Statistics after GP Spain | Verstappen becomes immortal

Verstappen continues to climb

Starting with Red Bull driver Verstappen, who in Spain took his 24th pole position, his 40th victory, his third Grand Slam, his sixth 'Hat Trick' and was in the lead for an entire race for the ninth time in his career. Verstappen has the potential to become one of the greatest of all time in Formula 1 and with only one less F1 victory behind his name than Ayrton Senna, he will take a big step up in prestige.

Verstappen won almost 24 per cent of all his races driven, with pole position taken in a good 14 per cent of his races. His total number of pole positions of 24 puts him on par with father-in-law Nelson Piquet and with Niki Lauda. The remaining three statistics really show how dominant Verstappen can be. No fewer than nine times Verstappen drove a race in which he did not relinquish the lead.

New form of dominance

In this statistic, Verstappen is on a shared P7 with Nigel Mansell. Michael Schumacher is ahead of him with 11, while Lewis Hamilton tops with 23. For the Dutchman in Spain, it was his sixth Hat Trick; pole position, fastest lap and victory. He is on P9 in this ranking. Schumacher is on top with 22 Hat Tricks, with behind him Lewis Hamilton with 19.

The most interesting statistic is the third Grand Slam Verstappen managed to grab in Spain; pole position, fastest lap, win without losing the lead. With his third Grand Slam, Verstappen has entered the top ten. In F1 history, only 26 drivers have ever scored a Grand Slam. Of those 26, four are currently active in Formula 1. Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso both have one, Verstappen now has three and Hamilton is P2 in this list with six.

A final notable statistic for Verstappen is that with the podium shared between Hamilton and Verstappen in Spain, they are almost the most frequently seen duo on the F1 podium. Verstappen and Hamilton were on the podium with each other no less than 55 times. Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel shared the podium 56 times.

Red Bull goes for a hundred

Red Bull has achieved its 99th win in team history with Verstappen's victory. The team has been competing in Formula 1 since 2005 and won almost 28 per cent of the races they have entered. Mercedes stands at 125 wins and won a whopping 45 per cent of all races. Should Red Bull win all the races this season, which is considered possible by Helmut Marko, Red Bull will be level with Williams at the end of this season on a total of 114 F1 wins.

Red Bull comes close to the personal record most consecutive wins with its most recent win. Red Bull won the last race of 2022 in Abu Dhabi and has not lost since. Currently, the series stands at eight consecutive wins. In 2013 and in 2022, Red Bull managed to string together nine. By winning the Canadian and Austrian GPs, Red Bull can break its own record. If the British GP is also won, Red Bull will equal McLaren's all-time record. In 1988, the team won 11 races in a row.

Alonso's career in perspective

Finally, a statistic that puts the length of Fernando Alonso's F1 career in perspective. The 41-year-old Aston Martin driver is the most experienced driver in F1, having participated in a whopping 363 F1 races. The Spanish GP was number 1086 in F1 championship history. That means Alonso has participated in a third of all F1 championship races ever. Even one more than those 362.