The Latino Racers Shaping Up the F1 Leaderboard

The Formula 1 season is well underway, with 16 of its 23 races done. The leaderboard is shaping up and is coming close to the finish line.

One notable detail of the leaderboard is three of the top five racers are Latinos.

Currently second in the standings is Mexican Sergio Pérez. A pair of Spaniards make up the fourth and fifth spots, with Fernando Alonso in the fourth and fifth being Carlos Sainz Jr.

With the sport reaching new heights and Latino representation the future of Formula 1 is bright.

Sergio “Checo” Pérez

33-year-old Pérez has been racing in Formula 1 since 2011. Pérez races for Oracle Red Bull, with his car number being 11. He is in second place for the 2023 season with 223 total points, two wins, and eight podium finishes. Checo has had a long career in racing. He has raced in Formula Three, A1 Grand Prix, and GP2 Series. Formula 1 is where he has made the most impact off and on the track. His career total stats are six first-place finishes, 251 Grands Prix entered, 1,424 career points, and 34 podiums.

“A proud countryman, the Guadalajara gunslinger has amassed more points than any other Mexican in the history of F1,” according to Formula1.com

If Pérez wants to reach first place he is going to have to catch Max Verstappen who has 374 points.

Fernando Alonso

Racing is car number 14 and competing for Aston Martin is 42-year-old Fernando Alonso. His Formula 1 career dates back to 2001 when he made his first entry. It took him two years to get his first win in 2003. Since that moment Alonso has had 105 podium finishes, 2231 career points, 373 Grand Prix entries, two world championships, and 32 first place finishes. Alonso’s career is long and tenured and is a consistency model.

The 2023 year Alonso found himself in a familiar position which was up top of the leaderboard. Despite being in fourth place with 170 points as five podium finishes the 42-year-old has no taken home a first-place finish this season. Alonso is looking to do that as soon as possible with seven races in the year left.

Carlos Sainz Jr

Coming off a first-place finish at the Singapore GP, Sainz looks to chip away from fifth place into first before the year ends. The first-place finish gained the Ferrari racer 250 points. It was a nail biter as Sainz defeated Lando Norris by 0.8 of a second. The 29-year-old for the season has 142 points, one first-place win, and two podium finishes.

Sainz’s first entry to Formula 1 was in 2015 at the Australian Grand Prix. In eight years of racing in Formula 1, Sainz has been on the Podium 17 times, accumulated 924.5 points, has 178 Grand Prix entered finished first two times.