Verstappen could equal Prost for fourth in the all-time wins and laps led lists, Perez could make this Mexico’s 200th points-scoring race and Hulkenberg could reach 200 races without a win. Here are the milestones and the records which could be broken at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix!
THE 2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX MILESTONES
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix will be the 1,098th World Championship event in Formula 1 history.
This will be the 24th Mexican Grand Prix since the event was first held in 1962. This will be the 23rd time that Formula 1 has raced in Mexico. It will be the 23rd World Championship Grand Prix held at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the third time the race has been given the official title of ‘Mexico City Grand Prix’.
Pedro Rodríguez, Jack Brabham and Jo Siffert hold the record for most race starts at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, with eight. Their record will be equalled this weekend by six drivers: Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo.
Lance Stroll will race on his birthday at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. It’s the 76th occasion on which a driver has raced on their birthday. This is the second time that Stroll will race in Mexico on his birthday, having previously done so in 2017. This will be the seventh time that a driver has raced on their 25th birthday. Stroll is the first driver to do so since Carlos Sainz at the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix.
This will be the 400th Grand Prix to feature a Canadian driver on the grid.
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix will mark Charles Leclerc’s 100th start with Ferrari. He becomes the sixth driver to have made a century of starts with the Scuderia.
Nico Hulkenberg makes his 200th Grand Prix start this weekend, becoming the 22nd driver to make 200 race starts.
This weekend, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton will become the first drivers to make 200 starts with the same car number.
The 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix will be the third round of the World Championship to be held on October 29. The other two races held on this date are the 1995 Japanese Grand Prix and the 2017 Mexico Grand Prix.
The 11th lap of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix will be the 1,500th Grand Prix racing lap to take place at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
MORE RECORDS AND MILESTONES FOR VERSTAPPEN?
Max Verstappen could set a new record for the most Grand Prix victories in a single season at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. He equalled his own record of 15 wins in a year – which he first set in 2022 – at the 2023 United States Grand Prix.
A victory for Max Verstappen this weekend would mark his 51st win. That would see him equal Alain Prost for fourth in the list of most Grand Prix victories.
If Max Verstappen leads 34 laps of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, he will overtake Alain Prost for fourth on the list of most laps led in Formula 1.
Max Verstappen can set a new personal best for most poles in a year at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. Pole this weekend would be his 11th pole of the 2023 season. It would surpass the number of poles he set during the 2021 season. It would also be only the 13th time that a driver has taken 11 poles in a year.
If Max Verstappen leads every lap of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, it would mark the 13th time that he’s led a race from start to end. That would see him equal Jim Clark for fourth on the list of most races led from start to finish.
If Max Verstappen wins the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, it would be the second time that he has won the Mexico race on October 29. He also won the 2017 Mexico City Grand Prix on October 29. It would make it the 22nd time in F1 that a driver has won the same race on the same date twice. Read more: F1’s Groundhog Days.
THE FORMULA 1 RECORDS TO BREAK
In each of the last two races in Mexico City, Max Verstappen has won with Lewis Hamilton second and Sergio Perez third. Should the trio finish in the same order this weekend, it would be the first time in Formula 1 history that three consecutive races at a single circuit have had identical podiums.
A top ten finish for Sergio Perez would make Mexico the tenth nation to have scored in 200 Grands Prix.
If a British driver finishes on the podium, Britain would become the first nation to record 750 podium finishes in Formula 1.
A British driver has scored in every race since the 2018 British Grand Prix. Another points score this weekend would see Britain equal their longest points-scoring streak in Formula 1 and the second-longest for a nation in the sport’s history. The current streak is 112 races in the points. The nation’s longest streak of 113 races in the points came between the 2009 Italian Grand Prix and the 2015 Italian Grand Prix.
At the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen joined Fernando Alonso as only the second driver to have won races from nine different grid positions. Either driver could become the first to win from ten different grid positions, while Lewis Hamilton could equal the existing record.
If a Ferrari-powered car takes pole position for the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Ferrari would become the first engine manufacturer to record 250 pole positions in Formula 1.
Unless he wins the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg will become the second driver – after Andrea de Cesaris to make 200 Grand Prix starts without winning a race.
A front row start for Oscar Piastri at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix would make this the 100th Grand Prix at which an Australian driver has lined up on the front row of the grid.
Having already won the Saudi Arabian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, one more victory for Sergio Perez in 2023 would make this the first season in which he has won three Grands Prix in a single year.
If Fernando Alonso wins any race this season, he will become the oldest driver to win a Grand Prix since Jack Brabham at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. Brabham won that race at the age of 43 years, 11 months and 5 days.
A fifth place finish for Fernando Alonso in the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix would see him equal Jenson Button for the most fifth place finishes in Formula 1. Button finished fifth on 27 occasions during his career.
A top ten finish for Nico Hulkenberg would make this the 100th race weekend at which he has scored points. That includes the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix, at which he only scored points in the Sprint.
MORE McLAREN PODIUMS?
McLaren have recorded at least one podium finish in all of the last four races. Another top three finish this weekend would mark the first time that the team has recorded a podium finish at five races in a row since the 2012 German, Hungarian, Belgian, Italian and Singapore Grands Prix.
A top three finish for Lando Norris would make him the first McLaren driver to finish on the podium at five consecutive races since Jenson Button between the 2011 Hungarian and Japanese Grands Prix.
A second or third place finish for Lando Norris would see him equal Nick Heidfeld as the driver to have taken the most podiums without winning a Grand Prix. Heidfeld recorded 13 podium finishes in his career without winning a race.
2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX: RECORDS TO BREAK
Max Verstappen could extend the record for most victories in Mexico to five at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen is the only driver to have won consecutive races in Mexico. Should he win the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, he’ll become the first driver to have taken three successive victories at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Red Bull hold the record for most team wins in Mexico, with four. They could extend the record to five this weekend, or their record could be equalled by McLaren, Williams or Mercedes.
No team has won three races in a row in Mexico – but Red Bull could change that at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. A victory for either Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez would be the team’s third in a row at the track.
Lewis Hamilton could extend the record for most podiums in Mexico to five, while Max Verstappen can equal the existing record.
McLaren or Mercedes could equal Ferrari’s record of 11 podium finishes in Mexico – but only if both of either team’s drivers finish in the top three, with neither Ferrari driver on the podium.
If Max Verstappen leads 36 laps of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, he would become the first driver to have led 300 laps in Mexico. No other driver has led more than 200 laps here.
Red Bull will become the first team to have led 300 laps in Mexico if their drivers lead 30 laps of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix between them. McLaren could also be the first team to reach 300 laps here, if the team leads 48 laps.
Should they finish in the points at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen will become the first drivers to score in eight races in Mexico. If they fail to do so, Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas can equal their existing tally.
A fastest lap for Valtteri Bottas would see him equal Jim Clark’s record of three fastest laps in Mexico City.
Ferrari hold the record for most fastest laps in Mexico, with five. Mercedes could equal the record at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz could become the first drivers to complete 500 racing laps in Mexico City this weekend.
A second place finish for Lewis Hamilton will see him set a new outright record of most second place finishes in Mexico. Hamilton equalled Jack Brabham’s record of three runner-up spots at the track in the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas are currently tied for most finishes in Mexico, with seven. Any of them could extend the record at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
If he’s out on the first lap, Yuki Tsunoda will become the first driver to record multiple first lap retirements at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
2023 MEXICO CITY GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING RECORDS
There has been a different polesitter at all of the last 11 races in Mexico. That streak will continue this weekend unless Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas or Max Verstappen take pole position.
Since qualifying 11th on his first Mexican Grand Prix appearance in 2015, Carlos Sainz has qualified one position better with every passing race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. He’ll keep that streak going on his eighth appearance at the track if he qualifies in fourth place for the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
Renault, Ferrari or Mercedes could equal Honda as the most successful engine manufacturer in qualifying in Mexico. Honda have powered four pole positions at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, while Renault, Ferrari and Mercedes have three apiece.
Jack Brabham currently holds the record for most top ten qualifications in Mexico, with eight. Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas can all equal Brabham’s record at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, if they reach Q3.
Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and Valtteri Bottas will all be looking to maintain their 100% Q3 appearance rate in Mexico.
Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso are currently tied for most Q2 eliminations in Mexico, with three apiece. They could extend their record this weekend, while Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly or Kevin Magnussen can equal their existing tallies.
Lance Stroll is currently tied with Romain Grosjean as the driver to have recorded the most Q1 exits in Mexico. If he’s out in Q1 at the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix, Stroll will become the first driver to record five Q1 exits at the track. If Stroll reaches Q2, Kevin Magnussen could equal his existing record of four Q1 eliminations here.
HAMILTON SEARCHES FOR FIRST VICTORY SINCE 2021
Victory for Lewis Hamilton would see car number 44 equal car number 2 as the car number to have taken the third most wins in Formula 1.
A victory for Lewis Hamilton at any race in 2023 would see him move into the top 20 of the oldest drivers to win a Grand Prix in Formula 1. He would overtake Damon Hill as the third-oldest British driver to have won a Grand Prix.
If Lewis Hamilton wins any race this year, he’ll overtake Kimi Raikkonen as the driver to have had the longest gap between his first and last Grand Prix victories. He’d also be the first driver to have won after the 300th race of his career. Fernando Alonso would break the record if he were to take victory.
A victory for Lewis Hamilton would make him the first driver to have won in 16 different Formula 1 seasons. 2022 is the only season during his career in which Hamilton has not taken a victory.
WILL MERCEDES BE BACK IN THE FIGHT?
A victory for Mercedes would make 2023 the 12th consecutive season in which the team has won a race. They would be only the third team to win in 12 consecutive seasons, after Ferrari (1994-2013) and McLaren (1981-1993).
Victory for a Mercedes-powered car would see them become only the third engine manufacturer to have won in 17 consecutive Formula 1 seasons. The only other manufacturers to have done so are Ferrari (20 seasons, between 1994-2013) and Ford Cosworth (17 seasons, between 1967-1983).
If three Mercedes-powered cars finish on the podium, Mercedes will equal Renault’s record tally of seventeen podium lockouts for an engine manufacturer.