F1 Raceweek: Hamilton the qualifying king, Mercedes closes on milestone – Belgian GP in numbers

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have dominated this season and will hope to again. We look at the numbers behind the Belgian Grand Prix.

Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton might consider the best way to return from a four-week Formula One mid-season break is with qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The defending F1 champion and season leader has an outstanding record on Saturdays at Spa, where another pole position could contribute to him tying a long-standing record this week.

Mercedes, Hamilton's team, also has a milestone in its sights as its rival looks to belatedly hit back in the second part of the campaign.

With the help of Opta, we take a look at the key numbers heading into the Belgian GP.

 

5 - Lewis Hamilton has qualified in pole position five times in Belgium, more often than any other driver. 18 - If Hamilton qualifies in pole again and then triumphs, he would tie Ayrton Senna's record of 19 F1 race wins when leading from start to finish. 1 - Qualifying is key at Spa. Daniel Ricciardo, fifth in 2014, is the only driver in the past nine races at Spa to have won from behind the front row. 6 - Mercedes has a monopoly on pole – it has claimed the past six in a row. A seventh would tie the F1 record for the best run of poles at any one grand prix. 199 - Another potential milestone for Mercedes this week would be a 200th podium if either Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas finish in the top three. Only Ferrari (762), McLaren (485) and Williams (312) have more. 17 - But Ferrari has the best historical record in Belgium: 17 wins, 13 poles, 18 fastest laps. 11 - In the past 11 editions of the Belgian GP, no driver has won back-to-back races. Kimi Raikkonen was the last to do so in 2007. 50 per cent  - Sebastian Vettel's most recent win was at Belgium last year and he has finished on the podium in only half of his 20 races since. 2 - Daniel Ricciardo has not collected a point in his last two outings. A third such miserable display would equal his worst career run. 7,004 - Spa is the longest circuit on the 2019 F1 calendar at 7,004 metres.