Comfort Zones: Formula One champions and their most favoured circuits

 

Humans desire to seek comfort and safety in lives, but for the most daring and talented members of our species, comfort might take a different form than what is familiar to us. Formula One is home to the world’s elite drivers, and throughout their 74-year history, Formula One has organized races in almost eighty circuits in every continent except Antarctica for obvious reasons. Now, it would be impossible to insert the favourite tracks of all thirty-four Formula One champions in here, so we elected to include circuits where these drivers out-perform their peers by a whole different level.

Lewis Hamilton: Silverstone Circuit

It is rather poetic that the circuit where the King of Statistics performs the best is also home to Formula One itself. The Silverstone Circuit was the scene of the first-ever Formula One World Championship race in 1950. It has hosted the British Grand Prix 58 times and marked the 70th anniversary of the sport once in a one-off race. It is therefore apt that the man to dominate time and time again would find most comfort in his own backyard. 

Lewis Hamilton has won a race at Silverstone nine times, a record no one else is able to match at any other particular circuit. His 2024 victory also marked his 14th consecutive podium at the British track, as well as the 367th lap he led on this track. He might not have secured pole position, but that is fine; he already has an unprecedented seven pole positions here, and have outscored anyone else by at least two hundred points.

Records held at the circuit (19 race finishes)

• Most wins: 9 wins, which is also a Formula One record of most wins at one circuit
• Most pole positions: 7 pole positions
• Consecutive podiums at the same circuit: 14 podiums, a Formula One record
• Most podiums: 15 podiums, a Formula One record
• Most laps led: 367 laps
• Most kilometers led: 2,109 kilometers, 25 behind the all-time record which is also held by Hamilton
• Joint-most fastest laps: 6 times, shared with Nigel Mansell
• Most points scored: 333 points, followed by Max Verstappen at 137

Will Lewis Hamilton replicate the glory days of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 2025? Will he win a record-breaking eighth championship? Will he win a tenth British Grand Prix? Place your bets now on Thai best direct sites!

Michael Schumacher: Magny-Cours

Before the 2024 British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher shared the same number of most wins at one circuit with Hamilton. The German giant won eight times at the French circuit of Magny-Cours and stood on the podium eleven times. For comparison, the second most successful driver there in terms of wins is Nigel Mansell who won there…twice. Podium-wise, it was a slightly closer battle, as Schumacher’s earliest title rival Damon Hill managed four podiums, the same number as his long-time Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello and second title rival Kimi Raikkonen.

But, to really put his dominance into perspective, Schumacher has led a racing lap at this circuit almost four times more than Hill; the German led for an astonishing 455 laps or 1,949 kilometers here. Schumacher also scored 98 points at the circuit, more than the combined tally of second-placed Raikkonen and the younger Schumacher, Ralf, in third. Mind you, that 98 tally is taken from the old points system. The current system would have yielded Michael Schumacher with at least 255 points, assuming that the Sprint format is never implemented.

Fun fact, Magny-Cours was also the place where Schumacher won his fifth World Championship…after eleven races in 2002. The German would go on to stand on a grand prix podium every race weekend that year, a record yet to be equalled by even Hamilton or Verstappen.

Records held at the circuit (12 race finishes)

• Most wins: 8 wins
• Most pole positions: 4 pole positions
• Joint-most fastest laps: 5 times, shared with David Coulthard
• Most podiums: 11 podiums
• Most points scored: 98 points, followed by Raikkonen at 43
• Most laps led: 455 laps, third highest Formula One all-time record
• Most kilometers led: 1,949 kilometers

Ayrton Senna: Monaco

Before the Schumacher-Hamilton domination, Formula One was all about the magical touch of Ayrton Senna. The Brazillian three-time champion is still best-known for his qualifying speed. He racked up 65 pole positions in his 11-year career, a staggering number that took even Schumacher 12 years to overcome. This makes perfect sense for Senna’s favourite track to be the streets of Monte Carlo, where your performance on Saturday will completely dictate how you race on Sunday.

From 1985 to 1993, Ayrton Senna never qualified nor finished lower than third. Even in his rookie year in a backmarking Toleman, Senna came close to winning the race had it not be controversially red-flagged. His five-year streak of winning the Monaco Grand Prix is, in fact, a Formula One record, as no driver has managed to win the same grand prix more than four times. Overall, he stood on the Monte Carlo podium eight times, scored five pole positions, and led 422 laps.

His records might have been eclipsed by the Schumachers and the Hamiltons of our day, but what we have to keep in mind is the fact that his records even stood to this day at all, over three decades after his death. Jeremy Clarkson famously proclaimed Senna as the greatest to ever done it, and few would argue otherwise.

Records held at the circuit (8 race finishes)

• Most wins: 6 wins
• Most consecutive wins at the same circuit: 5, from 1989 to 1993
• Most pole positions: 5 pole positions
• Most podiums: 8 podiums. He has a 100% record whenever he finishes, including his rookie season when he started from 13th but finished second behind Alain Prost.

What about you? Do you have any comfort zones? Let us know!