Pole position
Pole position is first place on the starting grid, awarded to the driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying.
Also called pole
The term predates motor racing — it comes from horse racing, where the inside position at the start was marked by a pole. In Formula 1 it is decided in Q3, the final part of qualifying, contested by the ten quickest cars.
Its value varies enormously by circuit. At Monaco, where overtaking is close to impossible, pole is worth most of the race and a driver who takes it is the overwhelming favourite. At Monza or Baku, with long straights and slipstreaming, starting second can genuinely be the better place to be — the car behind gets the tow into the first braking zone.
Which side of the grid pole sits on matters too. The racing line only runs down one side of a start straight, and the other side is dusty and slower off the line, so at some circuits the advantage of being first is partly given back within two hundred metres.
Pole is recorded whether or not the driver keeps it, and a pole that becomes a bad start is one of the more painful ways to lose a race. It remains one of the three headline career statistics alongside wins and championships, which is why the all-time list below is the one people argue about.
From every championship race in our results, back to 1950.