Verstappen overtakes Senna in the laps led list, Bearman becomes F1’s third-youngest points scorer and Albon crosses the finish line in Jeddah for the first time. Here’s a statistic from each driver’s 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend!
🇳🇱 Max VERSTAPPEN
Max Verstappen made his187th consecutive race start at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, equalling Riccardo Patrese for fourth in the list of most consecutive F1 race starts in the sport’s history.
Verstappen secured the 34th pole position of his Formula 1 career in qualifying for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, overtaking Jim Clark and Alain Prost for fifth in the all-time list of most pole positions in F1. Jeddah Corniche Circuit is became 20th different circuit at which Verstappen has secured pole position in his F1 career. Verstappen is the sixth driver to have taken pole at 20 different tracks, overtaking Michael Schumacher in the list. This was the first time Verstappen qualified on the front row at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
With pole position for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen secured the 60th front row start of his F1 career, becoming the sixth driver to make 60 front row starts in F1, equalling Nico Rosberg for sixth in the all-time list.
Verstappen secured the 56th victory of his Formula 1 career at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With his ninth successive victory, he became the first driver to win nine successive races twice in their career. Sebastian Vettel is the only other driver to win nine races in a row, doing so at the end of the 2013 season. Verstappen has now won all but one of the last 20 Grands Prix. This is the first time in his career that Verstappen has won the first two races of a season. He is the first driver to win the first two races of the year since Sebastian Vettel did so in 2018.
Max Verstappen recorded his 100th podium finish at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, becoming the seventh driver to record 100 podium finishes in Formula 1. He set a new record for the youngest age at which a driver has recorded their 100th podium finish, being over four years younger than previous record holder Sebastian Vettel. Verstappen amassed his 100 podiums in 7 years, 9 months and 23 days – the shortest gap between first and 100th podium finishes in F1 history.
2024 is the second year in a row that a driver has recorded their 100th podium finish in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso recorded his 100th top three finish in last year’s Jeddah race. Verstappen is only the third driver – after Michael Schumacher with Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes – to record 100 podium finishes with a single constructor.
Verstappen won from pole for the 29th time in his career, equalling Ayrton Senna for fourth on the list of most wins taken from pole position. During the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen overtook Senna for fourth on the list of most Grand Prix laps led in Formula 1.
On Lap 14 of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen became the 20th driver to have raced 10,000 Grand Prix laps in Formula 1.
🇲🇽 Sergio PEREZ
With third place in qualifying for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez qualified in the top three for the first time since the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix. Perez finished the race as runner-up, recording his second top three finish at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
This is the first time since the 2023 Spanish and Canadian Grands Prix that Perez finished on the podium at two consecutive races and the first time he has finished in the top two at successive races since the 2023 Azerbaijan and Miami Grands Prix.
🇬🇧 Lewis HAMILTON
For the first time since the end of the 2015 season, Lewis Hamilton was out-qualified by his team-mate at four consecutive races. Hamilton qualified eighth for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – the same position as he qualified last year.
Finishing ninth, Lewis Hamilton finished outside of the top five for a fifth consecutive race, marking the first time since the five races between the 2009 Spanish and German Grands Prix that Hamilton failed to finish in the top five at five races in a row.
Hamilton lost a place from where he started in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix – the first time he has done so in his four appearances at Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Hamilton became the first driver to start eighth on the grid and score a point in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
🇬🇧 George RUSSELL
George Russell’s seventh place in qualifying for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix marked the first time he qualified outside of the top six since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. This was the first race in Saudi Arabia for which neither Mercedes driver qualified in the top six.
🇲🇨 Charles LECLERC
Charles Leclerc qualified on the front row for the seventh consecutive race at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, lining up alongside Max Verstappen on the first row for a fifth successive race weekend. Leclerc reached Q3 for the 100th time in his Formula 1 career, becoming the 15th driver to make 100 Q3 appearances.
Leclerc recorded his second podium finish at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, finishing second. He set the fastest lap of the race, recording the first fastest lap for a Ferrari driver since the 2022 French Grand Prix.
🇪🇸 Carlos SAINZ
After suffering from appendicitis, Carlos Sainz missed the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was Sainz’s first non-start since the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, the first race for which he did not qualify since the 2015 Russian Grand Prix and the first race which did not enter into since the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
🇬🇧 Oliver BEARMAN
Oliver Bearman replaced Carlos Sainz at Ferrari for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He became the first driver to make their Formula 1 debut with Ferrari since Arturo Merzario at the 1972 British Grand Prix and – at the age of 18 years, 10 months and 1 day – became the youngest driver to ever race for Ferrari in Formula 1.
Bearman became the first British driver to race for Ferrari since Eddie Irvine at the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix and made this the first race since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix to feature four British drivers on the grid.
Making his qualifying debut with Ferrari after just one hour of practice in the car, Bearman narrowly missed out on becoming the eighth driver to reach Q3 on his Formula 1 debut. He missed out on a slot in Q3 by just 0.036 seconds and qualified in 11th place, becoming the first driver to qualify in the top 11 on debut since Lando Norris at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix and the first debutant to start in the top 11 on the grid since Nyck de Vries at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.
Bearman finished seventh on his Ferrari debut at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Becoming the third-youngest driver to ever race or score a point in Formula 1, Bearman recorded the best result for a debutant since Felipe Nasr finished fifth on debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix.
Bearman is only the tenth driver to finish in the top seven on their F1 debut so far this millennium. Only six drivers have done so in Bearman’s lifetime: Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastien Buemi, Kevin Magnussen and Felipe Nasr.
Bearman was voted Driver Of The Day, winning with 48% of the vote. It’s the sixth biggest voting percentage in the award’s history.
Bearman’s seventh place made this the third time in the four Saudi Arabian Grands Prix to date that a Ferrari driver has finished in seventh place.
🇬🇧 Lando NORRIS
With sixth place, Lando Norris recorded his best Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying result to date, having had a previous best qualifying result of seventh in 2021. With both Norris and Oscar Piastri finished in the top eight, this was McLaren’s best combined result to date at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
🇦🇺 Oscar PIASTRI
Oscar Piastri recorded McLaren’s best Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualifying and race result to date over the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend. He qualified fifth for the race and finished fourth, recording his best result since his podium finish at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix.
🇪🇸 Fernando ALONSO
Fernando Alonso qualified in the top four at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for the first time since the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix and finished in the top five for the first time since then. Alonso’s fifth place finish made this the 50th Grand Prix in which Aston Martin scored. They are the 26th constructor to score points in 50 races.
🇨🇦 Lance STROLL
After appearing in Q3 for the first time since the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Lance Stroll retired from the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, recording his first retirement since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. Bringing out the Safety Car with a crash on Lap 6, Stroll ensured that Jeddah Corniche Circuit retained its record of having at least one Safety Car period in every race at the track to date.
🇫🇷 Esteban OCON
Esteban Ocon maintained his record of never being out-qualified by a team-mate in Jeddah but lost his 100% Q3 appearance rate at the track in qualifying for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. As he was lapped in the race, Ocon also lost his place in the club of drivers who’ve raced every Grand Prix lap to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
With 13th place, Ocon recorded his worst Saudi Arabian Grand Prix result to date. This was the first time that the Frenchman failed to score at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
🇫🇷 Pierre GASLY
After losing his 100% Q3 appearance rate at Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Friday. Pierre Gasly took the unwanted honour of becoming the first retirement of the season on Saturday, retiring with gearbox issues in the early stages of the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
This is the second time in the last three years that Gasly has recorded the first DNF of the year, having also done so in 2022. He is the ninth driver to record the first retirement of the season on multiple occasions. Gasly recorded his first retirement since the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.
🇹🇭 Alex ALBON
Alex Albon made his 84th start in car number 23 at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, overtaking Pierluigi Martini for the most starts in car 23. Albon made it out of Q1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for the first time in his three appearances at the track. Albon’s 12th place was the team’s best qualifying result at the track to date.
Albon came home in 11th place at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, crossing the finish line at Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the first time in his career.
🇺🇸 Logan SARGEANT
Logan Sargeant made up four positions from 19th on the grid to 15th at the finish in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He also made up four positions in last year’s Jeddah race. With team-mate Alex Albon 11th and Sargeant 15th, this was the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in which both Williams drivers crossed the finish line.
🇯🇵 Yuki TSUNODA
Qualifying ninth for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Yuki Tsunoda recorded RB’s first Q3 appearance of the 2024 season. He finished 14th in the race, retaining his 100% non-score rate at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
🇦🇺 Daniel RICCIARDO
Daniel Ricciardo qualified 14th for the second race in a row at the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He lost two places in the race, finishing 16th. It was the first time he lost places from where he started since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix.
🇫🇮 Valtteri BOTTAS
Valtteri Bottas recorded a Q1 exit at Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the first time in qualifying for the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He exited in Q1 for a third consecutive race, recording three successive Q1 exits for the first time in his career.
🇨🇳 ZHOU Guanyu
After recording a Q1 exit at the event for the first time, Zhou Guanyu finished only 18th at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It was his worst result to date at Jeddah Corniche Circuit – a track at which he has never picked up a point.
🇩🇰 Kevin MAGNUSSEN
Kevin Magnussen finished 12th in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. This was the first time in his three appearances at the event that Magnussen failed to score at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. With team-mate Nico Hulkenberg tenth, this was the first time since last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix that both Haas drivers finished in the top 12 in a Grand Prix.
🇩🇪 Nico HULKENBERG
In his 150th start in car number 27, Nico Hulkenberg scored a point with a tenth place finish in the 2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It made this the 100th Grand Prix weekend at which Hulkenberg has scored a point. He is the 19th driver to score points at 100 events. Making up five places, Hulkenberg gained the most places of any driver in the race.
This was the first Grand Prix in which Hulkenberg scored a point since the 2023 Australian Grand Prix – though he did score points in the Sprint at the 2023 Austrian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg’s point made 2024 the 34th consecutive season in which a German driver scored a point. Germany overtook France as the nation to have scored in the third most consecutive seasons as a result.
