Video: Hamilton could add these records to his strong collection in F1 2022
General
With new regulations and new cars, the grid could be completely jumbled up, and with the element of surprise, from the first pre-season test onwards, it promises to be a thrilling roller-coaster ride of a season. Four drivers will be competing for new teams, in George Russell at Mercedes, Alex Albon at Williams, and both Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou at Alfa Romeo. But, understandably, in a year of change, most teams have decided to stick with what they had in regards to their driver pairing.
As with every year, the promise of a new season brings the potential of records being broken. While Lewis Hamilton has been polishing his collection of F1 records for several years now, there are still a few that he doesn’t hold, and several that could be broken by other drivers. So, which Formula One records could well be broken this season?
Most F1 Podiums without a World Title
The first record that could tumble will depend entirely on how well Alfa Romeo have developed their car, and how many crazy races we have in 2022. The current record holder for the most podiums in F1 without a world title is former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who currently sits on 68.
The man in second is, you guessed it, Valtteri Bottas, just a single podium behind on 67. While Alfa Romeo have regressed in recent years, there’s no reason they couldn’t pull a surprise and help Bottas achieve several podiums in 2022; although holding this record may not be considered a great achievement by the Finn, who would love to have added a Drivers’ Championship to his multitude of podiums.
Longest time between Grand Prix victories: This is a record that could be smashed out the park this year if Fernando Alonso can turn back the clock. The Spaniard’s last F1 race win ironically came at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix. By the time the 2022 season opener rolls around it will have been 3,234 days since that victory, and of course that number will keep growing if Alonso doesn’t see the chequered flag first in Bahrain.
The current holder of this particular record is Riccardo Patrese, who went 2,402 days between his win at the South African Grand Prix in 1983 and the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in 1990.
Most race wins in a season: Now this is a record that anybody could beat in 2022. And by anybody, I mean anybody. Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel both secured 13 race wins during a single F1 season, and are tied for most in history. So, if a dominant team and driver does establish themselves in 2022, there’s no reason this record can’t be toppled.
Lewis Hamilton
Race wins in the most consecutive seasons: Michael Schumacher and Hamilton are currently tied on 15 each, with the Brit equalling the record with his win at Bahrain in 2021. Just one win this season and he will move into the outright lead.
Most wins at one Grand Prix: Again Schumacher and Hamilton are level, this time with eight each. Schumacher recorded eight victories at the French Grand Prix, while Hamilton has achieved the feat at both the Hungarian and British Grands Prix. With the Hungaroring and Silverstone on the calendar for 2022, Hamilton will have two shots at this record.
Most pole positions at one Grand Prix: This time Ayrton Senna joins the party with Schumcher and Hamilton on eight pole positions at the same Grand Prix. For Senna they came at the San Marino Grand Prix, for Schumacher they came at the Japanese Grand prix, while for Hamilton’s it’s the Australian Grand Prix, which has been cancelled for the past two years, denying him the chance to secure nine pole positions at the circuit so far.
Most consecutive wins at one Grand Prix: Both Senna and Hamilton have five consecutive wins as one Grand Prix. Senna achieved this with five back-to-back victories at Monaco; as for Hamilton, it’s the Spanish Grand Prix, and with F1 scheduled to race the Circuit de Catalunya circuit later in 2022, he could well beat this record.
Most Drivers’ Championships
And finally it’s the big one. Max Verstappen denied Hamilton his eighth world title in 2021, meaning the Brit is still level with Schumacher on seven championships. So, he’ll be desperate to secure an eighth to cement his place as the greatest F1 driver of all time. Which of these records do you think will be broken in 2022? I’d love to know your thoughts.
And I’m not an F1 stats wizard so there’s bound to be plenty more records that I’ve missed out, so let me know anymore you can think of in the comments section down below. Who knows Guanyu Zhou could have the greatest rookie season in history, or Nikita Mazepin could win every single race! Albeit that’s slightly unlikely! That’s all we’ve got time for today, thank you very much for watching, please make sure to like and subscribe if you haven’t already and I’ll catch you next time!