F1 News
Milestone for Hamilton and Verstappen equals Schumacher after Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton competed in his 350th Grand Prix last weekend. The seven-time World Champion equalled Kimi Raikkonen's tally in the process and is set to move ahead of him when Formula 1 returns with the United States Grand Prix towards the end of October. Other drivers also achieved records and milestones during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Milestones for Hamilton and Verstappen
Hamilton joined level with Raikkonen's tally in second place on the all-time list. He is only behind Fernando Alonso who has competed in 396 Grands Prix. Both of those drivers are set to continue until at least 2026. Alonso signed a contract extension with Aston Martin earlier in the year, while Hamilton announced his move to Ferrari before the season even started.
If he attends every race, Alonso will compete in his 400th Grand Prix in Las Vegas. To date, there have only been 1,119 Grands Prix in history, meaning Alonso has taken part in 35% of them. Singapore was also a milestone weekend for Carlos Sainz, who competed in his 200th Grand Prix. Nico Hulkenberg's appearance on the grid meant that 900 Grands Prix have featured a German driver.
Verstappen also achieved a milestone in Singapore relating to the number of Grands Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver competed in his 180th Grand Prix for the Austrian team. With this, he equalled Michael Schumacher, as they have now both driven 180 races for one team. Schumacher achieved his with Ferrari. Hamilton is the only driver to compete in more Grands Prix for one single constructor (Mercedes) at 240 races. The Singapore GP remains the only venue on the current calendar where Verstappen hasn't won a race.
The Singapore Grand Prix lost its status as the only F1 circuit to have the safety car appear in every single event.
Daniel Ricciardo famously set the fastest lap time in Singapore. It means he equals the record for the most fastest laps at the venue with three. He shares this with Hamilton. Meanwhile, Lance Stroll has never achieved the fastest lap in Formula 1 and he equalled Johnny Herbert as the drivers with the most Grands Prix without a fastest lap (161 GPs). The other drivers on the current grid in the top 20 list without a fastest lap are Esteban Ocon (151) and Alex Albon (99).
McLaren extended their lead at the top of the Constructors' Championship. In the process, they achieved their second-longest podium streak. Should they finish on the podium at every race between now and Abu Dhabi, they will beat their record of 19 set across 2007 and 2008.