciardo was the closest to this, as the Aussie actually managed to finish on the podium at the 2014 GP of Australia, but was later disqualified. His best home result is a fourth place.
Leclerc never finished in Monaco
Charles Leclerc's particularly poor home record is remarkable. The Monegasque has officially never finished at Monaco, although he was classified eighteenth in 2018, as there were only a few laps to go when he crashed out. Furthermore, he retired after damage in 2019, and in 2021 Leclerc didn't even make the start, despite getting pole position on the Saturday.
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