Max Verstappen achieved a historic milestone in Formula 1 by clinching his 50th pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix. The Dutch driver became only the fifth to reach this figure in the history of the sport.
The feat came precisely at Marina Bay, the circuit where Verstappen had not yet started from pole. The Red Bull Racing driver edged Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by a mere 0.054 seconds to secure the first position on the grid for this weekend’s race.
The achievement also gained special significance as it came on Verstappen’s 250th start in Formula 1. With this, he joined a small elite group that includes some of the sport’s greatest names, all of whom have at least 50 poles.
Lewis Hamilton leads the list with 104 poles, followed by Michael Schumacher with 68, Ayrton Senna with 65, and Sebastian Vettel with 57. Verstappen now sits fifth, with 50 poles to his name on the starting grid.
Together, the five drivers have accumulated 344 poles across the 1,166 races held in F1 to date, equivalent to 29.5% of the total. The statistic underscores the magnitude of Verstappen’s achievement in a list dominated by champions from different generations.
The Singapore pole also reduced the number of circuits where Verstappen had yet to start from the front. According to statistics, the remaining tracks are Hockenheim, Istanbul, Madrid, Mugello, Nürburgring, Portimão, and Sochi. Among them, Istanbul, Madrid, and Portimão are on the 2027 calendar, which could give the Dutch driver fresh opportunities to complete this list.
