List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions
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The Formula One World Drivers' Championship (WDC) is the most successful Formula One race car driver of the year. The award is given by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to the driver who scores the most points during a season.
The WDC was first awarded in 1950, to Giuseppe "Nino" Farina. The first driver to win more than one Championship was Alberto Ascari, in 1952 and 1953. The latest driver awarded the championship is called the reigning or defending champion. As of the end of the 2022 Formula One season, the reigning champion is Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing.
The FIA does not officially award the Championship until the end of the season. Sometimes one driver will be far ahead of the other drivers in points. Even if the leading driver scores no more points, none of the other drivers could pass his point total. When this happens, the driver is said to have clinched the Championship.
Champions[change | change source]
By season[change | change source]
Bold indicates the team also won the Constructors' Championship (awarded since 1958).
- ^ The 1952 and 1953 championships were run to Formula Two regulations.
- ^ Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes.
- ^ Rindt's championship was confirmed two rounds after he had been killed in an accident during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
- ^ Michael 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. This left Villeneuve with a 39-point margin over Heinz-Harald Frentzen with 42 points.
By driver[change | change source]
| Driver | Total | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
 Michael Schumacher
|
7 | 1994-1995, 2000-2004 |
 Lewis Hamilton
|
2008, 2014,2015, 2017-2020 | |
 Juan Manuel Fangio
|
5 | 1951, 1954-1957 |
 Alain Prost
|
4 | 1985-1986, 1989, 1993
2010-2013 |
 Jack Brabham
|
3 | 1959-1960, 1966 |
| Jackie Stewart
|
1969, 1971, 1973 | |
 Niki Lauda
|
1975, 1977, 1984 | |
 Nelson Piquet
|
1981, 1983, 1987 | |
| Ayrton Senna
|
1988, 1990-1991 | |
 Max Verstappen
|
2021-2022-2023 | |
 Fernando Alonso
|
2 | 2005, 2006 |
 Alberto Ascari
|
1952-1953 | |
| Jim Clark
|
1963, 1965 | |
| Graham Hill
|
1962, 1968 | |
| Emerson Fittipaldi
|
1972, 1974 | |
 Mika Häkkinen
|
1998-1999 | |
| Nino Farina
|
1 | 1950 |
| Mike Hawthorn
|
1958 | |
 Phil Hill
|
1961 | |
| John Surtees
|
1964 | |
 Denny Hulme
|
1967 | |
| Jochen Rindt
|
1970 | |
| James Hunt
|
1976 | |
| Mario Andretti
|
1978 | |
 Jody Scheckter
|
1979 | |
| Alan Jones
|
1980 | |
| Keke Rosberg
|
1982 | |
| Nigel Mansell
|
1992 | |
| Damon Hill
|
1996 | |
 Jacques Villeneuve
|
1997 | |
| Kimi Räikkönen
|
2007 | |
| Jenson Button
|
2009 | |
| Nico Rosberg
|
2016 |
By country[change | change source]
| Country | Drivers | Total wins |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom
|
10 | 20 |
| Germany
|
3 | 12 |
| Brazil
|
3 | 8 |
| Argentina
|
1 | 5 |
| France
|
1 | 4 |
| Australia
|
2 | 4 |
| Austria
|
2 | 4 |
| Finland
|
3 | 4 |
| Netherlands
|
1 | 3 |
| Italy
|
2 | 3 |
| United States
|
2 | 2 |
| Spain
|
1 | 2 |
| South Africa
|
1 | 1 |
| Canada
|
1 | 1 |
| New Zealand
|
1 | 1 |
By constructor[change | change source]
| Constructor | Total |
|---|---|
| Ferrari
|
15 |
| McLaren
|
12 |
| Mercedes GP
|
8 |
| Williams
|
7 |
| Red Bull
|
7 |
| Lotus
|
6 |
| Brabham
|
4 |
| Cooper
|
2 |
| Renault
| |
| Benetton
| |
| Alfa Romeo
| |
| Tyrrell
| |
| Maserati
| |
| BRM
|
1 |
| Matra
| |
| Brawn
|
Constructors still active in Formula One are in bold.
Records[change | change source]
Youngest Drivers' Champion[change | change source]
| Driver | Age | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel
|
23 years, 133 days | 2010 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton
|
23 years, 301 days | 2008 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso
|
24 years, 58 days | 2005 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen
|
24 years, 73 days | 2021 |
| 5 | Emerson Fittipaldi
|
25 years, 273 days | 1972 |
| 6 | Michael Schumacher
|
25 years, 314 days | 1994 |
| 7 | Niki Lauda
|
26 years, 197 days | 1975 |
| 8 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
26 years, 200 days | 1997 |
| 9 | Jim Clark
|
27 years, 188 days | 1963 |
| 10 | Kimi Räikkönen
|
28 years, 4 days | 2007 |
Active drivers are in bold.
Oldest Drivers' Champion[change | change source]
| Driver | Age | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio
|
46 years, 41 days | 1957 |
| 2 | Giuseppe Farina
|
43 years, 308 days | 1950 |
| 3 | Jack Brabham
|
40 years, 155 days | 1966 |
| 4 | Graham Hill
|
39 years, 262 days | 1968 |
| 5 | Nigel Mansell
|
39 years, 8 days | 1992 |
| 6 | Alain Prost
|
38 years, 214 days | 1993 |
| 7 | Mario Andretti
|
38 years, 193 days | 1978 |
| 8 | Damon Hill
|
36 years, 26 days | 1996 |
| 9 | Lewis Hamilton
|
35 years, 341 days | 2020 |
| 10 | Niki Lauda
|
35 years, 242 days | 1984 |
Active drivers are in bold.
Most Drivers' Championships won in a row[change | change source]
|- style="text-align:center;" | style="text-align:left;" |
Active drivers are in bold.
Related pages[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ "Nino Farina". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Juan Manuel Fangio". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Alberto Ascari". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Mike Hawthorn". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Jack Brabham". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Phil Hill". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Graham Hill". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Jim Clark". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "John Surtees". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Denny Hulme". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Jackie Stewart". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Jochen Rindt". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Emerson Fittipaldi". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Niki Lauda". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "James Hunt". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Mario Andretti". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Jody Scheckter". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Alan Jones". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 "Nelson Piquet". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Keke Rosberg". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "Alain Prost". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Ayrton Senna". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Nigel Mansell". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 "Michael Schumacher". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Damon Hill". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Jacques Villeneuve". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Mika Häkkinen". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Fernando Alonso". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Kimi Räikkönen". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 30.4 30.5 30.6 "Lewis Hamilton". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Jenson Button". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 "Sebastian Vettel". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 25 June 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ "Nico Rosberg". formula1.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 "Max Verstappen". formula1.com. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- GrandPrix.com - Grand Prix Encyclopedia Archived 2006-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
- Formula1.com - Hall of Fame
- ChicaneF1 - Drivers' Championships Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- Formula 1 Championships
- Amara, Solange; Davillerd, Cyril; et al. (2004). Formula One Yearbook 2004-05. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-84707-072-9.