It’s usually stated that the onerous half shouldn’t be getting there, however staying there – so maybe the actual problem isn’t successful in Formulation 1 (which it completely is, very a lot so), however repeating it.
Kimi Antonelli has completed simply that: after changing into the second-youngest driver to win in F1 historical past on the Chinese language Grand Prix, he adopted it up by successful once more within the Japanese Grand Prix a number of weeks later. His second F1 race win made him the youngest championship chief in historical past.
However which different drivers managed to make their first two wins consecutively?
Properly, solely 116 drivers have received a minimum of one race in F1, and solely 82 have received a minimum of two. Of these 82, simply 10 achieved a back-to-back after their first win. Right here all of them are.
Alberto Ascari: German GP and Italian GP in 1951
Peter Collins: Belgian GP and French GP in 1956
Bruce McLaren: United States GP 1959 and Argentine GP 1960
Rene Arnoux: Brazilian GP and South African GP in 1980
Nigel Mansell: European GP and South African GP in 1985
Damon Hill: Hungarian GP and Belgian GP in 1993*
Mika Hakkinen: European GP 1997 and Australian GP in 1998*
Lewis Hamilton: Canadian GP and United States GP in 2007
Charles Leclerc: Belgian GP and Italian GP in 2019
Andrea Kimi Antonelli: Chinese language GP and Japanese GP in 2026
*Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen truly received their first three races consecutively: Hill in Hungary, Belgium, and Italy in 1993, and Hakkinen in Europe 1997, then Australia and Brazil 1998. Antonelli might nonetheless match this if he wins the subsequent race in Miami.
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Antonelli achieved his first two victories throughout the first three races of solely his second F1 season, simply as Arnoux, Hill, and Leclerc did – though Antonelli and Leclerc had extra races by that time as a result of longer fashionable seasons.
By comparability, Hamilton received in his rookie season, taking victory in his sixth and seventh races in F1.
Fascinating instances embody Hakkinen and Bruce McLaren. The McLaren founder received the ultimate race of the 1959 championship and the primary of 1960 – on the finish of his first season and the beginning of his second. Hakkinen, in the meantime, received the final spherical of 1997 and the primary of 1998 – on the finish of his seventh season and the start of his eighth.
Collins additionally received his first two races consecutively (in his fifth season), however then solely received as soon as extra, in his last championship yr in 1958. He had competed in 14 races earlier than his first win, a determine solely surpassed by Hamilton (5 races earlier than his first win), McLaren (six races earlier than his debut win), and Hill (12 races earlier than his first victory).
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Lastly, the query you could be asking: has any driver change into world champion in the identical yr they began successful races, and did so with two consecutive victories? Solely Hakkinen – though, as famous, his consecutive wins got here within the last race of 1997 and the primary of 1998. So, no driver has received the championship in the identical yr as their first victory, however Hakkinen did win it within the yr he secured his second consecutive win.
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