F1: Drivers with most fastest laps on the current grid 

These three have prominent places on this list
These three have prominent places on this list

Only 129 Drivers have managed to set the fastest lap in the 68 years of Formula 1. A glorious feat for any driver that at the end of race day is declared the fastest man of the race. Over the years, this feat has been recognized and awarded.

Setting the fastest lap has become more complex in the recent years.

It has majorly depended on Tyre conditions and the light car drivers have towards the end of the race, unlike older days when refueling wasn't banned. Back then, the fastest lap would come in at any point of the race.

Michael Schumacher holds the record for the fastest laps in F1 History with a total of 77, but astonishingly three of the drivers in the top five of that list are still racing, whilst some of the recent drivers are rapidly catching them.

Here are the five drivers on the current grid with the most fastest laps.


#5 Daniel Ricciardo (13 Fastest Laps)

Ricciardo will join Renault next season
Ricciardo will join Renault next season

From getting signed to the RedBull Junior Team to making his F1 debut with HRT racing, Daniel Ricciardo has come a long way, he's got the most fastest laps on the grid for a non-world champion driver.

2014 was the year that he really made his mark on the sport, along with getting his first three victories he also managed to make things uncomfortable for his four-time world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel as he was the only non-Mercedes driver to win that season.

2014 also marked the year he got his first Fastest lap in the season finale at Abu Dhabi.

2018, however, has been a different story for the Honey Badger, announcing his departure to Renault for the following season.

He's been out-shadowed by his teammate Max Verstappen in terms of race results due to multiple unreliability issues, although his pace seems to be still up there with his latest fastest lap coming in at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hopefully we can see more shoeys next year in the yellow .

#4 Fernando Alonso (23 Fastest Laps)

F1 Grand Prix of Hungary
Fernando Alonso widely regarded as the best driver on natural pace on the grid

The man who ended Michael Schumacher's reign, Fernando Alonso widely regarded as the best driver on natural pace on the grid, also a driver that will be missed by the sport at the end of this year as he's announced he's quitting the sport for the moment.

Debuted with Minardi in 2001 and then getting signed as test driver for Renault which resulted in a race seat in 2003, he went on to break multiple records with the team.

Alonso became the then youngest pole sitter and race winner in the 2003 season, it was the same year he managed to get his first fastest lap at the Canadian Grand Prix.

His recent years have been a struggle at Mclaren, but he still quite often managed to get results from the car that one wouldn't expect even managing his most recent fastest lap at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix.

The sport will definitely miss his presence and pace not to forget his quirky radio messages.

#3 Sebastian Vettel (34 Fastest Laps)

F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain
Vettel went on to break multiple records straight from being the then-youngest winner in the sport's history

He was the most dominant driver of the V8 era, Sebastian Vettel went on to break multiple records straight from being the then-youngest winner in the sport's history on that rainy afternoon in Monza 10 years ago to being the youngest four-time world champion at a sunny afternoon in India five years ago.

His first fastest lap came at the 2009 British Grand Prix and funnily enough his most recent fastest lap came at the 2018 British Grand Prix.

Widely regarded as Baby Schumi in his younger days, Vettel's become his own man and is certainly the only person notable not driving for Mercedes who has managed to take the fight to Lewis Hamilton in the V6 turbo era.

He's been key in Ferrari's return to winning ways and is certainly on the fight this year. He's got plenty left in his career and seems like he's on his way to breaking the few records that still remain unbroken along with the driver that's next on the list.

#2 Lewis Hamilton (40 Fastest Laps)

F1 Grand Prix of Italy
Lewis Hamilton has won 47 of the 90 races since the introduction of V6 Turbo era in 2014

Speaking of dominance, Lewis Hamilton has won 47 of the 90 races since the introduction of V6 Turbo era in 2014, that's 52 % of the races.

He has won three of the last four years' championships and he's well on his way to a fifth title this year unless Vettel and Ferrari can stop him.

He came into Formula 1 as the Mclaren rookie having a sensational debut season coming close to winning the championship and only losing out to the man he replaced at Mclaren Kimi Raikkonen by a single point.

That season also saw Hamilton score his first fastest lap at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix. Funnily enough, His most recent fastest lap came at the Italian Grand Prix 2018 while he beat the man that edged him for the 2007 World championship.

He's got the most fastest laps of 2014, 2015 and the 2017 seasons while tying with Alonso for the 2010 season.

One might often argue that Hamilton has always had a winning car his entire career, but nobody can take away the consistency and the flawless driving from him in recent years.

Also his ability to walkover his teammates multiple times in his career barring a few, he's definitely one of the fastest ever the sport has seen.

#1 Kimi Raikkonen (46 Fastest Laps)

F1 Grand Prix of Italy - Qualifying
Raikkonen equaled Michael Schumacher's record for the highest number of fastest laps (10) in a single season in 2005

Stirling Moss once said ' Quite frankly, Kimi Raikkonen is the fastest driver in the world '. From setting his first fastest lap all the way back in the 2002 Australian Grand Prix to managing it in the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix, A man who defines that age is just a number.

He equaled Michael Schumacher's record for the highest number of fastest laps (10) in a single season in 2005 and repeated it in 2008 and is the only driver in Formula 1 history to manage 10 fastest laps in two different seasons.

He even holds the record for the fastest ever lap in Formula 1 history averaging out at 263.587 km/h.

Popularly known as The Iceman, a driver many believe should have been a multiple-time world champion during his Mclaren days, Raikkonen still seems to manage to break records at the age of 38.

With Sauber F1 team confirming he will be driving for two more years, we may be well into seeing more unique records being broken by the 2007 World Champion.

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Edited by Alan John
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