A spot in the top 10 is a goal that every driver aspires to at the beginning of Qualifying – it not only offers the chance to fight for pole position, but starting from the front half of the grid can help put them on course for valuable points.
However, handling the pressure to make Q3 isn’t the easiest task, with only six drivers having achieved it on 40 or more consecutive occasions. Find out who they are below, including a current name you might not expect to hold the record…
6. Lando Norris – 40 appearances
Lando Norris has rarely been a stranger to Q3, having qualified P8 on his debut as a 19-year-old in Melbourne, but he recently joined the 40-appearance club with his effort at the British Grand Prix.
The McLaren driver hasn’t been knocked out early in a qualifying session since the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when a late yellow flag on his final lap meant he had to back off and was unable to improve, leaving him in P16.
His ongoing streak began with pole position in Singapore 2024 – the sixth of his career – and helped him maximise every points-scoring opportunity on his way to being crowned last season’s Drivers’ Champion.
McLaren haven’t quite reached the same level of performance so far in 2026, but Norris has nevertheless continued to reach Q3, with a lowest result of P8 in Monaco.
5. Sebastian Vettel – 41 appearances
He may have three more titles to his name than Norris, but Sebastian Vettel can only boast one additional consecutive Q3 appearance, with his run starting during his time at Red Bull in the 2009 season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Taking P2 on the grid, he found a way past polesitter Lewis Hamilton to add a fifth victory to his tally before embarking on an unforgettable few seasons. Out of the 41 weekends he successively progressed to the final stage of Qualifying, 25 of them became pole positions, giving a small indication as to just how superb the German youngster was in the early 2010s.
The streak likely would have continued had it not been for an underwhelming session at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, when he fell victim to other drivers finding major improvements on their final laps while he could only cut his time by a few thousandths.
4. Kimi Raikkonen – 53 appearances
He’s best remembered for his title-winning 2007 season – and, of course, some trademark ‘Iceman’ moments – but Kimi Raikkonen actually achieved his longest Q3 streak during his second stint with Ferrari, which followed a sabbatical as well as a two-season stretch with Lotus.
Returning to the team he won the championship with, the Finn’s unbroken period of qualifying in the top 10 commenced at the 2016 German Grand Prix, and lasted even through his eventual move to Alfa Romeo – another meaningful reunion, as the Hinwil outfit – then Sauber – were the team he made his debut with in 2001.
However, Raikkonen’s impressive start with the midfield squad in 2019 faded away quickly as he was eliminated in Q2 at the Chinese Grand Prix, cutting his Q3 streak short at 53 appearances. He went on to retire from the sport two years later.
3. Nico Rosberg – 60 appearances
Hoping to become a race-winning team, Mercedes partnered Nico Rosberg with Hamilton from 2013 onwards, and the German’s series of 60 Q3 appearances kicked off with that season’s final round in Brazil.
While his team mate clinched the 2014 and 2015 titles, it was not without fierce competition from Rosberg, who was eager for one of his own. Ultimately, it wasn’t the smoothest journey to his 2016 triumph, with plenty of tense moments within the team, but he didn’t drop out of the top-10 qualifiers once.
In one of the sport’s greatest shocks, Rosberg announced his retirement days after winning the Drivers’ Championship, making his P2 result at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix his final Q3 showing – who knows how much longer it could have been had he stuck around?
2. Lewis Hamilton – 66 appearances
It would be fair to say that Hamilton can be linked to most records in F1 – highest number of wins, pole positions, the equal-most Drivers’ titles – but he misses out on having the most consecutive Q3 appearances.
The current Ferrari driver enjoyed his longest run between the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix and 2013 Belgian Grand Prix, covering an eventful period in which he made a surprising move from McLaren to the Silver Arrows.
During that time, he added 13 pole positions to his total – which now stands at a colossal 104 – before suffering a Q2 exit at the 2013 event in Monza. He went off-track on his first flying lap and was impeded by Force India’s Adrian Sutil on his next attempt, bringing the streak to an end.
1. Valtteri Bottas – 103 appearances
Holding top spot for back-to-back Q3 appearances – by a mammoth margin of 37 – is Valtteri Bottas, who qualified on the front half of the grid at every race between the 2017 Australian Grand Prix and 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Bottas had already demonstrated his impressive one-lap pace at Williams, but after switching to Mercedes in 2017, he thrived in the Saturday sessions and secured 20 pole positions, as well as a 100% Q3 record before signing with Alfa Romeo in 2022.
Although the Finn was able to progress to Q3 in the first two rounds of that season, the streak couldn’t last forever and he settled for P12 in Melbourne. Now driving for newcomers Cadillac, Bottas is working with Sergio Perez to help the team hit their target of reaching Q2 for the first time.
