Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

Since 2019 Only Two Drivers Dominate This F1 Stat

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kevin Binoy | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 3:18 PM ET

Since their karting days, fans could tell Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc weren’t just ordinary talents, they were on a different level. Fast forward to Formula 1, and both have lived up to the hype in their own ways. Verstappen has gone on to become a four-time world champion, while Leclerc has proven time and again that he can go wheel-to-wheel with the very best, outshining even multiple world champions along the way. But where their rivalry really comes alive is on Saturdays.

Since 2019, when Leclerc stepped up to Ferrari, he and Verstappen have turned qualifying into their own private duel, racking up an eye-popping record that leaves the rest of the grid trailing behind. In fact, the two are dead even in one particular stat and it perfectly sums up just how much they’ve dominated single-lap pace in recent years.

Poles since 2019 when Charles Leclerc joined Ferrari:

Max Verstappen & Charles Leclerc - 72
All other drivers on the grid - 72

Max & Charles keep evening up the score. pic.twitter.com/MhlU5uvnxj
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) September 10, 2025

Here’s a stat that really puts things into perspective: since 2019, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have taken 72 pole positions between the two of them. The rest of the entire grid combined? Also 72. That’s right two drivers alone have matched the output of everyone else in Formula 1 put together over the last few years. When it comes to pure qualifying pace, no one else has been able to consistently touch Verstappen and Leclerc.

A Closer Look at Saturdays for Charles and Max

If you break it down season by season, the numbers tell an interesting story. For Charles Leclerc, his best year in qualifying came back in 2022 when he stuck his Ferrari on pole an incredible nine times. The problem? Converting those poles into wins. A mix of reliability issues, strategy blunders, and plain bad luck meant he only managed three victories that year. In 2023, he added five poles to his tally, then three more in 2024. This season, he’s managed just one so far, coming at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen, on the other hand, has been on another level. In 2023, he bagged a ridiculous 12 pole positions on his way to a third world title. Even with McLaren stepping up the fight in 2024, Max still managed eight poles. Fast forward to this season, and he’s already racked up five proving Saturdays still belong to him despite not having the fastest car.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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