Formula 1 drivers with the most converted pole positions to race wins

F1 drivers with the most pole positions converted to race wins

1. Lewis Hamilton – 61 pole position to race wins

Lewis Hamilton has converted the most pole positions to grand prix victories with a total of 61 over his 18-year career. This is a conversion rate of 58.65% from his 104 pole positions, which is unsurprising given the Brit’s dominant performance between 2014 and 2021.

His first pole to win came at the 2007 Canadian GP just six races into his debut season. He was able to hold off an attack from his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso at the start of the race but lost his lead for two laps between 22-24 to Felipe Massa having pitted on lap 21.

The race saw four safety car periods and 10 drivers out of the grand prix, but Hamilton remained calm and drove smoothly, later saying it was a “fairly simple race apart from the restarts”.

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-22 Mercedes

Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images

By winning the race, the then-22-year-old took the lead in the drivers’ championship – leapfrogging his team-mate Alonso by eight points.

Hamilton took a notable pole to win at the 2017 Italian GP when he broke Michael Schumacher’s record for most pole positions, taking his 69th. He has since gone on to take a further 36 pole starts over his career and sits solidly in first place, with the nearest current driver being Max Verstappen who sits in fifth with 40 poles behind Ayrton Senna and Sebastian Vettel in third and fourth respectively.

The Brit has faced a couple of tough years in Formula 1 recently though, and has not taken a pole-to-win finish since the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP – just one race before the season finale. Hamilton took pole position with a gap of 0.111 seconds ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas. He had looked to be losing the pole to a charging Verstappen, but a crucial mistake on the final corner saw the Dutchman end his lap in the wall.

On lap 37 of the race, Verstappen was found to have gained an advantage over Hamilton at turn 1 by overtaking him off the track for the lead,

But was ordered to give the position back. Mercedes had not told Hamilton the pass would happen and when the Dutchman broke suddenly, he found himself colliding with the back of the Red Bull, which caused damage to his front wing. Verstappen was handed a 10-second time penalty and Hamilton took his final win of the season, leaving him tied in points with the Red Bull driver.

2. Michael Schumacher – 40 pole position to race wins

Schumacher took a total of 40 pole positions to race wins from his overall total of 68 pole positions, giving him a win ratio of 58.62%.

His first pole position conversion came four seasons into his career at the 1994 Monaco GP, whilst racing for Benetton. Similar to Hamilton, Schumacher’s first pole position was followed by a win – albeit it was his sixth victory.

Michael Schumacher, Benetton Ford

Photo by: Sutton Images

The German led from McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen by 0.928 seconds during qualifying, however, the Finn retired from the race after his left tyre was clipped by Damon Hill’s Williams at Turn 1 during the start of the grand prix. He’d go on to lead every lap, win the race and take the fastest lap, resulting in his first Grand Slam – one of five, including the 1994 Canadian, 2002 Spanish, 2004 Australian and 2004 Hungarian GPs.

His last pole-to-win came at the 2006 French GP – the last race in which Schumacher claimed a pole position. He out-qualified his Ferrari team-mate Massa by 0.017 seconds in qualifying and led the majority of laps in the grand prix – losing the front position for seven laps when he pitted on laps 19 and 39. In taking the victory, Schumacher secured the record for most wins at a single circuit, after claiming eight wins at Magny-Cours – a record which was later equalled and broken by Lewis Hamilton with eight wins at the Hungaroring and nine wins at the Silverstone Circuit.

3. Max Verstappen – 32 pole position to race wins

Verstappen has taken 32 wins after starting from pole from a total of 40 overall pole positions, giving him one of the highest wins from pole conversion rates of 80% – only being beaten by Bill Vukovich, Pat Flaherty, Jo Bonnier, Thierry Bousten and Pastor Maldonado who have a full 100% after only taking one pole position and then winning that grand prix.

His first pole position converted to a race win was taken at the 2019 Brazilian GP, with his first pole position coming eight races earlier in Hungary. Verstappen out-qualified Ferrari’s Vettel by 0.123 seconds and was able to maintain his lead at the start of the race as the German battled with Hamilton. He briefly lost the lead from a combination of a block from the Williams cars and an undercut from Hamilton but regained the lead quickly. He repeated the tactic during the first safety car and later brought home his eighth win.

Verstappen’s latest pole position to race win came at the 2024 Emilia Romagna GP – his eighth consecutive pole position dating back to the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP. He briefly conceded his lead to Carlos Sainz on lap 25 after pitting four laps previous but was quick to regain the position by lap 27. Verstappen looked comfortable in the lead, although Norris quickly closed the gap to 0.725 seconds by the chequered flag, after being six seconds behind in the final 15 laps.

4. Sebastian Vettel – 31 pole positions to race wins

Vettel took a total of 57 pole positions over the course of his 16-year career and converted 31 of those into a race win – giving him an overall percentage of 54.39%. The German took his maiden pole position at the 2008 Italian GP, leading from McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen at a race which was started behind a safety car due to heavy rain.

He was the first driver to pit on lap 18, briefly handing the lead to the Finnish McLaren driver, before regaining first place three laps later. As the track dried, Vettel extended his lead to an impressive 12.512 seconds from Kovalainen when he crossed the finish line, and in doing so became the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 race at 21 years and 73 days old – a record which was later broken by Verstappen who took a win at the 2016 Spanish GP aged 18 years and 228 days old.

Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso STR03

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

Vettel’s final pole position to race win came at the 2018 Canadian GP, despite taking a further three pole positions and the same number of race wins. After starting the race ahead of Mercedes’ Bottas he was able to finish with a lead of 7.376 seconds ahead of the Finn, during an uneventful race. Race officials ordered flag bearer Winnie Harlow to wave the chequered flag before Vettel had completed the penultimate lap, meaning the final race results were taken from lap 68. His final pole to win was also Vettel’s 50th career win, making him the fourth driver to achieve as many victories.

5. Ayrton Senna – 29 pole positions to race wins

Ayrton Senna is the last Formula 1 driver to have been able to convert over 20 pole positions into a race win. The Brazilian achieved 65 total pole positions but was only able to convert 29 to a win, resulting in a conversion percentage of 44.62%. His first pole to win was taken at the 1985 Portuguese GP with Lotus – one of three he took with the team, including the 1986 Spanish and 1986 Detroit GPs.

Similar to many at the top of this list, Senna’s first pole position was followed by a race win, which was also his maiden victory. He led the race from McLaren’s Alain Prost and showed off his impressive wet weather driving skills when he finished over a minute ahead of second place Michele Alboreto and a lap or more above the rest of the grid.

In a similar style, Senna’s final pole position also came with his final win at the 1993 Australian GP. It was the final race of the season and his last with McLaren – the team which had seen him take his three drivers’ championship victories. Senna led the majority of the race, only briefly losing the top spot for pit stops. A notable moment from the grand prix came when Senna invited second place’s Prost onto the top step to honour the Frenchman’s final race before retirement despite a previously fierce rivalry.

2024 F1 drivers pole position to wins

Here’s how each of the 2024 Formula 1 drivers has fared with achieving a pole position and converting it into a win. Only nine of this year’s grid have successfully converted a pole position into a win despite 13 drivers having secured a pole position. Those who have started in P1 but have not taken a win include Nico Hulkenberg, Kevin Magnussen, George Russell and Lance Stroll.

	Pole Total	Pole to Win Total	Win Percentage
Lewis Hamilton
Max Verstappen
Fernando Alonso
Valtteri Bottas

Carlos Sainz
Lando Norris
Daniel Ricciardo