10 of the oldest F1 records that remain unbroken

The world of F1 has seen many changes since the championship first started back in 1950 – but certain statistics in the history books have stayed the same, with a host of records from the sport’s past remaining unbroken. We’ve been taking a closer look at 10 feats that have still not been matched over the years…

Oldest driver to start a race

Of the current Formula 1 grid, Fernando Alonso is the veteran of the field at 43 years old and with a record-breaking 401 starts to his name. But the Spaniard is some way off being the oldest driver to have lined up for a race.

This accolade goes to Louis Chiron, who started the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix aged 55 years and 292 days and went on to cross the line in sixth place. Incidentally Chiron is also one of only three Monegasques to have raced in a Grand Prix, alongside Olivier Beretta and a certain Charles Leclerc.

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Most World Championships with different constructors

A scan through the list of the most decorated World Champions highlights some memorable partnerships between driver and team; seven-time title winners Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton achieved five and six of their championships with Ferrari and Mercedes respectively, while all of Sebastian Vettel’s and Max Verstappen’s were shared with Red Bull.

Louis Chiron remains the oldest driver to start an F1 race at 55 years old

The anomaly in this line-up is Juan Manuel Fangio, who remains the driver to have achieved the most titles with different constructors – four teams to be exact. After claiming his debut championship with Alfa Romeo in 1951, the Argentine went on to take the crown with Mercedes (1954 and 1955), Ferrari (1956) and Maserati (1957).

While his career may have only stretched 51 Grands Prix (given that the calendar featured fewer races during the 1950s), Fangio also remains the record-holder when it comes to the highest career percentage of wins (47.06%), pole positions (56.87%), podiums (68.63%) and fastest laps (45.10%), as well as being the oldest driver to win a World Championship at 46.

Most consecutive laps in the lead

Given his incredible run of form back in 2023, it is unsurprising that Max Verstappen broke a number of records en route to claiming his third World Championship. One statistic that he missed out on, however, is that of the most consecutive laps in the lead, despite coming reasonably close.

Verstappen led for 248 tours between the Miami and Austrian Grands Prix in that season – but the record continues to be held by Alberto Ascari, who spent an impressive 304 laps in the lead between the 1952 Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix. These were the third and seventh races of an eight-race campaign, highlighting a dominant run for the Italian during his first championship-winning season.

CIRCUIT DE SPA FRANCORCHAMPS, BELGIUM - JUNE 22: Alberto Ascari, Ferrari 500 during the Belgian GP — Alberto Ascari holds the record for the most consecutive laps in the lead, a run that started at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix

Fewest races before first win

Admittedly this is a record that cannot be broken as such, but it has remained unequalled for many years. Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina claimed the statistic of fewest races before a debut win by taking victory in the first-ever championship race at the 1950 British Grand Prix, a feat matched by Johnnie Parsons in the same year.

The next – and last to date – driver to achieve a win on their debut was Giancarlo Baghetti at the 1961 French Grand Prix. In recent times, the closest challenger to the record has been Jacques Villeneuve, who clinched his first win in only his fourth race at the Nurburgring in 1996.

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Most Grand Slams

A Grand Slam – where a driver takes pole position, wins the Grand Prix, leads every lap and sets the fastest lap time during a race weekend – is an illustrious feat that only 26 names in the sport’s history have achieved, and just 14 of these have done so more than once.

Lewis Hamilton brought his tally up to six at the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – but he remains second on the all-time list behind Jim Clark, who notched up eight Grand Slams during his F1 career. His first came at the British Grand Prix in 1962, while his last took place at the Nurburgring in 1965.

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Oldest driver to win a race

While the aforementioned Louis Chiron holds the record for being the oldest driver to start a race, the accolade of oldest driver to win a race is still held by Luigi Fagioli, who was 53 years and 22 days old when he was victorious in a shared drive with team mate Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1951 French Grand Prix.

Other statistics in this vein that are still unbroken include the oldest polesitter – that being Nino Farina, aged 47 years and 79 days at the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix – and the oldest driver to score points, a record held by Philippe Etancelin who was 53 years and 249 days old when he finished in fifth place during F1’s first championship visit to Monza in 1950.

Most wins with different constructors

Stirling Moss is often referred to as the greatest driver never to win a World Championship, but his lack of titles did not stop the Briton from leaving a lasting impact on the sport during his 66 Grands Prix across the 1950s and 1960s.

Moss remains in the history books as the driver to have achieved the most wins with different constructors, having taken his 16 victories with five teams (Mercedes, Maserati, Vanwall, Cooper and Lotus). As well as this, Moss also holds the record for the most pole positions with different constructors (five teams) and the same accolade for podium finishes (six teams).

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Most team mates in a season

It is not unheard of for an F1 team to make changes to their driver line-up during a season, meaning that some names on the grid have adapted to more than one team mate in a campaign; Yuki Tsunoda, for example, raced alongside three different team mates at Racing Bulls (then named AlphaTauri) in 2023, with Nyck de Vries replaced by Daniel Ricciardo before Liam Lawson stepped in to cover for the injured Australian across five races.

Tsunoda does not hold the record for the highest number of team mates in one season, though – that accolade goes to Howden Ganley, who drove with eight different drivers, including Jacky Ickx and Gijs van Lennep, at the Iso-Marlboro outfit ran by Frank Williams in 1973.

Most race winners in a season

The 2024 F1 campaign set a new record for the most multiple race winners in a season, with seven different drivers claiming at least two victories. But this could not quite match the number of total victors seen back in 1982, when a whopping 11 different drivers won a race.

While Alain Prost won the opening two races for Renault, they proved to be his last in an eventful year that also saw Niki Lauda, John Watson and Rene Arnoux take two wins apiece. Meanwhile Didier Pironi, Riccardo Patrese, Nelson Piquet, Patrick Tambay, Elio de Angelis, Keke Rosberg and Michele Alboreto all triumphed on one occasion each – and this was enough for Rosberg to seal his first and only World Championship.

Podium and results: 1st Niki Lauda (AUT), McLaren, centre. 2nd Keke Rosberg (FIN), Williams, left. — The 1982 F1 season featured a record 11 different race winners, but it was Keke Rosberg (seen here finishing P2 to Niki Lauda at the USA West Grand Prix) who ultimately claimed the World Championship

Longest interval between championships

Lewis Hamilton’s first World Championship with Mercedes in 2014 came after a wait of six years, the Briton having clinched his maiden title during his sophomore season at McLaren in 2008. But this is only the second longest interval between championships that the sport has witnessed.

The driver who endured the longest period of time before reaching the top spot again was Niki Lauda. After the Austrian took his second World Championship with Ferrari in 1977, a switch to Brabham followed before he opted to retire from the sport at the end of 1979.

However, Lauda made a comeback in 1982 with McLaren and went on to win his third and final title in 1984, a whole seven years and 19 days after he last tasted championship success. This also gives Lauda the unique statistic of being the only driver to become a World Champion with both Ferrari and McLaren – perhaps a record that Hamilton might be keen to replicate…