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After Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen, which other trios have shared an F1 podium most often?
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The 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix saw Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen line up on the podium together for a record 15th time – and they did it again in Spain to extend that record. That got us wondering which other driver trios had shared the rostrum most often in F1 history? Read all the way to the bottom to see the most frequent podium pals!
Mansell, Piquet, Prost – 7 times
Huge names here, with Nelson Piquet joining Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell on the podium seven times from the 1983 European Grand Prix at Brands Hatch – where Piquet won for Brabham over Renault’s Prost and Lotus’s Mansell – to Australia 1990 where Piquet, in his Benetton, led home Ferrari's Mansell and Prost.
Of the seven podiums they shared, however, Mansell actually won five of those encounters – and Piquet the other two. Of the encounters Mansell won, four were for Williams in the ’86 season in which Prost won his second championship, and one was for Williams in France ’87 when Piquet won his third and final title.
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The podium finishers of the 1983 European Grand Prix: Piquet (centre), Mansell (R) and Prost (L)
Berger, Prost, Senna – 7 times
Gerhard Berger was Ayrton Senna’s McLaren team mate from 1990 to 1992, and on three occasions in 1990 Berger shared a podium with Ferrari's Prost (whom he replaced at McLaren) and Senna. But Berger also led the pair in Mexico 1986 when he won for Benetton, and when he raced for Ferrari from 1988-89, Berger finished behind the two then-McLaren team mates in Germany and Mexico ‘88, splitting them with P2 at the 1989 Spanish Grand Prix.
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Senna and Prost themselves shared the podium 41 times, the Brazilian winning 22 times and the Frenchman 13 times when they stood up top together
Button, Vettel, Webber – 7 times
Jenson Button’s 2009 Championship-winning season for Brawn GP – in which Red Bull finished second in the standings – saw him share the podium three times with Red Bull pair Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber: in China, Turkey and Abu Dhabi.
On four occasions in 2011, when Button – then driving for McLaren – finished second in the standings to a dominant Vettel, he shared the podium with the Red Bull drivers. When those three did finish in the top three, Vettel won four races, Button two, and Webber one (Brazil 2011).
The mighty Brawn vs Red Bull battle saw Button share the podium Vettel and Webber, but Button also took them on at McLaren
Mansell, Prost, Senna – 7 times
In a run that stretched from 1985 to 1991, this heavyweight podium of Mansell, Prost and Senna occurred seven times. At the 1985 Belgian GP, Senna won for Lotus, runner-up Mansell was racing for Williams and Prost drove for McLaren to P3, on the way to his first F1 title. In fact, only two of the podiums shared by these three came when Senna and Prost were team mates at McLaren, and both times (Germany and Belgium) it was Senna winning over Prost, Mansell in third.
Prost never led Mansell and Senna; on four occasions Senna won over the other two, and three times Mansell took victory ahead of Senna and Prost when they shared podium honours.
Mansell and Senna themselves shared the podium 27 times. And they shared a 'taxi' at Silverstone, 1991 in this famous moment
Barrichello, Raikkonen, Schumacher – 7 times
Young Finnish phenomenom Kimi Raikkonen made his Formula 1 debut in 2001, was quickly snapped up by McLaren for the following season, and in 2002 began to score the first of what would become 103 F1 podiums (so far). From 2002 to 2005, he shared the rostrum seven times with Ferrari pair Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.
On four of those occasions, Schumacher would win, but twice we saw Raikkonen lead home Barrichello and Schumacher (Belgium 2004 and Canada 2005), while only once did Barrichello win over the other two, in the 2002 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.
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Raikkonen cut his teeth fending off Ferraris
Barrichello, Coulthard, Schumacher – 8 times
As Schumacher’s team mate at Ferrari between 2000 and 2005, Barrichello shared the podium eight times with the eventual seven-time champion and McLaren’s David Coulthard. Oddly enough, Barrichello first shared the podium with the other two in the 1999 San Marino GP, in which the Brazilian finished third for Stewart while Schumacher won.
Six out of the eight times that the three finished on the podium together, Schumacher led them both. Barrichello and Coulthard managed one win apiece in this combination, and the last occurrence was at the 2002 US Grand Prix, won by Barrichello.
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Barrichello and Schumacher shared the podium a whopping 41 times and Coulthard joined them eight times
Hamilton, Ricciardo, Rosberg – 8 times
Daniel Ricciardo was a force to be reckoned with for Red Bull, taking seven wins for the team between 2014 and 2018. But the Honey Badger never led Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg on the podium.
Rather, Hamilton led Rosberg and Ricciardo five times and Rosberg led Ricciardo and Hamilton three times when they finished in the top three together. This podium combination began in Spain 2014 and ended with the 2016 Mexican Grand Prix – given Rosberg bowed out at the end of the 2016 season as champion in a shock announcement.
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Hamilton and Rosberg stood on the rostrum 45 times together and Ricciardo threatened to spoil the party a fair few times with Red Bull
Bottas, Hamilton, Vettel – 12 times
Before Red Bull mounted their 2021 title challenge, Ferrari were most often the major threat to the Silver Arrows – a difficult 2020 aside. And 12 times – between the 2016 Canadian GP and the 2019 Mexican GP – did we see Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton and Vettel share the rostrum.
Of those 12 times, six podiums had Hamilton on the top step over the others, while Vettel and Bottas took three wins apiece over the others.
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No surprise that Vettel, Bottas and Hamilton shared the podium so frequently. Hamilton and Vettel shared the podium a record 56 times together from 2009-2020
Coulthard, Hakkinen, Schumacher – 12 times
Michael Schumacher has often spoken of Mika Hakkinen being one of his toughest rivals in F1, as the two went toe-to-toe for title honours from 1998 to 2001 – a high point of the McLaren-Ferrari rivalry – with David Coulthard also in the mix. The trio shared the podium 12 times between '97 and 2001, beginning with the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, when Coulthard led home Schumacher and Hakkinen.
And the last time we witnessed the three share the podium was in the 2001 US Grand Prix, which was Hakkinen’s 20th and final win as he bowed out of F1 at the end of the season. Three times did Schumacher lead the McLarens home – in 2000 – but the most common combination was Hakkinen winning over the other two, which he did seven times.
Coulthard and Schumacher shared the podium 37 times, while Hakkinen and Schumacher shared it 30 times. As for Coulthard and Hakkinen, they stood up there 24 times together
Alonso, Vettel, Webber – 13 times
A podium emblematic of Red Bull’s domination from 2010-2013: we witnessed Vettel, his team mate Webber and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso share the podium 13 times beginning with the 2010 Spanish GP and ending with the 2013 Brazilian GP.
Eight of those occasions saw Vettel lead the other two home for a win, the most frequent combination being Vettel in P1, Webber in P2 and Alonso in P3 (five times). Webber led the other two on the podium three times and Alonso won over the Red Bull pair twice.
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Alonso and Vettel shared the podium 26 times from 2010 to 2013
Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel – 14 times
Of the 14 times seven-time champion Hamilton, 2016 champion Rosberg and four-time champion Vettel shared the podium, eight of those saw Hamilton lead Rosberg in P2 and Vettel in P3, from the 2014 Malaysian GP to the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP.
Five times did Rosberg win over his compatriot and Hamilton, and only once did Vettel lead those two drivers on the podium – at the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix – for the German’s 40th career victory and Ferrari’s first F1 win since the 2013 Spanish GP.
Rosberg, Hamilton and Vettel's presence on the podium summed up the early years of the turbo-hybrid era
Bottas, Hamilton and Verstappen – 16 times
After the Portuguese and Spanish Grands Prix, Bottas, Hamilton and Max Verstappen have landed on the podium together more often than any other three drivers. Of the 16 podiums the trio have shared, Hamilton has stood on the top step 11 times, Verstappen having finished second ahead of Bottas five out of those 11 times beginning with Hungary 2020.
Only three times has Bottas led the other two and only twice has Verstappen led the Mercedes duo, in the 2020 70th Anniversary and Abu Dhabi Grands Prix in 2020. But with Red Bull and Mercedes battling it out at the head of the pack this year, this record could stretch much further before the season is out.
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