Pole position is the pinnacle of an F1 driver's Saturday. Yet securing it is one thing; converting it into a race win is another matter entirely.
Charles Leclerc is perhaps the most striking example of that disconnect. The Monegasque driver has started from the front 27 times in his career, yet has converted that into a grand prix victory on only five occasions, a conversion rate that flatters neither his raw pace nor his misfortune over the years.
Five drivers do carry a perfect 100 per cent record in this statistic, though each of them achieved it from a single pole position: Bill Vukovich, Pat Flaherty, Jo Bonnier, Thierry Boutsen and Pastor Maldonado.
Among drivers with a more substantial sample size, Max Verstappen has long stood apart. The four-time F1 drivers' champion has taken 48 pole positions throughout his career and converted 37 of them into victories, giving him a conversion rate of 77.08 per cent.
For a considerable time, he was the undisputed leader in that particular corner of the record books, until this season altered the picture.
Kimi Antonelli has already claimed five pole positions in 2025, meaning the 19-year-old Mercedes driver now features in this statistic for the first time.
Despite his misfortune at the British Grand Prix, where his race ended in unfortunate circumstances, the Italian still holds a higher conversion rate than Verstappen.
Antonelli converted each of his first four poles into wins, leaving him on 80 per cent and fractionally clear of the championship leader.
Completing the top five alongside the pair are Jody Scheckter, Tony Brooks, Oscar Piastri and Emerson Fittipaldi, all of whom share a conversion rate of 66.67 per cent.
Check out the pole-to-win conversion rates of all the current F1 drivers — with at least one pole position — below!
Win percentages from pole position (current F1 grid)
| Name | Poles | Wins from pole | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimi Antonelli | 5 | 4 | 80.00% |
| Max Verstappen | 48 | 37 | 77.08% |
| Oscar Piastri | 6 | 4 | 66.67% |
| Fernando Alonso | 22 | 14 | 63.64% |
| Lewis Hamilton | 104 | 61 | 58.65% |
| Lando Norris | 8 | 4 | 50.00% |
| Carlos Sainz | 6 | 3 | 50.00% |
| George Russell | 11 | 5 | 45.45% |
| Sergio Pérez | 3 | 1 | 33.33% |
| Valtteri Bottas | 20 | 6 | 30.00% |
| Charles Leclerc | 27 | 5 | 18.52% |
| Nico Hülkenberg | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Lance Stroll | 1 | 0 | 0% |
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