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The Formula One World Drivers' Championship (WDC) is awarded by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to the most successful Formula One racing car driver over a season, as determined by a points system based on Grand Prix results of that year. The Drivers' Championship was first awarded in 1950, to Nino Farina. The first driver to win multiple Championships was Alberto Ascari, in 1952 and 1953. The current Drivers' Champion is Max Verstappen, who won his first World Championship in the 2021 season.

The FIA does not officially declare the Champion until the end of the season, but a driver is said to have "clinched" the Championship after it is no longer possible for another to obtain more points than him, even if the former driver were to not compete in the remaining races of the season, and the latter to score the maximum number of points possible. The Drivers' Championship has been won in the final race of the season 29 times in the 70 seasons it has been awarded. The earliest in a season that the Drivers' Championship has been clinched was in 2002, when Michael Schumacher secured the title with six races remaining.

Overall, thirty-four different drivers have won the Championship, with German Michael Schumacher and Briton Lewis Hamilton both holding the record for most titles, at seven. Schumacher also holds the record for most consecutive Drivers' Championships, winning five from 2000 to 2004. However, Great Britain has produced, by far, the most number of World Championship winning drivers with ten (Brazil, Germany and Finland are next closest, with three each).

By season[]

Season Driver Team Tyres Poles Wins Podiums Fastest Laps Points Clinched Pt. Margin
1950 Italy Nino Farina Italy Alfa Romeo P 2 3 3 3 30 Race 7 of 7 3
1951 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Alfa Romeo P 4 3 5 5 31 Race 8 of 8 6
1952 Italy Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari FP 5 6 6 6 36 Race 6 of 8 12
1953 Italy Alberto Ascari Italy Ferrari P 6 5 5 4 34.5 Race 8 of 9 6.5
1954 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Maserati
Germany Mercedes
PC 5 6 7 3 42 Race 7 of 9 16.86
1955 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Germany Mercedes C 3 4 5 3 40 Race 6 of 7 16.5
1956 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Ferrari E 6 3 5 4 30 Race 8 of 8 3
1957 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Italy Maserati P 4 4 6 2 40 Race 6 of 8 15
1958 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Italy Ferrari E 4 1 7 5 42 Race 11 of 11 1
1959 Australia Jack Brabham United Kingdom Cooper-Climax* D 1 2 5 1 31 Race 9 of 9 4
1960 Australia Jack Brabham United Kingdom Cooper-Climax* D 3 5 5 3 43 Race 8 of 10 9
1961 United States Phil Hill Italy Ferrari* D 5 2 6 2 34 Race 7 of 8 1
1962 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom BRM* D 1 4 6 3 42 Race 9 of 9 12
1963 United Kingdom Jim Clark United Kingdom Lotus-Climax* D 7 7 9 6 54 Race 7 of 10 21
1964 United Kingdom John Surtees Italy Ferrari* D 2 2 6 2 40 Race 10 of 10 1
1965 United Kingdom Jim Clark United Kingdom Lotus-Climax* D 6 6 6 6 54 Race 7 of 10 14
1966 Australia Jack Brabham United Kingdom Brabham-Repco* G 3 4 5 1 42 Race 7 of 9 14
1967 New Zealand Denny Hulme United Kingdom Brabham-Repco* G 0 2 8 2 51 Race 11 of 11 5
1968 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth* F 2 3 6 0 48 Race 12 of 12 12
1969 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart France Matra-Ford Cosworth* D 2 6 7 5 63 Race 8 of 11 26
1970 Austria Jochen Rindt United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth* F 3 5 5 1 45 Race 12 of 13 5
1971 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth* G 6 6 7 3 62 Race 8 of 11 29
1972 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth* F 3 5 8 0 61 Race 10 of 12 16
1973 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth G 3 5 8 1 71 Race 13 of 15 16
1974 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth* G 2 3 7 0 55 Race 15 of 15 3
1975 Austria Niki Lauda Italy Ferrari* G 9 5 8 2 64.5 Race 13 of 14 19.5
1976 United Kingdom James Hunt United Kingdom McLaren-Ford Cosworth G 8 6 8 2 69 Race 16 of 16 1
1977 Austria Niki Lauda Italy Ferrari* G 2 3 10 3 72 Race 15 of 17 17
1978 United States Mario Andretti United Kingdom Lotus-Ford Cosworth* G 8 6 7 3 64 Race 14 of 16 13
1979 South Africa Jody Scheckter Italy Ferrari* M 1 3 6 0 51 Race 13 of 15 4
1980 Australia Alan Jones United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth* G 3 5 10 5 67 Race 13 of 14 13
1981 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-Ford Cosworth M 4 3 7 1 50 Race 15 of 15 1
1982 Finland Keke Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Ford Cosworth G 1 1 6 0 44 Race 16 of 16 5
1983 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Brabham-BMW M 1 3 8 4 59 Race 15 of 15 2
1984 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom McLaren-TAG* M 0 5 9 5 72 Race 16 of 16 0.5
1985 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG* G 2 5 11 5 73 Race 14 of 16 20
1986 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-TAG G 1 4 11 2 72 Race 16 of 16 2
1987 Brazil Nelson Piquet United Kingdom Williams-Honda* G 4 3 11 4 73 Race 15 of 16 12
1988 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Honda* G 13 8 11 3 90 Race 15 of 16 3
1989 France Alain Prost United Kingdom McLaren-Honda* G 2 4 11 5 76 Race 15 of 16 16
1990 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Honda* G 10 6 11 2 78 Race 15 of 16 7
1991 Brazil Ayrton Senna United Kingdom McLaren-Honda* G 8 7 12 2 96 Race 15 of 16 24
1992 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell United Kingdom Williams-Renault* G 14 9 12 8 108 Race 11 of 16 52
1993 France Alain Prost United Kingdom Williams-Renault* G 13 7 12 6 99 Race 14 of 16 26
1994 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Ford Cosworth G 6 8 10 8 92 Race 16 of 16 1
1995 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Benetton-Renault* G 4 9 11 8 102 Race 15 of 17 33
1996 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault* G 9 8 10 5 97 Race 16 of 16 19
1997 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault* G 10 7 8 3 81 Race 17 of 17 39
1998 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes* B 9 8 11 6 100 Race 16 of 16 14
1999 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes B 11 5 10 6 76 Race 16 of 16 2
2000 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari* B 9 9 12 2 108 Race 16 of 17 19
2001 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari* B 11 9 14 3 123 Race 13 of 17 58
2002 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari* B 7 11 17 7 144 Race 11 of 17† 67
2003 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari* B 5 6 8 5 93 Race 16 of 16 2
2004 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari* B 8 13 15 10† 148 Race 14 of 18 34
2005 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault* M 6 7 15 2 133 Race 17 of 19 21
2006 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault* M 6 7 14 5 134 Race 18 of 18 13
2007 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari* B 3 6 12 6 110 Race 17 of 17 1
2008 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes B 7 5 10 1 98 Race 18 of 18 1
2009 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Brawn-Mercedes* B 4 6 9 2 95 Race 16 of 17 11
2010 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault* B 10 5 10 3 256 Race 19 of 19 4
2011 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault* P 15† 11 17 3 392 Race 15 of 19 122
2012 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault* P 6 5 10 6 281 Race 20 of 20 3
2013 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault* P 9 13 16 7 397 Race 16 of 19 155
2014 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 7 11 16 7 384 Race 19 of 19 67
2015 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 11 10 17 8 381 Race 16 of 19 59
2016 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes* P 8 9 16 6 385 Race 21 of 21 5
2017 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 11 9 13 7 363 Race 18 of 20 46
2018 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 11 11 17 3 408 Race 19 of 21 88
2019 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 5 11 17 6 413 Race 19 of 21 87
2020 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Germany Mercedes* P 10 11 14 6 347 Race 14 of 17 124
2021 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull Racing-Honda P 9[1] 10 18† 6 395.5 Race 22 of 22 8
2022 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-RBPT* P 7 15† 17 5 454† Race 18 of 22 146
2023 Netherlands Max Verstappen Austria Red Bull-RBPT* P 10~ 14~ 16~ 8~ 433~ Race 17 of 22 209~†

Notes[]

* Indicates the team also won the Constructors' Championship (awarded since 1958).[1]
~ Indicates season is still in progress. Statistics subject to change, but title has already been decided.
† Indicates the record for each category
  1. The 1952 and 1953 championships were run to Formula Two regulations.
  2. Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes.
  3. Rindt died during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix (the tenth round of the season) but his Championship was not confirmed until two rounds later.
  4. Michael Schumacher scored 78 points during the 1997 season, only 3 points behind Villeneuve. However, Schumacher was disqualified from the championship for colliding with Villeneuve at 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.
  5. In 2021, Formula 1 introduced sprint races, which changed the way pole position was awarded.[1]

By driver[]

MSC

Michael Schumacher has won the World Drivers' Championship a record seven times -- two at Benetton and five at Ferrari.

Driver Total Season(s) Championship
Winner
Germany Michael Schumacher 7 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004
24th
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 7 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017,
2018, 2019, 2020
30th
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 5 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956,
1957
2nd
France Alain Prost 4 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 21st
Germany Sebastian Vettel 4 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 32nd
Australia Jack Brabham 3 1959, 1960, 1966 5th
United Kingdom Jackie Stewart 3 1969, 1971, 1973 11th
Austria Niki Lauda 3 1975, 1977, 1984 14th
Brazil Nelson Piquet 3 1981, 1983, 1987 19th
Brazil Ayrton Senna 3 1988, 1990, 1991 22nd
Netherlands Max Verstappen 3 2021, 2022, 2023 34th
Italy Alberto Ascari 2 1952, 1953 3rd
United Kingdom Jim Clark 2 1963, 1965 8th
United Kingdom Graham Hill 2 1962, 1968 7th
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 2 1972, 1974 13th
Finland Mika Häkkinen 2 1998, 1999 27th
Spain Fernando Alonso 2 2005, 2006 28th
Italy Nino Farina 1 1950 1st
United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn 1 1958 4th
United States Phil Hill 1 1961 6th
United Kingdom John Surtees 1 1964 9th
New Zealand Denny Hulme 1 1967 10th
Austria Jochen Rindt 1 1970 12th
United Kingdom James Hunt 1 1976 15th
United States Mario Andretti 1 1978 16th
South Africa Jody Scheckter 1 1979 17th
Australia Alan Jones 1 1980 18th
Finland Keke Rosberg 1 1982 20th
United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 1 1992 23rd
United Kingdom Damon Hill 1 1996 25th
Canada Jacques Villeneuve 1 1997 26th
Finland Kimi Räikkönen 1 2007 29th
United Kingdom Jenson Button 1 2009 31st
Germany Nico Rosberg 1 2016 33rd

Drivers in bold are still competing in the World Championship.

By nationality[]

Country Drivers Total Drivers by Name (titles)
United Kingdom 10 20 Lewis Hamilton (7), Jackie Stewart (3), Jim Clark (2), Graham Hill (2), Mike Hawthorn (1), John Surtees (1), James Hunt (1), Nigel Mansell (1), Damon Hill (1), Jenson Button (1)
Germany 3 12 Michael Schumacher (7), Sebastian Vettel (4), Nico Rosberg (1)
Brazil 3 8 Nelson Piquet (3), Ayrton Senna (3), Emerson Fittipaldi (2)
Argentina 1 5 Juan Manuel Fangio (5)
Finland 3 4 Mika Häkkinen (2), Keke Rosberg (1), Kimi Räikkönen (1)
Australia 2 4 Jack Brabham (3), Alan Jones (1)
Austria 2 4 Niki Lauda (3), Jochen Rindt (1)
France 1 4 Alain Prost (4)
Italy 2 3 Alberto Ascari (2), Nino Farina (1)
Netherlands 1 3 Max Verstappen (3)
United States 2 2 Phil Hill (1), Mario Andretti (1)
Spain 1 2 Fernando Alonso (2)
Canada 1 1 Jacques Villeneuve (1)
New Zealand 1 1 Denny Hulme (1)
South Africa 1 1 Jody Scheckter (1)

Drivers in bold are still competing in the World Championship.

By constructor team[]

Constructor Total
Italy Ferrari 15
United Kingdom McLaren 12
Germany Mercedes 9
United Kingdom Williams 7
United Kingdom Lotus 6
Austria Red Bull 6
United Kingdom Brabham 4
United Kingdom Cooper 2
France Renault
United Kingdom Benetton
Italy Alfa Romeo
United Kingdom Tyrrell
Italy Maserati
United Kingdom BRM 1
France Matra
United Kingdom Brawn

Constructors in bold are still competing in the World Championship.

By constructor nationality[]

Nationality Total
United Kingdom United Kingdom 37
Italy Italy 19
Germany Germany 9
Austria Austria 6
France France 3

By engine[]

Engine Total
Italy Ferrari 15
United States Ford 13
Germany Mercedes 13
France Renault 11
Japan Honda 6
United Kingdom Climax 4
Luxembourg TAG 3
Italy Alfa Romeo 2
Italy Maserati
Australia Repco
Germany BMW 1
United Kingdom BRM
Austria RBPT

Engine manufacturers in bold are still competing in the World Championship.

Notes[]

  • The 1966 Repco engines were based on production Oldsmobile engine blocks from the USA.
  • The TAG engines were designed and built by German company Porsche.
  • 10 of the constructors' championships for Ford engines were with the (Ford-financed) Cosworth DFV engine.
  • Mercedes won 9 with their own team, 3 with McLaren and 1 with Brawn.

By tyre manufacturer[]

Pos Manufacturer Country Total Seasons
1 G Goodyear United States United States 24 19661967, 1971, 19731978, 1980, 1982, 19851997
2 P Pirelli Italy Italy 20 19501954, 1957, 2011present
3 B Bridgestone Japan Japan 11 19982004, 20072010
4 D Dunlop United Kingdom Great Britain 8 19591965, 1969
5 M Michelin France France 6 1979, 1981, 19831984, 20052006
6 F Firestone United States United States 4 1952, 1968, 1970, 1972
7 C Continental Germany Germany 2 19541955
E Englebert Belgium Belgium 2 1956, 1958

Tyre manufacturers in bold are still competing in the World Championship.

Notes[]

Records[]

Youngest Drivers' Champion[]

Driver Age Season
1 Germany Sebastian Vettel 23 years, 133 days 2010
2 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 23 years, 301 days 2008
3 Spain Fernando Alonso 24 years, 58 days 2005
4 Netherlands Max Verstappen 24 years, 72 days 2021
5 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 25 years, 273 days 1972
6 Germany Michael Schumacher 25 years, 314 days 1994
7 Austria Niki Lauda 26 years, 197 days 1975
8 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 26 years, 200 days 1997
9 United Kingdom Jim Clark 27 years, 188 days 1963
10 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 28 years, 4 days 2007

Drivers in bold are still competing in Formula 1.

Oldest Drivers' Champion[]

Driver Age Season
1 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 46 years, 41 days 1957
2 Italy Nino Farina 43 years, 308 days 1950
3 Australia Jack Brabham 40 years, 155 days 1966
4 United Kingdom Graham Hill 39 years, 262 days 1968
5 United Kingdom Nigel Mansell 39 years, 8 days 1992
6 France Alain Prost 38 years, 214 days 1993
7 United States Mario Andretti 38 years, 193 days 1978
8 United Kingdom Damon Hill 36 years, 26 days 1996
9 Austria Niki Lauda 35 years, 242 days 1984
10 Germany Michael Schumacher 35 years, 239 days 2004

Drivers in bold are still competing in Formula 1.

Consecutive Drivers' Championships[]

Ten drivers have achieved consecutive wins in the Formula One Drivers' Championship.

Championships Driver Seasons
5 Germany Michael Schumacher 20002004
4 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 19541957
Germany Sebastian Vettel 20102013
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 20172020
3 Netherlands Max Verstappen 20212023
2 Italy Alberto Ascari 19521953
Australia Jack Brabham 19591960
France Alain Prost 19851986
Brazil Ayrton Senna 19901991
Germany Michael Schumacher 19941995
Finland Mika Häkkinen 19981999
Spain Fernando Alonso 20052006
United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 20142015

Drivers in bold are still competing in Formula 1.


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