Who Is The Most Successful Formula 1 Driver

Lewis Hamilton, in full Lewis Carl Hamilton, , British race-car driver who was one of the most successful Formula One Grand Prix racing drivers of all time. He owns the F1 record for career race victories and is tied with Michael Schumacher for the most drivers' championships . In 2008 he became the first Black driver to win the F1 world drivers' championship.

Jim Clark is undeniably one of the greatest and most dominant champions in F1 history, securing two titles in 1963 and 1965 and just missing out on the '62 World Championship due to an oil leak in the final race of the season. Clark has the fourth highest win percentage in history of 34.25%. Famous for his formidable speed and partnership with Colin Chapman, Clark spent his entire F1 career driving for the Lotus team.

Many fans and supporters alike believe the Scot would've added to his Championships if it wasn't for his fatal accident at an F2 race in Hockenheim in 1968. Clark still currently holds the record for the most career 'Grand Slams'. Nick Heidfeld holds the record for most podium finishes in Formula 1 without a win. The German driver stood on the podium 13 times from his 183 starts, but never on the top step. Heidfeld spent much of this career fighting for points in the midfield with Sauber, though he did enjoy several competitive seasons when the team was partnered with BMW in 2007 and 2008. The closest Heidfeld came to tasting victory was at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, where he finished four seconds behind race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Chris Amon holds the record for most laps led and most pole positions without a win. The driver from New Zealand scored 11 podiums from his 96 starts in the 1960s and 1970s, but terrible luck and poor reliability prevented him from claiming an elusive victory. Amon led seven races during his career with Ferrari, March and Matra, but suffered a series of heart breaking retirements within sight of the chequered flag. Despite never standing on the top step of the podium at a championship race, Amon did score eight victories in non-championship F1 races and also won the Daytona 24 Hours and Le Mans 24 Hours. His controversial victory at Le Mans in 1966, which was shared with countryman Bruce McLaren, was dramatised in the hit 2019 film, Ford vs Ferrari.

On a wet to drying track wheel-to-wheel battles raged throughout the field, beginning with Hamilton pushing aside his polesitting Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg on the opening lap. Many driving errors were made but Hamilton never put a wheel wrong in winning his 10th race of the year - an historic 43rd career victory that vaulted him into third place in the all-time winners list behind Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. Much like Rubens Barichello, Valtteri Bottas has spent a large chunk of his F1 career driving the best car while his teammate – in this case, Lewis Hamilton – takes all the spoils. Bottas currently holds the record for the most career points without becoming World Champion. Now into his fifth season with Mercedes, Bottas has taken nine victories and twice finished runner up in the drivers' standings while Hamilton has won four consecutive championships. He attended the last race of his career in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and finished in 14th place.

He won 91 races in total in his successful career which includes most of the major championships with the fastest laps and highest pole positions along with 72 Grand Prix victories. He's actually done it all and more, rewriting almost every record in the sport, holding the wins record for 19 years and record for most World Championships for 14 years. The only driver in history to top two decades, topping the 90's at 58 points to Häkkinen's 45, going on to dominate the first half of the 2000s topping the decade once again with an impressive 57 to Räikkönen's 47.

Growing up I wasn't the biggest fan of Michael, he was always winning and I supported the silver team, it was only once I grew up did I understand just how brilliant he was. Fast, strategic, reliable and adaptable he was undeniably in another league to anyone else on the grid and no matter what you think of him on track, off track he was the perfect gentleman. It was actually Ferrari and Schumacher's success that helped me appreciate the job Mercedes and Hamilton are doing currently. His comeback from 2010 to 2012 is also included in his points tally taking his top ten finishes in the standings to an unprecedented 16 seasons , he is also the fourth most experienced driver of all time.

Here, you will find the Formula 1 records for most championships race wins, pole positions, race entries for both teams and individuals. If you want to know more about the youngest drivers to win championships, races, points and podiums, read our article here. Italian racer Luca Badoer holds the record for the most F1 starts and most racing laps completed without scoring a point. Badoer made most of his F1 starts with Italian backmarker teams Scuderia Italia, Minardi and Forti in the mid 1990s, but is probably best remembered for his less than stellar comeback with Ferrari in 2009. A long-time test driver for Ferrari, Badoer was drafted in to replace Felipe Massa after the Brazilian suffered head injuries in a freak crash at the Hungaroring.

But it wasn't to be a positive return for Badoer, who had last competed in Formula 1 ten years earlier and was hopelessly off the pace. After qualifying and finishing dead last in both the European and Belgian Grands Prix, Badoer was replaced by Giancarlo Fisichella for the remainder of the season. Over the next four seasons with Benetton he won a further 18 races and two world championships.

His first, in 1994, was somewhat tainted in that Benetton was suspected of technical irregularities and in their championship showdown race in Adelaide Schumacher collided with the car of his closest challenger, the Williams of Damon Hill. But Germany's first world champion was unquestionably worthy of the 1995 driving title, following which he moved to Ferrari, then a team in disarray and without a champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979. As punishment for his misdemeanour Schumacher's points and his second place in the championship were stricken from the record books he would thereafter begin to rewrite. In the following seasons, though he continued to be one of the most aggressive drivers and a race winner, Hamilton failed to regain his championship form. His McLaren was not always a world-beater but in 2011 Hamilton blamed distractions in his private life for a loss of focus that he vowed to regain.

In 2012, with his private life running smoothly, he drove hard and well and finished fourth in the standings with four wins. Before that campaign was over he announced he was leaving McLaren, the team that had been so much a part of his racing life for so long, and would in 2013 replace the retiring Michael Schumacher at Mercedes. In his new environment he was a regular frontrunner, securing several poles and podiums and finished a respectable fourth in the 2013 championship. While the family's financial struggle was over it put extra pressure on McLaren's teenage protege to meet ever higher expectations. As well as having to respond to envious critics who claimed he should be winning all the time, given his funding, it was imperative that Lewis continually prove himself worthy of his benefactor's investment.

The need to achieve undoubtedly accelerated his progress through motorsport's ranks. After winning eight championships in six years of kart racing, he went on to win three major single seater titles, the most prestigious of which was the GP2 championship, where in 2006 he took five victories from 21 starts. But it was the young British charger's several spirited comeback performances, from the back of the pack to the podium, that particularly prompted McLaren to promote him to the Formula One team. Clark set 33 pole positions and won 25 of the 72 GP starts he made, and can claim numerous records to this day – in 1963, for example, he led 71 per cent of all laps raced that season.

As well as his versatility, Clark was revered for his incredible silkiness behind the wheel, and his extraordinary mechanical sympathy. "Jim Clark was everything I aspired to be, as a racing driver and as a man," his great friend Sir Jackie Stewart said. Spaniard Fernando Alonso sealed his place in the highest echelon of Formula One drivers with his back-to-back world championships in 2005 and 2006, ending Michael Schumacher's five-year reign atop the sport. His subsequent accomplishments behind the wheel have only added to his legend. But a more recent glance at Alonso's F1 results might suggest that his best days have passed him by. Alonso's McLaren outfit sits in seventh place out of F1's 10 teams, which is somehow an improvement over last season's dreadful ninth-place finish.

Alonso himself ranks a distant eighth in the driver standings, and he hasn't finished a race on the podium since leaving Ferrari in 2014. Took the first pole position of his career at Sochi and would have secured his maiden victory too if not for the sudden deluge which clipped his wings just a few laps from the end. Scored a second-place finish behind Ricciardo at Monza, qualified high up the grid most weekend and delivered consistent Sunday performances which combined strong pace and composed wheel-to-wheel racing.

The German driver holds the records for the most career wins, the most wins in a season, the most career pole positions, and the most consecutive world championships, among other records. In subsequent seasons with McLaren, Hamilton continued to be one of the top drivers on the F1 circuit, winning two races in 2009, three in 2010, three in 2011, and four in 2012. In September 2012 Hamilton decided to leave McLaren to join the Mercedes-Benz F1 team. In a season packed with close racing, controversy, and tight championship battles, it is easy to pay attention to just the winners and losers.

Formula 1 Driver Wins Ranking But the season has so much more than just the championship battle between an all-time great and a future great driver. There were break-out performances, stunning qualifying laps, talented rookies looking to make their mark, and the return of a two-time world champion who still has unfinished business in the sport. Another German driver to hold several unenviable F1 records is Nico Hülkenberg, who has competed in the most races without scoring a podium and has also scored the most points without a win.

Hülkenberg graduated to Formula 1 with Williams in 2010 after claiming the GP2 title the previous year at his first attempt. Despite recording a surprise pole position in Brazil, he was generally outclassed by his more experienced teammate Rubens Barichello and was not retained by Williams for 2011. Hülkenberg returned to the grid with Force India in 2012 and very nearly won the final race of the season at Interlagos. The German led for 30 laps in the tricky wet/dry conditions before clashing with Lewis Hamilton for the lead and being handed a drive-through penalty. Italian driver Andrea de Cesaris holds the record for the most races without a win, as well as the most retirements of any driver . But even when he wasn't crashing out, de Cesaris still failed to see the chequered flag in more than 70% of his F1 starts at a time when cars were notoriously unreliable.

His worst period of unreliability came in a record 22-race streak from the end of 1986 to the early part of 1988, when he failed to finish any races. Despite retiring from every race during the 1987 season, de Cesaris did stand on the podium in Belgium - he was classified third despite running out of fuel on the last lap. In 2014, when major regulation changes featured new hybrid power units in chassis with reduced downforce, Mercedes dominated the season, winning 16 of the 19 races and easily securing the Constructors' Championship. Mercedes' policy of letting its drivers race each other enabled team mates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to engage in an enthralling season-long duel for the driving title. Adding extra human interest to the drama was the fact that Hamilton and Rosberg had been friends and rivals since their karting days as teenagers.

Now, as 29-year-old protagonists competing for honours at the pinnacle of motorsport, the intensity of their rivalry strained their friendship and tested their strength of character. He made a 46 years unbeaten record by winning the most World Championship of Drivers starting from 1951 and then 4 consecutive times from 1954 to 1957. With 24 wins, 29 highest pole positions, 35 podiums, 245 career points, and 23 fastest laps, he decorated his career with the greatest possible success. As of the 2021 season, out of the 770 drivers who started a Grand Prix, there have been 34 F1 World Drivers' Champions. The first F1 World Drivers' Champion was Giuseppe Farina in the 1950 championship and the current title holder is Max Verstappen in the 2021 season.

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 Scuderia Ferrari team have the highest number of drivers' titles per squad with 15 between 9 competitors, followed by McLaren with 12 titles between 7 drivers. The Drivers' Championship has been won in the final race of the season 30 times in the 72 seasons it has been awarded. 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. Many fans weren't keen on his personality, nor his occasional tendency to go beyond the limit in defending his position, but anyone who cannot see how he is clearly ahead of the rest, is blinkered.

That includes prime Senna, prime Alonso, prime Hamilton, Lauda, and the list goes on. I suspect he is a little like Hendry in that he was so good and so far ahead of the others that people resented him winning all the time rather than enjoy just how bloody brilliant he actually was. There are many amazing drivers worthy of consideration but only one that is worthy of the crown and that is Schuey. Statistically Hamilton and Schumacher sit atop Formula 1 as the most successful drivers of all time, both tied on seven World Championships, while Hamilton holds several major records including most race wins, poles and podium finishes. In his 116-race long F1 career, Ickx managed to win 8 times, with 13 pole positions as a driver for the likes of the Ferrari, Brabham, McLaren and Ligier racing teams. Widely considered one of the greatest drivers in Formula One history, Sebastian Vettel holds a number of records, including most podium finishes and most consecutive race wins.

Sebastian has a unique habit of naming his cars as he feels it is important to share a close relationship with the cars that he drives. The racing drivers who participate in the Formula one races, also known as F1 races are called F1 drivers. F1, officially referred to as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is a single seat auto racing governed by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile . The 'formula' refers to a set of rules that must be followed by all the participants.

F1 drivers participate in a series of races called the Grands Prix that are held all over the world on public roads or race circuits built specifically for this purpose. The F1 races constitute the highest class of auto racing and the F1 cars race at speeds of up to 350 km/h. These cars are the fastest multi-turn circuit-racing cars in the world. Only the best racing drivers are able to make it to the F1 races. Drivers with several years of experience in other competitive racing events and the highest level of driving skills are the ones who ultimately get selected for F1 championships. F1 drivers also need to be risk-takers as the risk of automobile malfunction or accidents is ever present.

This section provides you information about the life and works of various famous F1 drivers from all over the world. Young Fernando Alonso had a passion for racing from an early age as his father built a go-kart. Since then, the young driver dreamed of real racing cars and big victories.

It is worth noting that Alonso gained the greatest popularity by winning two world championships with Renault. This incredible racer was able to prove that reaction and strategic thinking is as important as vehicle performance. Valtteri Bottas would be the first to admit that his fifth and final season with Mercedes wasn't his best.

While team mate Lewis Hamilton ran Max Verstappen close for the title, Bottas' form ebbed and flowed, meaning he finished a full 161.5 points behind Hamilton in the standings – that's over six race victories' difference. The Finn still managed 11 podiums, however, as well as four poles and a victory. After finishing second overall in 1998, Schumacher's 1999 season was interrupted by a broken leg incurred in a crash at the British Grand Prix.

From then on there was no stopping 'Schumi' - who in 2000 became Ferrari's first champion in 21 years, then went on to win the driving title for the next four years in succession. In 2002 he won 11 times and finished on the podium in all 17 races. In 2003 he broke Fangio's record by winning his sixth driving title. In 2004 he won 13 of the 18 races to win his seventh championship by a by a massive margin. Lewis Hamilton called the 2021 season the hardest ever in his 15 years at the pinnacle of motorsport. The drivers were at the top of the game, their respective Mercedes and Red Bull Racing teams were the class of the field.

The intense rivalry between the 36-year-old seven-time world champion Englishman and his hard-charging 24-year-old Dutch rival was marred by frequent clashes. Responding to Verstappen's aggressive driving, Hamilton fought back in kind - setting them on a collision course seemingly destined to end in controversy – which it did. Millions of enthralled viewers witnessed one the most ferociously fought championships in F1 history.

The championship, with Hamilton leading in points and Rosberg still in contention, was finally settled in the last race of the season, at Abu Dhabi, where double points were awarded, though the race winner and new champion didn't need them. Rosberg, who started from pole but finished out of the points with a car problem, was gracious in defeat, acknowledging that his team mate's tally of 11 wins to Rosberg's five meant Hamilton deserved to be the 2014 champion. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' Championships, both having won the title on seven occasions. Schumacher also holds the record for the most consecutive drivers' titles with five between the 2000 and the 2004 seasons. Nigel Mansell holds the record of competing in the highest number of seasons before winning the World Championship, entering F1 in 1980 and achieving the title in 1992, a span of 13 seasons. 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 Grands Prix.

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. Fangio is the oldest winner of the World Drivers' Championship; he was 46 years and 41 days old when he won the 1957 title. Formula One is the highest class of open-wheeled motor racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform. The F1 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. Each winner is presented with a trophy and the results of each race are combined to determine two annual Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.