The top five longest F1 finishing streaks

Making sure you make it to the finish line in F1 is a challenge in itself, but consistency has almost been a crucial element for success.

The reliability of the cars of today means the longest streaks are largely from the modern era.

But who has the record for the most consecutive race finishes in F1 history?

RacingNews365 takes you through the list below!

5. Lewis Hamilton – Japan 2016 to France 2018 (33)

Hamilton missed out on the 2016 F1 title to team-mate Nico Rosberg but managed to secure his fourth championship with a mighty 2017 campaign during which he finished every race.

The Mercedes man was enjoying another successful 2018 season, but did find himself under pressure at times from Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari.

A difficult Austrian Grand Prix result for Hamilton saw him exit the race with a fuel pressure concern.

Team-mate Valtteri Bottas also retired with a reliability woe, marking a dismal day for the then-dominant Mercedes team!

4. Nick Heidfeld – China 2007 to Italy 2009 (33)

It was the record that stood for a long time before being usurped a handful of years ago.

Having scored a podium at the second round of the 2009 season in Malaysia, it was an otherwise difficult season for Heidfeld at BMW Sauber.

However, he was able to consistently reach the finish line during what would ultimately be his final full-time season in F1.

His streak came to an end in Singapore later that year when he was taken out by Adrian Sutil who was attempting to recover from a spin.

3. Daniel Ricciardo – Styria 2020 to Mexico 2021 (34)

Ricciardo endured a season of hardship at McLaren in 2021 as he was consistently outpaced by Lando Norris.

In Brazil, the race was overshadowed by the titanic battle between Hamilton and Max Verstappen as they went head-to-head for the F1 title.

For Ricciardo, the Australian was resigned to parking up his car after suffering from a loss of power – bringing his continued streak to a finish!

2. Max Verstappen – Emilia Romagna 2022 to Saudi Arabia 2024 (43)

Max Verstappen enjoyed highly successful 2022 and 2023 campaigns as he cruised to his second and third F1 titles.

He was often undisturbed at the front of the F1 field and his streak could only be undone by a reliability concern.

At the 2024 Australian Grand Prix, a brake problem forced the Dutchman to limp back to the pit lane and retire his car – a shock at the time, given how used we had become to seeing Verstappen win!

1. Lewis Hamilton – Britain 2018 to Styria 2020 (48)

Hamilton makes his second appearance on this list – this time at the top and as the record holder!

His streak came to an end in perhaps the harshest of circumstances. Having already tied up the F1 title in 2020, Hamilton was sidelined after testing positive for Covid-19 following the first of two races in Bahrain.

Although he didn’t take part in the race weekend at all, the record books still count it against him.

Hamilton returned at the following race but with his streak ended, it set the record at 48 – will it ever be beaten?