Big hitters - Button joins the 200-plus club
Jenson Button will join a very elite club in Hungary this weekend when he makes his 200th Grand Prix start. Button debuted with Williams back in 2000, won the championship with Brawn in 2009 and now drives for McLaren. Stats-wise, he’s racked up 10 wins, 35 podiums, seven pole positions and four fastest laps over the opening 199 races of his career.
Only three drivers on the 2011 grid have started more Formula One races than Button - Williams’ Rubens Barrichello (313), Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher (277) and Lotus’s Jarno Trulli (243), but there are currently 10 double centurions who the Englishman will soon join…
1. Rubens Barrichello
Grands Prix started - 313
Wins - 11
Pole positions - 14
Fastest laps - 17
Podium places - 68
Points - 658
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 16,118
The only signed-up member of the 300-plus club, Barrichello’s Formula One career began back in 1993 with Jordan. He’s raced in every season since for a variety of teams including three years with Stewart, six at Ferrari and four at Honda/Brawn. He is in his second season with Williams, but has scored only four points so far this year.
2. Michael Schumacher
Grands Prix started - 277
Wins - 91
Pole positions - 68
Fastest laps - 76
Podium places - 154
Points - 1473
Drivers’ championships - 7
Laps raced - 15,455
You could count the number of records Michael Schumacher hasn’t won on one hand, so it’ll come as no surprise the German legend is one of the illustrious 200-plus club. Second only to his old Ferrari sparring partner Barrichello, most of Schumacher’s 277 Grands Prix were raced in red overalls over an 11-year stretch at the Italian team. This year he’s back for a second season with Mercedes after ending three years of retirement to join the Silver Arrows last season.
3. Riccardo Patrese
Grands Prix started - 256
Wins - 6
Pole positions - 8
Fastest laps - 13
Podium places - 37
Points - 281
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 11,346
Patrese won six Grands Prix and took a further 31 podiums during his 17 years competing in the sport. He drove for Benetton, Williams, Arrows and Shadow to name but a few between 1977 and 1993.
4. David Coulthard
Grands Prix started - 246
Wins - 13
Pole positions - 12
Fastest laps - 18
Podium places - 62
Points - 535
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 12,394
Coulthard’s F1 career began in difficult circumstances back in 1994 when he stepped into the second Williams race seat following the death of Ayrton Senna. He took his first win for the team in Portugal the following year, before beginning a nine-year stint with McLaren in 1996 - one which would eventually bring him a further 12 victories. He spent the twilight years of his F1 career at Red Bull before switching to a DTM drive and F1 commentating for British television.
5. Jarno Trulli
Grands Prix started - 243
Wins - 1
Pole positions - 4
Fastest laps - 1
Podium places - 11
Points - 246.5
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 11,926
In the fast moving world of Formula One racing, longevity equals a huge CV and Trulli’s is no less lengthy than the rest of the 200-plus club. Driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Benetton, Toyota and for the past two seasons Lotus, the Italian has moved around a great deal during his 15-season career from 1997.
6. Giancarlo Fisichella
Grands Prix started - 229
Wins - 3
Pole positions - 4
Fastest laps - 2
Podium places - 19
Points - 275
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 11,509
Like his Italian counterpart Trulli, Fisichella had numerous employers during his 14-year F1 career between 1997 and 2010. From Minardi to Jordan to Benetton to Sauber to Renault to Force India, his name appeared on more than a few overalls. He ended his career with Ferrari after being drafted in to replace the injured Felipe Massa in 2009, and he remains on the Italian team’s books as a reserve driver.
7. Gerhard Berger
Grands Prix started - 210
Wins - 10
Pole positions - 12
Fastest laps -21
Podium places - 48
Points - 385
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 9,793
Berger made his debut with ATS in 1984 and retired 13 seasons later after spells at Arrows, Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren, with 210 Grand Prix appearances under his belt. He then moved into management and the Austrian remains a familiar face in the paddock, even though he sold his stake in the Toro Rosso team in 2008.
8. Andrea de Cesaris
Grands Prix started - 208
Wins - 0
Pole positions - 1
Fastest laps - 1
Podium places - 5
Points - 59
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 7,702
Andrea de Cesaris, who ultimately racked up 214 Grand Prix presences, is the only double centurion to never win a race. Over 208 starts between 1980 and 1994 he drove for Minardi, Jordan, McLaren and Alfa Romeo to name a few, but unlike the other members of the 200-plus club, the Italian never made it to the top step of the podium. He did finish second on two occasions.
9. Nelson Piquet
Grands Prix started - 204
Wins - 23
Pole positions -24
Fastest laps - 23
Podium places - 60
Points - 485.5
Drivers’ championships - 3
Laps raced - 9,872
Piquet is counted as one of the most celebrated drivers in the sport. A three-time world champion by the age of 35, the Brazilian enjoyed 23 race wins during a Formula One career that lasted over 14 years and 204 races.
10. Jean Alesi
Grands Prix started - 201
Wins - 1
Pole positions -2
Fastest laps - 4
Podium places - 32
Points - 241
Drivers’ championships - 0
Laps raced - 9,645
Frenchman Alesi made his Formula One debut for Tyrrell in 1989. Spells at Ferrari, Benetton, Sauber and Jordan followed until he retired in 2001. Although he scored 31 podium finishes, he won only once, at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix. He is now a motorsport ambassador for Group Lotus.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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