Button is 11th driver to hit double century of starts
2011 Hungarian GP facts and stats
Jenson Button, McLaren, Hungaroring, 2011
Jenson Button became the 11th driver to participate in 200 F1 races in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli and Rubens Barrichello are also in the 200 club – and Barrichello is the only driver so far to have reached 300.
Here are the other drivers who reached a double century of Grand Prix stars.
Most F1 races started
| Driver | Races started | Years |
| Rubens Barrichello | 315 | 1993- |
| Michael Schumacher | 279 | 1991-2006, 2010- |
| Riccardo Patrese | 256 | 1977-1993 |
| David Coulthard | 246 | 1994-2008 |
| Jarno Trulli | 244 | 1997- |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 229 | 1996-2009 |
| Gerhard Berger | 210 | 1984-1997 |
| Andrea de Cesaris | 208 | 1980-1994 |
| Nelson Piquet | 204 | 1978-1991 |
| Jean Alesi | 201 | 1989-2001 |
| Jenson Button | 200 | 2000- |
Button’s 11th Grand Prix win puts him level with Jacques Villeneuve, Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello.
Sebastian Vettel took his 23rd career pole position.
It was his eighth pole position this year. The most in a single season is 14 (Nigel Mansell, 1992), so with eight races left he can still claim the record.
Felipe Massa set fastest lap for the second time this year and the 14th time in his career.
Seventh place was Paul di Resta’s best finish so far in his first season so far.
McLaren scored points for the 30th race in a row and Ferrari did likewise for the 20th consecutive Grand Prix.
But Renault failed to score for the first time this year. The last time the team didn’t have a car in the points was last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Button wasn’t the only driver to reach a milestone in Hungary. Nico Rosberg became the 60th F1 driver to start over 100 races.
The remaining drivers on the grid who have passed that mark are Nick Heidfeld, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Felipe Massa.
Only ten drivers have started more races than Rosberg without winning one:
Most F1 races started without a victory
| Driver | Races started | Years |
| Andrea de Cesaris | 208 | 1980-1994 |
| Nick Heidfeld | 183 | 2000- |
| Martin Brundle | 158 | 1984-1996 |
| Derek Warwick | 146 | 1981-1993 |
| Jean-Pierre Jarier | 134 | 1971-1983 |
| Eddie Cheever | 132 | 1978-1989 |
| Pierluigi Martini | 118 | 1985-1995 |
| Mika Salo | 110 | 1994-2002 |
| Philippe Alliot | 109 | 1984-1994 |
| Jos Verstappen | 107 | 1994-2003 |
| Nico Rosberg | 100 | 2006- |
Toro Rosso also reached their 100th Grand Prix start, and it was the 100th race for the current V8 engine formula.
Review the year so far in statistics here:
- 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 other interesting stats and facts from the Hungarian Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Rate the race result: 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
- 2011 Hungarian GP: complete race weekend review
- Vote for your 2011 Hungarian GP driver of the weekend
- McLaren: Button made call to stay out during rain
- Red Bull: Vettel says he had the pace to win
- Ferrari: Alonso salvages podium after Webber delay
- Force India: Di Resta claims best result so far
- Toro Rosso: Buemi races to eighth from 23rd
- Renault: No points for first time since 2010
- Sauber: Two-stop gamble fails for Kobayashi
f199player said on 1st August 2011, 7:07
First time that Torro Rosso (including as Minardi) have scored points in Hungary
frood said on 1st August 2011, 9:40
now that the points have been changed so much it seems a bit silly to even note such statistics. minardi may well have had top 10 finishes in the past, when there were 26 cars on the grid.
similarly, di resta is being lauded for his points finishes but in the 90s he wouldn’t be considered so great. same with perez and anyone who finishes 7th-10th. it’s just not the same as, for example, alesi finishing 4th on his debut, or villeneuve and hamilton on the podium.
just my £0.02
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 1st August 2011, 10:03
You have to remember that fields are a lot tighter and more reliable now though. Back when there were less points paying positions, the slower teams usually only scored points in races of high attrition when there were regularly less than a dozen finishers. Now with 20 cars regularly finishing each race, scoring points has to be done as a result of race pace and smart driving…
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 1st August 2011, 10:51
With modern cars being so reliable, that’s basically the best they can hope for. A small team grabbing a 10th place in 2011 is akin to a small team from the 1980/ 90′s finishing in the top 6
ajokay (@ajokay) said on 1st August 2011, 10:55
But he’s not driving in the 90′s, he’s driving in the ten-ties. It’s a bit wrong to compare points finishes now to points finished 20 years ago as F199player has done (althoug it’s an interesting stat), but not’s not wrong to congratulate Di Resta on his points finishes this year.
dave s said on 1st August 2011, 16:18
Is that 2p or 2d !!
Fixy (@fixy) said on 1st August 2011, 17:01
Look at the gap from the top 3 teams to the other: if all their drivers finish, how can one not from one of those teams finish in the top 6?
Journeyer said on 1st August 2011, 7:09
The major one: Jenson Button joins Michael Schumacher as the only men to win their 200th GPs. Schumi did it in Spain 2004 (and that was his 75th win too!)
IceMan said on 1st August 2011, 8:56
Nice :)
zecks said on 1st August 2011, 13:19
also wasn’t jenson’s first win on his 113th start? and didn’t alesi reach 100 starts before his only win?
Red Andy (@red-andy) said on 1st August 2011, 14:49
Only a handful of drivers started more than 100 races before winning their first one. They are Webber (130 races), Barrichello (123), Trulli (119), Button (113) and Fisichella (110). Alesi won on his 91st attempt.
Paul Gilbert said on 1st August 2011, 13:38
Spain 2004 was Schumacher’s 200th entry, but only his 199th start (he didn’t start France 1996). Schumacher’s 200th start was Monaco 2004, where he famously crashed.
Eggry (@eggry) said on 1st August 2011, 7:13
Ah, without competitive car, Nico will be another Heidfeld!
Alonso Fan said on 1st August 2011, 12:50
most likely. :)
Adam Tate (@adam-tate) said on 1st August 2011, 19:16
Unlike Heidfeld, it looks like Nico will get one though. Mercedes will eventually deliver a machine capable of winning races. I wish they’d hurry up and do it, I know Schumi has still got the ability to win and Rosberg does too!
I’ll go against the gran and say Heidfeld does as well, Renault just isn’t quite there.
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 1st August 2011, 7:46
First time Jos Verstappen is mentioned in the stats article!
(although it’s not the most impressive stat, still good to see)
Remco H. said on 1st August 2011, 9:25
Nice to see indeed……He’ll be driving a demo in a F1 car @ Zandvoort Masters of F3.
It’s a deal with Red Bull, so I don’t know if it will be the Tyrell, which was mentioned earlier on sites, or a Red Bull Democar. The contacts he has with Red Bull are for his son Max.
bosyber said on 1st August 2011, 10:53
According to the GPupdate article I read it will be the Red Bull demo car.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 1st August 2011, 22:34
It actually supprised me to see how many races he did!
wasiF1 said on 1st August 2011, 7:47
I feel for Nico.He is a talented driver very much the caliper of Hamilton & Vettel but just don’t have the machine under him.
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 1st August 2011, 8:59
I totally agree. He’s nearly always the ‘best of the rest’ and I can’t think of the last time he did something silly whilst battling someone or had an off weekend. He’s a top class driver and if Mercedes can’t provide him with a decent car next year, I hope he seeks greener pastures.
I’d love to see him alongside Vettel at Red Bull, but I guess that’ll never happen…
Journeyer said on 1st August 2011, 10:37
I’m not convinced. Although he outscored Wurz in 2007, it was Wurz that got the team’s best results that year. Also, he’s not obliterating Schumacher to oblivion – which he should be if he is that good. He’s beating him, yes, but not by as much as I think he can be.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 1st August 2011, 10:55
You could argue that simply beating the most successful driver in F1 history race after race ought to be enough!
I know what you mean, I still have my doubts about Rosberg too, but surely he can’t do much more than beat his own teammate, as he has done comprehensively every year since his debut season
Alonso Fan said on 1st August 2011, 12:56
Beating a 43 years old team mate! :)
Alexi said on 1st August 2011, 13:27
And a very talented one. Hamilton placed Nico in his top 3 formula one drivers alongside Alonso and Vettel just a few weeks ago. That should suffice for most here.
daykind said on 2nd August 2011, 10:32
I have to say, Nico Rosberg is the most over rated driver on the grid.
DVC said on 1st August 2011, 7:47
Worth pointing out that Mika Salo gave a win to Eddie Irvine to help his championship, so he’s unlucky to be on that last list.
Also, amazing to see that either Patrese or Barrichello has raced every season from 1977 to present! That’s 35 seasons between two drivers, and they even overlapped in 1993.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 1st August 2011, 8:15
Irvine failed, of course.
I think there’s a lesson in that for any driver who has his race engineer in his ear telling him the team want him to pull over and let his team mate win.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 1st August 2011, 9:47
The wonderful thing is that Ferrari lost that championship because of their own team orders.
In France, Schumacher fell down the field (can’t remember why) to 5th and Irvine was breathing down his neck. Ferrari told him not to overtake. He would have had one more point for Ferrari to switch the pair in Suzuka and take their first championship in 20 years.
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 1st August 2011, 10:05
Irvine being useless lost Ferrari the championship as much as anything!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 1st August 2011, 10:06
I see what you mean but I think because Irvine also benefitted from team orders it’s not really the case that using them cost Ferrari the championship.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 1st August 2011, 11:02
Well of course he gained more points than he lost (at least 8) but it’s an example of why team orders aren’t so clear-cut a good idea when you first use them. And moreso, poetic justice ;)
BasCB (@bascb) said on 1st August 2011, 22:37
Sure is a good thing to keep in mind when hearing them tell you to keep the gap or even get the message the guy behind is faster than you are.
Journeyer said on 1st August 2011, 10:38
Not that Schumacher minded, of course. I don’t think Ferrari mind now at all. ;)
our nige said on 1st August 2011, 10:56
If you remember, in Japan when Irvine needed Schumi’s help again, MS suddenly lost 2 seconds a lap over a period despite having the pace in quali and morning warm up. It was bizarre and i can only think he was doing it deliberately so Irvine did not win the championship.
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 1st August 2011, 17:24
our nige- I’d say that if Schumacher returns from an injury, takes pole by 0.9 seconds, and hands over the win in Malaysia to Irvine, then he was willing to help. Irvine lost because Hakkinen was the best driver in Japan.
Mike-e said on 1st August 2011, 18:38
I agree our nige, i think schumacher wanted to be the hero who won the first championship for ferrari in years. He was a sly fox back then, and look how well it worked out for him.
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 1st August 2011, 8:09
Vettel now has more points in the championship than he did going into the final round in Abu Dhabi last year.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 1st August 2011, 11:50
now that’s worrying!
Eggry (@eggry) said on 1st August 2011, 12:45
Opps!
Jelle van der Meer (@jelle-van-der-meer) said on 1st August 2011, 15:32
After 11 races 17 of 24 drivers mathematically no longer can win the driver championship. Everyone except top 3 teams and Rosberg.
Also 7 out of the 12 teams no longer can be constructor champion – Renault, Mercedes, Ferrari, Mclaren and Red Bull are the only ones that remain.
Vettel’s lead again increased as 2nd Webber is still 2nd but lost 8 points to Vettel. He has now 77 point more than the leader last year after 11 races and is only 22 points away from his total score last year.
MSC run in 2004 is still the most dominant winning 12 out of 13 races or after 11 races winning 10 => 250 points
Paul Gilbert said on 1st August 2011, 22:02
Heidfeld can also win – he is 200 points off the lead with 200 available.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate) said on 2nd August 2011, 0:24
He would have to atleast tie Vettel on wins and no doubt he would be behind Vettel on 2nd places, which they would use as the tie breaker.
But heck, nothing would be more exciting or unexpected than Heidfeld taking the fight to Vettel! That would make for the season of the century!
Girts said on 1st August 2011, 8:18
Tonio Liuzzi lost some places on lap 1 for the first time this season. Until Hungary, he had always either gained some places or retained the grid position after the 1st lap. The only driver who hasn’t lost a place on lap 1 this season is Narain Karthikeyan although it’s clear why. And Narain himself probably isn’t too proud of this achievement as well :)
Bleu said on 1st August 2011, 8:21
Although nowadays 200 GPs is not that uncommon, it had been quite a big gap since the previous one – Jarno Trulli achieved his 200 in Australia 2009. The previous to reach 100 was Felipe Massa in Belgium 2008.
Just showing that rookie classes of 1998, 1999 and then 2003, 2004 and 2005 were either weak or unlucky not to get a real break in F1.
Chris said on 2nd August 2011, 1:01
de la Rosa started in 1999 and has had a stop start career. Same for Liuzzi who started in 2005. Glock started in 2004.
Damon (@damon) said on 1st August 2011, 8:39
I’d like to know what the largest time span for competing in F1 is.
Schumacher’s is 20 years right now: 1991-2011.
Is this the record?
RIISE (@riise) said on 1st August 2011, 10:22
Schumacher has been in F1 17 years competitively, same as Patrese. But Barrichello has been racing for 19 years now.
debaser91 said on 1st August 2011, 10:54
That’s not what he asked. I think he means the longest time between their first and last race, and Schumacher beats Barrichello on this one.
I can’t think of anyone with a longer career span than Michael at the moment.
Alianora La Canta (@alianora-la-canta) said on 1st August 2011, 10:59
As far as the span goes, I believe Michael has held the record ever since he returned to F1.
Damon (@damon) said on 1st August 2011, 14:57
Yup, Schumi holds the record with 20 years. Barrichello is second with 18 years, and in the third place is Graham Hill with 17 years (1958-1975).
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 1st August 2011, 17:58
Wow, Hill’s career must’ve seen the most drastic change in cars of the 3.
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 1st August 2011, 8:45
First time Fernando Alonso has been on the podium with Jenson Button as the winner…
Ads21 (@ads21) said on 1st August 2011, 11:28
It was also Alonso’s 69th podium putting him a clear 4th on the list of most podium finishes. Now only Schumacher, Prost and Senna have more podiums than him in F1 history.
craig-o (@craig-o) said on 1st August 2011, 16:28
Pretty much cements him in the all-time-greats…
Adam Tate (@adam-tate) said on 1st August 2011, 19:24
It’s the 3rd time Vettel has finished runner-up when Button has won. Once in 09, and twice this year.
Harvs (@harvs) said on 1st August 2011, 9:34
Here is a cool one. I read this last year and we can add to it now.
The driver who has been in 3rd postion out of the first corner has ended up winning the race for the last 4 years.
2008- 1st Massa, 2nd Hamilton, 3rd Kovalainen (winner)
2009- 1st Alonso, 2nd Webber, 3rd Hamilton (winner)
2010- 1st Vettel, 2nd Alonso, 3rd Webber (winner)
2011- 1st Vettel, 2nd Hamilton, 3rd Button (winner)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 1st August 2011, 9:35
Well that is an odd one. Thanks Harvs!
M Sakr said on 1st August 2011, 10:04
Wasn’t Hamilton 4th on the grid in Hundary 09?
RIISE (@riise) said on 1st August 2011, 10:25
Read the stat again. It’s not based on grid position.
Cool stat though! Brilliant.
Racer (@racer) said on 1st August 2011, 11:10
He was but he moved up to 3rd at the start…
Eggry (@eggry) said on 1st August 2011, 12:47
Very interesting.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 1st August 2011, 22:40
One for the Stat oddities lovers and a great question to be added to every F1 quiz for sure
ukk said on 1st August 2011, 9:40
Interesting, very few champions in this list < 30% (Schu, Piquet, Button).
Will be interesting to see what is the number of races (or career length) where we have the highest concentration of champions.
beneboy (@beneboy) said on 1st August 2011, 10:12
Other than Schumacher all of the drivers on that list are what I’d consider second tier drivers.
RIISE (@riise) said on 1st August 2011, 10:28
Piquet a 2nd rate driver? Not a chance! And even then you can’t overlook Gerhard. He was a great driver.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 1st August 2011, 11:04
Depends what you’re holding him second to. To Prost, Senna, Clark, Fangio etc. quality of drivers very most definitely.
beneboy (@beneboy) said on 1st August 2011, 13:06
Exactly Icthyes !
Top tier drivers would be the likes of Senna, Fangio, Schumacher, Clark & Stewart.
Nobody else on that list even comes close to being a top driver and some of them wouldn’t even make it into the second tier – Rubens and Coulthard would make it into the third tier, at best, as would Berger even though I personally think he’s a great driver and a great guy.
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 1st August 2011, 17:26
And Prost :P
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 1st August 2011, 11:01
Piquet may have overachieved a bit with three championship wins, but he’s hardly a second rate driver. His results at Brabbham were brilliant
beneboy (@beneboy) said on 1st August 2011, 13:00
It’s easy to get great results when you’re using illegal fuel and an underweight car !
I have about as much respect for Piquet as I have for Piquet Jnr.
craig-o (@craig-o) said on 1st August 2011, 16:29
^agreed. Other than Villeneuve, I think Piquet was the most overrated champion…
Harvs (@harvs) said on 1st August 2011, 9:44
I have my own F1 milestone aswell, This GP was my 50th consecutive GP that Ive watched live (begining to end). Probably not as much as some other people but i’m happy with myself, Started watching in 04′
Damon (@damon) said on 1st August 2011, 9:59
Haha, you’re the Nick Heidfeld of F1 fans.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate) said on 2nd August 2011, 0:27
Wow that is impressive! My hat is off to you. I was happy just to watch every race the last few seasons. Living in America, it’s too hard to watch them all live, but I manage to catch half of em in the early morning hours, the rest go on the dvr, godbless those things!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 1st August 2011, 9:52
I’m curious … Button is the eleventh driver to start two hundred races, but how many drivers on the grid have won a race at a significant milestone (like their 200th start)? We know Felipe Massa came close to winning a race one year to the day after his accident at Germany last year, but has anyone else successfully done it?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 1st August 2011, 10:02
Scroll up and read Journeyer’s comment…
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn) said on 1st August 2011, 10:09
Massa also won his 100th Grand Prix, I believe, at Valencia in 2008.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate) said on 2nd August 2011, 0:33
That was also the first race at Valencia right? I remember Massa dominating that race.
Oh, I didn’t realize you were F1Lists, great blog man!