McLaren top another classification in 2021: Most reliable

It's an old saying in motor racing: 'To finish first, you first have to finish'. Nothing is more important than the reliability of the car and, of course, the prevention of accidents. Some teams are better at that than others, it turns out.

Narrow victory

The German Auto, Motor und Sport did an inventory of which teams were the most reliable last season or in other words covered the most kilometers during the Grands Prix. The surprising winner of this ranking turns out to be McLaren. Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo covered a total of 2,490 laps and 12,368 kilometers. That corresponds to 96 percent of the total distance there was to drive. Only twice did a McLaren driver fail to reach the finish line.

Ferrari is hot on McLaren's heels in this list. The Italian team covered 2,439 laps, totaling 12,225 kilometers. Do not forget that Charles Leclerc did not even start the race in Monaco. Alfa Romeo finished third in this ranking, due to two breakdowns and two accidents.

No longer number one

For four years, Mercedes was the undisputed number one in the reliability ranking. Last season, the German team finished only sixth. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas completed 2,403 laps out of a possible 2,594. This corresponds to 92.6 percent of the total distance. The Red Bull team of Max Verstappen did one place worse than Mercedes. Only once was there a mechanical failure, namely with Sergio Perez in Abu Dhabi (engine). That Red Bull came to 2,397 laps, 92.4 percent of the total distance, was due to accidents.