In Formula 1, the three drivers who finish a race in P1, P2 and P3 receive prizes which they collect at the top of the podium.
The winner of the race stands in the middle, on the top step, but a podium finish of any kind is considered one of F1’s greatest achievements.
Currently, 215 different drivers have stood on the podium since the championship’s inception in 1950, although some have achieved it more than others throughout their careers.
We take a look at who has finished the most races in the top three in F1 history.
Who has the most podiums in F1 history?
Lewis Hamilton (201)
In the history of Formula 1, British driver Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the most podiums achieved in the sport, with more than 200 to date.
The Mercedes driver began his career at McLaren in 2007, when he remarkably recorded top-three finishes in his first nine F1 races.
He started by finishing P3 on his Australian debut before winning the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, the first of his career.
Since then, Hamilton has become a seven-time world drivers’ champion – the joint most with Michael Schumacher – and established a reputation as arguably the greatest driver in F1 history.
At this stage his tally seems unlikely to be surpassed, especially if he can improve on it further, although Dutch star Max Verstappen looks a threat with over 100 podiums already to his name.
Top 10 drivers with the most podiums in F1 history
| Driver | F1 podiums | |
| 1. | Lewis Hamilton* | 201 |
| 2. | Michael Schumacher | 155 |
| 3. | Sebastian Vettel | 122 |
| 4. | Max Verstappen* | 108 |
| 5 | Alain Prost | 106 |
| 6. | Fernando Alonso* | 106 |
| 7. | Kimi Raikkonen | 103 |
| 8. | Ayrton Senna | 80 |
| 9. | Rubens Barrichello | 68 |
| 10. | Valtteri Bottas* | 67 |
*Indicates active driver
Who has the most podiums in a single F1 season?
In 2021, Max Verstappen set a new record of 18 podiums in a single F1 season. He won 10 Grands Prix and finished second eight times out of 22 races, winning his first Drivers’ Championship title.
The previous record was jointly held by Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, whose best single-season finishes were 17 podiums (Hamilton achieved this in five separate seasons).
That being said, German legend Schumacher remains the only driver in F1 history to have scored a podium finish in every race of a season. En route to the 2002 World Drivers’ Championship, the Ferrari driver won 11 of 17 races, in addition to finishing second five times and third once.
