In the first Chinese Grand Prix in five years, Verstappen could set the longest pole streak of his career to date and Hulkenberg could equal De Cesaris at the top of the list of most starts without a win. Here are the milestones and the records which could be broken at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix!
THE 2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX MILESTONES
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix will be the 1,106th World Championship event in Formula 1 history.
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix marks Formula 1’s return to Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019. This will be the 17th Chinese Grand Prix since the event was first held in 2004.
At the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, Zhou Guanyu will become the first Chinese driver to compete at his home event in Formula 1.
14 of this year’s 20 drivers were on the grid last time F1 raced here in 2019. Both Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon will be making their first Chinese Grand Prix appearances since 2018, while Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant and Yuki Tsunoda join Zhou Guanyu in making their Chinese Grand Prix debuts.
Fernando Alonso will become the first driver to have appeared at the Chinese Grand Prix on sixteen occasions.
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix will host the first of six Sprint races across the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Sergio Perez makes his 71st start with Red Bull this weekend, equalling David Coulthard as the driver to have made the fifth most appearances with the team.
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix marks Lance Stroll’s 150th appearance in car number 18.
With Kevin Magnussen on the grid, the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix will be the 200th race in which a Danish driver has competed.
Max Verstappen makes his 49th appearance in car number 1 at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, overtaking Alain Prost for third on the list of most starts in car number 1.
Lap 6 of the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix will mark the 900th Grand Prix lap raced at Shanghai International Circuit.
The 2024 Chinese Grand Prix will be the third Formula 1 race held on April 21. The 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix and the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix are the previous races which have taken place on this date.
THE FORMULA 1 RECORDS WHICH COULD BE BROKEN
Nico Hulkenberg makes his 208th race start with weekend. If he fails to win the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, he will equal Andrea de Cesaris at the top of the list of drivers who’ve started the most races without ever taking victory.
A pole position for Red Bull at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would make them the sixth constructor – after Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Williams and Lotus – to secure 100 pole positions in Formula 1.
Shanghai International Circuit is one of only two venues on the 2024 F1 calendar at which Max Verstappen has not previously taken victory. A win at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would see Verstappen become only the second driver, after Lewis Hamilton, to have won at as many as 26 different circuits and would leave Marina Bay Street Circuit as the only current track at which Verstappen has not won.
As well as not having previously won here, Max Verstappen has also never previously taken pole at Shanghai International Circuit. A pole position at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would make him the fourth driver to have taken pole at as many as 21 different circuits, overtaking Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell in the all-time list.
A pole position for Max Verstappen at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would be his sixth consecutive pole. It would be a new personal best for the longest pole streak of his career and would mark the 13th time in F1 history that a driver has taken six successive poles. Verstappen would be the ninth different driver to secure six poles in a row, after Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
A top ten qualification for Max Verstappen would mark his 169th Q3 appearance and would see him overtake Felipe Massa for fifth in the list of most Q3 appearances since the knockout system was introduced in 2006.
If Zhou Guanyu were to win the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, he would become the first driver to take his maiden Grand Prix victory at his home event since Johnny Herbert at the 1995 British Grand Prix.
If Max Verstappen leads every lap of the race, he will overtake Jim Clark for fourth in the list of most races led from start to end. It would be the 14th time he has done so in his career.
Victory for Max Verstappen would see the Netherlands overtake Finland as the nation to have won the fifth most races in Formula 1. Finland have won 57 Grands Prix to date in F1, while Verstappen has secured all 57 of the Netherlands’ victories.
Max Verstappen has led at least one lap in all of the last 11 Grands Prix. Should he lead a lap again at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, it would be the 12th time that a driver has led laps in 12 consecutive Grands Prix. It would also match Verstappen’s personal best for most consecutive races led, having previously led 12 Grands Prix in a row between the 2023 Australian and Italian Grands Prix.
A win from pole position for Max Verstappen would mark the 31st time that Verstappen has won a Grand Prix from pole. That would see him equal Sebastian Vettel for third on the list of most wins from pole.
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 points finish for a French driver would make 2024 the 70th season in which a French driver has scored. Only two other nations have scored points in 70 seasons: Britain and Germany.
A 1-2 finish for Mercedes would make them the second team, after Ferrari, to record 60 1-2 finishes in Formula 1. Ferrari reached the milestone at the 2002 United States Grand Prix.
A points finish for Logan Sargeant would make the United States the 12th country to score 1,000 points in World Championship history.
A front row start for Oscar Piastri would make this the 100th Grand Prix at which an Australian driver has lined up on the front row of the grid.
If Fernando Alonso or Lance Stroll reach Q3 in qualifying for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, the Silverstone-based team will reach 250 Q3 appearances (under all their guises, from Midland to Aston Martin) since the knockout system was introduced in 2006.
Should Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo score 33 points between them, Australia will become the seventh nation to have scored 3,000 points in Formula 1.
Spain could overtake Brazil as the nation to have scored the fifth most points in F1. They will do so if Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz score 11 points between them.
CAN LECLERC CONVERT A POLE TO A WIN?
Pole position for a Ferrari driver would mark the 250th pole position for a Ferrari car in Formula 1 history.
A pole position for Charles Leclerc would see him overtake Niki Lauda as the driver to have taken the second-most pole positions with Ferrari. Only Michael Schumacher has taken more poles at Ferrari than Lauda and Leclerc.
Charles Leclerc has failed to convert all of his last 12 pole positions into wins. Should he take pole and fail to win again this weekend, he would equal the record for most successive poles without a win. Rene Arnoux currently holds the record, having failed to convert any of the first 13 poles of his career into victories.
If Charles Leclerc takes pole position and fails to win, it would be the 20th time that he has done so in his Formula 1 career. That would see him overtake Nelson Piquet for fifth in the list of most failed pole to win conversions.
A podium finish for Charles Leclerc would mark his 33rd top three finish with Ferrari. That would see him equal Niki Lauda as the driver to have taken the seventh most podium finishes with the Scuderia.
THE CHINESE GRAND PRIX RECORDS TO BREAK
Lewis Hamilton could extend the record for most Chinese Grand Prix victories to seven this weekend. Fernando Alonso could become only the second driver to win at the track on three occasions, while Daniel Ricciardo could become the circuit’s fourth repeat winner. Any other driver winning the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would make them the 10th different winner at Shanghai International Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton is the only driver to have recorded consecutive wins at the Chinese Grand Prix, having done so in 2014 and 2015. As he is the most recent winner here, Hamilton could record successive wins at the track for the second time in 2024.
Ferrari currently hold the record for most pole positions at the Chinese Grand Prix, with 13. Their record could be equalled or overtaken by Mercedes at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix. They currently have 12 top three finishes at the track.
McLaren or Mercedes could equal the record for most Fastest Laps for a team at the Chinese Grand Prix this weekend, while Red Bull could extend the existing record to five.
A second place finish for Fernando Alonso or Valtteri Bottas would see them equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of three runner-up finishes at the Chinese Grand Prix, while a third place finish for Lewis Hamilton would see him tie with Kimi Raikkonen for the most third place finishes at Shanghai International Circuit.
Lewis Hamilton could become the first driver to finish in the points on 13 occasions at the Chinese Grand Prix, while Fernando Alonso could equal the existing record which Hamilton shares with Sebastian Vettel. A top ten finish for Hamilton or Alonso would also see them equal Vettel’s record of 13 top ten finishes at the track.
A first lap retirement for Lance Stroll at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix would make him the first driver to record multiple first laps DNFs at Shanghai International Circuit.
Britain and Germany are currently tied for the most podium finishes at the Chinese Grand Prix with 13 apiece. Either nation could set a new outright record this weekend.
2024 CHINESE GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING RECORDS
Should a driver other than Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas take pole position at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, it would extend the record for most consecutive different polesitters in Shanghai to five.
If a team other than Ferrari or Mercedes takes pole position for the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix, it would be the first time three different teams have taken pole in three successive races at Shanghai International Circuit.
A Q3 appearance for Lewis Hamilton would make him the first driver to qualify in the top ten at the Chinese Grand Prix on 13 occasions. He currently shares the record for most top ten qualifications here with Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso could equal the existing record if Hamilton fails to reach Q3.
A Q1 elimination for Lance Stroll would make him the seventh driver to have recorded as many as three Q1 exits at the Chinese Grand Prix. No driver has record more than three Q1 exits here.
Britain and Germany are currently tied for the most poles at Shanghai International Circuit, with six each. Either nation could set a new record at the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix.
LONGEVITY RECORDS FOR HAMILTON AND ALONSO
A victory for Lewis Hamilton at any race in 2024 would see him overtake Michael Schumacher as the driver to have won at least one race in the most Formula 1 seasons. Both Schumacher and Hamilton have won races in 15 different Formula 1 seasons.
A podium finish for Lewis Hamilton at any race in 2024 would make him the third oldest British driver to finish on the Formula 1 podium. He currently sits fourth in the list, behind Nigel Mansell, Graham Hill and Reg Parnell.
A Fastest Lap for Lewis Hamilton would make him the first driver to have set a Fastest Lap in 17 Formula 1 seasons. A Fastest Lap would also see Hamilton equal Schumacher’s record for most consecutive seasons in which a driver has set the Fastest Lap in a Grand Prix. Schumacher set at least one Fastest Lap in all 15 seasons between 1992 and 2006, while Hamilton has set a Fastest Lap every year since 2010.
A Fastest Lap for Lewis Hamilton would see him set a new record for most Fastest Laps with a single team. He is currently tied with Michael Schumacher, having set 53 Fastest Laps with Mercedes. Schumacher took 53 Fastest Laps with Ferrari during his tenure at the team.
A win for Fernando Alonso at any Grand Prix in 2024 would make him the oldest driver to win a Grand Prix since Jack Brabham at the 1970 South African Grand Prix.
A podium finish for Fernando Alonso would see him overtake Alain Prost as the driver to have taken the fourth-most podiums in Formula 1 history.
A podium finish for Fernando Alonso would make him the third driver – after Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton – to record podium finishes in 15 different Formula 1 seasons.
Pole position at any race for Fernando Alonso in 2024 would make him the oldest polesitter since Jack Brabham at the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix.
If Fernando Alonso leads a lap of any race in 2024, he would become the first driver to have led Formula 1 races over a period longer than 20 years. Alonso first led a Grand Prix in Malaysia in 2003. He most recently led at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, just a week short of the 20th anniversary of him leading a lap for the first time in Formula 1.