The Youngest Front Row In F1 History
June 5, 2024
In Monaco last week, 2nd-year driver Piastri pulled out a huge quali lap to put his McLaren on the front row. With local boy Leclerc on pole, that put the combined front-row age at just 49 years. That feels young...
How does it line up historically? What's the youngest front row and pole-sitter ever?
First off, was it even the youngest front row of 2024? Here are the results so far.
The obvious standout is the pole sitter age being essentially flat. When Verstappen has won 7/8, that's kind of expected. What I didn't realise was Leclerc is only 16 days younger than Max. Surely, if this continued for the season, it would be the "flattest" pole season ever.
Checo's brief run in Japan an China is clear, pushing that front row age up to 60.
The craziest part of this is both Monaco and Imola add to exactly 49.75 years. To be more precise, Imola was 49 years and 274 days, while Monaco was 49 years and 272 days.
How does it trend over time? Who have been the youngest pole-sitters each year?
Senna had a crazy run from 1985 to 1992. In '87 he only took the 1 quali to Nigel Mansell's 8, but he was still the youngest pole-sitter (Mansell is 7 years older). 1992 was similar, with Mansell taking 14/16 poles, and Senna only 1. It seems to be an era dominated by older drivers. Mansell in that 1992 season was 38 years old, and won the drivers' championship by double the points of 2nd place. 23-year-old Michael Schumacher was only in his second season.
Surprisingly, Schumacher only took youngest-pole once, in 1999. Alonso had a solid run of four years starting in 2003 before Lewis Hamilton took the crown. Lewis only held it for one year before a 6-year Vettel run.
What's most interesting is the cycles the sport goes through. It looks like we're at the mid-point of one right now. Who will be the next young gun to break this cycle? Piastri looks closest - at just 23, he's the youngest driver on the grid - but it'll take a new generation for a full reset. Antonelli perhaps?
Now finally, what was the youngest front row ever? Seb Vettel famously holds the record for youngest pole, but Leclerc was only a couple of months older for his and Alonso was also 21 for his in 2003. With the way the sport is going, it feels like the youngest pole should have been at least in this century.
| Race | Year | Pole Position | Pole Age | P2 | P2 Age | Total Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mexico | 2019 | Max Verstappen | 22.1 | Charles Leclerc | 22.0 | 44.1 |
Turkey | 2020 | Lance Stroll | 22.1 | Max Verstappen | 23.1 | 45.2 |
Austria | 2021 | Max Verstappen | 23.8 | Lando Norris | 21.6 | 45.4 |
Australia | 2008 | Lewis Hamilton | 23.2 | Robert Kubica | 23.3 | 46.5 |
Brazil | 2010 | Nico Hulkenberg | 23.2 | Sebastian Vettel | 23.4 | 46.6 |
Canada | 2008 | Lewis Hamilton | 23.4 | Robert Kubica | 23.5 | 46.9 |
Singapore | 2009 | Lewis Hamilton | 24.7 | Sebastian Vettel | 22.2 | 47.0 |
Abu Dhabi | 2009 | Lewis Hamilton | 24.8 | Sebastian Vettel | 22.3 | 47.1 |
Monaco | 2021 | Charles Leclerc | 23.6 | Max Verstappen | 23.6 | 47.2 |
Belgium | 2021 | Max Verstappen | 23.9 | George Russell | 23.5 | 47.4 |
Nope, this wasn't even a top 10 youngest front row ever. Max takes five of them including the top three, Lewis takes four (alongside Vettel for two of them).
It's certainly a time for young successful drivers in the F1, especially compared to the 90's and earlier, but the Piastri-Leclerc (49.75 years) wasn't especially young. This is just a crazy talented generation of drivers.