Nobody is proud of these special records: We list five extraordinary Formula One records that could still be discussed in the 2025 season
Most points without a world championship title
By the end of the 2024 Formula One season, Valtteri Bottas led the ranking of active drivers with the most points without ever having become world champion. He has a career achievement of 1,797 points.
However, since Bottas is no longer a regular driver in the field in 2025 and Sergio Perez has also not been given a cockpit with 1,638 points, the record passes to another active driver: Charles Leclerc. The Ferrari driver has scored 1,430 points in his career so far, putting him tenth in the “all-time points table”.
In 2025, he will either extend his record with the most points without a title – or he will become world champion and pass it on. If Leclerc wins the title, Carlos Sainz would be the active driver with the most points without a world championship title. He currently has 1,272.5 points.
Good to know: There have been different points systems in the Formula One World Championship since 1950. The current system, with 25 points for a victory and points awarded for tenth place, has only been in place since the 2010 season. With 24 Grands Prix per year and additional sprint races, current Formula One drivers score significantly more points than their predecessors.
Most points without a win
Nico Hülkenberg holds the record for the most points without ever having won a Formula 1 race. Since his debut in 2010, he has collected 571 points.
If he doesn’t celebrate his first victory in 2025, Hülkenberg will remain the record holder. His closest rival, Lance Stroll, has 292 points to his name so far and is unlikely to get close enough to overtake him in 2025.
If Hülkenberg does win, the record would pass to former F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who scored 391 points in his career.
Most races without a win or podium
Nico Hülkenberg is also the frontrunner in this category. His Formula One career already includes 227 Grand Prix starts, but the German has never made it onto the podium. His best placings were three fourth places: in Belgium in 2012, in South Korea in 2013 and again in Belgium in 2016. If he doesn’t manage a better result in 2025, he will retain this record.
However, if Hülkenberg makes it into the top three for the first time, Andrea de Cesaris would become number one in this ranking again – with 208 Grand Prix starts without a victory. Hülkenberg had taken this record from him in 2024.
Among the active drivers in 2025, Lance Stroll is Hülkenberg’s closest rival with 166 Grands Prix without a victory.
In the separate statistic of most races without a podium finish, Adrian Sutil would be back in the lead if Hülkenberg made it onto the podium in 2025. He competed in 128 Grands Prix without ever finishing in the top three. His best finish was fourth in Monza in 2009. Of the current regular drivers, Yuki Tsunoda is the closest with 87 races without a podium.
Most third places
Some drivers make it onto the podium – but third place is the least coveted spot on the podium. This is where there could be a change of leadership in 2025:
Kimi Räikkönen currently holds the record with 45 third places. But Lewis Hamilton is not far behind with 40 third places. If he finishes sixth six times in a Ferrari, he would take this record from Räikkönen.
Most retirements per season
With 24 Grands Prix per year now, the retirement record could theoretically also be broken. Andrea de Cesaris failed to finish 14 out of 16 races in 1986 and 1987 respectively.
However, it is unlikely that this record will be broken in 2025: the technical reliability of the current Formula 1 cars is significantly higher, and driving errors have fewer serious consequences than in the past due to generous asphalt run-off zones. By way of comparison, Williams driver Alexander Albon retired from six races in 2024, making him the “leader” of the season.
