Over 200 different drivers have taken podium finishes since the beginning of the F1 championship in 1950. Although many will be hoping to take the race win, a podium place can still be important for both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
F1 drivers with the most podiums
1. Lewis Hamilton - 201 podiums
First podium: 2007 Australian GP (3rd)
Last podium: 2024 Belgian GP (1st)
Total wins: 105
Total championships: 7 (2008, 2014-2015, 2017-2020)
Lewis Hamilton has broken a number of records over recent races, including taking his 200th podium at the 2024 Hungarian GP. The Briton has held the record for the most podiums since the 2020 Spanish GP and has continued to grow his lead over the last four years.
Hamilton took his first podium at his debut race - the 2007 Australian GP - with McLaren. The then-22-year-old pulled off an impressive overtake during the first corner of the race, moving him ahead of his team-mate Fernando Alonso, who had taken the last two drivers’ championships. He then briefly led the race between laps 19-22 when the race leaders pitted before him, but he lost first and second place to Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso.
Hamilton’s 100th podium came with his victory at the 2016 Japanese GP. Starting in second behind his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, he quickly slipped down the grid to eighth after having to start on the wetter side of the track following some overnight rain. He made his way through the grid during the race, briefly fighting with Max Verstappen on lap 52 for second, but was unable to pass the young Red Bull driver.
The seven-time world champion’s 200th podium came at the 2024 Hungarian GP when he finished in third behind McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Hamilton successfully fought off Verstappen after the pair came together on lap 63, with stewards concluding that the Mercedes driver could have “done more” to avoid the collision. His third-place finish came just two weeks after his first win in three years at the British Grand Prix.
Hamilton took his latest podium at the 2024 Belgian GP, taking his 105th win in the process. He started on the grid in third after Verstappen took a 10-place grid penalty from first, then briefly led the race before the lead was taken by Russell on a one-stop strategy when the seven-time world champion came into the pits for fresh hard compound tyres. Despite a tight battle between the Mercedes drivers towards the end of the race, Russell crossed the line first but was later disqualified for an underweight car, giving Hamilton his second win of 2024.
2. Michael Schumacher - 155 podiums
First podium: 1992 Mexican GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 2012 European GP (3rd)
Total wins: 91
Total championships: 7 (1994-1995, 2000-2004)
Michael Schumacher held the record for most podiums until it was beaten by Hamilton in 2020. Despite this, the German still holds the record of being the only driver to take podium finishes at every single race of a season - which took place during his fifth championship-winning year in 2002.
Schumacher’s first podium came at the 1992 Mexican GP when he was driving for Benetton. The race was dominated by Nigel Mansell and Williams, however, Schumacher retained his third-place qualifying position fending off Gerhard Berger in the McLaren.
His 100th podium at the 2002 Brazilian GP came during a season where he did not finish outside of the top three in all 17 races. Ferrari debuted their F2002 car at the race despite it being the third of the year, and the then four-time world champion fought off tough competition from his brother Ralf in the Williams to take the win by just half a second.
Schumacher’s final podium came during his last year in F1, at the 2012 European GP. The third-place finish was his best result since his return to the sport in 2010, and his only podium from his return.
3. Sebastian Vettel - 122 podiums
First podium: 2008 Italian GP (1st)
Last Podium: 2021 Azerbaijan GP (1st)
Total wins: 53
Total championships: 4 (2010-2013)
Sebastian Vettel’s maiden podium was also his first win, at the 2008 Italian GP. The German was driving for Torro Rosso at the time, and the first place secured him the record of the youngest driver to win a Formula 1 race at 21 years and 73 days old - a record which was later broken by Verstappen at the 2016 Spanish GP when he took a race win at 18 years and 228 days old.
Vettel’s 100th grand prix podium came with another win, this time at the 2018 Australian GP. The four-time world champion took his second consecutive victory at the season opener after working his way past Raikkonen and Hamilton. Vettel remained out in front and led the remainder of the race to secure his 48th race win and 100th podium.
His final podium came during his first year with Aston Martin - at the 2021 Azerbaijan GP - where he finished second. Despite qualifying in 11th, he quickly worked his way through the grid and temporarily took the lead when the front runners came in for their first pitstops. With Verstappen crashing out of the race and Hamilton making a mistake at the first corner on the restart, the race victory was taken by Sergio Perez with Vettel in second.
4. Max Verstappen - 107 podiums
First podium: 2016 Spanish GP (1st)
Last Podium: 2024 British GP (2nd)
Total wins: 61
Total championships: 3 (2021-2023)
Verstappen holds the record for most podium finishes in a single F1 season, taking a podium place at 21 out of 22 races in 2023 - a fifth place at the Singapore GP being the only miss. He beat his own record of 18 podium finishes, which he set in 2021, after claiming the record from Schumacher, Hamilton and Vettel who had all taken 17 podium finishes in one season - a record Hamilton set in five separate seasons.
Verstappen took his first podium at the 2016 Spanish GP, during his debut race for Red Bull. The Dutchman was replacing Daniil Kvyat, who was swapped down to sister team Toro Rosso after the Russian collided with Ferrari’s Vettel at consecutive races.
Verstappen qualified fourth but an early incident between Hamilton and Rosberg saw both Mercedes drivers out of the race and Verstappen moved up into podium places, behind his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie suffered a puncture two laps from the end, giving Verstappen his maiden win and making him the youngest man to win an F1 race.
He claimed his 100th podium at the 2024 Saudi Arabian GP, which was also his ninth consecutive win counting back to the 2023 Japanese GP. The podium followed his first pole position at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, and he finished the race eight seconds ahead of team-mate Perez.
Verstappen’s latest podium finish was at the 2024 British GP, when Red Bull made the strategic decision to pit him for hard compound tyres after a rain shower. He re-entered the race in third place and was able to catch second-place Norris, who was struggling on his soft compound tyres, but was unable to catch race-leader Hamilton.
=5. Alain Prost - 106 podiums
First podium: 1981 Argentine GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 1993 Australian GP (2nd)
Total wins: 51
Total championships: 4 (1985-1986, 1989, 1993)
Alain Prost took his first podium and race win in front of his home crowd at the 1981 French GP. Driving for Renault, he started in third place but took the lead on the second start after the race had been red-flagged due to torrential rain. The previous race leader, Nelson Piquet, struggled off the line, giving the lead to the Frenchman who secured his first of 51 career wins.
Prost’s 100th podium was also taken on home soil, during his final year in Formula 1 at the 1993 French GP. The win was his second consecutive victory and in taking the chequered flag he became the first F1 driver to claim 100 podiums - a record he held for nine years until it was matched and beaten by Michael Schumacher.
His final podium came at the 1993 Australian GP - the final race of the season and his last before his retirement. Prost had already taken his fourth drivers’ championship two races before at the Portuguese GP, where he had announced he would be retiring. He was beaten by Ayrton Senna and claimed his third consecutive second-place finish before leaving the sport.
=5. Fernando Alonso - 106 podiums
First podium: 2003 Malaysian GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 2023 Brazilian GP (3rd)
Total wins: 32
Total championships: 2 (2005-2006)
Alonso has matched the number of podium finishes of Prost, sitting equal on 106. The Spaniard took his first podium at the 2003 Malaysian GP after starting on pole. Although he didn’t go on to win the race, finishing behind Raikkonen and Rubens Barrichello, and broke several new records including being the youngest driver to lead an F1 lap and the youngest ever pole setter at 21 years 237 days old.
Alonso took his 100th podium at the 2023 Saudi Arabian GP. He was initially demoted from third place after he was handed a 10-second penalty for incorrectly serving a previous five-second penalty for being out of position at the start of the race, however, the decision was later overturned.
The two-time world champion took his final podium at the 2023 Brazilian GP. It was his eighth podium of the season, and the most he'd taken in a single season for a decade. Alonso had been battling Perez in the final stages of the race and overtook the Red Bull during the final lap to claim a third-place finish. It was a photo finish between the pair with Perez finishing 0.053 seconds behind the Aston Martin of Alonso.
7. Kimi Raikkonen - 103 podiums
First podium: 2002 Australian GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 2018 Brazilian GP (3rd)
Total wins: 21
Total championships: 1 (2007)
Raikkonen is currently the final driver to have taken over 100 podium finishes during his career. His first podium came at the season opener in his second season and his debut with McLaren. The Finn had qualified fifth at the 2002 Australian GP and moved up two positions after Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello crashed at the start of the race.
His 100th podium was taken during his final year with Ferrari in 2018, and came fittingly at the Italian GP in front of the Tifosi. Raikkonen broke the record for the fastest pole position on the Monza circuit with a time of 1:19.119, beating Barrichello who had set the record in 2004 with a time of 1:20.089. Raikkonen finished the race in second place between the two Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, who took first and third respectively.
His final podium came the same year at the Brazilian GP after a fairly uneventful race for the Ferrari driver. Raikkonen qualified in fourth and managed to overtake Bottas to claim third place.
8. Ayrton Senna - 80 podiums
First podium: 1984 Monaco GP (2nd)
Last Podium: 1993 Australian GP (1st)
Total wins: 41
Total championships: 3 (1988, 1990-1991)
Three-time world champion Senna took 80 podiums during his impressive decade-long career. The Brazilian’s first podium came during his sixth race. Driving for Toleman he had already faced two retirements, one failed attempt to qualify and two sixth-place finishes before he took second at the 1984 Monaco GP.
Senna had qualified in 13th place but a rainy race saw 11 cars retire from the grand prix. He had briefly taken the lead before it was red-flagged due to torrential rain but because of the regulations positions were counted from the last lap completed by every running driver, meaning that Prost retained his lead, with Senna taking second alongside his first fastest lap.
His last podium came at the final race of the 1993 Australian GP, and was his last with McLaren before he moved to Williams in 1994. Senna had taken his first pole position since the 1992 Canadian GP and retained a big lead ahead of second-place Prost, who finished nine seconds behind. The pair had kept an intense rivalry throughout their careers but, with Prost retiring at the race, Senna pulled the Frenchman up to join him on the top step of the podium.
9. Rubens Barrichello - 68 podiums
First podium: 1994 Pacific GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 2009 Italian GP (1st)
Total wins: 11
Total championships: 0
Barrichello took his first podium at the 1994 Pacific GP, resulting in Jordan’s first podium finish. The Brazilian had qualified in eighth but several drivers ahead were involved in collisions and retirements, aiding his move into third place behind Schumacher and Berger in first and second.
His final podium came at the 2009 Italian GP, two years before he left F1 for IndyCar. Barrichello was driving for the impressive Brawn GP team who took both championships that season. He started the race in fifth ahead of his team-mate Jenson Button in sixth, with the pair working their way through the grid to bring home the team's last 1-2 finish and Barrichello’s final race win.
10. Valtteri Bottas - 67 podiums
First podium: 2014 Austrian GP (3rd)
Last Podium: 2021 Saudi Arabian GP (3rd)
Total wins: 10
Total championships: 0
Bottas’ first podium came at the 2014 Austrian GP with Williams. The Finn qualified in second behind his team-mate Felipe Massa, but the pair were overtaken by both Mercedes drivers who undercut the Williams with early pitstops. Bottas overtook his team-mate and finished in third behind Rosberg and Hamilton in first and second respectively.
Bottas’ final podium came at his penultimate race with Mercedes - the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP. The race saw one safety car, four virtual safety cars and two red flags as drivers got to grips with the new track. Bottas, who had started in second, lost places to Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon in the early parts of the race but reclaimed the final podium position from the Frenchman during the final lap.
2024 drivers podium places over career
17 of the current drivers on the grid have taken podium finishes throughout their careers, with only Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu and Logan Sargeant yet to bring home a trophy.
| Driver | Podiums | Last Podium | Wins |
| Lewis Hamilton | 201 | 2024 Belgian GP (1st) | 105 |
| Max Verstappen | 107 | 2024 British GP (2nd) | 61 |
| Fernando Alonso | 106 | 2023 Brazilian GP (3rd) | 32 |
| Valterri Bottas | 67 | 2021 Saudi Arabian GP (3rd) | 10 |
| Sergio Perez | 39 | 2024 Chinese GP (3rd) | 6 |
| Charles Leclerc | 36 | 2024 Belgian GP (3rd) | 6 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 32 | 2021 Italian GP (1st) | 8 |
| Carlos Sainz | 23 | 2024 Austrian GP (3rd) | 3 |
| Lando Norris | 21 | 2024 Hungarian GP (2nd) | 1 |
| George Russell | 13 | 2024 Austrian GP (1st) | 2 |
| Oscar Piastri | 6 | 2024 Belgian GP (2nd) | 1 |
| Pierre Gasly | 4 | 2023 Dutch GP (3rd) | 1 |
| Lance Stroll | 3 | 2020 Sakhir GP (3rd) | 0 |
| Esteban Ocon | 3 | 2023 Monaco GP (3rd) | 1 |
| Alex Albon | 2 | 2020 Bahrain GP (3rd) | 0 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 1 | 2014 Australian GP (2nd) | 0 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 0 | N/A | 0 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 0 | N/A | 0 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 0 | N/A | 0 |
| Logan Sargeant | 0 | N/A | 0 |
