Mercedes’ domination of Formula One may look increasingly threatened by Ferrari but Lewis Hamilton is still very much in control of things at the front of the pack.
Sunday’s victory was his third win out of four this year and ninth from the last eleven races. That brings his career total up to 36, four shy of Sebastian Vettel.
He is also yet to be beaten to pole position this year. Four consecutive pole positions matches his personal best which he achieved in 2013. While he also took pole position in Australia, Malaysia and China last year, this was his first in Bahrain. He now has a career total of 42, three less than Vettel.
Perhaps the most striking illustration of Hamilton’s monopoly on the number one spot over the first four rounds is this: he’s led 168 racing laps so far this year, while team mate Nico Rosberg has been ahead for just five. In Bahrain he passed the milestones of 2,000 laps and 10,000 kilometres leading F1 races since his career began. He moved up to fifth in the latter table.
Hamilton didn’t manage a clean sweep in Bahrain as Kimi Raikkonen’s flying Ferrari set the fastest lap of the race.
These are very much Raikkonen’s forte – this was the 41st of his career which moves him up to second in the all-time ranking. To put that into context he has won half as many races (20) and set even fewer pole positions (16).
Most kilometres led
| Rank | Driver | Kilometres led |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | 24,144 |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna | 13,676 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | 13,138 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | 12,481 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | 10,148 |
| 6 | Jim Clark | 10,121 |
| 7 | Nigel Mansell | 9,642 |
| 8 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 9,322 |
| 9 | Jackie Stewart | 9,191 |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | 8,640 |
Most fastest laps
| Rank | Driver | Fastest laps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | 77 |
| =2 | Alain Prost | 41 |
| =2 | Kimi Raikkonen | 41 |
| 4 | Nigel Mansell | 30 |
| 5 | Jim Clark | 28 |
| 6 | Mika Hakkinen | 25 |
| =7 | Niki Lauda | 24 |
| =7 | Sebastian Vettel | 24 |
| =9 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 23 |
| =9 | Nelson Piquet | 23 |
Hamilton has now started exactly half of his 152 grands prix from the front row. He gave Mercedes their 39th pole position which puts them seventh in the all-time list, tied with Brabham.
This was the 15th consecutive pole position for Mercedes. Williams hold the all-time record with 24 – running from the 1992 French Grand Prix to the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix – and they were the last team to beat Mercedes to pole, in Austria last year. Red Bull’s best streak was 16 in a row (Abu Dhabi 2010 to Japan 2011) and McLaren have a best of 17 (Germany 1988 to Germany 1989).
Daniil Kvyat equalled his best finishing position with ninth place. This was the fifth time he has finished in that position.
Finally, the Bahrain Grand Prix would have been Jenson Button’s 100th race for McLaren – but an electrical problem kept him from starting.
Review the year so far in statistics here:
- 2015 F1 championship points
- 2015 F1 season records
- 2015 F1 race data
- 2015 F1 qualifying data
- 2015 F1 retirements and penalties
- 2015 F1 strategy and pit stops
- 2015 F1 driver form guides
Spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the Bahrain Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
Andi (@andixhafa)
20th April 2015, 11:55
At the end of the year Hamilton will beat all the Vettel records except the ‘youngest’ ones. I think nobody predicted that after 2013 season.
OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
20th April 2015, 16:15
@andixhafa for sure, but the ratio can still be Vettel’s record.
pxcmerc (@)
21st April 2015, 4:13
not if Vettel keeps losing.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
20th April 2015, 19:31
Who do you guys think will retire with more wins?
My guess is Hamilton, by the skin of his teeth. I doubt the difference will be more than 5, but it is impossible to predict at what age they will retire, or how competitive their cars will be a in a few years time.
DaveW (@dmw)
20th April 2015, 19:42
If Rosberg becomes established as Hamilton’s Barrichello, as it now seems, Hamilton will rule the stats in the near/medium term. I don’t see Vettel dominating Raikkonen consistently going forward. (Though who saw Vettel crushing Webber back in 2010?) Right now, as long as Bernie stays out of it, I see Ferrari and Mercedes fighting closely over the next 2-3 years.
Pukka T Pie (@pukktpie)
21st April 2015, 9:45
@dmw
think you meant 2013..?
Interesting comparison of Rosberg & Barrichello though, although Mercedes will never ask Rosberg to pull over at the end of the race to let Hamilton win (end-of-season scenarios aside)
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
20th April 2015, 20:35
@kingshark With the current regulations expect Hamilton to win 10-13 races at least every season until 2017. Ferrari has come closer, yes. But the tokens they can use will drop dramatically and time is running out before Hamilton has no opposition for either ’16 or ’17.
On the other hand, Vettel is three years younger and let’s say he also drives three seasons longer who knows what a car he’ll have.
drmouse (@drmouse)
21st April 2015, 8:10
@xtwl
But they will drop equally for everyone, and Mercedes will have a more difficult job improving their PU than the other manufacturers. Therefore, at the very least, the gap should narrow every year.
As Ferrari have already managed a win with a PU which is not as good as the Merc’s, and been closely battling them, I can see there being a much closer championship each year. I expect Merc to win the WCC, but in ’16 & ’17 I expect there to be a much closer battle in the WDC. I doubt that HAM will win them both.
safeeuropeanhome (@debaser91)
21st April 2015, 16:27
I don’t know, I have a feeling Vettel will retire young. He’s hinted that he doesn’t like the direction the sport is going, he has a young child and will potentially have more, he’s already achieved a lot at a young age.
His big goal now is to win a title or two for Ferrari, if he does, maybe he will feel it is time to move on. Or maybe he will want to stay and try and beat Schumacher’s 7 titles. I could see that eventuality too.
Understeer (@abdelilah)
21st April 2015, 19:08
If you add 20 or 30 BHP as expected from the Ferraris updates it will be another story for sure, tyre management is in important factor with theses fake Pirelli tyres and Ferrari manage them better than the Mercs, if you add more power we will see a really close fight not to mention their good reliability this season.
pxcmerc (@)
20th April 2015, 21:29
after 2012 maybe, more likely after 2011. It was pretty clear where Merc were going during/after 2013 though.
rm
21st April 2015, 1:09
It’s amusing to track the progression of Hamilton fans over the last couple of years, from their “Statistics are completely meaningless!” phase to their current “Statistics show who the best driver is!” one.
Here’s a golden oldie for you: “It’s the car, not the driver”.
GTR-F1
22nd April 2015, 1:03
And the way things are in F1 Hamilton will pass 20,000 km’s in the lead. There are no competitors for Mercedes in the current format and I don’t see them being challenged for the lead and/or the championship. Ferrari will be like RBR in 2014 and they will win, maybe 3 races.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
20th April 2015, 11:59
Consecutive runs – Mercedes
Consecutive streaks – Drivers
Consecutive races without victory – Teams
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
20th April 2015, 12:01
Apologies, outdate file…
Neil Brady (@westy)
20th April 2015, 12:00
Kimi’s fastest laps when he used to drive for McLaren mostly came at the end of races when it didnt matter (this was when they had refueling), if he had put them in when they counted he could of won more races / titles.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
20th April 2015, 12:17
Yeah, sure. and had he not retired from the lead on 4 occasions he’d be a triple champion by now with alonso on 1 and MSC on 6. quite pointless.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
20th April 2015, 12:17
actually make that 3 times, and all faultless. Nürburgring 2005 does not even need to count.
JCost (@jcost)
20th April 2015, 15:05
Indeed, one could argue that if Shanghai’s circuit pit entry had tarmac in 2007 Lewis should be sitting on 3 WDC while Kimi would have no championship at all… in the end, “ifs” don’t count.
jon snow
20th April 2015, 15:27
Ifs and buts in my opinion would apply to mechanical issue, not driver error
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
20th April 2015, 16:22
Also with only two results going his way (e.g. not getting a penalty, or a puncture in Japan/collected at Spa) it’s arguable that Alonso would be a 4 time champion (this without 2007) with Vettel only on 2. How the tables can turn on one or two minor things..
JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
20th April 2015, 16:35
Isn’t having no rubber on your tyres a mechanical issue?
I suspect @jcost only made the point because the circuit now has tarmac run off in that exact spot. In the same situation today Lewis would have another WDC and Kimi one less all down to a minor decision by the circuit designer and without any change in the ability of any of the drivers concerned.
Patrickl (@patrickl)
20th April 2015, 16:37
Mechanical issues like the canvas showing from the tyre?
Polo (@polo)
20th April 2015, 19:11
Well if you’re going to talk about mechanical issues, Lewis would have also won in 2007 without his gearbox problem in Brazil causing him to coast for 30 seconds and drop to 18th, without that he would have finished higher than 7th and taken the title. And also, in Spain 2010, if Hamilton hadn’t had a wheel rim failure that punctured his tyre on the penultimate lap (while running 2nd) he would have been champion in 2010 (as he was only 16 points behind Vettel in the end). So two mechanical failures were all that stopped Hamilton from being a 4-time champion by now – but as someone has been said, it’s just ifs and buts.
Strontium (@strontium)
20th April 2015, 19:49
@jcost the point wasn’t about ifs. The point @mrboerns was making was that @westy is wrong.
HS (@hsvdt15)
21st April 2015, 6:12
Actually, Hamilton would only be on 3, Massa would have won 2008 without engine failure while leading Hungary with 3 laps to go.
mystic one (@mysticus)
22nd April 2015, 20:24
If Hamilton didnt have mechanical issues in 2007, and switched teams to Brawn in 2009, and to RBR in 2010, Mercedes to 2014, he would have beaten Schumacher by now… whatdyaknow :@)
f199player (@f199player)
20th April 2015, 12:04
Toro Rosso have never scored a point in Bahrain after 9 attempts
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
20th April 2015, 12:26
Also, with two renault engined cars breaking down with other-than-engine-issues, was it the least percentage of engine-failures in renault-powered DNFs this year?
F1Tips
20th April 2015, 12:07
I love posts like this full of interesting statistics.
Here’s one more: Lewis Hamilton’s victory meant he became the fourth driver to win consecutive victories at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The previous drivers to achieve the feat were Alonso (05 and 06), Massa (07 and 08) and Vettel (12 and 13).
Bleu (@bleu)
20th April 2015, 12:33
This was second time as there was two retirements in the race with both being from same team. First one was Japanese GP 2009 and the team back then was Toro Rosso!
Lewis McMurray (@celicadion23)
20th April 2015, 13:22
This is the first season in McLaren’s history where they’ve failed to score in the opening four races….
tonyyeb (@tonyyeb)
20th April 2015, 13:44
I’m surprised Daniil Kvyat has a career best finish of only 9th to his name, but yet promoted to the senior squad.
Iosif (@afonic)
20th April 2015, 14:20
I was as suprised when they announced it. Let’s see how his season is when the car is working fine, but at the moment it certainly looks like Verge would have been a better choice.
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
20th April 2015, 16:24
@tonyyeb @afonic Indeed, and he had a weight advantage last year. Meanwhile Vergne is one of the best in the wet and only reliability robbed him of a few more 6th places like at Monaco last year.
Patrick (@paeschli)
21st April 2015, 19:35
This sounds wrong …
ColdFly F1 (@)
20th April 2015, 14:01
This one belongs to @andae23 – just wanted to post on his behalf.
And if Hamilton had #1 then it would have been 4 out of 20.
thetobs (@thetobs)
20th April 2015, 18:36
And Vettel finished 5th.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
20th April 2015, 14:27
Was it the first time an engine blew completely, but the car still coasted across the finish line?
Eduardo
20th April 2015, 15:28
No. This happened in the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix with Rubens Barrichello.
jon snow
20th April 2015, 15:30
I remember DC’s Red Bull were doing it first on Albert Park, 2007 or 2008.. Not sure which one
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
20th April 2015, 16:25
@mike-dee Would pushing the car do (Jack Brabham did that once – and of course there’s then Dallas 1984!)
Iestyn Davies (@fastiesty)
20th April 2015, 16:25
@mike-dee Also Button’s blew in the BAR-Honda (2005?) at Melbourne… but they chose to stop before the line (giving up a few points) in order to have a fresh engine at the next event. Where they didn’t score… I think this was the first year of engine penalties etc.
paulgilb (@paulgilb)
21st April 2015, 20:09
2006 was the year Button blew up before the finish and he stopped before the line. In 2005 (the first year of the one-engine-for-2-races rule) he pitted at the end of the last lap to get a free engine change for Malaysia (a loophole that was soon closed), where his engine blew after 2 laps.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
20th April 2015, 20:52
Thanks guys, I had no idea :) Only started watching every race in 2010 and must have missed those earlier ones somehow.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
20th April 2015, 14:28
Romain Grosjean, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo finished ahead of their team mates for the first time this season. Raikkonen has finished on the podium at Bahrain seven times, but never in first.
Only Mercedes or Ferrari drivers have finished on the podium this season so far. Only Raikkonen or a Williams driver has finished fourth.
First time (in F1 at least) that Sebastian Vettel has finished fifth whilst driving a car numbered ‘5’. He had 29 first place finishes whilst driving the number ‘1’ and just one 15th and 19th place finish driving cars numbered ’15’ and ’19’ respectively. He never finished a race in car number ’10’ in tenth place.
With 159 points in the bag already, Mercedes has exceeded their 2012 total within four races. If they keep up this rate of point scoring, they will surpass their record of 701 points this season.
Jenson Button’s first DNS since the 2005 United States Grand Prix.
With no top five finish in the first four races, this is Red Bull’s second worst start to a season in their history. 2006 was worse, with no top seven finish.
Sergio Perez keeps up his run of finishing every Bahrain Grand Prix he has competed in. This was his second worst result at the event.
ALONSO
20th April 2015, 19:51
@craig-o
lol what, Gro and Ric have finshed ahead nearly every race
BaKano (@bakano)
20th April 2015, 22:47
What? Ricciardo finished 2 other races ahead of Kvyat and Grosjean finished all races ahead of Maldonado, even in Melbourne where he retired one lap later than Maldonado…
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
21st April 2015, 20:05
@bakano How can you finish ahead of somebody who doesn’t finish?
BaKano (@bakano)
22nd April 2015, 11:37
@craig-o, I see what you are doing, you are being strict to the term “finish” but there is an official classification that also contains the drivers that do not finish. but it is true that to be 100% accurate the sentence is Ricciardo was classified ahead of Kvyat in other 2 races and Grosjean classified ahead in all races.
Also, even by your definition or understanding, they could not also finished below or equal. I still consider your statement to be strange and actually misleading if not inaccurate.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
22nd April 2015, 13:45
@bakano How? I simply cannot see how it is possible to finish ahead of somebody who does not finish. The official classification includes those who fail to start races too, so should that be included as well?
Keith takes these situations into consideration when he writes his driver form guides, whereas Sky does not. However, I find Keith’s data to be far less misleading than Sky’s. In the driver form guide for Daniel Ricciardo on this site, you will find that he has finished ahead of Daniil Kvyat once, not twice nor thrice.
ColdFly F1 (@)
20th April 2015, 23:34
That probably depends more on how quickly Bernie kills off other European races ;)
@craig-o
moshwan (@moshwan)
20th April 2015, 14:38
In the new turbo era, barring races with technical issues (aus ’14 and Italy ’14), Hamilton is yet to either lose a position on the first lap or finish behind his original starting position.
Contrast with Rosberg’s record, very illuminating.
Polo (@polo)
20th April 2015, 19:22
That’s a very interesting statistic, but Hamilton finished behind his original starting position in Malaysia this year, so that streak is no longer ongoing. He still hasn’t lost a position on the opening lap though (barring technical problems as you said).
moshwan (@moshwan)
20th April 2015, 21:25
ah shucks, I was half wrong. Thanks for pointing that out! :)
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
20th April 2015, 14:59
So, will Button get a ‘DNS’ against his name?
Polo (@polo)
20th April 2015, 19:38
Yep.
Bleu (@bleu)
20th April 2015, 15:28
I have to add to my previous stat that Kimi Räikkönen’s seven podiums in one Grand Prix without win is second best in that category. Fernando Alonso has eight podiums in Brazil.
Jenson Button’s DNS meant that his run ended with 179 consecutive starts. He had chance to surpass Patrese as the all-time leader. Here’s drivers who have started at least 150 races consecutively.
Riccardo Patrese 187 (BEL 1982 – AUS 1993)
Jenson Button 179 (FRA 2005 – CHN 2015)
Fernando Alonso 176 (FRA 2005 – ABD 2014)
David Coulthard 175 (BRA 1995 – CAN 2005)
Nico Rosberg 170 (BRN 2006 – BRN 2015) active
Rubens Barrichello 167 (GER 2002 – BRA 2011)
Alain Prost 160 (USW 1981 – BRA 1991)
Mark Webber 157 (FRA 2005 – BRA 2013)
Lewis Hamilton 152 (AUS 2007 – BRN 2015) active
So Rosberg will end with 185 if he can start all the remaining races this year, meaning that he has chance for record next year.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
20th April 2015, 16:11
@bleu As a Webber fan I was keen to know what happend in Aus 2014, why his run ended there. Never felt so stupid.
OmarR-Pepper - Vettel 40 victories!!! (@)
20th April 2015, 16:23
@xtwl to add to that moment in blank, I was keen to help you and went to Wikipedia and searched “2014 Australian GP”, and was about to report a mistake since I couldn’t find Webber on the starting grid!!!
Minardi (@gitanes)
20th April 2015, 15:53
Could Merc and Ferrari sweep the podium all year long? I bet they’ll at least do a few more. Looks like McLaren and Ferrari did this for 5 races to start 2007 season. But I couldn’t find any streak longer than that.
Montreal is always good for putting a sudden stop to those types if things!
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
20th April 2015, 16:12
@gitanes If once two of them tangle it we’re there. Looking forward to it.
Craig Woollard (@craig-o)
20th April 2015, 16:21
@gitanes I know that bar the first two races, the 2011 season had no more than five drivers on the podium (Hamilton, Button, Vettel, Webber, Alonso). Sergio Perez broke that streak at Malaysia the following season.
I do think that it is unlikely that Mercedes and Ferrari will lock out the top three in every race, but it isn’t entirely out of the question.
Seb5
21st April 2015, 11:37
Anyone suprised at Vet race pace in the new era? Im on about vs teammates, Ric and Kimi he has hardly any advantage in the races, what is all that about. He still seems quick in qually, but since he has had new teammates he is not way quicker in the races. I thought he would really beat Kimi in a big way, he is still so consistent though(apart from yesterday). I really think he is the perfect driver for a WC campaign. I just don’t think new cars suit him atall.
paulgilb (@paulgilb)
21st April 2015, 20:11
Rosberg has finished every 2015 race in the same position that he started.
Grosjean has started every 2015 race in an even-numbered position and finished every race in an odd-numbered position (excluding his DNF in Australia). He has also scored more points in 2015 than in the whole of 2014.
Both Williams drivers have had a 4th, a 5th, and a 6th.
21st consecutive season that at least one Ferrari-powered car has managed fastest lap – extends their record (Ferrari did not do so as a constructor in 2012).
And some from magnetimarelli.com:
20th different track on which Hamilton has scored pole – only Prost has more (22).
23rd time Hamilton and Vettel shared the front row – equals Vettel & Webber.
First time since Bahrain 2013 that both Ferraris qualified in the top 4.
First time since Coulthard in Europe 2007 that a Red Bull dropped out in a dry Q1 without mechanical issues (and Coulthard briefly led that race!).
First Bahrain podium for Ferrari since their 1-2 in 2010.
3 races in a row without points for Alonso – first time since the end of 2009.
Sven (@crammond)
21st April 2015, 23:32
So I´m searching for a F1-stat I can´t find anywhere, and even though it´s not really related to this race in any way, I´d figured this may be a good place to ask. So what I want is: Average number of positions gained on lap 1 on a wet start per driver