Lewis Hamilton is now approaching unwanted Ferrari record before the Hungarian Grand Prix

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Lewis Hamilton is the most successful driver at the Hungaroring with eight victories, but he is on the cusp of one unwanted record at the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Briton won races at the track in his debut season in 2007, with the latest coming in 2020. He looked like he was on course to win it a ninth time in 2023, after securing an unlikely pole at the track.

It was Hamilton’s first pole with Mercedes since Saudi Arabia in 2021, although the Briton was beaten off the line by Max Verstappen.

Now he heads into the 2025 edition hoping that he does not equal one record that was previously set by Gilles Villeneuve while at Ferrari.

Lewis Hamilton close to Gilles Villeneuve Ferrari record

Hamilton is now in the top three of Ferrari drivers who have raced for the team without scoring a podium in a Grand Prix.

Although Hamilton has won the Sprint race in China this season, he did not stand on the podium as there is no podium ceremony.

With 13 races to his name without a podium, he is now close to tying with Gilles Villeneuve who has 14 races to his name before he earned his first podium with a third place at the 1978 Austrian Grand Prix.

Didier Pironi leads the table with 19 races before earning his first podium, while Hamilton surpassed Gerhard Berger who went 12 races without a podium at the last race in Belgium.

Lewis Hamilton holds the lap record at Hungaroring

Hamilton currently holds the lap record at the Hungaroring having set it in 2020 with Mercedes.

The 1:16.627s was set in the Mercedes W11, in what became Hamilton’s last car that he won a title in when he achieved his seventh.

Mercedes has a history of achieving poles at this track, with George Russell also earning his first in 2022. Andrea Kimi Antonelli could achieve the same feat if he manages to put it on pole for the 2025 race.

Remarkably, Hungary is the only circuit on the current calendar that both Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen have yet to start from pole on during the ground-effect era.