Pole position in F1: what it means, records, hat-tricks and the Grand Slam

What is pole position?

Pole position, or simply pole, is first place on the starting grid for the race. Under the 2026 FIA regulations, the grid is formed from the qualifying results and then any penalties are applied. So pole goes to the driver with the best lap in the final part of qualifying, Q3 — unless they have been given a grid penalty.

The cars line up in a staggered formation, with 16 metres between rows. The polesitter lines up ahead of everyone and leads the field on the formation lap.

The term pole position came to motor racing from horse racing. In the World Championship, pole has been decided by lap times in practice and qualifying since 1950.

There are no points for pole: under the 2026 regulations, points are awarded only for results in the race and the sprint.

How pole is decided

In 2026 it is decided in a three-part qualifying session. The slowest drivers are knocked out after Q1 and Q2, and the top ten fight for pole in Q3. How it works minute by minute is explained in the article on qualifying.

The format has changed many times:

1. Until 1996 — two sessions, on Friday and Saturday, with no fuel restrictions; the best time counted.
2. 1996–2002 — one session lasting an hour, with no more than 12 laps per driver.
3. 2003–2005 — single flying laps: drivers went out one at a time, and in 2003 the Saturday lap was run on race fuel.
4. From 2006 — three knockout parts, with pole decided in the last one.

Who gets pole after a penalty, and in a sprint

Pole is a place on the grid, so if the fastest driver takes a penalty, it passes to the next one. At the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was fastest in qualifying, but a grid penalty meant he started 14th — and he still won. Pole went to Carlos Sainz, who had been second in qualifying.

The rule for sprints has changed. In 2021 the sprint set the grid for the race on a sprint weekend, and pole was credited to its winner; from 2022 it went to the fastest driver in qualifying. That is why Kevin Magnussen has the pole for the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, even though he started the race eighth, after the sprint. It was the first pole in Haas history.

Under the 2026 regulations, the sprint has its own qualifying and its own grid. First place on that grid is also called pole, but it does not count as a Grand Prix pole. Kimi Antonelli took sprint pole in Miami in 2025, and his first Grand Prix pole in China in 2026.

Who has the most poles?

As of the end of 2025, the record of 104 poles belongs to Lewis Hamilton. Next come Michael Schumacher with 68, Ayrton Senna with 65, Sebastian Vettel with 57 and Max Verstappen with 48. The table below comes from our database and is updated along with it.

From 1950 to 1953 the record passed from Nino Farina to Fangio and then Alberto Ascari. After that, it grew like this:

Senna took his 65th and last pole at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. Schumacher beat that record at the same circuit in 2006. Hamilton passed Schumacher at Monza in 2017 and took his 100th pole in Spain in 2021.

Among the teams, Ferrari have the most poles as of the end of 2025, with 254. From 1950 to 2025, 107 different drivers took pole. The championship’s other records are on the Records page.

In a season and in a row

• Most poles in a season: 15, by Sebastian Vettel in 2011, in a season of 19 races.
• Highest share: Nigel Mansell, with 14 poles from 16 races in 1992.
• In a row: eight, by Ayrton Senna from the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix to the 1989 United States Grand Prix, and by Max Verstappen from Abu Dhabi 2023 to Emilia Romagna 2024.
• At one circuit: nine, by Hamilton at the Hungaroring, as of the end of 2025.

The youngest and the oldest

The youngest polesitter is Kimi Antonelli. At the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix he was 19 years and 202 days old, breaking a record Sebastian Vettel had held since 2008.

In all Gridlap records, age is counted the same way: in full years and days on the day of the race, using the dates in our database. Pole is decided in qualifying the day before the race, so where age is counted on the day of qualifying, it comes out a day less: 19 years and 201 days for Antonelli.

The oldest is Nino Farina: in Argentina in 1954 he was 47 years and 79 days old. Next comes Juan Manuel Fangio, also in Argentina, in 1958, at 46 years and 209 days.

What is a hat-trick?

A hat-trick is pole, the win and the fastest lap in the same race. A Grand Slam, or Grand Chelem in French, is all that plus leading every lap, from start to finish.

From 1950 to 2025 there were 196 hat-tricks. Michael Schumacher has the most, with 22; Lewis Hamilton has 19, Max Verstappen 14 and Jim Clark 11, all as of the end of 2025.

What is a Grand Slam?

It is pole, the win, the fastest lap and leading every lap of the race. From 1950 to 2025 there were 70 Grand Slams, by 27 drivers.

As of the end of 2025, Jim Clark holds the record with eight, Hamilton and Verstappen have six each, and Alberto Ascari and Schumacher five each. Juan Manuel Fangio scored the first Grand Slam at Monaco in 1950, in only the second race in the championship’s history. The championship’s other firsts are in the article on the first F1 race.

The youngest driver to score a Grand Slam is Kimi Antonelli: at Monaco on 7 June 2026 he was 19 years and 286 days old. The previous record was Verstappen’s, at 23 years and 277 days in Austria in 2021.

What is the fastest lap?

The fastest lap is the best time for a single lap in the race. Any driver can set it, not just the winner.

It has not always earned a point. From 1950 to 1959 the point went to whoever set the fastest lap, and from 2019 to 2024 only to a driver who finished in the top ten. Since 2025 there has been no such point. The details are in the article on points.

As of the end of 2025, Michael Schumacher has the most fastest laps with 77, followed by Lewis Hamilton with 68 and Kimi Räikkönen with 46.