Brazil sees most race finishers since 1952

Brazilian Grand Prix facts and stats

November 8, 2010 at 12:37 pm by
78 comments
Nick Heidfeld, BMW, Nurburgring, 2005

Nick Heidfeld, BMW, Nurburgring, 2005

The Brazilian Grand Prix saw a new team crowned constructors’ championship for the second year in a row – something which hasn’t happened since the 1960s.

The race also saw the most finishers of all time – matching the record set in the 1952 British Grand Prix – and Williams’ return to pole position for the first time since 2005.

Read on for more stats and facts from Interlagos.

Hülkenberg on pole

Nico Hülkenberg put a Williams on pole position for the first time since the 2005 European Grand Prix, when Nick Heidfeld started from pole position at the Nurburgring – exactly 100 races earlier.

He is the 103rd different driver to start a world championship race from pole position (94th if you exclude Indianapolis 500 drivers).

At 23 years and 79 days old he is the sixth-youngest ever pole sitter. The five younger drivers to have started from pole position are:

1. Sebastian Vettel, 2008 Italian Grand Prix (21 years, 73 days)
2. Fernando Alonso, 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix (21 years, 236 days)
3. Rubens Barrichello, 1994 Belgian Grand Prix (22 years, 96 days)
4. Lewis Hamilton, 2007 Canadian Grand Prix (22 years, 153 days)
5. Andrea de Cesaris, 1982 United States Grand Prix West (22 years, 307 days)

The last time a Cosworth-powered car started on pole position was the 1999 French Grand Prix, where Rubens Barrichello’s Stewart-Ford took pole.

And not since the 1983 Brazilian Grand Prix had a Williams-Cosworth started from pole – that’s four years before Hülkenberg was born.

Red Bull are constructors’ champions

Red Bull won the constructors’ championship for the first time in their history.

They did so in their sixth season, having started in 2005. Prior to that they existed as Jaguar and, before that, the Stewart team that was set up by Jackie Stewart in 1997.

With Brawn winning the title last year, the constructors’ championship has a new winner for the second season in a row. The last time this happened was in 1963, when Lotus lifted the trophy for the first time the year after BRM had done the same (and Ferrari the year before making it three in a row).

Vettel won his fourth race of the year and the ninth of his career, giving him as many victories as Jenson Button.

Once again, the race was not won by the current championship leader – continuing a streak that goes back to last year’s Turkish Grand Prix.

Red Bull had their eighth one-two finish, matching the tallies of Lotus, Brabham and Tyrrell.

More facts and stats

Fastest lap went to Hamilton, the seventh of his career.

Christian Klien finished a race for the first time since the 2006 Italian Grand Prix.

Finally, with 22 drivers classified this race matched the record for the most finishers set at the 1952 British Grand Prix.

Note that back then drivers didn’t have to complete 90% of the race distance to be classified, so Alan Brown was 22nd despite only completing 69 of 85 laps. Whereas Lucas di Grassi, who was still running at the end of yesterday’s race, was not classified because he had only completed 62 of the 71 laps.

For more stats see the F1 2010 statistics page.

Spotted any more stats and facts from the Brazilian Grand Prix? Share them in the comments below.

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78 comments on Brazil sees most race finishers since 1952

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  1. Macca said on 8th November 2010, 7:15

    The last new pole sitter was Heikki Kovalainen at Silverstone in 2008.

    Wasn’t it Mark Webber at the Nurburgring in 2009?

    Reply

  2. Ferrero said on 8th November 2010, 7:24

    We have four drivers from three teams in contention (mathematically) at the last race of the season. Surely that has not happened for a while (if ever)?
    The WDC was not decided at Brazil for the first time since 2004.

    Reply
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    Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 8th November 2010, 7:29

    Red Bull are also the first Austrian team to win the WCC, and as Austrians, they’re the first constructor from a country outside the Big Three (England, Italy, France) to win it. And in the 37 years that cars have regularly carried fixed numbers, the team carrying the 5 and 6 have won nine times (1 and 2 are the most prolific at 13 titles), meaning that the numbers 5 and 6 are the second most-successful numbers for World Constructors’ Champions.

    Reply

    • Macca said on 8th November 2010, 7:35

      Although I still say Brabhams title win in 66 in his own car with a Repco engine should go to Austalia not England.

      Reply

    • Ned Flanders said on 8th November 2010, 9:11

      That’s a nice stat but I find it very hard to see Red Bull as anything other than an English racing team owned by an Austrian guy

      Reply

      • Hamish said on 8th November 2010, 9:53

        Was Honda a Japanese team, given it used to be called Tyrell? Are McLaren a New Zealand team, is Brabham an Australian team, or are they both English? Toyota the Japanese team, based in Cologne?

        This whole nationality of the team and get a bit contradictory…

        Reply
        • Avatar Image

          Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 8th November 2010, 10:08

          The nationality of the team is dictated by the licence they compete with. Honda may have been a Japanese team, but they were purchased by Brawn, who competed with a British licence. Most teams are based in England because Heathrow Airport is the most accessible point on the face of the planet.

          Reply

          • Ned Flanders said on 8th November 2010, 10:16

            I think saying teams only base themselves in England because of Haethrow is rather flippant. There are large airports all over the world.

            Don’t you think the world class motorsport industry that has built up in Southern England over the past half century might have just a teensy bit do with it?…

          • bananarama said on 8th November 2010, 10:41

            I think there are a couple of things coming together.
            The tradition, the infrastructure is good, the language (if you have employees from all over the world, its handy to live in an english speaking country in Europe) and the area is so boring, that all you wish for when getting up in the morning is that you can go to work and stay there.
            On the other hand there are very good facilities in other places .. everything BMW built is top notch, the facility in Cologne is very good and last but not least Ferrari isn’t really a bacmarer either.

            I don’t thin it really matters anymore where your outfit is based, but if you just start off, the south of England surely isn’t the worst place in the world.

          • Henry said on 8th November 2010, 13:30

            The fact that McLaren, Red Bull, Williams, Force India, Virgin, Lotus, are all Based in England is no coincidence. There is a fantastic tradition of motorsport engineering, of a very high standard, which is why so many teams remain where they are. Dont forget Cosworth now as engine suppliers…Nationalities of teams come and go, but the centers of motorsport engineering in Europe will remain England, Germany and France. That is where the teams and infrastructure are, that is where the engineering talent lies. That is why teams are based where they are.

          • Henry said on 8th November 2010, 13:32

            Oh of course Italy counts. But point is in terms of F1 Enlgand has a fantastic tradition of motorsport engineering that makes it a great place to base a team.

          • Avatar Image

            US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 8th November 2010, 22:59

            Ned, it does have something to do with airports, but Heathrow isn’t the only one. FOM flies the teams’ freight to the flyaway races from only two locations in the world, London and Munich. That means that teams have to be relatively close to one of those two airports. They truck their freight to that point, where FOM chartered cargo planes then transport them to the destination circuit.

            http://www.formula1.com/inside_f1/understanding_the_sport/5297.html

    • Spectator said on 8th November 2010, 11:32

      and mclaren, bruce was australian

      Reply

  4. Damon said on 8th November 2010, 7:42

    “they’re the first constructor from a country outside the Big Three (England, Italy, France)”
    - It’s amazing that Germany isn’t among those countries.

    Reply

  5. Paulo said on 8th November 2010, 7:55

    If Michael Schumacher doesn’t win in Abu Dhabi, it will be the first time he has completed a full Grand Prix season and not won race, which is pretty incredible when you think about it.

    Reply

  6. SoerenKaae said on 8th November 2010, 7:55

    Lucas di Grassi’s pit stop was the longest this year.

    Reply

    • Bleu said on 8th November 2010, 9:06

      No it wasn’t. He had 15-minute stop at Australia, and Kovalainen had longer pit stop in Malaysia. I didn’t check more, but there might be other ones too.

      Reply

    • Bullfrog said on 8th November 2010, 11:52

      There were some really quick ones too – one of Alonso, Hamilton or Massa showed up as 3.3sec. Maybe Massa’s stop was too
      quick!
      What’s the fastest stop we’ve had this year?

      Reply
  7. Avatar Image

    Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 8th November 2010, 8:46

    Thanks Macca, have changed that line.

    Reply

  8. Bleu said on 8th November 2010, 9:07

    I’m not sure but I think it was 2nd youngest front row ever, just narrowly losing to Australia 2008 with Hamilton/Kubica.

    Reply

  9. mastakink said on 8th November 2010, 9:24

    It’s first time ever I make a good F1Fanatic prediction!!!!! ;-)

    I answered to the most remarkable moment of the season (before started): Four title contenders at Abu Dabhi. YES I DID!!

    On the other hand I fail with the names, I put Schumy instead of Webber. Well, I hope to make another one next week, I chose Alonso as WDC.

    Reply
  10. Avatar Image

    Steph (@) said on 8th November 2010, 9:51

    It’s the first time that Massa in a Ferrari has not been on pole here and the first time he’s competed in a Ferrari here and not been on the top 2 steps. However, his pattern with Ferrari is now win lose win lose which means next year he’s bound to win! :)

    Fernando’s pattern continues too whenever he’s finished at Brazil in recent years it’s been 3rd, 2nd, 3rd 2nd, 3rd since 05.

    Reply

    • Enigma said on 8th November 2010, 11:36

      So next year it’ll be Massa in front of Alonso.
      What about others? Button 5th twice in a row, Vettel 4th, 4th and 1st, Webber 1st and 2nd…

      And, Hamilton should of won this year (7th, 5th, 3rd…should of been 1st this year :D)

      Reply

      • Enigma said on 8th November 2010, 11:39

        So, 1. Massa, 2. Alonso, 3. Webber, 4. Vettel, 5. Button, 6. Hamilton.

        Webber has been 1st and 2nd, so he’ll be third. Vettel has been 4th 4th and 1st, so I guess it’s time for another 4th. Button will be 5th as always in Interlagos, and Hamilton has had 7th, 5th, 3rd, and is apparently now going down – 4th, 6th, 8th…so 6th in 2011.

        Reply
  11. Avatar Image

    Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 8th November 2010, 12:05

    If Hamilton wins in Abu Dhabi, it would be the first time in F1 history that 4 drivers took at least 4 victories.

    Reply

  12. chris sz said on 8th November 2010, 12:35

    He is the 103rd different driver to start a world championship race from pole position (94th if you exclude Indianapolis 500 drivers).

    why do you exclude indy 500?

    Reply

  13. Ben said on 8th November 2010, 13:34

    This GP was the first time in GP history the second placegetter has attacked the winner with a fire extinguisher

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SdubVYrxPE

    Reply

  14. Paul Gilbert said on 8th November 2010, 13:41

    Both the last 2 Brazilian GPs have seen the polesitter finish in 8th.

    Interlagos seems to have one of the lowest pole-to-win conversion rates of any track in recent years – only Felipe Massa in 2006 and 2008 has won from pole since 2000.

    This race featured the first all-German front row since Japan 2004 (where the Schumacher brothers locked out the front row). The last time that 2 German drivers with different surnames were on the front row was France 1997, when M Schumacher and Frentzen were at the front.

    Reply

  15. Paul Gilbert said on 8th November 2010, 18:08

    A question that somebody has asked elsewhere – when was the last time that the polesitter got lapped during the race (excluding DNFs)?

    Reply
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