Stats: Britain’s 12th podium sweep gives it the most of any country

Lewis Hamilton’s first grand prix victory as a Ferrari driver came in a race rich in noteworthy statistics.

As noted earlier, he is the 16th driver in history to win races for three different teams. He is also the oldest race-winner since 1970 and the seventh-oldest of all time.

Being stricter with the terminology, Hamilton is actually the fourth-oldest driver to win a Formula 1 world championship race outright. Three of those who scored their only victories at an older age than he did don’t meet this criteria: Luigi Fagioli shared his only win with another driver, Piero Taruffi’s only win came when the series ran to Formula 2 rules and Sam Hanks’ sole triumph came in the Indianapolis 500 when it counted towards the world championship.

Hamilton gave Ferrari engines their 250th grand prix triumph. All bar one of those were scored by the works team – the other came courtesy of Sebastian Vettel when he won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in his Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso.

Until then, Mercedes looked on course to catch them, and still might. Mercedes-powered cars have won 245 grands prix – every round this year apart from last weekend’s. They have drawn level with Ferrari in terms of pole positions, the two manufacturers now tied on 256 each.

Hamilton shared the podium with two other British drivers: George Russell and Lando Norris. This was the 12th all-British podium in history, though none of them are anywhere near old enough to remember the last one, when Jackie Stewart won the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen ahead of Graham Hill and John Surtees. The latter shared the podium with his fellow Britons seven times, the most of any driver.

It was the first time in 43 years that three drivers of the same nationality shared the podium places. France swept the podium at the 1983 San Marino Grand Prix when Patrick Tambay won ahead of Alain Prost and Rene Arnoux. That all-French podium sweep was secured when Italian racer Riccardo Patrese spun out of second place with six laps to go, while last Sunday’s all-British sweep came about because Italian racer Andrea Kimi Antonelli retired from second place with five laps to go.

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British drivers have now swept the podium more times than drivers from any other country. The only other countries to achieve the feat are France (three times), Italy (six) and the USA. The 11 podium sweeps by the latter all came in the 11 editions of the Indianapolis 500 which counted towards the world championship between 1950 and 1960.

This was Hamilton’s seventh win at the Circuit de Catalunya though not his seventh Spanish Grand Prix triumph, as that title now belongs to the upcoming new race in Madrid. He is the first driver to win the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Hamilton now has more wins at this track than any driver, moving one ahead of Michael Schumacher. His latest win increases his record tally to 106, putting him 15 ahead of Schumacher. The pair both took their first wins as Ferrari drivers at the Catalunya circuit, Schumacher having done so 30 years earlier.

Russell marked his 100th grand prix for Mercedes with his 11th pole position (though FOM insist it’s his tenth) and Norris reached the podium for McLaren in their 1,000th grand prix (though the team count is as their 1,001st).

Qualifying saw another notable achievement as Lance Stroll finally out-qualified his team mate for a grand prix for the first time in almost two years. He had failed to beat Fernando Alonso in the preceding 42 rounds.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s retirement ended his run of finishing on the podium in every race this year. It also leaves only Hamilton and Pierre Gasly as the only drivers to have scored points at every round.

Since the last edition of Stats and Facts, Gasly has also claimed his sixth podium finish, while Isack Hadjar has lost his. Though it remains to be seen whether that will be reversed by McLaren’s Monaco Grand Prix appeal.

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Over to you

Have you spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.

2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix

• Stats: Britain’s 12th podium sweep gives it the most of any country
• Ferrari’s livery isn’t red enough for Hamilton
• ‘There were definitely moments I thought ‘maybe you do lose it” – Hamilton
• Mercedes reveal pit crew made ‘incorrect adjustment’ on Russell’s car at last pit stop
• Hamilton can “stick middle finger up” at critics after first Ferrari win – Norris

Browse all 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix articles

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