How many pole positions has Lewis Hamilton achieved in Formula 1?
F1 News
Lewis Hamilton has achieved 104 pole positions in his Formula 1 career. That is the most ever recorded by a Formula 1 driver in the sport's history. He surprised Michael Schumacher's record of 68 pole positions at the 2017 Italian Grand Prix weekend. He toppled the century mark at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix weekend and later in the year secured his 100th Grand Prix victory. His last pole position came at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix in July.
When was Lewis Hamilton's first pole position?
Hamilton started his Formula 1 career in 2007 and didn't have to wait long until his first pole position. In his first F1 qualifying session, Hamilton secured a place on the second row. He was around 0.250 seconds slower than his McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso. Hamilton moved up to the front row for the first time in just his third F1 qualifying session. This also marked the first time he out-qualified Alonso. He secured a front-row lockout for McLaren at the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix but couldn't beat his teammate to pole.
In his sixth F1 weekend, Hamilton secured his first Formula 1 pole position at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. The British driver went on to lead almost every lap of the race and achieved his first Formula 1 victory in the same weekend. Hamilton went on to secure his second pole position at the next event in the United States. Perhaps one of his most memorable pole positions in his early days came at the 2007 British Grand Prix. He achieved his first Silverstone pole position by one-tenth. In total, he has started from pole position at Silverstone seven times.
2008 title-winning season
After losing the title by one point in his debut year, Hamilton returned to the track at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix. He started the season in fine form and secured pole position. He went on to win the race. Hamilton would go on to get six more pole positions in 2008, one more than his title rival Felipe Massa. Massa thought he had secured the all-important pole position in the title-deciding race in Brazil, but it wasn't to be. He won the race but Hamilton scored enough points to win the World Championship.
Hamilton would go on to get a total of 26 pole positions for McLaren and achieved the feat at least once in every season. He managed it just once in both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
Records tumble at Mercedes
Hamilton made the move to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season, and then the records tumbled. Mercedes' fast car combined with Hamilton's skill over a single lap allowed him to take pole position after pole position. These results were converted into wins, which turned into six World Championship titles. In 2016, ironically the year Hamilton failed to win the title, the Brit secured 12 out of the 21 pole positions. That's the most he has ever managed in a single season, though he picked up a higher percentage in the 2020 season.
Hamilton then bumped into a charging Max Verstappen and a very quick Red Bull car. The two drivers were locked together in one of the best title fights in Formula 1 history. In fact, Hamilton only managed five pole positions in 2021, half as many as Verstappen. But the Brit secured the all-important pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. But, like in 2008, it wasn't the pole sitter on the final day of the season who went on to win the World Championship.
Mercedes didn't ace the rule and regulation changes for the 2022 season and no longer had the quickest car on the grid. That honour went to Red Bull Racing, and the German team have been trying to play catch-up ever since. In the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton and Mercedes demonstrated signs of a comeback because the seven-time World Champion achieved his 104th pole position, his first in 33 races.