F1 Crazy Stats Montreal 2022: Sainz Chases Heidfeld

After the Australian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen berated TV cameras that he would need 50 races this year to catch Charles Leclerc. At the time, the Dutchman was 46 points behind in the world championships. Six races later, the world looks completely different. Now Verstappen is suddenly leading with 46 points – but not against Leclerc, but in front of his teammate Sergio Perez.

The big turnaround is the result of a strong Red Bull team effort. The Milton Keynes racing team has now celebrated six straight victories. It is the result of Ferrari’s surprising unreliability not seen during testing and the first races of this year. In Montreal, Charles Leclerc had to start from behind due to a penalty in the engine and missed the podium for the fourth time in a row.

Sainz only collects small prizes

Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz has collected more titles this season than his teammate. The Spaniard was allowed to spray at a champagne gala at the Canadian Grand Prix for the eleventh time in his career. It was always second and third place. So far, Sainz has waited for his first win in vain. In Montreal, Verstappen did not miss a single second.

And so the Ferrari driver is following in the footsteps of Nick Heidfeld. The man from Mönchengladbach still holds the record for the most podium finishes without ever standing on the top of the podium. The German collected 13 small prizes for Sauber, Williams and Renault.

And Mick Schumacher is getting closer and closer to the “best brand” that no pilot really wants. The Haas driver drove his 30th Formula 1 race in Montreal, but the youngster has yet to score any points in the world championship. With a sixth-place start, the starting position was better than ever in his career. In the end, the technology didn’t work well.

Useless log problem

Luca Badoer holds the record for most races without points. The Italian has competed 51 times in the first division without taking anything that can be counted. However, it should be noted that in the 1990s, when Badoer spent most of his career in Formula One, only the top six drivers were allowed to score points.

If you applied today’s chart, Badoer would have scored a whopping 26 points. In Schumacher’s case, the comparison with Charles Pic makes more sense. The Frenchman competed 39 times in Formula 1 for Russia and Caterham and did not reach the top 10. If Shumi’s streak of bad luck continues throughout the season, he’ll outsmart Pic.

As usual, we have collected many Crazy Stats for you in the gallery. There you will find out, for example, the personal negative record that Lewis Hamilton could set at Silverstone, when he was the last driver greater than Fernando Alonso in the front row of the grid and what Carlos Sainz and Stefan Johansson have in common.