After seven decades of Formula One racing, there have been more than a thousand drivers who are brave and ready enough to tackle the world’s most challenging circuits in the fastest racecars ever built. 216 of them have stood on the podium, 149 have done so more than once, and almost half of them did not reach ten.
So, to even get close to one hundred is an amazing feat in and of itself, and to go beyond that mark is only the stuff of legends. Today, we take a look at the seven of the most magnificent and talented racing drivers who have achieved this feat, to relive their century-marking moment and what came afterwards.
Alain Prost, 1993 French Grand Prix
After a tense relationship with Ayrton Senna at McLaren, Alain Prost left the Woking team at the end of 1989 to join Ferrari. The relationship started off well, but the iconic and controversial first-corner crash with Senna at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix marked an end of that relationship, as Prost came second in 1990 before going winless in 1991. This led the Frenchman to perform a one-year sabbatical to wait for the Williams seat in 1993.
The 1993 Williams car was the most technologically advanced car of that time, and Prost cruised to his fourth and final championship by finishing second at the Portuguese Grand Prix. But, it was a few races earlier when he made history.
Going into the eighth race at Magny-Cours in France, Prost just turned around to now hold a five-point lead over Senna. The Frenchman just won the last race in Montreal with the Brazillian failing to finish with a mechanical problem with seven laps to go.
In France, the Williams team was far ahead of the rest, with Prost qualifying just behind young teammate Damon Hill who stormed to his first-ever pole position by 0.142 second. The duo was well ahead of Martin Brundle in third by almost 1.8 second.
Hill led the first 26 laps, but Prost took over and did not look back. He won his last home race by less than half a second ahead of Hill, with another young star Michael Schumacher in third. Thus, Prost became the first-ever Formula One driver to reach the enigmatic one-century of podium places. Prost would retire with 106 podiums to his name, and his tainted legacy is a product of unfortunate circumstances.
Little did anyone think that the young German in third would be the next in line, not only for the world championship but for Prost’s records.
Michael Schumacher, 2002 Brazillian Grand Prix
At the time of his first retirement in 2006, people genuinely thought that Michael Schumacher’s records would forever stand the test of time. He had amassed 91 race wins, 50 more than Prost in second. He had just pipped Senna’s all-time pole position record and increased the tally to 68. He also destroyed Prost’s podium record and extended it to 155 by almost 50, taking thirty grands prix fewer than the Frenchman, no less.
Going into the race, Michael Schumacher had won the season-opener in Australia and finished third in Malaysia. He held a two-point lead over Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya and another two from his younger brother and Montoya’s teammate Ralf Schumacher. On Saturday, he qualified second to Montoya, but crucially ahead of his brother. Both Williams were forecast to dominate the race, but Michael had different plans.
By the time the chequered flag fell on Sunday, the senior Schumacher had led 63 of the 71 racing laps, including the last 27. He won the race by a little over half a second from his younger brother and increased the lead in the championship to eight points. His victory also marked his one-hundredth career podium, becoming the second driver to achieve such a feat.
Michael would finish that season with eleven race wins and a podium finish in every race, a record yet to be equaled by anyone. He won the championship in France after only eleven rounds, another all-time record.
The next person to achieve one hundred podiums is still racing in Formula One and is the incumbent record holder of most podiums.
Lewis Hamilton, 2016 Japanese Grand Prix
As of writing, Hamilton just finished half a second behind his teammate George Russell to take P2 at the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix and his 201st career podium. He is already the first driver to achieve 160, 170, 180, 190, and now 200 career podiums in Formula One. His storyline needed no introduction anymore, but the story of his 100th career podium deserves some mention.
Heading into the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix, Hamilton was fighting teammate Nico Rosberg for the world championship, the latter had a 23-point lead. With Hamilton’s engine failure at the previous round in Malaysia and only five rounds left, he could not afford even a slight slip-up. Rosberg managed to edge past him to secure his 30th pole position by only 13 milliseconds.
This cost Hamilton dearly; he did not lead even a lap throughout Sunday, and was down to eighth by the end of the first lap. A stunning drive saw him recover to third, but more than five seconds behind winner Rosberg and rookie Max Verstappen. The gap is increased to 33 points and would prove to be impossible to recover. Rosberg won the 2016 championship by five points at the end, before announcing his retirement five days thereafter.
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Update: Following Russell’s disqualification, Hamilton inherited the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix win, the 105th of his career