Which drivers have won more world championship titles than any other in the history of Formula 1?
At the end of their careers, F1 drivers are remembered chiefly for their title hauls.
The first driver to be crowned F1 world champion was Nino Farina in 1950 and since then, another 33 drivers have become part of F1’s immortal club.
It is the ultimate reward for the sacrifices that drivers make and their ability behind the wheel.
The current champion is Max Verstappen, who has won each of the last three titles in F1 and is a hot favourite to continue that streak. He has not yet cracked the top five list of all-time, however.
RadioTimes.com brings you the list of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, with Messrs Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton still out in front at the top.
=4. Sebastian Vettel – four world titles
Vettel was sport’s dominant force in Red Bull’s first golden period at the start of 2010s.
The German was already regarded as a prodigious talent prior to lifting his first title and was then the record holder for youngest pole-sitter and race winner after a jubilant 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Heading into the 2010 finale, Vettel was in a four-way battle with Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, and Lewis Hamilton. Despite starting the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 15 points adrift of Alonso, a dramatic race meant Vettel became the then-youngest-ever world champion.
He utterly dominated the 2011 season before another close season in 2012 saw him defeat the Spaniard by just three points.
2013 was another one-horse race with Vettel winning his final title by 155 points – to date the biggest margin in the history of the sport.
He retired at the end of 2022 following a below-par year with Aston Martin.
=4. Alain Prost – four world titles
Prost was huge figure in the sport during the 1980s and 90s and his rivalry with McLaren team mate and legendary figure Ayrton Senna saw the sport enter a new stratosphere.
Senna took more headlines because of his flamboyant and aggressive style but Prost was a world class operator himself,.
“The Professor’s” smooth driving style and calmness under pressure saw him take four titles with McLaren (1983, 1985, and 1989) and Williams (1993).
The most famous of his titles came in 1989 with Prost and Senna’s relations strained by this point. The Frenchman felt McLaren gave preferential treatment to Senna and that ultimately led to him leaving the team he was so successful with.
Not without a bang though. In the penultimate race of the 1989 season, he collided with Senna in an attempt to block an overtake. Prost retired and Senna got going again.
However, as Senna was assisted by marshals in his restart, he was disqualified from the race which handed Prost the title.
3. Juan Manuel Fangio – five world titles
The original dominant force of Formula One was Argentina’s Juan Manuel Fangio, who won titles with Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, and Ferrari.
“El Maestro” may have been in his 40s when he won all his world titles but age was no barrier as he won 24 of the 51 Grand Prix he entered.
His on-track rivalry with Stirling Moss garnered much interest as Formula One tried to build its profile.
No matter what car he was thrown into, he also had the pace to succeed and it wasn’t until 2002 that his haul of world titles was matched.
=1. Michael Schumacher – seven world titles
Still regarded by many as the greatest F1 driver of them all, Michael Schumacher was the figurehead of the sport through the ’90s and noughties.
After debuting for Jordan in 1991, Schumacher won his first title in 1994 in controversial circumstances.
A collision with Damon Hill in the final race of the season at the Adelaide street circuit in Australia saw both cars retire, with much of the F1 entourage blaming Schumacher for veering across Hill’s path.
He repeated the feat a year later before joining Ferrari in 1996.
It wasn’t until 2000 that Schumacher won his first title with the Italian team and his success ushered in a period of unprecedented domination.
Records tumbled with the German winning five years in a row – his Ferrari was untouchable despite attempted challenges from elsewhere.
He retired in 2006 before reversing his decision in 2010 to race for Mercedes for the next three years.
Sadly, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2013 while skiing and he is still recuperating, with few details disclosed to the media.
=1. Lewis Hamilton – seven world titles
Brit Hamilton was viewed by many as a potential superstar before he made his F1 bow in 2007 for McLaren – several years after meeting then-team boss Ron Dennis and telling him he’d like to drive one day.
Hamilton was partnered with defending double world champion Fernando Alonso and showed blistering pace in his first year, narrowly losing out to Kimi Raikkonen.
2008 saw him pick up his first championship in the most dramatic end to a Grand Prix in the history of the sport.
Felipe Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix in front of his home fans and looked like he was about to pip Hamilton by the smallest of margins to the title.
However, in a rain-affected race, Hamilton overtook Timo Glock’s Toyota on the last corner with Glock’s car struggling on dry-weather tyres.
A jubilant Hamilton snatched the title by a point to raucous scenes in the McLaren garage.
He would have to wait six more years to win his second title – in his second year driving for Mercedes – in 2014.
The Brit has won six of the last nine titles and was denied an historic eighth in 2021 at a memorable Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for all the wrong reasons.
At 38 years old, Hamilton is in the latter years of his career but will be desperate to push for a record-breaking eighth title.
If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide or Streaming Guide, or visit our Sport hub for all the latest news.
Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.