The 2024 F1 season kicks off with the Bahrain GP this weekend. After what has been a very eventful pre-season with far too many headlines, we're all set for action to take over on the track. The season begins with Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in ominous form once again.
The driver-team partnership has dominated the sport in a manner that we've not see for a long time. Having said that, as the season begins, there are a lot of things that the fans will be keeping an eye on and it's not necessarily just the one that's leading at the front.
There are, however, quite a few mind-blowing statistics that tend to get missed in the hustle and bustle of more than 20 races in a season. In this feature, we'll take a look at 5 of them. So without further ado, let's get to it.
#1 Max Verstappen is on a 7-race win streak already
The longest F1 winning streak is 10 races, and it was achieved by Max Verstappen last season. The Red Bull driver is already on a 7-race win streak heading into the Bahrain GP, and considering he is the favorite to win, we might be looking at him extending his streak even further.
Could he break the record he himself set last season? You can count him out, that's for sure.
#2 Fernando Alonso has a longer title drought than Ferrari
Heading into the 2024 F1 season, Ferrari has not won a title since 2008. The team has come close to winning the title twice since then but has not crossed the final hurdle.
One driver on the current grid, however, can actually boast of having a longer title drought than the Italian outfit. Fernando Alonso last won the title in 2006 and has since been unable to repeat the feat.
#3 Lewis Hamilton will level Michael Schumacher on another record
One record that Lewis Hamilton notably shares with Michael Schumacher is the record of 7 world titles. That record is famous and is common knowledge.
There is however, another record where Lewis Hamilton will end up levelling Michael Schumacher, but will not surpass him. That record is the longest driver-team partnership in F1. Schumacher had an 11-year partnership with Ferrari. Lewis, on the other hand, will end his stint with Mercedes this year and call time on an 11-year alliance.
#4 Max Verstappen has won as many F1 races in the last 2 years than Ferrari has in the last 15 seasons
Max Verstappen has been very dominant in the last couple of seasons. There is however, one eye watering contrast that not many would think of. The last two years have yielded 34 race wins for Max.
Ferrai have yielded 34 race wins in the span of 15 years (2009-2024). It is an astounding statistic that the Red Bull driver has won as many F1 races as the Italian team did since 2009.
#5 Charles Leclerc has more career pole positions than Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001. Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, made his debut in 2018. What if we told you that even after being one of the top 5 drivers in the sport for the last two decades, the Spaniard has fewer career pole positions than the Monegasque?
Charles Leclerc has accrued as many as 23 pole positions in his career already, surpassing Fernando Alonso, who only has 22 of them.