Hamilton takes his 100th F1 pole

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton took the 100th pole position of his Formula One career at the Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday.

The Mercedes driver is the first Formula One driver to reach a century of pole positions.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen qualified on the front row alongside the Briton, with Valtteri Bottas qualifying third for Mercedes.

List of top pole sitters

The following table lists the drivers with the most poles in the history of the Formula One championship which started in 1950.

100 – Lewis Hamilton (Britain)

68 – Michael Schumacher (Germany)

65 – Ayrton Senna (Brazil)

57 – Sebastian Vettel (Germany)

33 – Jim Clark (Britain)

33 – Alain Prost (France)

32 – Nigel Mansell (Britain)

30 – Nico Rosberg (Germany)

29 – Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina)

26 – Mika Hakkinen (Finland)

Landmarks in Hamilton’s pole positions

A looks at the other landmark poles in the Mercedes driver’s career:

1 – Hamilton’s first pole came in Canada, six races into his 2007 debut season with McLaren. He was 22 years and 154 days old. He also won the race.

10 – The Briton chalked up his 10th pole in Hungary in 2008, still with McLaren. He finished fifth in a race won by teammate Heikki Kovalainen, the Finn’s only F1 win.

20 – Hamilton reached 20 in Australia at the start of the 2012 season. He finished third, with teammate Jenson Button winning.

30 – Hamilton converted pole into victory in Hungary, 2013

33 – The 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix saw Hamilton equal the late Jim Clark’s British record tally that had stood since 1968.

40 – The Briton reached 40 poles in Malaysia a year later.

50 – The season-opening 2016 Australian Grand Prix brought up Hamilton’s half-century, at the age of 31. The achievement was overshadowed by criticism of a new qualifying format, quickly abandoned.

60 – Hamilton led teammate Nico Rosberg on an all-Mercedes front row in Brazil 2016.

65 – The Briton matched the career haul of his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna at the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, 10 years on from his first pole there. He also equalled Michael Schumacher’s record six poles in Montreal.

68 – Hamilton equalled Schumacher’s all-time record at the German’s favourite Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium in 2017. The pole came before the Briton’s 200th race, which he won.

69 – The Mercedes driver took the outright record at the next race in Italy, lapping in wet and treacherous conditions.

70 – His 70th pole came in Malaysia in 2017 with a track record performance.

80 – Hamilton stretched his record to 80 poles by leading a Mercedes one-two in qualifying in Japan in 2018, with Valtteri Bottas second and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen third.

90 – Hamilton celebrated his 90th in Hungary in 2020, leading another dominant Mercedes one-two and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll third.

100 – Hamilton took his 100th in the fourth round of the year. Verstappen was alongside on the front row.