At the 50th F1 race to be held in Brazil, Verstappen could overtake Prost for fourth in the all-time win list and Britain could surpass their longest scoring streak. Here are the milestones and the records which could be broken at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix!
THE 2023 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX MILESTONES
The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be the 1,099th World Championship event in Formula 1 history.
2023 marks 50 years since Brazil first appeared on the Formula 1 calendar.
This will be the 50th time that Formula 1 has raced in Brazil. The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be the 40th World Championship Grand Prix to be held at Interlagos. The venue becomes only the seventh to have hosted 40 races.
At the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Brazil becomes the 11th nation to have hosted 50 rounds of the World Championship.
When the chequered flag falls at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Max Verstappen will equal Michael Schumacher’s record of most consecutive races after which a driver has lead the championship. Verstappen has led the title race after all of the last 36 races.
This weekend, Fernando Alonso becomes the first driver to make 20 starts at Interlagos. He’s currently tied for most starts at the track with Rubens Barrichello.
The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be the 12th race to use the F1 Sprint since it was introduced at the 2021 British Grand Prix. Interlagos becomes the first venue to use the format three times.
The 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be the second round of the World Championship to be held on November 5. The only other race held on this date was the 1989 Australian Grand Prix.
This will be the 50th Formula 1 race to take place in the month of November.
The 70th lap of the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix will be the 2,600th Grand Prix racing lap to take place at Interlagos.
THE FORMULA 1 RECORDS TO BREAK
Max Verstappen could record his 52nd Grand Prix victory this weekend, which would see him overtake Alain Prost for fourth on the list of most Formula 1 wins. Prost would fall out of the top four of all-time Formula 1 wins having been within the top four since taking his 25th win at the 1986 Australian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen can set a new personal best for most poles in a year at the 2023 Sao Paulo 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 Sao Paulo 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.
A top ten finish for Sergio Perez would make Mexico the tenth nation to have scored in 200 Grands Prix.
A British driver has scored in every race since the 2018 British Grand Prix. Another points score this weekend would see Britain set a new personal best for their longest points-scoring streak in Formula 1 and the second-longest for a nation in the sport’s history. The current streak is 113 races in the points. The nation’s other longest streak of 113 races in the points came between the 2009 Italian Grand Prix and the 2015 Italian Grand 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.
Pole position for Charles Leclerc would be his 23rd pole with Ferrari, which would see him equal Niki Lauda as the driver to have taken the second-most poles with the Scuderia.
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.
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.
2023 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX: RECORDS TO BREAK
If Lewis Hamilton wins the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, he will equal Michael Schumacher as the driver with the most wins at Interlagos. Schumacher won in Brazil on four occasions in his career.
Victory for George Russell at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix would make him the sixth driver to have recorded consecutive wins at Interlagos. The other drivers to have done so are Emerson Fittipaldi, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Juan Pablo Montoya and Nico Rosberg.
If Lewis Hamilton or George Russell win the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Mercedes would equal the record for most consecutive team wins at Interlagos. Mercedes have won the last two races at the track. The record of three consecutive wins is shared between three teams: Ferrari (2006-08), Red Bull (2009-11) and Mercedes (2014-16).
Ferrari could become the first team to win ten races at Interlagos, while McLaren could equal the Scuderia’s existing record of nine wins at the venue.
If two British drivers finish on the podium at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Britain will overtake Germany as the nation to have recorded the most podium finishes at Interlagos.
Fernando Alonso will overtake Michael Schumacher as the driver to have raced the most Grand Prix laps at Interlagos if he completes the first 23 laps of the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Should he lead 53 laps of the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton would overtake Michael Schumacher as the driver to have led the most laps at Interlagos. Hamilton has led 184 laps here so far, compared to Schumacher’s 236.
A fastest lap for Lewis Hamilton would see him equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five fastest laps at Interlagos.
Williams could equal McLaren’s record of nine fastest laps at Interlagos.
If both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finish on the podium, Ferrari would become the first team to record 30 podium finishes at Interlagos.
Should he cross the finish line, Fernando Alonso will become the first driver to reach the chequered flag in 18 races at Interlagos.
If he scores 21 points over the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend, Lewis Hamilton will become the first driver to score 200 points at Interlagos.
If Fernando Alonso scores a point in the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, he’ll equal Michael Schumacher as the driver to have scored on the most occasions at Interlagos. Schumacher scored 16 times at the circuit during his career.
Ferrari and Mercedes are currently tied as the engine manufacturer to have recorded the most wins in Brazil. Either manufacturer could set a new record this weekend.
No driver has finished as runner-up on more than three occasions at Interlagos – but Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton could change that at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
If Kevin Magnussen retires on the opening lap at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, he’ll become the first driver to record three first lap retirements at Interlagos. He was out on Lap 1 at the track in both 2017 and 2022 and is currently tied with David Coulthard as the driver with the most first lap DNFs at the track.
2023 SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING RECORDS
Pole position for Lewis Hamilton would make him the first driver to have taken pole on four occasions at Interlagos.
McLaren hold the record for most poles at Interlagos, with nine. Williams could equal their record at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
Mercedes have powered the most pole positions at Interlagos, with 11. Renault could equal the record this weekend.
A different driver has taken pole position at each of the last four Interlagos races. Should a driver other than Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas or Kevin Magnussen take pole at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, it would equal the record of most consecutive different polestiters at Interlagos, recorded between 2008 and 2012.
Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc will each be hoping to maintain their 100% Q3 appearance record at Interlagos.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are currently tied for most Q3 appearances at Interlagos, with 13 apiece. Either driver could set a new record on Friday at the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
If Lance Stroll is eliminated in Q1, he’ll equal Heikki Kovalainen as the driver to record the most Q1 exits at Interlagos. Kovalainen recorded five Q1 eliminations here in his career, while Stroll has recorded four to date.
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.
