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In Formula 1, a “hat trick” means total domination throughout a Grand Prix weekend. Although the expression comes from soccer, we will explain what it means on a race track.
When Michael Schumacher achieved his 22nd triple victory, he reminded everyone that total domination of a Grand Prix weekend remains the ultimate benchmark of excellence. In Formula 1, a “hat trick” means that a driver has secured pole position, set the fastest lap in the race, and won the race, i.e., a complete sweep of the three key classifications of the weekend. It is a step above a simple victory in the sporting performance scale. Since the first race of the world championship in 1950, this feat has been achieved 185 times in 1,089 Grand Prix races (July 2023). Only five of the 20 drivers currently competing in 2023 have achieved this feat: Charles Leclerc, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton. Before the British Grand Prix, 47 drivers had achieved a triple, including 30 world champions. The all-time leaders are the two seven-time champions. Schumacher tops the list with 22 triples, followed by Lewis Hamilton with 19. The complete ranking is as follows: 1 – Michael Schumacher – 22 2 – Lewis Hamilton – 19 3 – Jim Clark – 11 4 – Juan Manuel Fangio – 9 5 – Alain Prost – 8 6 – Sebastian Vettel – 8 7 – Max Verstappen – 8 8 – Ayrton Senna – 7 9 – Alberto Ascari – 7
10 – Nigel Mansell – 5 11 – Damon Hill – 5 12 – Mika Häkkinen – 5 13 – Fernando Alonso – 5 14 – Stirling Moss – 4 15 – Jacky Ickx – 4 16 – Jackie Stewart – 4 17 – Felipe Massa – 4 18 – John Surtees – 3 19 – Jack Brabham – 3 20 – Niki Lauda – 3 21 – Nelson Piquet – 3 22 – Nico Rosberg – 3
23 – Graham Hill – 2 24 – James Hunt – 2 25 – Mario Andretti – 2 26 – Jacques Laffite – 2
27 – Alan Jones – 2 28 – Gerhard Berger – 2 29 – Jacques Villeneuve – 2 30 – Rubens Barrichello – 2 31 – Kimi Räikkönen – 2 32 – Valtteri Bottas – 2 33 – Charles Leclerc – 2
34 – Giuseppe Farina – 1 35 – Bill Vukovich – 1 36 – Mike Hawthorn – 1 37 – Tony Brooks – 1
38 – Phil Hill – 1 39 – Jochen Rindt – 1 40 – Jo Siffert – 1 41 – Clay Regazzoni – 1
42 – Ronnie Peterson – 1 43 – Gilles Villeneuve – 1 44 – Carlos Reutemann – 1
45 – David Coulthard – 1 46 – Juan Pablo Montoya – 1 47 – Jenson Button – 1
The introduction of sprint races in 2021 has added a new dimension to the complexity. On sprint weekends, drivers must now compete in a sprint on Saturday that determines the starting grid for Sunday, and since 2023, a separate qualifying session sets the starting order for the sprint. The traditional hat trick – pole position, fastest lap, and victory on Sunday – still counts, but the term “Grand Slam” has been borrowed from rugby to describe an even rarer feat: pole position for both the sprint and the main race, victory in both, and the fastest lap in Sunday's race. Achieving a Grand Slam is therefore the ultimate expression of dominance in an increasingly complex race weekend.
