The Formula 1 calendar keeps getting longer – and so do the drivers’ careers.
As a result, expect to see several new landmarks for longevity and success over the upcoming, 24-round 2024 F1 season.
Last year Fernando Alonso experienced the kind of late-career resurgence few drivers in their forties have enjoyed. He hasn’t yet joined the ranks of those to have won a race during his fifth decade, but eight podium finishes last year demonstrated he and Aston Martin have the potential to if given the opportunity.
If he does, he will set a new record for the longest wait between consecutive grand prix wins, currently held by Riccardo Patrese at six years and 210 days. Alonso’s been waiting more than a decade to win another race, so he could smash that record.
But there is an outside chance Alonso may lose a victory before gaining another. Felipe Massa is attempting to force the retroactive cancellation of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, won in deeply controversial circumstances by Alonso, in an effort to have himself named as that year’s champion. It may be a remote possibility, but theoretically Alonso could lose what was the 20th win of his career, putting him down to a career total of 31, level with Nigel Mansell.
Barring unforeseen events, Alonso is on course to extend his record as F1’s most experienced driver ever to a new benchmark. The Mexican Grand Prix is due to be the 400th F1 event he will participate in. However the Qatar Grand Prix three rounds later should mark his 400th grand prix start: He did not start the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix (the original race was abandoned and he did not participate in the restart), 2005 United States Grand Prix (he and other drivers withdrew on the formation lap due to tyre safety concerns) or the 2017 Russian Grand Prix (his car broke down with an MGU-H fault on the formation lap).
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Lewis Hamilton hasn’t been waiting as long to win a race as Alonso, but this is by far the longest win drought of his career. He has gone over two years since his last victory, a total of 45 grands prix without a win, when he had never previously started more than 10 without taking a victory. Will he end his wait during his last season before joining Alonso in the over-forties club?
Grand prix victories are a matter of feast or famine at the at the moment: Feast if you’re Max Verstappen, famine if…
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