Almost all drivers consider breaking records a huge achievement. But it is often their fanbases who care more. Two drivers who have shattered the most records and are synonymous with the ‘GOAT’ tag are the seven-time champions Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher.
Fans of both legends often cite various reasons for their GOAT claims. Hamilton supporters argue that surpassing Schumacher’s 91 wins and 68 pole positions with his own tally of 105 wins and 104 poles cements his status. Meanwhile, Schumacher fans counter that the German achieved his success with both Benetton and Ferrari in a more competitive era.
While this debate will continue, Hamilton may have further strengthened his legacy at the 2024 British GP weekend.
F1 fan and analyst Daniel Valente highlighted that his pole at Silverstone made him the only driver with 11 front-row starts at a single circuit. Even more impressively, he has achieved this feat at three venues — Silverstone, Hungaroring, and Yas Marina.
Hamilton also boasts 10 front-row starts at Monza and Montreal, along with nine at Barcelona, Spa, and Melbourne. In contrast, Schumacher had 10 front-row starts at Suzuka but never reached nine at any other circuit.
There have been only 9 instances where an F1 driver has recorded over 8 front rows at a single circuit ever.
Lewis Hamilton has been responsible for 8 of them, including being in a 3-way tie for first place with himself pic.twitter.com/L8puAa6HfD
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) February 4, 2025
The Stevenage-born driver’s latest front-row start at Silverstone was even more significant, as it helped end his 945-day wait for a race win.
Before his triumph in front of home fans, Hamilton’s last victory came at the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. Now set to drive for Ferrari—a team on the rise—he will hope to make winning a regular occurrence once again.
How can Hamilton improve his front-row record even more?
While nothing would mean more to Hamilton and his fans than a record eighth world championship, he can start by adding more circuits to his tally of most front-row starts. With eight already in Bahrain, he needs just one more to make it nine circuits where he has achieved nine or more front-row starts.
Most F1 drivers would be thrilled to hold such a record at a single track, let alone eight or more. Other circuits where Hamilton has excelled in front-row starts include the Chinese GP (7), the US GP in Austin (7), and the São Paulo GP at Interlagos (7).
As for Schumacher’s record of 10 front-row starts at Suzuka, it appears safe, with Hamilton currently at just five. At 40, it’s unlikely he will race long enough to challenge it. Besides, with all the records he has already broken, this one may not hold much significance for him.
