As the United States hosts two races in a year for the first time since 1984, Verstappen could equal the record for most wins in a season and Red Bull could win their first Constructors’ Championship since 2013. Here are the milestones and records which could be broken at the 2022 United States Grand Prix!
THE MILESTONES
The 2022 United States Grand Prix will be the 1,076th World Championship race. It will be the 51st United States Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1908 and the 43rd time that the event has been held as a round of the World Championship. This will be the tenth Formula 1 race held at Circuit of The Americas.
This weekend, Lewis Hamilton will overtake Jenson Button as the British driver to have made the most F1 starts. He also overtakes Button and Michael Schumacher for fifth in the all-time list of most starts.
The 2022 United States Grand Prix will be the 73rd World Championship race to take place in the United States. That includes the eleven times that the Indianapolis 500 was run as a round of the F1 championship.
With the Miami Grand Prix having taken place earlier this year, 2022 will become the first Formula 1 season to feature two races in the country since 1984, when the sport raced in both Detroit and Dallas. In total, it’s the twelfth season in which F1 will race in the United States twice.
The 2022 United States Grand Prix will be the fourth F1 race held on October 23rd. The last race held on this day was the 2016 United States Grand Prix.
The 46th lap of the 2022 United States Grand Prix will be the 550th racing lap to take place at Circuit of The Americas.
Daniel Ricciardo, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez will become the first drivers to have made ten race starts at Circuit of The Americas.
This weekend, Mercedes will overtake the number of starts made by Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso appeared at 268 races between the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix and the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, before changing their name to AlphaTauri for the 2020 season. They made 268 starts in total.
RED BULL COULD SEAL THE TITLE
Red Bull could win their fifth Constructors’ Championship at the 2022 United States Grand Prix. They need to score 26 points in the race to do so. It would be the team’s first championship win since 2013, ending Mercedes’ streak of eight consecutive titles.
This would be the ninth time that the Constructors’ Championship has been decided in the United States, the first time it has happened since 2017. The United States would overtake Japan to become the country to have held the second-most Constructors’ Championship deciders.
Circuit of The Americas would become the eighth circuit at which the Constructors’ Championship has been decided on three or more occasions. Red Bull previously sealed the title here in 2012, while Mercedes claimed the honours at COTA in 2017.
THE F1 RECORDS TO BREAK
Max Verstappen can equal the record for most wins in a single season this weekend. Victory at the United States Grand Prix would be Verstappen’s 13th of the year – a feat achieved only twice previously: by Michael Schumacher in 2004 and Sebastian Vettel in 2013.
A victory for Red Bull would make this their eighth consecutive win. It would be only the second time that the team has secured eight successive wins, having last done so when Sebastian Vettel won nine consecutive races with Red Bull at the end of the 2013 season. In total, it would be the tenth time that a team has taken eight wins in a row. It would be the first time a team has had such a long winning streak since Mercedes won all ten events between the 2018 Brazilian Grand Prix and the 2019 French Grand Prix.
Having set a personal best for most 1-2 finishes in a season at the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull could record their sixth 1-2 result of the year at the United States Grand Prix. It would be the 11th time that a team has recorded six 1-2 finishes in a year and Red Bull would be the fifth team to achieve the feat after Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and Mercedes.
No team has locked out the front row since the Monaco Grand Prix. If no team locks out the front row again at the United States Grand Prix, this would be the first time there have been no front row lockouts at 12 consecutive races in over 17 years. The last streak without a front row lockout as long as this came at the 20 races between the 2004 Belgian Grand Prix and the 2005 Italian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc could take his tenth pole of the season this weekend. It would be the 18th occasion on which a driver has taken ten poles in a single year. With Verstappen having already won this year’s championship, Leclerc could become only the fourth driver to take ten poles in a year and not win the title, after Ayrton Senna in 1989, Nico Rosberg in 2014 and Lewis Hamilton in 2016.
A pole position for Charles Leclerc would make him only the second Ferrari driver to take ten poles in a single season. Michael Schumacher is the only other Ferrari driver to achieve the feat, doing so in 2001.
Charles Leclerc has finished on the podium at all of the last four races. Another top three this weekend would be the first time in his career that he has finished on the podium at five races in a row.
If Lance Stroll is eliminated in Q1, he would overtake Timo Glock for second in the all-time list of most Q1 exits in Formula 1. Glock was out in Q1 on 59 occasions. Only Marcus Ericsson, with 71 Q1 eliminations, has been eliminated in Q1 at more races.
If a Mercedes-powered car scores a point in the United States Grand Prix, this would be the 275th consecutive race in which a Mercedes-powered car has scored. The 2008 Japanese Grand Prix was the last F1 race in which no Mercedes-powered cars scored.
Should Sergio Perez cross the line at the 2022 United States Grand Prix, this would be the 200th race which Perez has finished. He would be only the eighth driver to have finished 200 races during his F1 career.
If Lewis Hamilton crosses the finish line, he will equal Kimi Raikkonen for the second-most finishes in Formula 1. Raikkonen finished 278 races in his career. The 2022 Japanese Grand Prix was Hamilton’s 277th finish.
Red Bull could make this the eighth time that a team has finished on the podium at 18 consecutive races. It would be the longest streak of podium finishes for a team since Mercedes took top three finishes at 22 consecutive races between the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix and the 2018 French Grand Prix. Red Bull would be one short of equalling their own longest podium streak of 19, recorded between the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix and the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.
George Russell has led 87 laps in his career without winning a race. Should he lead another 21 laps this weekend and not win the race, he will overtake Jean Behra as the driver to have led the second-most laps without taking a victory.
If Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton finish first and second, they will set a new record as the driver pairing to have recorded the most 1-2 results. The current shared record is 31, for Hamilton & Verstappen and Hamilton & Nico Rosberg.
Rubens Barrichello currently sits ninth 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 equalled by Valtteri Bottas this weekend.
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 three Mercedes-powered cars finish on the podium, Mercedes will equal Renault’s record tally of 17 podium lockouts for an engine manufacturer.
The 2022 United States Grand Prix will be held on October 23. Lewis Hamilton has previously won the United States Grand Prix on this date, in 2016. Should he win again in 2022, it would be the 22nd occasion on which a driver has won the same Grand Prix twice on the same date.
Should the 2022 United States Grand Prix fail to reach its scheduled distance, this would be the first time in Formula 1 history that three races in a row have failed to reach full distance.
THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX RECORDS TO BREAK
Four different drivers have won the last four races at Circuit of The Americas. If a driver other than Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas or Max Verstappen wins this weekend, that streak would be extended to five. Similarly, if a team other than Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull win the race, it would be the first time four different teams have won four successive races at the track.
Pole position for Lewis Hamilton would see him equal Ayrton Senna as the driver to have taken the most poles at the United States Grand Prix. Senna took pole at the event five times during his career.
If a team other than Mercedes or Red Bull take pole position, they would become the third team to take pole at Circuit of The Americas. It would be the first time that three different teams have taken pole in three successive races at the track.
Lewis Hamilton is the only driver to have won multiple races at Circuit of The Americas, but that could change this weekend if Sebastian Vettel, Valtteri Bottas or Max Verstappen take victory.
If Lewis Hamilton finishes in the top three, he will become the first driver to record ten podium finishes at the United States Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel could equal Lewis Hamilton’s record of three pole positions at Circuit of The Americas, while Hamilton himself can extend the existing record.
Red Bull can equal Mercedes’ record tally of eleven podium finishes at Circuit of The Americas. They can only do so if both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez finish on the podium, with neither Mercedes driver finishing in the top three.
Mercedes will become the first team to score 300 points at Circuit of The Americas if they score 27 points this weekend. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen can become the third driver to have scored 100 points at the circuit. He will do so if he finishes in the top two.
Lewis Hamilton is the only driver to have raced all 504 Grand Prix laps so far at Circuit of The Americas. He can extend his record further this weekend. If he fails to finish the race, Sebastian Vettel can overtake him as the driver to have raced the most laps here.
If Lewis Hamilton fails to score, Sebastian Vettel can equal him as the driver to have scored on the most occasions at Circuit of The Americas.
Ford Cosworth, Ferrari, Honda and Mercedes are all tied as the most successful engine manufacturer at the United States Grand Prix, with eight wins each. Ferrari and Mercedes could set a new outright record this weekend.
Fernando Alonso could equal the record for most retirements at Circuit of The Americas. Nico Hulkenberg is the current record holder, with four retirements at the track. Alonso could record his fourth consecutive DNF here this weekend.
Pole for a British driver would see Britain equal Germany as the nation with the most poles at Circuit of The Americas. Meanwhile, in terms of podiums Britain currently lead the way at the circuit with eight. Their tally could be extended this weekend, or overtaken by Germany.
Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso can equal Daniil Kvyat’s record of four Q2 exits at Circuit of The Americas.
Lance Stroll currently shares the record for most Q1 eliminations at Circuit of The Americas. Along with Marcus Ericsson, Stroll has been out in Q1 here three times. He could set a new outright record this weekend.
Alex Albon, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton are in a group of four drivers who have scored on every appearance at Circuit of The Americas. Bruno Senna is the only other driver in the group. Guanyu Zhou could join the group this weekend.
HAMILTON STILL SEARCHES FOR FIRST WIN OF 2022
Time is running out for Lewis Hamilton to maintain his record of having won at least one race in every season that he’s competed in. Victory for 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.
