How many pole positions has Max Verstappen achieved in Formula 1?

The first pole in Hungary

It all started for Verstappen with qualifying for the 2019 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Dutchman was 0.018s faster than Valtteri Bottas on Saturday, taking his first pole in his F1 career. Verstappen seemed to be on his way to becoming the youngest man ever on pole, but it was too late for that in 2019.

Sebastian Vettel still holds that record. At 21 years and 2 months old, he took pole for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc came close, at 21 years and 5 months old. He is number two on the list. The Monegasque took pole in 2019 in Bahrain, before Verstappen's first pole. Fernando Alonso is also above Verstappen. The Spaniard was 21 years and 7 months old when he took pole in Malaysia in 2003. Verstappen was 21 years and 10 months old when he first took pole.

In 2019, Verstappen added a second pole to his list of achievements during the Brazilian Grand Prix. One pole was added in 2020. In the year that Mercedes were supreme, Verstappen only achieved pole position in Abu Dhabi during the last race of the season. That was a foreshadow for a good 2021 F1 season.

Red Bull Racing is getting stronger

2021 saw the famous battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, where the Dutchman ultimately came out on top. Verstappen won ten races that year and also started from pole ten times. He did this in Bahrain, France, Styria, Austria, England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, the United States and Abu Dhabi.

Although Verstappen had much less to fear from the competition in the battle for the world title with the RB18 in 2022, he did not manage to take as many poles as the year before. Over one lap, the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz was regularly faster, after which Verstappen turned out to be the best in the race. Verstappen achieved a record number of 15 victories but only started from pole seven times. He did this in Imola, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Japan, Mexico and Abu Dhabi.

In that respect, 2023 was much better season for Verstappen. The Dutchman started from the pole 12 times. In Bahrain, Australia, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium and the Netherlands, Japan, Qatar, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Verstappen was the fastest in qualifying. He had a five-place penalty in Belgium.

Record list for pole positions in F1

While Verstappen is already in third place in the rankings for number of victories with 61 victories, Verstappen is now in the top five for the number of pole positions. But he has a long way to go to catch the next batch of drivers. Sebastian Vettel is next on 57, with Senna and Schumacher achieving 65 and 68, respectively. Lewis Hamilton is still ahead on 104.