The 2007 Season Facts & Stats

The final shape of 2007

2007 was a very tight season and, more than ever before, it was necessary to be at the front of the grid - and have either a McLaren or a Ferrari - to win races.

• 12 times out of 17 the driver in the lead at the end of the first lap was the eventual winner. This was set in two streaks: from Australia to United States, and from Hungary to Japan.

• 11 times out of 17 has the pole-sitter won the race. Four times the win came from the second spot on the grid, and only Kimi Raikkonen was able to win from the third spot twice, in France and Brazil.

• 16 times out of 17 have McLaren and Ferrari monopolised the front row of the grid. The only non Ferrari or McLaren driver that was able to qualify on the front row is BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, with a second place in Hungary.

• 17 times out of 17 did either McLaren or Ferrari win a Grand Prix, set pole position, and recorded the fastest lap. Moreover, both teams combined have been in the lead for 97.3% of the total distance of the races run.

• 12 times out of 17 the car that set the best time in Friday practice eventually won the race.

• Twice out of 17 was a non-Ferrari/McLaren driver able to score a second place in the race. It happened in Canada (Heidfeld) and Japan (Heikki Kovalainen).

• 46 out of 51 total podium finishes went to McLaren and Ferrari: 24 went to McLaren, 22 to Ferrari, and only 5 to the rest of the teams.

• 6 times out of 17 did a driver score a hat trick (pole, win and fastest lap - all in the same Grand Prix). In fact, scoring a hat trick seemed an easy task in 2007. Up to this season, the hat trick was recorded 133 times out of 768 races, for a percentage of 17.3%. This year, the percentage was 35.2%. And, at the start of the season, we had four hat tricks out of the first five races.

To finish first, first you have to finish

Reliability reached in 2007 unprecedented levels in Formula one. It was a common sight this season to see only a few drivers retire in the races.

Eight drivers completed more than 90% of the total distance scheduled:

Driver       Team              Distance
Alonso       McLaren-Mercedes  97.7%
Hamilton     McLaren-Mercedes  97.1%
Heidfeld     BMW-Sauber        96.6%
Kovalainen   Renault           96.5%
Massa        Ferrari           93.5%
Raikkonen    Ferrari           92.3%
Rosberg      Williams-Toyota   90.2%
Barrichello  Honda             90.2%

In the previous three seasons (2004 to 2006), only four drivers each year were able to run more than 90% of the total race distance, and in 2003 only Michael Schumacher was able to do it.

These numbers are building up a generation of drivers that almost never retire. Considering that Formula one drivers run at least 15 races (that can be roughly considered as a season's distance) the ones that account for smallest percentage of career retirements (among those with at least a season) are:

Lewis Hamilton       5.8% (1 out of 17)
Heikki Kovalainen    5.8% (1 out of 17)
Robert Kubica       18.1% (4 out of 22)
Fernando Alonso     21.3% (22 out of 103)

A clear example of this trend is that the Turkish Grand Prix saw 21 drivers out of 22 crossing the finish line, for an astonishing finish percentage of 95.4% - the second all-time best, behind two races that saw all drivers also finish the race. These the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix (15 drivers); and the 2005 Italian Grand Prix (20 drivers);

Moreover, the Turkish Grand Prix is the second all-time for the number of drivers classified. The record belongs to the 1952 British Grand Prix, where 22 drivers were classified (out of 32 starting).

Moreover, during 2007 there was another race to record a classification percentage of more than 90%, when in Monza 20 drivers were classified out of 22 (90.9%). We also had three more races with a percentage higher than 80%: Monaco (19 out of 22, 86.3%), Malaysia and Hungary (18 out of 22, 81.8% each).

A look at the teams and their reliability record shows that McLaren completed 32 out of 34 Grand Prix starts, the only retirements being Alonso's crash in Japan and Hamilton's in China. This record is second only to Ferrari, who in 2004 classified their cars 34 times out of 36 starts. McLaren and Renault this season never retired for mechanical failures.

Slightly different record this year for Ferrari, who for the first time since 2002 counted more than two retirements for mechanical failures. In 2005 there were actually three, but one was related to a tyre problem, not a failure in the car. In 2002 Ferrari retired twice, and two more times Barrichello's car refused to take the start. This year, Kimi Raikkonen retired in Spain because of an electrical failure; and in Europe due to an hydraulic failure. Felipe Massa's only retirement of the year came in Monza, when his suspension.

Haven't I already seen that?

Looking at the various qualifying sessions and races, the feeling of deja-vu was often present in 2007. This is the essential list:

• Nick Heidfeld qualified 4th on five occasions. The last one to do it was Jenson Button in 2006.

• Heikki Kovalainen qualified 8th four times. Nick Heidfeld did one better in 2006.

• Rubens Barrichello was 11th four times, and four times 10th.

• Anthony Davidson qualified four times in 16th;

• Jarno Trulli was 8th on eight occasions - a first in Formula One.

How difficult...

...Is it to win the championship after being as low as fourth in the standings?

Kimi Raikkonen won the title with an amazing performance in the second part of the season. He climbed back from the fourth spot in the championship standings to win at the last race.

Through mid-season, the Ferrari driver looked as though he had no chances as he was 26 points down on leader Lewis Hamilton after the US Grand Prix (58 vs 32), but the Finn was able to claw back that disadvantage, the second highest in the history of Formula one.

The only time a bigger disadvantage was recovered was in 1976, when James Hunt managed to win the title despite being 35 points down on Niki Lauda after the British Grand Prix. The Austrian, however, suffered a major accident in the German Grand Prix that season, and thus missed the two Grands Prix, in which Hunt scored a total of 12 points. Lauda was back for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, in physical conditions that were far from ideal.

Other notable cases of great comebacks are 1964, when John Surtees was 20 points down on Jim Clark after 5 races out of 10; and 1988, when Ayrton Senna was down 18 points on Alain Prost four races into the season, which held 16 Grand Prix.

Raikkonen this year clinched the title with a unique pattern, however, never recorded before in history: he was the championship leader only at after first and the last race - and never in between.

Lewis Hamilton pulls into parc ferme ahead of new world champion Kimi Raikkonen © LAT

How easy...

...Is losing a 17-point lead in the championship two races from the end?

Lewis Hamilton recorded the greatest "ball-drop" ever witnessed in the history of Formula One.

In 58 championships, only 11 times the champion had fewer points than the leader two races from the end (however, the champion was not leader 12 times, because in 2006 Alonso and Schumacher were tied up but Michael was in front).

These are the instances where the points leader, two races from the end, squandered his lead to lose the title to another driver:

2007 - After Japan (race 15 of 17) Hamilton led Raikkonen by 17 points and Alonso by 12. The Briton lost the title to the Finn by one point and tied with Alonso in second (beating him on countback of second place finishes).

1986 - After Portugal (14 of 16), Nigel Mansell led Nelson Piquet by 10 points and Alain Prost by 11. The Frenchman won the championship with two points over Mansell and three over Piquet.

1976 - Niki Lauda left Canada (14 of 16) with 8 points over James Hunt, but the latter won the title by one point.

The Alonso effect

This could be purely coincidental or due to very complex reasons, but it's interesting to compare Renault and McLaren seasons of 2006 and 2007.

Last year Renault, with Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella on board, racked up 9 wins, 7 poles, 5 fastest laps and 19 podium places. This year, the first without Fernando, the count was zero for all the aforementioned records except for one podium place scored by Heikki Kovalainen in Japan.

McLaren on the other hand last year didn't win a race, scored 3 pole positions, 3 fastest laps, and 9 podium places, while this year they won 8 races, set 8 poles, 5 fastest laps and finished 24 times on the podium. Of course, Lewis Hamilton contributed for a large part of these numbers, but it's clear that the world champion helped McLaren to have their best season in years.

As far as the Spaniard's season is concerned, in 2007 he reached several milestones: his 10th fastest lap in Canada, his 25th front row start in Europe, and his 100th race start in Belgium.

For the record: the drivers

Lewis Hamilton

The British driver has an amazing rookie season. These are some figures to sum it up:

• Set a string of 9 podium finishes from Australia (debut race) to Great Britain, the third all-time sequence and the best one for a rookie, beating Jacques Villeneuve, who in 1996 recorded 7 straight podiums from Spain to Belgium.

• Highest number of points recorded in the rookie season, with 109. Previous record was held by Jacques Villeneuve, who in 1996 scored a totla of 78 points and ranked second in the championship table. From 2000 onwards, the best total by a rookie was recorded by Juan Pablo Montoya in 2001, with 31 points.

• Highest number of podiums for a rookie, 12. Again the previous belonged to Jacques Villeneuve, with 11 in 1996.

• Highest number of races in the lead for a rookie, 12, beating both Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya, who in 1996 and 2001 respectively recorded 11 each.

• Highest number of pole positions for a rookie, 6, beating Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya, with 3 each in 1996 and 2001 respectively. Juan Manuel Fangio clinched in 1950 four poles, but being the first year of the Formula One world championship, all drivers were technically rookies.

• Highest number of front row starts for a rookie, 12, beating Jacques Villeneuve's 9 in 1996.

• Youngest runner-up in the world championship, ending the season at 22 years, 9 months and 14 days, beating the previous record of Bruce McLaren, runner-up in 1960 at the age of 23 years, 2 months and 21 days. Third in this ranking is Kimi Raikkonen, who in 2003 lost to Michael Schumacher at the age of 23 years 11 months and 25 days;

• Hamilton is the fourth driver in history to record at least one pole, win and fastest lap in his debut season. Before him, this was achieved by Clay Regazzoni in 1970, Jacques Villeneuve in 1996, and Juan Pablo Montoya in 2001.

Thanks to his amazing season, Hamilton is leading several performance charts based on percentages (among the drivers that have started at least 10 races):

• He climbed on the podium in 12 races out of 17 and leads the all-time chart with a percentage of 70.5% in front of Fangio with 68.8% (35 out of 51) and Michael Schumacher with 62.1% (154 out of 248).

• At the moment, he is also the all-time leader of the points per race table, averaging 6.41 points per race, ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio (5.64, 51 races), Michael Schumacher (5.52, 248 races) and Fernando Alonso (4.76, 103 races).

• He is second only to Fangio in the races led/started percentage. The Argentinean legend led 38 races out of 51 (74.5%), while the Briton led 12 out of 17 (70.5%);

Having started his career at 22 years, 2 months and 11 days, Hamilton is among the youngest drivers in almost every "age chart":

• He is the fourth youngest winner at 22 years, 5 months and 3 days (Canadian GP). The all-time record belongs to Alonso (22 yy 26 dd, Hungary 2003).

• In Canada, Hamilton also recorded his first pole, and he is the third youngest pole-sitter, with the youngest ever remaining Alonso (21 yy 7 mm 22 dd, Malaysia 2003).

• He is the fourth youngest fastest lap setter, at 22 years, 3 months and one day (Malaysia), with the category led by Nico Rosberg, who last year in Bahrain set the all-time record at 20 years, 8 months and 13 days.

• He is the youngest ever championship leader, because when he led the championship for the first time, after the Spanish GP, he was only 22 years, 4 months and 6 days old, beating the previous record that lasted since Argentina 1960, when Bruce McLaren was leading at 22 years, 5 months and 8 days.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen © LAT

Giancarlo Fisichella

A disappointing season for the Italian, who recorded his fourth season out of 12 without podium finishes. He also recorded his lowest points count since 2003, when he ran for Jordan and ended the season with 12 points. This year Fisichella finished the season with 21. There's little more to remember in his worst season since with Renault.

Heikki Kovalainen

A difficult start of the season for the Finn, who quickly recovered, recorded his first podium in Japan, and at the end of the season outscored his seasoned teammate: after 8 races, the balance was Fisichella 16 points and Kovalainen 12; at the end of the season, Heikki had a total of 30 versus Giancarlo at 21.

Felipe Massa

2007 was Massa's best season in terms of points, having scored 94 versus 80 recorded in 2006. But the nature of the championship meant he was fourth in the standings, while in 2006 he was third. This is however the only low point, because in terms of wins (3), poles (6), fastest laps (6) and podiums (10), the Brazilian had his best season ever.

Kimi Raikkonen

World champion at last, after coming second in 2003 and 2005, it's curious to note that in 2005 Raikkonen actually fared better than this year in terms of points (112 vs 110), wins (7 vs 6), poles (5 vs 3), fastest laps (10 vs 6), and front rows (8 vs 5). But in 2005 he lost the championship due to poor reliability of his McLaren.

This season, Kimi recorded his 10th win in Australia and his 25th fastest lap in Brazil.

Jenson Button

A season to forget for Button, who for the first time after four seasons has not recorded either a pole position, a front row start, or a podium finish. This was the Briton's second worst season after 2001m when he ran for the Benetton team and was 17th with only two points scored. This year, Button is 15th with six points.

Rubens Barrichello

Barrichello suffered the same fate as teammate Button and recorded his worst season ever, the first one without scoring points at all. The scant reward was overtaking his old teammate Michael Schumacher in the ranking of most races started, with the Braziian now sitting on 249 starts while the German ended his career last year with 248 starts.

Nick Heidfeld

Heidfeld enjoyed at BMW Sauber his best season ever, finishing fifth and thus improving his best result, which was an 8th spot recorded in his second season, 2001. Curiously, Heidfeld scored more points this year (61) than in the previous four put together (6 + 3 + 28 + 23 = 60).

However, in the German's stats, the absence of a win is beginning to be felt: he is the driver that, in the history of Formula One, scored the highest number of points, 140, without posting a win. He is the second all-time behind Stefan Johansson for second places without a win. Heidfeld counts three, Johansson four.

Heidfeld is also the fifth driver in terms of races started without a win. Here is the all-time table:

Driver             Starts without a win
A de Cesaris             208
M Brundle                158
D Warwick                146
JP Jarier                134
E Cheever                132
N Heidfeld               132

Ralf Schumacher

Worst season ever for the German, who records his worst placement in the championship with 16th, and for the first time in 11 seasons, he did not record a single podium finish.

Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher at Spa-Francorchamps © XPB/LAT

Jarno Trulli

Trulli's performances are getting worse every year, without signs of stopping. For the third year in a row he records less points than the year before: the Italian ended 2004 with 46 points, which became 43 the following year, 15 in 2006, and only 8 this season.

A sad curiosity about the Italian is that he has the highest number of GP starts (181) without recording a fastest lap, preceding Johnny Herbert at 160.

David Coulthard

Coulthard hit for the third time in his career his points low, 14, which he also recorded in his debut season, 1994, when he ran only 8 races, and in last year (18 races).

Mark Webber

The Australian recorded in Belgium his 100th race start and in Europe his only second podium of the career, the first being Monaco 2005.

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel hit the headlines with his two races in Japan and China; in the first one he was in the lead for three laps, becoming the youngest leader of a race in the history of Formula One at 20 years, 2 months and 27 days, beating the previous record set by Fernando Alonso in Malaysia 2003, at 21 years 7 months and 22 days.

Teams round-up

• McLaren had their best season in terms of drivers' points scored, 218. In fact, it's the first time in the team's history that they crosses the 200-point mark and came close to equalling their season record of podium places. Hamilton and Alonso scored a total of 24 podium places, while in 1988 Senna and Prost managed to climb 25 times on the podium. A day to remember for McLaren was in Monaco, when Alonso scored the 150th win for the team.

• Renault recorded their worst season since 2002, the first since then without wins, poles or front row starts. The French team didn't record fastest laps either and saw their podium finishes shrink from 19 in 2006 to only one in 2007.

• Ferrari for the first time scored two back-to-back seasons with more than 200 points in the constructors' championship, having ended 2006 with 201, and 2007 with 204. Ferrari in 2007 recorded their 200th fastest lap in Europe and their 200th win in Belgium; In 2007, Ferrari also scored 12 fastest laps, the second all-time tally for a season. The absolute record was set in 2004 also by Ferrari, with 14 fastest laps.

• Honda had a dismal season in 2007, recording their third lowest points total. In 1964, with only three races run, Honda cars were not able to score points, while in 1966 they scored only three points in five entries. This year, the points tally six from 34 entries - and that's with a points system that is much more rewarding than in the sixties...

• BMW Sauber break the 100 points scored in a season in only their second year in Formula One , ending 2007 with 101 points. Excluding the "historical" teams Ferrari, McLaren and Renault, BMW are the first team since 2004 to score more than 100 points. At the time, BAR-Honda ended second in the constructors' championship with 119 points.

• Red Bull Racing, at their third year with a different engine, scored their best position in the constructors' championship, a fifth place.

• Williams improved their performances dramatically, ending fourth in the constructors' championship, bouncing back from eighth in 2006. A curious pattern is emerging in the last four season for Williams: the points total is aways made of double identical digit: 88 in 2004, 66 in 2005, 11 in 2006, and 33 in 2007. Williams are facing their longest streak of winless drought, as they have not posted a win since Brazil in 2004. In their history, they endured two other streaks of winless years, from 1998 to 2000 and at their debut, from 1975 to 1978.

• Scuderia Toro Rosso stand out as one of the worst teams of the season as far as reliability is concerned. They had a total of 19 retirements out of 34 starts - 10 for mechanical failures and 9 for driver errors/collisions. This puts them dead last in the statistic of kilometres run in the season. At the top of the classification are McLaren with 10,067km run with their two cars. Toro Rosson, in contrast are dead last with 6,751km.

• Spyker and Super Aguri were both able to score the first points of their brief history during the 2007 season.

Markus Winkelhock leads on his debut in the European Grand Prix © LAT

Other notes about 2007

• Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton all ended the season with the same number of podium finishes: 12.

• Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton are the only drivers to have raced for more than 5,000km in 2007. Alonso ended the season at 5,050km and Hamilton at 5,017km. The all-time record was set by Tiago Monteiro in 2005 - the only season that consisted of 19 races with 5,521km run.

• Markus Winkelhock ran only one race in 2007, the European Grand Prix, and retired after only 13 laps due to hydraulic failure, but was able to go in the lead for five laps. This gives him an incredible performance in the lead-per-kilometers run ratio. Winkelhock has led 46.1% of the kilometers he raced, while at the top of all times (Indy 500 excluded) is Alberto Ascari with 54.4%.