European Grand Prix sets record for most finishers
2011 European GP stats and facts
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, Valencia, 2011
Sebastian Vettel did the triple: win, pole position and fastest lap. Surprisingly, that’s the first time this has happened this year: the last driver to do the same was Fernando Alonso at Singapore last year.
He came very close to getting what would have been his first perfect result: he led all bar one lap, when Felipe Massa got ahead during the first round of pit stops. As it was, Vettel scored his second hat trick, the other coming at Silverstone in 2009.
He added to his tally of fastest laps for the first time this year and now has seven. He was one pole position for the seventh time this year – the 22nd of his career.
His 16th career victory gives him as many as Stirling Moss – and one more than Lewis Hamilton. It was his tenth podium finish in a row.
Out of 499 laps raced this year, Vettel has led 408 of them – 81.8%. The next highest lap leader is Jenson Button, with 31.
Vettel’s tally of 186 points means he has scored more in eight races this year than he did in 15 last year.
Vettl, Button and Mark Webber all scored points for the tenth race in a row.
It was the 50th consecutive points-scoring finish for a Renault-powered car – a streak which goes back to the 2008 European Grand Prix. Mercedes- and Ferrari-powered cars have been in the points for the last 46 and 30 races respectively.
Kamui Kobayashi failed to score points for the first time since the Australian Grand Prix (where he finished eighth but was disqualified).
Alonso and Vitantonio Liuzzi are the only drivers to have out-qualified their team mates in every race this year. Alonso has started in front of Massa for the last 14 races in a row.
The European Grand Prix set a new record for most drivers to finish a race, with all 24 taking the chequered flag. The record was broken earlier this season in China, where 23 drivers finished.
This also meant Narain Karthikeyan became the first driver to finish a race in 24th place.
Jaime Alguersuari matched his best ever race result of eighth – which he scored for the first time two weeks ago in Canada.
Review the year so far in statistics here:
- 2011 F1 statistics
- 2011 F1 statistics: Championship points
- 2011 F1 statistics: Season records
- 2011 F1 statistics: Races
- 2011 F1 statistics: Qualifying
- 2011 F1 statistics: Retirements
- 2011 F1 statistics: Strategy
- 2011 F1 statistics: Driver form guides
Spotted any more interesting stats and facts from the European Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
2011 European Grand Prix
- Great city, not so great track – Steven on Valencia
- 2011 European Grand Prix: complete race weekend review
- Vote for your driver of the European GP weekend
- Red Bull: “Rules changed but not the result”
- Ferrari: Alonso says Red Bull up to a second faster
- McLaren: Only third-fastest in Valencia
- Mercedes: Schumacher takes blame for collision
- Toro Rosso: Alguersuari bounces back
- Sauber: Perez nearly grabs a point with one-stopper
- Renault: Boullier unhappy with single point
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Rob Wilson said on 27th June 2011, 12:20
I think Vettel will win 14 of the 19 races come the end of the season and from this point on only dropping the victory to Mark at Spa and Fernando at Monza, i don’t think he’ll DNF this year or finish the season with a position any worse than 4th. I think we are almost mid-way through one of the most dominated seasons in the history of the sport. Domination records will be broken by Sebastian come Brazil and he’ll probably win the title as early as the Korean Grand Prix – 4 races from the end.
Yet dispite all this i’m really looking forward to the rest of the season, it should be an intresting Battle for 2nd in the Championship between Mark, Lewis, Fernando & Jenson and also 2nd in constructors between McLaren & Ferrari.
I’m going to Silverstone in a couple of weeks so i’m hoping for a better race than Valencia!
Rob Wilson said on 27th June 2011, 12:24
Having read my comment back i realise my math is a bit…off, Seb to win 15 of 19 races, not 14. :)
King Six said on 27th June 2011, 13:26
The only real last unknown is what the off-throttle ban will do, Silverstone will be the very final watershed moment for the season. I still think the worst case scenario for Vettel is that his second-half of the season goes for how it went for Button in 2009, but he’ll still win the championship. Maybe not as bad as Button had it in 2009 I guess.
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23) said on 27th June 2011, 18:54
I can’t see Vettel doing anything other than winning every race left unless he gets a couple of DNFs
Younger Hamii said on 27th June 2011, 14:13
At Least Vettel hasnt done a Grand Chelem(Pole,Lead every Lap,Fastest Lap and Victory) YET.Surprisingly,Lewis hasnt done so too,closest was Hungary 2007.
Jelle van der Meer (@jelle-van-der-meer) said on 27th June 2011, 17:18
That has little to do with drivers skill more with pitstops. Alonso was suppose to come in earlier and Massa after Alonso – so if Massa pitted 1 lap earlier it would have been.
Also if we would go back to refuelling – Vettel would have carried more fuel considering that his car was quicker anyway.
That on leading all laps – with regards to fastest laps – surprissed that Vettel actually got one this year.
Why would the leader set the fastest lap? Fastest laps are set at the end of the race where Vettel usually comfertably holds his lead on older tyres no need to risk it all. Fastest times are usually set by who made the last pistop for fresh rubber of the top teams.
sumedh said on 28th June 2011, 4:59
Grand Chelem is very very rare.
It was done by Michael many times in 2004 and after that only repeated by Alonso in 2010 Singapore and even that occurred because Vettel and Alonso chose to stop on the exact same lap.
However, it is one of Alonso’s best wins as he was clearly in the slower car.
corky said on 27th June 2011, 14:46
This track is bleak it has nothing going for it,time to ditch it.
A return to Austria would be a welcome addition in place of this bore.
chemakal said on 27th June 2011, 15:12
24 finishes out of 24 cars!!!
How.. eh … oh, got it:
chemakal said on 27th June 2011, 15:15
“Hamilton will “think twice” about risky moves”
JCost (@jcost) said on 27th June 2011, 15:34
Well seen :). However it’s better to see him in “aggressive mode”, one Felipe Massa is enough!
VXR said on 27th June 2011, 15:43
Had Hamilton been in aggressive mode, it’s unlikely this thread would have been started.
AdrianMorse said on 27th June 2011, 15:52
Does anyone know the record for most consecutive points-scoring races for a team? McLaren have scored in every race since Button joined in 2010 (right?), so they must be approaching that record, I would expect.
Bleu said on 27th June 2011, 16:00
55 by Ferrari (Malaysia 1999 – Malaysia 2003), so McLaren is nowhere near that yet.
DaveW said on 27th June 2011, 16:06
The Button laps-led stat apparently reflects his habit of pitting late, rather than controlling the race. The fact that his figure, the second-best, is at only 6% of Vettel’s, underlines how desperate McLaren’s competitive position actually is now.
Brian Baum said on 27th June 2011, 16:07
Believe it or not, since 1950, this was only the fourth GP where all cars finished. The three previous were 1961 Dutch GP, 2005 Italian and US GPs.
Paul Gilbert said on 27th June 2011, 17:26
First time that somebody other than Hamilton has finished 2nd at Valencia.
Rod (@rod) said on 27th June 2011, 20:20
Nick Heidfeld has now finished one (1) consecutive race.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 27th June 2011, 21:45
Interesting facts as always! Vettel is just embarrassing everyone!
sbl on tour (@sbl-on-tour) said on 27th June 2011, 22:44
can see vettel winning the rest, and as for next year , he,ll probably win them too
Jeffrey Powell said on 28th June 2011, 12:51
The fact is these are detuned F1 cars with tyres that do not allow the drivers to put much stress on them. Of course they are still incredibly fast but they are not at there limit for anywhere near long enough to cause the sort of problems we are used to. I know how dissapointing it was to see our chosen hero retire with a malfunction but to see 24 cars trundling round saving there tyres is getting beyond a joke.