World_Drivers_Championship

List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions

List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions

List of auto racing series Champions

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform.[2] The Formula One 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.[3] The World Drivers' Championship is presented by the FIA to the most successful Formula One driver over the course of the season through a points system based on individual Grand Prix results.[4] The World Championship is won when it is no longer mathematically possible for another competitor to overtake their points total regardless of the outcome of the remaining races,[5] although it is not officially awarded until the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony held in various cities following the conclusion of the season.[6][7]

Michael Schumacher (top left) and Lewis Hamilton (top right) have each won the championship a record seven times during their careers, while Sebastian Vettel (bottom left) holds the record for being the youngest Driver's Champion, having won the 2010 Formula One World Championship at 23 years and 134 days old. Max Verstappen (bottom right) is the current World Driver's Champion, having won the championship thrice in a row.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' Championships, both having won the title on seven occasions. Juan Manuel Fangio is third with five titles.[8][9] Schumacher also holds the record for the most consecutive drivers' titles with five between the 2000 and the 2004 seasons.[10] Nigel Mansell holds the record of competing in the highest number of seasons before winning the World Championship, entering Formula One in 1980 and achieving the title in 1992, a span of 13 seasons.[11] Nico Rosberg has the highest number of Grand Prix starts before winning his first title, a period of 206 Grands Prix between the 2006 Bahrain and the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[12][13] Sebastian Vettel is the youngest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 23 years and 134 days old when he won the 2010 championship.[14] Fangio is the oldest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 46 years and 41 days old when he won the 1957 title.[15]

As of the 2023 season, out of the 775 drivers who have started a Formula One Grand Prix,[16] the 73 titles awarded have been won by a total of 34 different drivers.[8][9] The first Formula One World Drivers' Champion was Giuseppe Farina in the 1950 championship and the current title holder is Max Verstappen in the 2023 season.[8][9] The title has been won by drivers from the United Kingdom 20 times between 10 drivers, more than any other nation, followed by Brazil, Finland and Germany with three drivers each. The title has been won by drivers from Scuderia Ferrari 15 times between 9 drivers, more than any other team, followed by McLaren with 12 titles between 7 drivers.[8] The Drivers' Championship has been won in the final race of the season 30 times in the 72 seasons it has been awarded.[17] Schumacher holds the record of earning the championship with most Grands Prix left to run in a season with six when he won the 2002 title at that year's French Grand Prix.[18] Due to the points system, on two occasions (John Surtees in the 1964 season and Ayrton Senna in the 1988 season) a world champion scored fewer points overall than a driver who finished second in the championship.[19]

By season

More information Bold ...
More information Season, Driver ...
  1. The 1952 and 1953 season were run to Formula Two regulations.[23]
  2. Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes.[23]
  3. Rindt's championship was confirmed two rounds after he had been killed in an accident during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.[23]
  4. Schumacher scored 78 points during the 1997 season, 3 points behind Villeneuve, but was disqualified from the championship for deliberately colliding with Villeneuve in the final race of the season, the European Grand Prix.[48] This left Villeneuve with a 39-point margin over Frentzen with 42 points.[23]

By driver

Michael Schumacher has won the World Drivers' Championship a record seven times – twice with Benetton and five times with Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton equaled Schumacher's record in 2020, winning one with McLaren and six with Mercedes.
Juan Manuel Fangio won the World Drivers' Championship five times with Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari. He held the record from 1955 until 2003.
Alain Prost has four titles, three for McLaren and one for Williams. He also just missed winning the title for Renault (finished second, by two points) and for Ferrari (finished second, by seven points).
Sebastian Vettel has four titles to his name, all of which he won consecutively with Red Bull Racing.
Max Verstappen won three consecutive World Drivers' Championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023 with Red Bull Racing.

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

More information Driver, Titles ...

By driver nationality

More information Country, Titles ...

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Records

Youngest Drivers' Champion

More information Driver, Age ...

Where drivers have won more than one World Drivers' Championship, only their first win is noted here. Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    Oldest Drivers' Champion

    More information Driver, Age ...

    Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    Consecutive Drivers' Championships

    A total of 11 drivers have achieved consecutive wins in the World Drivers' Championship. Of those, only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have won two sets of consecutive Formula One Drivers' Championships.[8]

    More information Championships, Driver ...

    Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    Drivers' Champions for constructors that did not win the Constructors' Championship in that year

    More information Championships, Drivers ...

    Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    1. Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Farina are not on the list, because they were champions before the first Constructors' Championship was awarded in 1958.[8]

    By chassis constructor

    Constructors in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    More information Constructor, Titles ...
    1. Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes. This shared championship is counted for each of these constructors.[23]

    By engine manufacturer

    Engine manufacturers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    More information Manufacturer, Titles ...
    1. Built by Cosworth.[59]
    2. Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes. This shared championship is counted for each of these engine manufacturers.[23]
    3. In 1998 and 1999 built by Ilmor.[60]
    4. Built by Mecachrome.[61]
    5. Built by Porsche.[62]
    6. Built by Honda.[63]

    By tyres used

    Tyre manufacturers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

    More information Rank, Manufacturer ...

    Numbers in parentheses indicate championships won as the sole tyre supplier.

    1. Goodyear was the sole tyre supplier for the 1987, 1988 and 1992–1996 seasons.[64]
    2. Pirelli has been the sole tyre supplier since the 2011 season.[65]
    3. Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix on Pirelli tyres, then completed the season on Continental. This shared championship is counted for each of these manufacturers.[23]
    4. Ascari competed in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 on Firestone tyres, then completed the season on Pirelli.[66]
    5. Bridgestone was the sole tyre supplier for the 1999, 2000 and 2007–2010 seasons.[67]
    6. Dunlop was the sole tyre supplier for the 1960–1963 seasons.[64]

    See also

    References

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