Pit Lane Data

Max Verstappen vs Lewis Hamilton

Head-to-head driver comparison across the Pit Lane Data dataset, 2023-2026.

Max Verstappen Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton
MetricVerstappenHamilton
Races 87 87
Wins 38 3
Podiums 59 17
Points 1654 842
Best finish P1 P1
Retirements 6 6

Verstappen vs Hamilton: the verdict

Verstappen and Hamilton both started 87 Grands Prix across 2023-2026. They were not team-mates in any of these seasons. In the 75 races where both were classified, Verstappen leads the race head-to-head 58–17. Verstappen finished ahead more often in 2023 (19–1), 2024 (14–8), 2025 (17–3) and 2026 so far (8–5).

In qualifying, Verstappen leads the head-to-head 66–20. Comparing lap times from the furthest session both reached, the median gap was 0.513s to Verstappen in 2023, 0.550s to Verstappen in 2024, 0.367s to Verstappen in 2025 and 0.063s to Hamilton in 2026 so far. The qualifying edge moved from Verstappen in 2023 to Hamilton in 2026. Verstappen took 33 poles in this period to Hamilton's 1.

Verstappen scored 1654 championship points to Hamilton's 842 over these seasons, with 38 wins to 3 and 59 podiums to 17. Verstappen retired from 6 Grands Prix, Hamilton from 6. After round 17 of 2026, Verstappen is P4 in the championship on 221 points and Hamilton is P3 on 229.

Season-by-season head-to-head

Each cell reads Verstappen first, Hamilton second. The better figure is highlighted (lower is better for DNFs and championship position).

Season 2023202420252026* Total
Grands Prix together 2224241787
Race head-to-head 19–1 14–8 17–3 8–5 58–17
Qualifying head-to-head 18–4 22–2 20–4 6–10 66–20
Median qualifying gap Verstappen 0.513sVerstappen 0.550sVerstappen 0.367sHamilton 0.063sVerstappen 0.363s
Points 575–234 437–223 421–156 221–229 1654–842
Wins 19–0 9–2 8–0 2–1 38–3
Podiums 21–6 14–5 15–0 9–6 59–17
Poles 13–1 10–0 8–0 2–0 33–1
DNFs 0–1 1–2 1–2 4–1 6–6
Championship P1–P3 P1–P7 P2–P6 P4–P3 —

* 2026 figures run to round 17. Points, wins, podiums and championship positions come from the final standings of each season; points include sprints. Head-to-heads count Grands Prix only: a race counts when both drivers were classified, and qualifying compares final qualifying positions. Poles are qualifying P1, before grid penalties. The median qualifying gap uses the last session (Q1, Q2 or Q3) in which both set a time.

2026 race by race (to round 17)

Qualifying and finishing positions for Verstappen and Hamilton at every 2026 Grand Prix. Select a race for the full result.

Rd Grand Prix Qualifying Race Ahead in race
VerstappenHamilton VerstappenHamilton
1 Australian Grand Prix — P7 P6 P4 Hamilton
2 Chinese Grand Prix P8 P3 DNF P3 —
3 Japanese Grand Prix P11 P6 P8 P6 Hamilton
4 Miami Grand Prix P2 P6 P5 P6 Verstappen
5 Canadian Grand Prix P6 P5 P3 P2 Hamilton
6 Monaco Grand Prix P2 P3 DNF P2 —
7 Barcelona Grand Prix P5 P2 P4 P1 Hamilton
8 Austrian Grand Prix P5 P3 P2 P5 Verstappen
9 British Grand Prix P7 P3 P20 P3 Hamilton
10 Belgian Grand Prix P2 P6 P3 P4 Verstappen
11 Hungarian Grand Prix P6 P2 P2 P5 Verstappen
12 Dutch Grand Prix P7 P5 DNF P4 —
13 Italian Grand Prix P6 P5 P3 P6 Verstappen
14 Spanish Grand Prix P3 P4 P2 DNF —
15 Azerbaijan Grand Prix P8 P6 P2 P6 Verstappen
16 Bahrain Grand Prix P1 P2 P1 P3 Verstappen
17 Singapore Grand Prix P1 P3 P1 P6 Verstappen

A dash in the last column means at least one driver was not classified, so the race does not count towards the head-to-head.

2026 points progression

202 0
Max Verstappen Lewis Hamilton

Profiles and teams

Team history covers the seasons compared on this page (2023-2026).

Open in the interactive comparison →

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