As F1 races for the 23rd time in a single season for the first time, Mercedes could reach 300 podium finishes and there could be seven consecutive different Grand Prix winners for the first time since 2012. Here are the milestones and the records which could be broken at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix!
THE 2024 QATAR GRAND PRIX MILESTONES
The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will be the 1,124th World Championship event in Formula 1 history.
This will be the third time that Formula 1 has raced in Qatar. After its debut in 2021, Lusail Circuit returned to host its second F1 race in 2023. This race is part of a ten-year deal Formula 1 has signed with Qatar.
The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix marks the first time that F1 races for a 23rd time in a single season. This is the first season to have 23 Grands Prix, breaking the record of 22 rounds from the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Fernando Alonso celebrated his 400th F1 weekend appearance at the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix – but the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will officially mark his 400th Grand Prix start. Races at which Alonso appeared but did not start are the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix, the 2005 United States Grand Prix and the 2017 Russian Grand Prix. He at least started the formation lap at all three of those events and even took the start at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix – however, he is classed as a Did Not Start there as he retired before the race was restarted. Under the old regulations, the original start was voided and Alonso never took the ‘actual’ start of the race.
Valtteri Bottas is set to make his 207th consecutive Grand Prix start at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix. He’ll overtake Nico Rosberg for fourth on the list of most successive Grand Prix starts in F1 history.
The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix will be host of the sixth and final Sprint weekend of the season. It will be the second time that Lusail Circuit hosts a Sprint race, having also done so last year.
The 2024 Qatar Grand Prix is the second Formula 1 race to take place on December 1. The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the only other race held on this date.
THE FORMULA 1 RECORDS WHICH COULD BE BROKEN
The last six Grands Prix have all had a different winner. Should the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix be won by a driver other than Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen or George Russell, this will be the first time that there have been seven consecutive different winners since the seven races at the start of the 2012 season, between the Australian and Canadian Grands Prix. It will be the ninth time in total that as many as seven consecutive races have had different winners.
If both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finish on the podium, Mercedes will reach the milestone of 300 podium finishes in Formula 1. They will be the fourth team to reach 300 podiums, after Ferrari (at the 1985 German Grand Prix), McLaren (at the 1999 Hungarian Grand Prix) and Williams (at the 2014 German Grand Prix).
Lewis Hamilton led every lap of the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, while Max Verstappen led every lap of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. Should the same driver lead every lap of the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, it would be only the second time that the first three World Championship Grands Prix at a circuit have been led from start to end by a single driver. Zandvoort is the only other track at which this has happened, with a single driver having led every lap of the 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1958 Dutch Grands Prix.
A top three finish for Max Verstappen would make this the 400th Grand Prix in which the driver of car number 1 has finished on the podium.
A 1-2 finish for McLaren would mark the 50th 1-2 result in the team’s history. They would be only the third team – after Ferrari and Mercedes – to record 50 1-2 finishes.
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.
If Nico Hulkenberg scores more than nine points this weekend, Germany will become the second nation – after Britain – to have scored 8,000 points in Formula 1.
If either Red Bull driver sets the fastest lap, Red Bull will become the fifth team to have recorded the fastest lap at as many as 100 Grands Prix.
BACK TO THE TOP FOR FERRARI?
A victory for a Ferrari-powered car would make this the 250th Grand Prix to be won by Ferrari power. Of the 249 wins for Ferrari power, only one has not been for a Ferrari car. The single exception is Sebastian Vettel’s victory for Toro Rosso at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
If Charles Leclerc wins one more race in the 2024 season, 2024 will become the season in which he has won the most Grands Prix. Leclerc matched his record for most wins in a year at the 2024 United States Grand Prix, taking his third victory of the season. He also won three races in 2022.
If either Ferrari driver wins another race in 2024, it would be the first time since 2018 that Ferrari have won as many as six races in a single season.
Ferrari could overtake McLaren at the top of the Constructors’ Championship. If they do so, it would be the first time since the 2022 Miami Grand Prix that the Scuderia have been top of the standings.
If Lewis Hamilton, George Russell or Lando Norris score a point at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix, this will be the 950th Grand Prix in which a British driver has scored a point. The nation is currently on a streak of 138 races in which it has scored a point – the second longest such streak in history.
THE QATAR GRAND PRIX RECORDS TO BREAK
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are currently tied for most Qatar Grand Prix victories with one apiece. Either driver could set a new record this weekend, while their respective teams could become the first to record multiple wins at the event.
Max Verstappen could become the first driver to take back-to-back Qatar Grand Prix victories, while a win for either Red Bull driver would make them the first team to record successive wins at Lusail Circuit.
Only Max Verstappen has multiple podium finishes at the Qatar Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton or Oscar Piastri could join him at the top of the list this weekend, or Verstappen could extend the record to three top three finishes at the track.
As well as being the only driver with multiple podiums, Max Verstappen is the only driver to have set the Fastest Lap at Lusail Circuit. He could extend the record to three during the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc, Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are the only drivers who’ve completed all 57 laps of both races at Lusail Circuit to date. They’ll all be hoping to keep their 100% completion rates intact at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
2024 QATAR GRAND PRIX: QUALIFYING RECORDS
Like wins, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are tied for most Qatar Grand Prix pole positions. Either driver could set a new record this weekend, or there could be a third different polesitter from three races at the track.
Max Verstappen could become the first back-to-back polesitter at the Qatar Grand Prix, while Red Bull could become the first team to take successive pole positions at the Lusail track.
A front row lock-out for any team would mark the first time that a team has locked-out the front row for a Grand Prix at Lusail Circuit.
Eight drivers will be hoping to maintain their 100% Q3 appearance record at the Qatar Grand Prix: Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas.
Sergio Perez is the only driver to record multiple Q2 eliminations in Qatar. He could be the first to reach three Q2 exits in qualifying for the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.
No driver has recorded multiple Q1 exits at the Qatar Grand Prix. Lance Stroll, Logan Sargeant, Zhou Guanyu and Kevin Magnussen could become the first drivers to do so.
LONGEVITY RECORDS FOR ALONSO?
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.
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.
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.
