The 2015 Formula 1 Season in Numbers

Numbers mean a lot in Formula One and, though the 2015 season didn't always deliver on the track, it did at least kick out the usual pile of interesting and often revealing statistics.

Lewis Hamilton's 11 pole positions and 10 race wins say much about his dominance over team-mate Nico Rosberg, while Sebastian Vettel's 13 podiums suggest he is back to his best after a difficult year in 2014.

Kimi Raikkonen's three podiums say quite the opposite. But numbers don't often tell the whole story—Daniel Ricciardo, with 92 points to team-mate Daniil Kvyat's 95, didn't look like the second-best Red Bull driver over the course of the year.

Having pored over the data from the last 19 races, we've picked out 101 of the most interesting, irrelevant, encouraging or depressing statistics that tell the story of the 2015 season.

There are five fun (or not so fun) facts for every number from zero to 15, and the final slide contains 21 facts relating to larger numbers.

Zero

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Manor very nearly ceased to exist over the winter, so there was little surprise to see the team's cars way off the pace all season long. They were the only team to end the year with zero points in the constructors' championship.

Zero is also:

• The number of Q3 appearances achieved by McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.
• The number of drivers to finish all 19 races.
• The number of races in which all 20 cars crossed the finish line.
• The number of races at which the German national anthem was not played on the podium.

No. 1

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Midfield teams don't often get to taste the podium champagne, but sometimes things go their way and a surprise result occurs. Lotus (Romain Grosjean in Belgium) and Force India (Sergio Perez in Russia) each took advantage of circumstances to score one podium in 2015.

One is also:

• The number of pole positions taken by non-Mercedes cars (Sebastian Vettel in Singapore).
• The number of "grand chelems"—pole, fastest lap, lead every lap and win the race—achieved in 2015 (Lewis Hamilton at the Italian Grand Prix).
• The number of drivers who completed at least one lap in every position from first to 20th (Felipe Massa).
• The number of times Lewis Hamilton finished a race but wasn't on the podium (Hungary).

No. 2

Clive Mason/Getty Images

Only two drivers ended 2015 with a 100 per cent record of making it through to the final part of qualifying. Unsurprisingly, they were the two Mercedes drivers—Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Two is also:

• The number of four-stop strategies used in 2015—though neither was pre-planned (Felipe Nasr in Malaysia, Marcus Ericsson in Great Britain).
• The number of times Pastor Maldonado outqualified Romain Grosjean (from 19 attempts).
• The number of times Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line in a lower position than he had been on the grid (in Bahrain and Austria).
• The number of teams to win at least one race (Mercedes and Ferrari).

No. 3

Peter J Fox/Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel's then-team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was the only man to break the Mercedes monopoly in 2014, but this time round, it was the German's turn. He won three races in 2015—Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore—to take his career total to 42.

Three is also:

• The number of drivers to start on pole position at least once (Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel).
• The number of drivers used by both McLaren and Manor over the course of the season.
• The number of drivers who scored their first-ever F1 points at the Australian Grand Prix (Felipe Nasr, Marcus Ericsson and Carlos Sainz Jr.)
• The number of podiums scored by Red Bull (Daniel Ricciardo in Hungary and Singapore, Daniil Kvyat in Hungary).

No. 4

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Fernando Alonso only scored points in two of the 19 races, but he came close to adding to his tally in a number of grands prix. He finished 11th, one place outside the points, on four occasions—more than any other driver.

Four is also:

• The number of times Kimi Raikkonen outqualified Sebastian Vettel.
• The number of Q3 appearances by Pastor Maldonado.
• The number of races for which Pirelli supplied the orange-marked hard compound tyre (Malaysia, Spain, Great Britain and Japan).
• The number of races at which Mercedes were not the highest-scoring team (Malaysia, Hungary, Italy and Singapore).

No. 5

JOHANNES EISELE/Getty Images

Mercedes were light years ahead of the rest of the field, while Ferrari were nearly always second-best. But there were only five races in 2015 in which the two Mercedes' and two Ferraris finished 1-2-3-4 (in any order).

Five is also:

• The number of races at which the polesitter didn't lead at the end of the opening lap (Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, United States).
• The number of times a Mercedes driver started anywhere other than the front row.
• The number of drivers who set at least one fastest lap (two Mercedes drivers, two Ferrari drivers and Daniel Ricciardo).
• The number of hat-tricks—pole, fastest lap and the race win—achieved in 2015 (Lewis Hamilton in Australia, Malaysia, Great Britain and Italy, and Nico Rosberg in Mexico).

No. 6

Peter J Fox/Getty Images

Kimi Raikkonen's poor Italian getaway.

Starting on the front row is usually a good way to secure a decent result in the race.

Only six times in 2015 did a driver who started on the front row fail to finish either first or second (Lewis Hamilton in Monaco and Hungary, Nico Rosberg in Hungary and Russia, Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain and Kimi Raikkonen in Italy).

Six is also:

• The number of fastest laps set by non-Mercedes cars.
• The number of drivers who never made it through to Q3 (all three McLaren and Manor drivers).
• The total number of points finishes achieved by McLaren.
• The number of teams with at least one podium finish in 2015.

No. 7

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo led briefly in the United States.

Of the 22 drivers to take part in at least one competitive session, only seven were lucky enough to spend at least one lap in the lead—both drivers from Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams, and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.

Seven is also:

• The number of grands prix with at least one home driver (Australia, Spain, Great Britain, Russia, United States, Mexico and Brazil).
• The number of times the polesitter did not win the race (four for Lewis Hamilton poles, three for Nico Rosberg poles).
• The number of laps led by Daniel Ricciardo in 2015.
• The number of times a driver failed to make it to the chequered flag, but was classified as he had completed 90 per cent of the race distance.

No. 8

Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Carlos Sainz Jr. started at the back in Russia.

Grid penalties were a hot topic in 2015 and they—along with some poor reliability and a bit of bad driving—resulted in some surprising names lining up at the back of the field.

Eight different drivers were classified 20th after qualifying—Will Stevens, Roberto Merhi, Jenson Button, Carlos Sainz Jr., Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, Alexander Rossi and Daniil Kvyat. Some started from the pit lane.

Eight is also:

• The number of fastest laps set by Lewis Hamilton.
• The number of drivers who entered every race but did fewer than 1,000 racing laps in total.
• The number of laps McLaren drivers spent in 20th position (seven for Fernando Alonso, one for Jenson Button).
• The number of Super Licence penalty points given to Max Verstappen for "driving offences"—the most of any driver.

No. 9

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Pastor Maldonado kicked off the year with a big slice of bad luck when he was punted off at the second corner of the Australian Grand Prix. By the end of the season, he had failed to finish nine of the 19 grands prix—more than any other driver.

Nine is also:

• The number of races at which the top three drivers in the championship—Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel—shared the podium.
• The number of teams that managed at least one points finish.
• The number of times each of the Sauber drivers was eliminated in Q1.
• The number of double points finishes achieved by Red Bull.

No. 10

Antonio Calanni/Associated Press

Kimi Raikkonen had a somewhat disappointing season, making only three visits to the podium. But he did at least manage to lead 10 racing laps over the course of the year—10 more than he led in 2014.

Ten is also

• The number of different drivers who stood on the podium (both drivers from Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and Williams, Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean).
• The number of drivers who did more than 1,000 racing laps (from a possible 1,149).
• The number of reliability induced retirements suffered by McLaren drivers.
• The number of races won by Lewis Hamilton.

No. 11

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

No one wants to be at the back, but exactly half of the 22 drivers who took part in the 2015 season did at least one lap in 20th place. Roberto Merhi (71), Will Stevens (48) and Felipe Massa (39) led the way.

Eleven is also:

• The number of races in which Lewis Hamilton finished exactly where he started.
• The number of races in which Nico Rosberg finished exactly where he started.
• The number of pole positions scored by Lewis Hamilton—all in the first 12 races of the year.
• The number of times a Mercedes-powered team had the quickest pit stop entry-to-exit time (seven for Mercedes, two for Force India, one each for Williams and Lotus).

No. 12

Darko Vojinovic/Associated Press

On 12 occasions in 2015, a driver finished in the same position as his car number. Felipe Nasr, No. 12, finished 12th three times—more than anyone else.

Twelve is also:

• The best finishing position achieved by a Manor (Roberto Merhi at Silverstone and Alexander Rossi in Austin).
• The number of double-DNFs in 2015 (where both of a team's cars failed to finish).
• The number of one-two finishes achieved by Mercedes—a new all-time record.
• The number of times Lewis Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo outqualified their respective team-mates.

No. 13

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Due in large part to the behaviour of the modern tyres, Mercedes were not as dominant in the fastest lap charts as they were elsewhere. The Silver Arrows managed "just" 13 between them—eight for Lewis Hamilton and five for Nico Rosberg.

Thirteen is also:

• The number of race weekends that saw the white-marked medium tyre supplied by Pirelli.
• The number of free practice sessions for which Jolyon Palmer replaced Romain Grosjean at Lotus.
• The net number of positions gained by Sergio Perez on the opening laps of races.
• The net number of positions lost by Nico Rosberg on the opening laps of races.

No. 14

JEWEL SAMAD/Getty Images

There were 14 nationalities represented in the F1 championship in 2015—British, German, Finnish, Brazilian, Russian, Australian, Mexican, French, Dutch, Spanish, Venezuelan, Swedish, American and Danish.

Fourteen is also:

• The net number of positions gained by Daniil Kvyat on the opening laps of the 18 races he started.
• The number of times the safety car (full, not virtual) was deployed in 2015.
• The number of pointless races for McLaren.
• The number of races with at least one Mercedes and one Ferrari driver together on the podium.

No. 15

MARWAN NAAMANI/Getty Images

Jenson Button in qualifying for the final race of the year.

McLaren were slightly more competitive in qualifying than they were in the race, but between them, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button only managed 15 appearances in Q2.

Fifteen is also:

• The number of drivers who achieved at least one top-six finish. Under the scoring system used when the likes of Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button started racing, they would have been the only points scorers.
• The number of times Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg started together on the front row of the grid.
• The number of times Sebastian Vettel outqualified team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
• The number of races with at least one Ferrari driver on the podium.

And the Higher Numbers...

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton on the Silverstone podium.

And finally, we take a little look at the numbers larger than 15.

16—the number of nationalities represented across all the drivers who took part in any race-weekend session of 2015—as 14, plus Swiss (Fabio Leimer for Manor) and Italian (Raffaele Marciello for Sauber).

17—the number of podiums scored by Lewis Hamilton.

19—the number of races in 2015.

21—the number of drivers who started a race.

22—the number of drivers who drove a competitive lap (the 21 above, plus Kevin Magnussen, who qualified for but did not start the Australian Grand Prix).

25—the number of podiums scored by non-Mercedes drivers.

26—the number of drivers who took part in at least one race weekend session.

32—the number of podiums scored by Mercedes drivers.

34—the number of podiums scored by GP2 graduates.

41—the number of free practice laps completed by female drivers (all by Susie Wolff at the Spanish and British grands prix).

55—the net number of positions gained by McLaren drivers on the opening laps of races.

59—Lewis Hamilton's final points margin over team-mate Nico Rosberg.

66—the total number of retirements in 2015 (excluding races where a driver failed to finish but was still classified).

115—the total number of internal combustion engines taken by the teams in 2015.

128—the points gap between Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen (the largest gulf of any team-mate pairing).

155—the total (theoretical) number of grid slots lost by both Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button due to penalties.

703—the record-breaking number of points scored by Mercedes.

817—the maximum number of points any team could have scored (19 one-two finishes).

1127—the number of laps completed by Sebastian Vettel in 2015—more than any other driver.

1149—the total number of laps anyone could have completed in 2015.

1919—the total number of points awarded in 2015.

All facts and figures collected by the writer. Several tips of the hat to Keith Collantine at F1Fanatic, whose exceptional recording and presentation of all manner of statistics made my job of researching and painstakingly counting things much easier. Thanks also to the official F1 website for recording all session data and the FIA for penalty and power unit data.