Pole Position is a term used to describe the position which lies at the front of the starting grid. This gives the driver in pole the advantage of starting ahead of all the other drivers. This advantage is such that, in all races in Formula One history, more than 40% of race wins have come from pole.[1]
Throughout the history of F1, pole position has been determined by one or more qualifying sessions, the fastest driver (either in a single session or as an aggregate) of which starts on pole.
Since 1950, only five drivers have achieved pole position on their F1 debut. Two of these, Giuseppe Farina and Walt Faulkner were in Formula One's inaugural season (1950). The other three, Duke Nalon, Carlos Reutemann and Jacques Villeneuve were set in 1951, 1972 and 1996 respectively.
As from 2014, the driver who scores the most Pole Positions in a season will win the Pole Position Trophy.
Records[]
The current record holder for Most Pole Positions is Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel holds the records for most poles in a season and youngest pole sitter. The following tables show the top six in each category. (Bold names indicate currently active drivers.)
Most Poles[]
Overall[]
| Rank | Driver | Number of Poles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Lewis Hamilton |
104 |
| 2 |  Michael Schumacher |
68 |
| 3 |  Ayrton Senna |
65 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel |
57 |
| 5 |  Alain Prost |
33 |
| Jim Clark
| ||
| 7 | Nigel Mansell |
32 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg |
30 |
| 9 |  Juan Manuel Fangio |
29 |
| 10 |  Max Verstappen |
29 |
In Same Season[]
| Rank | Driver | Number of Poles | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel |
15 | 2011 |
| 2 | Nigel Mansell |
14 | 1992 |
| 3 | Ayrton Senna |
13 | 1988 |
| 1989 | |||
| Alain Prost |
1993 | ||
| Max Verstappen
|
2023 | ||
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton |
12 | 2016 |
| 7 |  Mika Häkkinen |
11 | 1999 |
| Michael Schumacher |
2001 | ||
| Nico Rosberg |
2014 | ||
| Lewis Hamilton |
2015 | ||
| 2017 | |||
| 2018 |
Pole positions by age[]
Most poles without a win[]
| Rank | Driver | Poles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chris Amon |
5 |
| 2 | Jean-Pierre Jarier |
3 |
 Eugenio Castellotti
| ||
| 4 | Teo Fabi |
2 |
| Stuart Lewis-Evans
| ||
| 6 | Luigi Villoresi |
1 |
| Mike Spence
| ||
| Nico Hülkenberg
| ||
 Johnny Thomson
| ||
| Jerry Hoyt
|
Most consecutive pole positions[]
| Driver | Poles | Season(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayrton Senna
|
8 | 1988–1989 |
| 2 | Ayrton Senna
|
7 | 1990–1991 |
| Alain Prost
|
1993 | ||
| Michael Schumacher
|
2000–2001 | ||
| Lewis Hamilton
|
2015 | ||
| 6 |  Niki Lauda
|
6 | 1974 |
| Ayrton Senna
|
1988 | ||
| 1989 | |||
| Nigel Mansell
|
1992 | ||
| Mika Häkkinen
|
1999 | ||
| Nico Rosberg
|
2015 | ||
| Lewis Hamilton
|
Conversion rate[]
The following table shows rates of conversion from pole to win. In other words, this rate shows doubles as a percentage of career pole positions.
| Rank | Driver | Poles | Wins from Pole | Conversion rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bill Vukovich
|
1 | 100% | |
| Pat Flaherty
| ||||
 Jo Bonnier
| ||||
 Thierry Boutsen
| ||||
 Pastor Maldonado
| ||||
| 6 | Max Verstappen
|
43 |
32 | 80% |
| 7 | Emerson Fittipaldi |
6 | 4 | 66.67% |
| Tony Brooks
|
3 | 2 | ||
 Jody Scheckter
| ||||
| 10 | Alberto Ascari |
14 | 9 | 64.29% |
| 11 |  Fernando Alonso
|
22 |
14 | 63.64% |
| 12 | Jenson Button |
8 | 5 | 62.5% |
| 13 | Michael Schumacher |
68 | 40 | 58.82% |
| 14 | Alain Prost |
33 | 18 | 54.55% |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton
|
104 |
41 | 39.42% |
| 16 |  Charles Leclerc
|
26 |
4 | 15.38% |
Notes[]
- ↑ 351 wins from pole out of 874 Formula One Grands Prix in total, as of the 2012 Korean Grand Prix
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