The 20 drivers that will line up on the grid in Bahrain for F1 2022's season opener have hugely varying levels of experience.
With 20+ Grands Prix a season nowadays, drivers racing for 10 years can rack up more than 200 races worth of experience – many drivers from decades past finished their entire careers with that number of races under their belts.
In 2022, it is no surprise that the oldest driver, Fernando Alonso, is the one with the most mileage behind him. The Spaniard enters his 334th Grand Prix in Bahrain, despite having sat out three years of F1 since making his debut back in 2001. Missing the 2002 season as well as electing not to race in 2019 and 2020, Alonso returned to F1 with Alpine for 2021.
With Kimi Raikkonen retiring at the season finale in 2021, Alonso takes over as the most experienced man on the grid. Should he start every race this season, he will also become F1's most experienced driver ever.
At the other end of the scale, Guanyu Zhou lines up with no Grands Prix behind him. The Chinese driver is the only rookie on the grid, just behind the three 2021 rookies Nikita Mazepin, Mick Schumacher and Yuki Tsunoda.
F1 driver experience in 2022
| Position | Driver | Number of Grands Prix |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alonso | 333 |
| 2. | Hamilton | 288 |
| 3. | Vettel | 279 |
| 4. | Perez | 213 |
| 5. | Ricciardo | 210 |
| 6. | Bottas | 178 |
| 7. | Verstappen | 141 |
| 8. | Sainz | 140 |
| 9. | Stroll | 100 |
| 10. | Ocon | 89 |
| 11. | Gasly | 86 |
| 12. | Leclerc | 80 |
| 13. | Norris | 60 |
| 14. | Russell | 60 |
| 15. | Latifi | 39 |
| 16. | Albon | 38 |
| 17. | Schumacher | 22 |
| 18. | Tsunoda | 22 |
| 19. | Mazepin | 21 |
| 20. | Zhou | 0 |
The most experienced F1 drivers ever
Given the aforementioned number of races held in modern F1 seasons, it is little wonder that the tables of the most experienced drivers ever are populated by fairly contemporary names.
Raikkonen tops the table ahead of Alonso, while Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher slot in behind after racing for the best part of two decades each.
Lewis Hamilton is sixth on the list, but will move up to fourth on the all-time list once he completes this season – moving ahead of Schumacher and former teammate Jenson Button.
All-time F1 driver experience
| Position | Driver | Number of Grands Prix |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Raikkonen | 349 |
| 2. | Alonso | 333 |
| 3. | Barrichello | 322 |
| 4. | Schumacher | 306 |
| 5. | Button | 306 |
| 6. | Hamilton | 288 |
| 7. | Vettel | 279 |
| 8. | Massa | 269 |
| 9. | Patrese | 256 |
| 10. | Trulli | 252 |
| 11. | Coulthard | 246 |
| 12. | Fisichella | 229 |
| 13. | Webber | 215 |
| 14. | Perez | 213 |
| 15. | Berger | 210 |
| 16. | Ricciardo | 210 |
| 17. | De Cesaris | 208 |
| 18. | Rosberg | 206 |
| 19. | Nelson Piquet sr. | 204 |
| 20. | Alesi | 201 |
| 21. | Prost | 199 |
| 22. | Alboreto | 194 |
| 23. | Mansell | 187 |
| 24. | Heidfeld | 183 |
| 25. | Ralf Schumacher | 180 |
| 26. | Hulkenberg | 179 |
| 27. | Grosjean | 179 |
| 28. | Bottas | 178 |
| 29. | Laffite | 176 |
| 30. | Graham Hill | 175 |
| 31. | Lauda | 171 |
| 32. | Boutsen | 163 |
| 33. | Villeneuve | 163 |
| 34. | Senna | 161 |
| 35. | Herbert | 161 |
| 36. | Hakkinen | 161 |
| 37. | Brundle | 158 |
| 38. | Panis | 158 |
| 39. | Frentzen | 156 |
| 40. | Watson | 152 |
| 41. | Arnoux | 149 |
| 42. | Reutemann | 146 |
| 43. | Warwick | 146 |
| 44. | Irvine | 146 |
| 45. | Emerson Fittipaldi | 144 |
| 46. | Max Verstappen | 141 |
| 47. | Sainz | 140 |
| 48. | Jarier | 134 |
| 49. | Regazzoni | 132 |
| 50. | Cheever | 132 |
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