900 kg pasta, 420 kg pizzas served in Formula One

Pirelli said the 19-year-old Dutchman, who became the youngest ever race winner in Spain in May and is now a firm fan favourite, made 78 passes over the 21-race campaign with Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Red Bull, who ended the year runners-up to Mercedes, were also the team who did most overtaking with 136 moves in total. On a lighter note, Pirelli added that it served 15,600 meals in the hospitality unit over the course of the year, with 900 kg of pasta and 420 kg pizzas cooked. 

Some 30,000 coffees were served and 7,500 desserts eaten. Mercedes, who won all but two races and started 20 of them from pole position, were unsurprisingly the least overtaken team on the grid with just seven passes on them. 

Britain’s triple world champion Lewis Hamilton, who lost his title to now-retired Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg, made the most overtakes in a single race — 18 in China, where he started at the back. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was the driver who was overtaken least, once only and that was by Verstappen at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil.

The average number of overtakes in a race was 41.2, with Hungary seeing the fewest (10) and China the most (128). McLaren’s Fernando Alonso made up most positions on the opening lap, 41 in total. Italy’s race at Monza was the fastest grand prix of the year, with Rosberg winning at an average speed of 237.5 kph.