page_title: List of Formula One polesitters
section_title: By driver
hierarchical_section_title: List of Formula One polesitters / By driver
caption_attribution_description: Ayrton Senna driving for McLaren at the 1988 Canadian Grand Prix.
context_page_description: Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The polesitter is the driver that has qualified for a Grand Prix in pole position, at the front of the starting grid. Drivers are awarded points based on their position at the end of each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each calendar year is crowned that year's World Champion. Out of the 1,024 completed Grands Prix, the driver that has qualified on pole position has gone on to win the race 430 times.
  Qualifying is traditionally contested on the Saturday of a Grand Prix weekend to determine the drivers' positions on the starting grid. Historically, there have been a number of different qualifying systems; previously, each driver was only allowed a single lap to set his qualifying time.
caption: Ayrton Senna was known for consistently high qualifying performance.
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