Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most F1 starts with a single team, having made his 246th and final appearance with Mercedes at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. We look at the other drivers who started the most races with a single constructor.
Lewis Hamilton – 246 races at Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move from McLaren to Mercedes was questioned when he signed the contract back in 2012 – but it proved to be an inspired decision. While McLaren did not achieve title success for 12 years since Hamilton’s departure in 2012, Mercedes went on to enjoy unprecedented levels of championship success.
During his time with the Silver Arrows, beginning at the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, Hamilton added 84 Grand Prix wins and six World Championship titles to his name.
At the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, he set a new record for most races with a single team and went on to become the first driver to start 200 races with a single team at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
2024 was Hamilton’s 12th and final season with the team. He made his 246th and final outing with Mercedes at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix before moving to Ferrari for the 2025 season.
Max Verstappen – 186 races at Red Bull
At the 2023 British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen made his 150th start with Red Bull, becoming the fifth driver to make 150 starts with a single constructor.
The Dutchman won on his debut with the team at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, becoming Formula 1’s youngest ever winner. Since then, Verstappen has taken 63 wins with Red Bull and won the Drivers’ Championship in four successive seasons from 2021 to 2024.
In March 2022, Verstappen signed a new contract with Red Bull which is set to see him stay at the team until the end of the 2028 season. If he sees out the contract, Verstappen will sit well clear of any other driver at the top of this list by the end of 2028.
Michael Schumacher – 180 races at Ferrari
Prior to Hamilton’s 180th start with Mercedes at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher had held the record for most starts with a single team since the 2004 United States Grand Prix. That event marked his 133rd start with Ferrari, overtaking Jacques Laffite’s long-standing record of starts with Ligier.
Schumacher raced at Ferrari for eleven seasons in total. He joined as reigning World Champion from Benetton in 1996 and left the team upon his first retirement at the end of 2006.
Kimi Raikkonen – 151 races at Ferrari
17 years on from his title success, Kimi Raikkonen remains Ferrari’s most recent World Champion. Raikkonen enjoyed his most successful time at the team immediately after joining, as replacement for the retiring Michael Schumacher. Raikkonen took victory on his Ferrari debut in 2007 and went on to win the title later that year. He remained with the team for the next two seasons, before being replaced by Fernando Alonso in 2010.
Raikkonen returned to the team to partner Alonso in 2014. The Finn then partnered Sebastian Vettel at the Scuderia between 2015 and 2018. His seat was taken by Charles Leclerc for the 2019 season.
Over his two stints at the team, Raikkonen recorded 10 victories, the last of which – at the 2018 United States Grand Prix – set a new record for most races between two victories.
David Coulthard – 150 races at McLaren
Kimi Raikkonen usurped David Coulthard from second on this list at the time of his final Ferrari outing. Coulthard started 150 races with McLaren, starting at the 1996 Australian Grand Prix and ending with the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, after which he moved to Red Bull. Coulthard’s time at McLaren featured 12 wins, 51 podiums and the runner-up spot in the 2001 Drivers’ Championship.
Kevin Magnussen – 145 races at Haas
At the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Kevin Magnussen equalled Felipe Maasa for sixth in the list of most F1 races with a single team. The Monza race marked Magnussen’s 139th start with Haas – the team with whom he raced from 2017 through to his final F1 appearance at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (aside from when he took a year out of the sport in 2021).
Magnussen is the only Haas driver to record a pole position but, having done so ahead of a Sprint race, he did not actually start from pole position for the Grand Prix. Instead, Magnussen holds the record for Haas’ best starting position in a Grand Prix to date, having started fourth in the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
Felipe Massa – 139 races at Ferrari
Felipe Massa joined Ferrari in place of Rubens Barrichello for the 2006 season, alongside 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. He went on to make 139 starts with the team, with his final appearance coming at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix. He then completed his F1 career with a further 78 races at Williams. Massa would have eight more Ferrari starts to his name, if not for his season-ending crash in qualifying at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix.
This article was originally published in March 2022 and has since been updated.
