Most F1 Pole Positions
Lewis Hamilton leads on 104 pole positions, ahead of Michael Schumacher on 68.
Counts pole positions (the driver starting first on the grid), 1950 to the present.
Record holder
104pole positions
| # | Driver | Poles |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Lewis Hamilton | 104 |
| 2nd | Michael Schumacher | 68 |
| 3rd | Ayrton Senna | 65 |
| 4th | Sebastian Vettel | 57 |
| 5th | Max Verstappen | 50 |
| =6th | Alain Prost | 33 |
| =6th | Jim Clark | 33 |
| 8th | Nigel Mansell | 32 |
| 9th | Nico Rosberg | 30 |
| 10th | Charles Leclerc | 27 |
| =11th | Juan Fangio | 26 |
| =11th | Mika Häkkinen | 26 |
| =13th | Nelson Piquet | 24 |
| =13th | Niki Lauda | 24 |
| 15th | Fernando Alonso | 22 |
| =16th | Damon Hill | 20 |
| =16th | Valtteri Bottas | 20 |
| 18th | Lando Norris | 19 |
| =19th | Kimi Räikkönen | 18 |
| =19th | Mario Andretti | 18 |
| =19th | René Arnoux | 18 |
| 22nd | Jackie Stewart | 17 |
| 23rd | Felipe Massa | 16 |
| 24th | Stirling Moss | 15 |
| =25th | Alberto Ascari | 14 |
| =25th | James Hunt | 14 |
| =25th | Ronnie Peterson | 14 |
| =25th | Rubens Barrichello | 14 |
How this is measured
- Pole is credited to the driver who started first on the grid. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, so grid position is used across the whole of history; it also matches the official record when a grid penalty promotes another driver to P1, and for the 2021 sprint weekends. The one exception is the 2022 sprint weekends, where the official pole went to the fastest qualifier rather than the sprint winner: Kevin Magnussen, not George Russell, holds pole for the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix.
- The 1950–1960 Indianapolis 500 rounds counted towards the world championship but were run to American rules with roughly 33-car grids and almost no overlap in entrants. They are excluded from every leaderboard on this site.
- The current season is included, so these figures change after every Grand Prix.
Most F1 Poles by a Constructor
254pole positions
Most F1 Front Row Starts
178front row starts