By Archit Uniyal and Joe Murphy
Kimi Antonelli headed into the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix this week chasing a sixth consecutive Formula 1 victory, a feat achieved by only a handful of drivers in the sport’s 75-year history. After winning five races in a row, the Mercedes driver had already become the first driver ever to record his first five career victories consecutively.
If Antonelli had won again, he would have joined an exclusive club featuring some of Formula 1’s greatest names.
The longest winning streak in Formula 1 history belongs to Max Verstappen, who won ten consecutive races during Red Bull’s dominant 2023 campaign. The Dutchman surpassed Sebastian Vettel’s previous record of nine straight victories and set a benchmark that remains untouched today.
Before Verstappen, Vettel’s nine-race winning streak during the second half of the 2013 season stood as the sport’s benchmark for dominance and played a major role in securing his fourth world championship.
Before Vettel, Alberto Ascari won nine consecutive World Championship races across the 1952 and 1953 seasons, although the streak was spread over two years due to the Indianapolis 500 not being contested by regular Formula 1 drivers.
Other drivers to have reached six consecutive victories include Michael Schumacher, who achieved the feat twice during Ferrari’s dominant era, and Nico Rosberg, whose run stretched across the end of 2015 and the beginning of his championship-winning 2016 campaign.
What makes Antonelli’s achievement particularly remarkable is his age and experience. At just 19 years old, he is only in his second Formula 1 season and has already put together a run usually associated with established world champions. A sixth consecutive win would have equalled the entire career victory tally of teammate George Russell.
Alas, a DNF means Kimi is back to square one in terms of his hunt for that magic 6 in a row. Still, his championship lead remains healthy.
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