F1 Pole Position Records
Career pole positions for every Formula 1 driver and constructor, with pole rate and how often a pole converted into a win. Lewis Hamilton leads with 104 poles.
Data as of August 23, 2026
Most pole positions: drivers
Top 50 by career poles. “Pole rate” is poles per Grand Prix start; “wins from pole” compares career wins to career poles as a rough conversion indicator, not a race-by-race match.
| # | Driver | Poles | Starts | Pole rate | Wins | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | 104 | 392 | 26.5% | 106 | 2007–2026 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 68 | 308 | 22.1% | 91 | 1991–2012 |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna | 65 | 161 | 40.4% | 41 | 1984–1994 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | 57 | 300 | 19.0% | 53 | 2007–2022 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | 48 | 245 | 19.6% | 71 | 2015–2026 |
| 6 | Jim Clark | 34 | 73 | 46.6% | 25 | 1960–1968 |
| 7 | Alain Prost | 33 | 200 | 16.5% | 51 | 1980–1993 |
| 8 | Nigel Mansell | 32 | 189 | 16.9% | 31 | 1980–1995 |
| 9 | Nico Rosberg | 30 | 206 | 14.6% | 23 | 2006–2016 |
| 10 | Juan Fangio | 29 | 58 | 50.0% | 24 | 1950–1958 |
| 11 | Charles Leclerc | 27 | 184 | 14.7% | 9 | 2018–2026 |
| 12 | Mika Häkkinen | 26 | 163 | 16.0% | 20 | 1991–2001 |
| 13 | Nelson Piquet | 24 | 205 | 11.7% | 23 | 1978–1991 |
| 14 | Niki Lauda | 24 | 170 | 14.1% | 25 | 1971–1985 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | 22 | 438 | 5.0% | 32 | 2001–2026 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | 20 | 258 | 7.8% | 10 | 2013–2026 |
| 17 | Damon Hill | 20 | 116 | 17.2% | 22 | 1992–1999 |
| 18 | Kimi Räikkönen | 18 | 351 | 5.1% | 21 | 2001–2021 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | 18 | 162 | 11.1% | 13 | 2019–2026 |
| 20 | René Arnoux | 18 | 150 | 12.0% | 7 | 1978–1989 |
| 21 | Mario Andretti | 18 | 128 | 14.1% | 12 | 1968–1982 |
| 22 | Jackie Stewart | 17 | 99 | 17.2% | 27 | 1965–1973 |
| 23 | Stirling Moss | 17 | 72 | 23.6% | 16 | 1951–1961 |
| 24 | Felipe Massa | 16 | 269 | 5.9% | 11 | 2002–2017 |
| 25 | Rubens Barrichello | 14 | 326 | 4.3% | 11 | 1993–2011 |
| 26 | Ronnie Peterson | 14 | 123 | 11.4% | 10 | 1970–1978 |
| 27 | James Hunt | 14 | 93 | 15.1% | 10 | 1973–1979 |
| 28 | Alberto Ascari | 14 | 36 | 38.9% | 13 | 1950–1955 |
| 29 | Mark Webber | 13 | 216 | 6.0% | 9 | 2002–2013 |
| 30 | Graham Hill | 13 | 176 | 7.4% | 14 | 1958–1975 |
| 31 | Jacques Villeneuve | 13 | 164 | 7.9% | 11 | 1996–2006 |
| 32 | Jack Brabham | 13 | 127 | 10.2% | 14 | 1955–1970 |
| 33 | Jacky Ickx | 13 | 116 | 11.2% | 8 | 1967–1979 |
| 34 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 13 | 94 | 13.8% | 7 | 2001–2006 |
| 35 | David Coulthard | 12 | 246 | 4.9% | 13 | 1994–2008 |
| 36 | Gerhard Berger | 12 | 210 | 5.7% | 10 | 1984–1997 |
| 37 | George Russell | 12 | 164 | 7.3% | 7 | 2019–2026 |
| 38 | Jochen Rindt | 10 | 61 | 16.4% | 6 | 1964–1970 |
| 39 | Jenson Button | 8 | 307 | 2.6% | 15 | 2000–2017 |
| 40 | Riccardo Patrese | 8 | 257 | 3.1% | 6 | 1977–1993 |
| 41 | John Surtees | 8 | 111 | 7.2% | 6 | 1960–1972 |
| 42 | Jacques Laffite | 7 | 177 | 4.0% | 6 | 1974–1986 |
| 43 | Carlos Sainz | 6 | 242 | 2.5% | 4 | 2015–2026 |
| 44 | Ralf Schumacher | 6 | 180 | 3.3% | 6 | 1997–2007 |
| 45 | Carlos Reutemann | 6 | 146 | 4.1% | 12 | 1972–1982 |
| 46 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 6 | 143 | 4.2% | 14 | 1970–1980 |
| 47 | Alan Jones | 6 | 117 | 5.1% | 12 | 1975–1986 |
| 48 | Oscar Piastri | 6 | 80 | 7.5% | 9 | 2023–2026 |
| 49 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | 6 | 49 | 12.2% | 2 | 1975–1981 |
| 50 | Phil Hill | 6 | 48 | 12.5% | 3 | 1958–1964 |
Most pole positions: constructors
Top 25 teams by career pole positions.
| # | Constructor | Poles | Races | Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 254 | 1190 | 1950–2026 |
| 2 | McLaren | 179 | 1009 | 1968–2026 |
| 3 | Mercedes | 154 | 370 | 1954–2026 |
| 4 | Williams | 128 | 920 | 1975–2026 |
| 5 | Red Bull | 111 | 441 | 2005–2026 |
| 6 | Team Lotus | 61 | 425 | 1958–1994 |
| 7 | Renault | 51 | 417 | 1977–2020 |
| 8 | Lotus-Climax | 27 | 62 | 1961–1967 |
| 9 | Brabham | 26 | 326 | 1962–1992 |
| 10 | Lotus-Ford | 19 | 45 | 1963–1971 |
| 11 | Benetton | 15 | 281 | 1986–2001 |
| 12 | Tyrrell | 14 | 464 | 1970–1998 |
| 13 | Alfa Romeo | 12 | 223 | 1950–2023 |
| 14 | BRM | 11 | 215 | 1951–1977 |
| 15 | Maserati | 10 | 80 | 1950–1960 |
| 16 | Cooper-Climax | 10 | 73 | 1959–1968 |
| 17 | Ligier | 9 | 348 | 1976–1996 |
| 18 | Vanwall | 7 | 31 | 1954–1960 |
| 19 | Brabham-Repco | 7 | 34 | 1966–1969 |
| 20 | Kurtis Kraft | 6 | 12 | 1950–1960 |
| 21 | March | 5 | 199 | 1970–1992 |
| 22 | Brawn | 5 | 17 | 2009–2009 |
| 23 | Brabham-Ford | 4 | 21 | 1964–1979 |
| 24 | Shadow-Ford | 3 | 15 | 1975–1975 |
| 25 | Toyota | 3 | 144 | 2002–2009 |
How poles are counted
A pole position is first place on the starting grid. These totals count races started from grid position 1 — 1,172 across F1 history — which is the measure the classification data supports consistently back to 1950.
The qualifying format itself has changed repeatedly: a single timed session until 1996, one-lap shootouts in 2003–2005, and the three-stage knockout (Q1/Q2/Q3) since 2006. Pole rate is therefore comparable within an era but not perfectly across eras.
See also fastest lap records, all-time career leaderboards, and our methodology.