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Winning a Grand Prix is a prestigious affair, but probably one of the few things better than winning one is getting a hat-trick while you do so. The trinity of attaining pole position, completing the fastest lap during the race, and bagging a win can take the euphoria to another level.
It is not an easy task to dominate a Grand Prix in such a manner, which is a telling tale of why only 45 drivers, out of 759 who have ever begun a race, have managed at least one hat-trick in their careers.
However, out of the 32 World Champions that Formula One has seen till date, as many as 28 have scored a single hat-trick at the minimum.
Five of the drivers currently racing in the pinnacle of motorsport have achieved one or more hat-trick, namely, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, and Valtteri Bottas.
Let’s have a look at a list of the six drivers who have achieved the most number of hat-tricks against their name:-
#6 Sebastian Vettel
Vettel equaled Alain Prost’s eight hat-tricks during the 2013 USA Grand Prix, which turned out to be a Renault powered podium.
While Vettel emerged victorious in the Red Bull- Renault, second place was bagged by Romain Grosjean driving the Lotus-Renault and the last podium spot went to Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber.
Since his debut, the quadruple world champion has gone on to claim 50 race wins, 54 pole positions and has 33 fastest laps to his name.
His racing tenacity and a penchant for skill and speed have ensured that the Ferrari driver has racked up and broken some long-standing records.
The German won his first hat-trick racing on the British Silverstone circuit in 2009. Vettel was in a commanding position during the entire weekend, and he seemed in his element during the race, finishing a good 15 seconds ahead of teammate Mark Webber.
The four-time world champion is still going strong and is a championship contender for the 2018 driver’s championship, so it can be expected that he might have more hat-tricks coming his way, as he chases his first championship with Ferrari.
#5 Alain Prost
The French maestro succeeded in winning four world championships over the course of the 202 races he entered.
Out of the 51 races that he conquered, he finished eight on a hat-trick. He might have had more if it weren’t for the intense rivalry he had going on with Ayrton Senna.
His first hat-trick came at Rio de Janerio’s Jacarepaguá circuit in 1982. Even though Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg had finished first and second respectively, they were eventually disqualified for their cars being underweight. Their disqualifications paved way for Prost’s victory as well as his maiden hat-trick.
The Professor’s last hat-trick during the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix was equally thrilling, albeit for different reasons.
Despite being overtaken by Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna, Prost clawed his way back to the lead before Hill and Senna both retired with brake and hydraulic failure respectively. His career has been similarly enthralling, which accounts for his inclusion to this list.
#4 Juan Manuel Fangio
In his nine-year-long stint in Formula One racing, Juan Manuel Fangio competed in 51 races and attained nine hat-tricks.
Apart from his first world championship which came in 1951, the other four came consecutively from 1954 to 1957. Only Michael Schumacher holds more championship titles than the Argentinian.
1950 Monaco Grand Prix was the first race Fangio ever won, and he did so in style by also bagging a hat-trick to go with the win.
It is fortuitous that his final hat-trick also coincided with his last ever win as a Formula One driver which came in 1957 during the German Grand Prix.
#3 Jim Clark
Jim Clark only ever drove with Team Lotus during his nine-year-long Formula One stint. He was widely renowned for his smooth driving and was deemed one of the fastest ever.
A case in point for his skill would be the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix where he started way back in the eighth position and then bettered all seven racers ahead of him to claim victory.
The two-time world champion has accounted for 11 hat-tricks in his 72 race career, a remarkable feat in itself. His first hat-trick came during the 1962 British Grand Prix. The Lotus 25 driver dominated the last grand prix held at Aintree from start to finish.
He grabbed his final hat-trick in the South African Grand Prix of 1968, the same year as his tragic death in a Formula Two crash. He had all the makings of a winner and he would always be acclaimed as an all-time great.
#2 Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton has had a stellar run in Formula One so far, winning 4 world championship titles and securing 64 race victories.
He passed Schumacher for the record of most pole positions, currently claiming 74 against his name.
The British driver’s first hat-trick came in 2007 during the Japanese Grand Prix, which was coincidentally also the first pole position of his career.
His latest and 14th hat-trick came at the 2017 British Grand Prix where he achieved a Grand Slam (or Grand Chelem).
He won the race comfortably, encountering the chequered flag 14 seconds before the second placed Valtteri Bottas.
#1 Michael Schumacher
It is almost a no-brainer that the winner of seven World Championship titles, 91 Grand Prix victories and the holder of 68 pole positions would be on this list.
Schumacher seemed untouchable in the year that he earned his first driver’s championship title. It was in the same year, that the German achieved his career’s first hat-trick during the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, out of the five that he accomplished that year.
The 1994 Monaco GP was the first race to have completed after the unfortunate deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger.
It was perhaps fitting for Schumacher, who publically admitted to his admiration for Senna, to score his first pole and then go on to win the race that day.
The Red Baron developed a knack for hat-tricks, and he went on to score a total of 22 in 307 races, the last one coming in the 2006 French Grand Prix.
Out of the many records that Schumacher achieved during his reign at the top, this seems to be one which would not get broken any time soon.
Did your favourite F1 driver make the list? Sound off in the comments section below!
