100 pole positions for Lewis Hamilton!
British driver and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton shattered all records, even breaking seemingly unattainable barriers with his 100th pole.
Last weekend, during the Spanish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton treated Formula 1 to a performance that few people could have thought possible. 100 pole positions for him alone, 26 in a McLaren and now 74, in seven seasons with Mercedes. It had been a while since the British driver took the lead in pole positions, with Michael Schumacher having 68, Ayrton Senna 65, and Sebastian Vettel 57. But reaching the three-digit mark is a record that will certainly stand the test of time and be very difficult to beat.
Hamilton himself did not seem to imagine achieving such a performance as he expressed after the qualifying session on Saturday at the Spanish Grand Prix: “I can’t believe it… 100 pole positions! I am as happy as if it were my first pole.” This year, the Mercedes driver could also reach three digits in terms of wins. Indeed, after surpassing Michael Schumacher’s 91 victories in Portugal in 2020, Lewis Hamilton now has 98 Formula 1 wins.
| Drivers | Pays | Grand Prix | Pole position | |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Royaume-Uni | 266 | 100 |
| 2 | Michael Schumarer | Allemagne | 307 | 68 |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | Brésil | 161 | 65 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Allemagne | 257 | 57 |
| 5 | Jim Clark | Royaume-Uni | 72 | 33 |
| 6 | Alain Prost | France | 199 | 33 |
| 7 | Nigel Mansell | Royaume-Uni | 187 | 32 |
| 8 | Nico Roseberg | Allemagne | 206 | 30 |
| 9 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Argentine | 51 | 29 |
| 10 | Mika Häkkinen | Finlande | 161 | 26 |
« I am happy as if it were my first pole position »
Moreover, Lewis Hamilton does not seem ready to retire anytime soon, as he urges Mercedes’ management to sign a new contract before the summer break. The unthinkable milestone of 100 victories in Formula 1 races will very likely soon be achieved by the British driver, who continues to etch his name in gold in history after each Grand Prix. Not to mention that this season he is on track to win his eighth F1 Drivers’ World Championship title, to stand alone at the top of this record.
