At the first F1 weekend to feature Sprint Qualifying, Verstappen could equal Moss’ record of most wins without a title and Hamilton could equal the record for most victories at a single circuit. Here are the milestones and records which could be broken at the 2021 British Grand Prix!
THE MILESTONES
This will be the 1,045th World Championship Formula 1 race. It will be the 76th British Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1926 and the 72nd British Grand Prix to be held as a round of the World Championship. It will be the 76th World Championship Formula 1 race held in Britain, and the 56th race held at Silverstone.
It’ll be the 75th British Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1926 and the 71st British Grand Prix to be held as a round of the F1 championship. It will also be the 54th F1 race to be held at Silverstone.
This weekend, Kimi Raikkonen will become the first driver to have made 20 F1 race entries at Silverstone. He overtakes Rubens Barrichello as the driver to have made the most F1 appearances at the circuit. If he completes 15 laps of the race, Raikkonen will be the second driver – after Barrichello – to have raced 1,000 laps at the track.
This will be the eighth race to be held on 18th July. It’s the first race to be held on this date since the 1982 British Grand Prix. All but one of the seven previous races held on this date have been British Grands Prix. The date becomes the twelfth date on which eight or more World Championship races have been held.
Antonio Giovinazzi will make his 50th Grand Prix start at the 2021 British Grand Prix, becoming the 140th driver to have made 50 Formula 1 appearances.
Lap 51 of the 2021 British Grand Prix will be the 3,600th lap to take place at Silverstone in Formula 1 history.
THE FIRST SPRINT QUALIFYING EVENT
For the first time, Sprint Qualifying will take place at the 2021 British Grand Prix. The traditional qualifying hour takes place on Friday evening, making it the first race weekend since the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at which some part of qualifying has taken place on Friday.
There are three points on offer for pole position at the 2021 British Grand Prix. It’s the first time that points have been awarded to the polesitter in Formula 1. That means the maximum number of points available to score this weekend is 29 – the second largest in the sport’s history, beaten only by the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at which 50 points were awarded for the win.
Though it’s technically a qualifying session, Sprint Qualifying means that the 2021 British Grand Prix will be the first time that F1 cars have raced on Saturday at a World Championship event since the 1985 South African Grand Prix.
HOME RECORDS FOR HAMILTON?
A win for Lewis Hamilton would be his eighth British Grand Prix victory, equalling the record for most wins at a single circuit. The record is currently shared between Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Schumacher won the French Grand Prix eight times in his career, while Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix eight times so far.
Having set a new record of most home Grand Prix wins at the 2020 British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton could become the first driver to have won his home race on eight occasions should he win the 2021 British Grand Prix. It would also make him one short of equalling the record for most wins on home soil, currently held by Michael Schumacher. Read more: Most F1 Wins on Home Soil.
If he finishes on the podium, Lewis Hamilton would equal the record for most podium finishes at a single circuit. Hamilton has finished on the podium at Silverstone eleven times so far in his career. Another top three finish this weekend would see him equal Michael Schumacher’s record of twelve podium finishes at a circuit, which he recorded at Imola, Catalunya and Magny Cours.
THE F1 RECORDS TO BREAK
If Max Verstappen wins the British Grand Prix, it will be the first time that he has won four races in a row. It would be the 30th time that a driver has taken four consecutive wins, and Verstappen would be the fifteenth driver to achieve the feat.
Max Verstappen has led all of the last 144 laps of Grand Prix racing. That’s the 15th-longest streak of laps led in F1, tying with Lewis Hamilton’s personal best streak. Should he lead the first lap of the British Grand Prix, he would surpass Hamilton’s best streak – and could move up to the sixth longest streak of consecutive Grand Prix laps led if he leads all 51 laps of the British Grand Prix.
It has now been over fourteen years since Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. Should he win this weekend, he would be the third driver – after Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen – to have a gap of more than fourteen years between their first and last Grand Prix wins.
If Lewis Hamilton were to win this race (or any Grand Prix thereafter) he would move ahead of Michael Schumacher in the list of drivers who have had the longest winning period in F1. Schumacher took his first win at the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix, and his last at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix – a gap of 14 years, one month and one day. Race day will mark 14 years, one month and eight days since Hamilton’s first win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. Only Kimi Raikkonen has a longer gap between his first and most recent win.
If he finishes as runner-up, Lewis Hamilton would surpass Michael Schumacher as the driver to have recorded the most second place finishes in F1 history. Schumacher finished second on 43 occasions in his career, while Hamilton finished as runner-up for the 43rd time at the Styrian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen recorded his fifteenth Grand Prix win at the Austrian Grand Prix. Another win this weekend would see him equal Stirling Moss as the driver with the most wins to not win the title. Moss won sixteen Grands Prix in his World Championship career. Read more: Most F1 Wins Without Winning the Title.
If a Mercedes-powered car takes pole position at the British Grand Prix, it would be the 213th race at which a Mercedes-powered car has taken pole. That would see them equal Renault as the engine manufacturer with the second-most poles in Formula 1.
THE BRITISH RECORDS TO BREAK
Williams and Ferrari are currently tied for most pole positions at Silverstone. Either team could extend the record to twelve poles at the circuit, while Mercedes could equal the existing record.
If he qualifies in the top two, Lewis Hamilton will become the first driver to have started on the front row at Silverstone ten times – double the number of times of any other driver!
A Fastest Lap for Lewis Hamilton would see him equal Nigel Mansell as the driver with the most Fastest Laps at Silverstone. Mansell set the Sunday pace here six times during his career.
Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas or Lewis Hamilton could become the first driver to have finished as runner-up on four occasions at Silverstone at the 2021 British Grand Prix.
This weekend, Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen could join a group of four drivers who have scored 100 points at Silverstone. Bottas needs to score nine points to do so, while Verstappen requires sixteen points to reach the milestone.
Kimi Raikkonen could extend his record of most points-scoring appearances at Silverstone this weekend to sixteen, while Lewis Hamilton could equal his current record tally.
Sebastian Vettel will equal Lewis Hamilton’s tally of Q3 appearances at Silverstone if he reaches Q3 this weekend and Hamilton does not. Hamilton could extend the record to fifteen Q3 appearances.
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc currently hold a 100% Q3 appearance at Silverstone. They’ll be keen to maintain those records this weekend. The only other drivers who have qualified in the top ten here on every appearance since 2006 are Jacques Villeneuve, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher.