Ranking Formula 1’s Street Kings

Harry Sadoun Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Cities decked with fans waving their colours as the world’s best racing machines speed across iconic streets in the greatest cities around the world.

That is one way to describe the spectacle of street races in F1 and as the sport has grown, so has the number of races. The 2023 season has seven street races, nearly a third of the entire calendar and as the sport expands even further, there’s a likelihood of more races being included.

Street races, however, are not a recent phenomenon. They’ve been an integral part of F1 since the first season in 1950. The Monaco GP of course is still the magnum opus of the sport and has been a fixture on the calendar since 1950. In addition to that, we’ve seen quite a few GPs that are run on racetracks now, be hosted in cities, like Valencia hosting the Spanish GP.

Considering the history and appeal of street races, we embarked on a project to rank the most successful F1 drivers in street races, across the sport’s history. We analysed the results of 204 street races from 1950 to present day and the positions of 381 drivers to generate the all-time leaderboard.

Points distribution methodology

A key adjustment we made while generating the all-time leaderboard was to use the current points system in F1 to all races. This is so that there is uniformity in points distribution as F1 has had different scoring systems.

To illustrate this, let’s take the 1991 Monaco GP. Ayrton Senna won it and earned 10 points as per the scoring system in place that season. Points in that year were awarded only to drivers who finished in the first six positions, with the division being, 10, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1. Now if we used this scoring system to make our all-time leaderboard, then the participants of the 1991 Monaco GP are at a disadvantage as the points system today gives 25 points to a race winner.

So, what we did is that we assigned points to drivers who finished in the top 10 in the 1991 Monaco GP and they were assigned as per today’s system - 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1.

This was repeated for all race results which used a different scoring system to the one used today.

F1’s street kings

With the uniformity in points distribution achieved, we generated the leaderboard and it showed a good mix of drivers still racing and some legends of the sport.

Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time World Champion, is leading the all-time leaderboard with 988 points achieved in 71 street races. The closest current driver to him is former McLaren teammate and perennial rival, Fernando Alonso who is 316 points behind on third-place. Second on the leaderboard is recently retired Sebastian Vettel with 862 points.

Michael Schumacher, who won 16 street races in his career is fourth on the list with 644 points and his former Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello, is 10th on the list, tied with fellow countryman, Nelson Piquet.

Legendary rivals Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost are jostling each other in this leaderboard as well with the Frenchman having a slight edge. Of course, Senna’s heroics in Monaco are legendary but his eternal rival has a great street racing resume of his own. Prost won fewer street races (8) than Senna (15) but had more podium finishes (21) than his rival (18).

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is 12th in this leaderboard and is likely to break into the top 10, if not this season, then next season. His teammate, Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez, who has won four street races, is 15th in this leaderboard and is likely to be in the top 10 as well.

The drivers with most wins and most podiums

Hamilton with 18 street race victories to his name, leads this metric, followed by Michael Schumacher. What is amazing is Ayrton Senna being third, as he drove in 36 street races in his career and won 15 of them with six of them being at Monaco.

Nico Rosberg who won thrice at Monaco, twice in Australia and once in Baku, makes it to the top 10 drivers with most wins in street races. Graham Hill, the first “King of Monte-Carlo” breaks into this list with his five wins there - a record matched by Michael Schumacher and bettered only by Ayrton Senna.

When it comes to podiums, Hamilton is still king, followed by Sebastian Vettel and Schumacher. Prost, whose methodical approach led to his nickname of Le Professeur finished in a podium position 21 times.

The unlucky bunch

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, who are in the top 10 for most podium finishes in street races, top the chart for most fourth place finishes with nine instances.

Gerhard Berger and Nico Rosberg’s father, Keke, are interesting names here, missing out on a podium eight and five times respectively as well as Mark Webber, who unfortunately was always the bridesmaid to Sebastian Vettel during a successful period for Red Bull.

The ones who couldn’t finish

On the other end of the spectrum, we also looked at the drivers who couldn’t finish street races due to some issues. Whether it was a collision, a retirement, an engine failure or more.

The late Andrea de Cesaris, who holds the records for most races without a podium (208), is tied for the top spot with Riccardo Patrese. Both of them could not make it to the end in 35 different street races.

Nigel Mansell featuring in this list is an interesting prospect as he was unable to finish a street race 27 times in his career. Nelson Piquet, who was in the top 10 for both most wins and most podiums, is also in this list with 25 DNFs in street races.

Photo by Jannis Lucas

Harry Sadoun

Harry Sadoun is a seasoned sports betting expert with a wealth of experience in the iGaming and sports betting industry. Over the past 5 years, he has established himself as a go-to source for insightful analysis and predictions at Vegasinsider. With a passion for sports, Harry specializes in football, basketball, tennis, rugby, and soccer, showcasing a diverse understanding of athletic competitions. Harry's unique approach to sports betting is rooted in a combination of statistical analysis, in-depth research, and a keen understanding of the dynamics that influence game outcomes. His expert opinions and strategic insights have made him a trusted voice in the industry, guiding both novice and seasoned bettors alike. With an unwavering commitment to delivering accurate and up-to-date information, Harry Sadoun continues to be a prominent figure in the world of sports betting, providing enthusiasts with the tools they need to make informed decisions. More from Harry Sadoun