As Vestappen equals Webber as the driver to have started the most races with Red Bull, Ocon makes his 100th race appearance and Hamilton and Bottas could be the first drivers to score points ten times in Austria. Here are the milestones and records which could be broken at the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix!
THE MILESTONES
The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix will be the 1,068th World Championship race. It will be the 40th Austrian Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1963 and the 35th time that the event has been held as a round of the World Championship.
This will be the 36th Formula 1 race held at the Red Bull Ring. It’s the first time since 2019 that the circuit will host only one race in a single season, having hosted both the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix in both 2020 and 2021.
This weekend, Max Verstappen will equal Mark Webber as the driver to have made the most Grand Prix starts with Red Bull. Webber made 129 starts with the team between 2007 and 2013. This will be Verstappen’s 129th appearance, having made his debut with the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix.
With both Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz on the grid, this will be the 500th Grand Prix in which a Spanish driver has competed. Spain will become the ninth nation to reach this milestone.
This weekend marks the 260th race for the Mercedes team. That sees them equal Benetton for fourteenth in the all-time list of most race starts by a team.
Nicholas Latifi will make his 50th Grand Prix start this weekend, while Esteban Ocon will make his 100th race start.
The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix will be the 175th race held in the month of July. July has hosted more World Championship F1 races than any other month.
The 2022 Austrian Grand Prix will be the seventh Formula 1 race to take place on July 10th. It’s the first race to take place on this day since the 2016 British Grand Prix. It’s the first time that a race on this day will not take place in Britain.
The 54th lap of the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix will be the 2,200th racing lap to take place at the Red Bull Ring.
THE F1 RECORDS TO BREAK
Carlos Sainz took his first victory at the 2022 British Grand Prix. If there is another new winner this weekend, it would be the first time that there have been maiden victories at successive races since the 2006 Hungarian and Turkish Grands Prix, which were won by Jenson Button and Felipe Massa.
Another win for Carlos Sainz would make him the first driver since his team-mate Charles Leclerc to take his first two victories at consecutive events.
If there is a new Formula 1 polesitter this weekend, it would be the first time since the 1994 Belgian and Italian Grands Prix that two consecutive races have had new polesitters. Read more: Consecutive F1 races with maiden polesitters.
If Lewis Hamilton fails to win this weekend, it will be the 12th consecutive race which he has not won. That would extend his longest win-less streak of his Formula 1 career. Read more: Hamilton’s longest win-less streaks.
Rubens Barrichello currently sits eighth in the all-time list of most races in which a driver has scored. He scored in 140 races during his career. That number could be overtaken by Sergio Perez this weekend, while Valtteri Bottas can overtake the Brazilian’s tally.
If Sergio Perez completes 18 laps of the Austrian Grand Prix, he’ll overtake Jarno Trulli as the driver to have raced the 10th most laps in Formula 1.
If Lance Stroll is eliminated in Q1, this will be his 56th Q1 elimination. That would see him overtake Adrian Sutil and Heikki Kovalainen for third on the list of most Q1 exits since the qualifying system was introduced in 2006. Read more: Who has the most Q1 exits?
If the race is won by less than a second, 2022 will be the first season since 2017 to have had at least three races in which the win margin was under a second. The record for most races won by under a second in a single season is seven, in 2002.
A podium result for Bottas would see him equal Rubens Barrichello as the non-champion with the most podiums in F1.
Sebastian Vettel will become the third driver to record podium finishes in fifteen different seasons if he finishes in the top three.
If Red Bull score 43 points this weekend, they will become the third team to have scored 6,000 points in Formula 1.
THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX RECORDS TO BREAK
Max Verstappen has won more races at the Red Bull Ring than any other driver and could extend his record to five victories at the venue this weekend.
Should he win, Max Verstappen would become the first driver to record three consecutive victories at the venue. Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg are the only other drivers to have taken back-to-back wins in Austria.
McLaren and Mercedes are currently tied for most wins at the venue, with six victories apiece. Either team could extend the record to seven this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas could set a new record for most pole positions in Austria. The current record is three, shared between Hamilton, Bottas, Niki Lauda, Rene Arnoux and Nelson Piquet. Max Verstappen could equal the existing record.
Valtteri Bottas currently holds the record for most podium finishes at the Red Bull Ring, with seven. His tally could be equalled this weekend by Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas can become the first drivers to score points on ten occasions at the Red Bull Ring. They’re also currently tied with John Watson as the drivers to finish in the top ten on the most occasions at the venue.
If a British driver finishes on the podium, the nation will become the first to record twenty top three results at the Red Bull Ring.
Mercedes are currently tied with Ford as the most successful engine manufacturer at the Red Bull Ring, each with nine wins. Mercedes can become the first manufacturer to power ten wins at the circuit.
If Sergio Perez crosses the finish line, he will become the first driver to reach the chequered flag at the Red Bull Ring on eleven occasions.
Lando Norris has a 100% points-scoring record at the Red Bull Ring. There are only four other drivers who scored on every appearance at the track: David Coulthard, Nico Rosberg, Pedro Rodriguez and Reine Wisell. Guanyu Zhou could join that list this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton shares the record for most fastest laps in Austria with David Coulthard. Hamilton can be the first to record four fastest laps in the country in 2022.
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are tied for most front row starts at the circuit, with five apiece. Either driver could extend the record this weekend.
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, Yuki Tsunoda and Valtteri Bottas will be hoping to maintain their 100% Q3 appearance record at the circuit. Nico Rosberg is the only other driver who reached Q3 on every appearance at the venue.
Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are currently tied for most Q2 exits at the Red Bull Ring with five apiece. Either driver could set a new record this weekend, while Daniel Ricciardo could equal the existing tally.
Sergio Perez and Nicholas Latifi can equal Kimi Raikkonen’s record of five Q1 eliminations at the Red Bull Ring.
HAMILTON SEARCHES FOR FIRST WIN OF 2022
Victory for Lewis Hamilton in any race in 2022 will see him become the first driver in F1 history to have won a race in 16 different seasons, as well as the first to win in 16 consecutive seasons.
June 10th marked 15 years since Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. If Hamilton wins any race from now on, he’ll become only the second driver – after Kimi Raikkonen – with a gap of longer than 15 years between his first and last F1 wins.
If he takes pole position, sets the fastest lap and wins the race, Lewis Hamilton would become the second driver – after Michael Schumacher – to record 20 hat tricks in his F1 career.
If Lewis Hamilton sets the Fastest Lap of the race, he will become the first driver to set 60 Fastest Laps with a single engine manufacturer.
Pole for a British driver would see the nation equal their own record for most consecutive seasons in which a nation has taken pole. The current record held by British drivers is 19 consecutive seasons with a pole position, between 1955 and 1973.
At the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton recorded his 32nd third place finish in F1. Another third place this weekend would see him equal Sebastian Vettel as the driver to have recorded the second-most third places in F1 history. Only Kimi Raikkonen sits ahead of Vettel and Hamilton in this list, with 45 third place results.
MERCEDES STILL SEEK SUCCESS
Pole for Mercedes would make them the first engine manufacturer to have poles in 26 consecutive seasons. Ferrari are the only other engine manufacturer to have poles in 25 successive years. Their record streak ended in 2020. Meanwhile, if a Mercedes-powered car leads the race, the manufacturer would be first to lead races in 28 consecutive seasons.
If three Mercedes-powered cars finish on the podium, Mercedes will equal Renault’s record tally of seventeen podium lockouts for an engine manufacturer.