List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions facts for kids

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.

Formula One, often called F1, is the top level of open-wheeled auto racing. It is managed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which is the world's main motorsport group. The "formula" in the name means there are strict rules that all cars and drivers must follow.

Each Formula One World Championship season includes many races, called Grands Prix. These races usually happen on special tracks built for racing, but sometimes they are held on closed city streets. The FIA gives the World Drivers' Championship to the F1 driver who earns the most points throughout the season. Points are given based on how well a driver finishes in each Grand Prix. A driver wins the championship when no other driver can catch their points total, even if there are more races left. The official award is given at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony after the season ends.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton share the record for winning the most World Drivers' Championships, with seven titles each. Juan Manuel Fangio is next with five titles. Schumacher also holds the record for winning five championships in a row, from 2000 to 2004.

Nigel Mansell took the longest time to win his first championship. He started in F1 in 1980 and won his title in 1992, which was 13 seasons later. Nico Rosberg had the most race starts before winning his first title, with 206 Grands Prix between 2006 and 2016.

Sebastian Vettel is the youngest driver to win the World Drivers' Championship. He was 23 years and 134 days old when he won in 2010. On the other hand, Fangio is the oldest champion. He was 46 years and 41 days old when he won his title in 1957.

As of the 2023 season, 34 different drivers have won the 73 titles awarded. The first F1 World Drivers' Champion was Giuseppe Farina in 1950. The current champion is Max Verstappen, who won in 2023. Drivers from the United Kingdom have won the title 20 times with 10 different drivers, which is more than any other country. Brazil, Finland, and Germany each have three champion drivers.

The team Scuderia Ferrari has had drivers win 15 titles with 9 different drivers, more than any other team. McLaren is second with 12 titles from 7 drivers. The Drivers' Championship has been decided in the very last race of the season 30 times out of 72 seasons. Schumacher holds the record for winning the championship with the most races still to go in a season. He secured the 2002 title with six races remaining at the French Grand Prix Grand Prix.

Because of how points are scored, two champions, John Surtees in 1964 and Ayrton Senna in 1988, actually scored fewer points than the driver who finished second in the championship that year.

Champions by Season

This table shows all the Formula One World Drivers' Champions, listed by the year they won. It includes details about their age, the car they drove, and their race performance.

World Drivers' Champions by season

Season	Driver	Age	Constructor		Tyres	Poles	Wins	Podiums	Fastest laps	Points	% Points	Clinched	# of rounds remaining	Margin	% Margin
			Chassis	Engine
1950	Giuseppe Farina	44	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	2	3	3	3	30	83.333 (47.619)	Round 7 of 7	0	3	10.000
1951	Juan Manuel Fangio	40	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	4	3	5	5	31	86.111 (51.389)	Round 8 of 8	0	6	19.355
1952	Alberto Ascari	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	F P	5	6	6	6	36	100.000 (74.306)	Round 6 of 8	2	12	33.333
1953	Alberto Ascari	35	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	6	5	5	4	34.5	95.833 (57.407)	Round 8 of 9	1	6.5	18.841
1954	Juan Manuel Fangio	43	Maserati	Maserati	P	5	6	7	3	42	93.333 (70.547)	Round 7 of 9	2	16.857	40.136
			Mercedes	Mercedes	C
1955	Juan Manuel Fangio	44	Mercedes	Mercedes	C	3	4	5	3	40	88.889 (65.079)	Round 6 of 7	1	16.5	41.250
1956	Juan Manuel Fangio	45	Ferrari	Ferrari	E	6	3	5	4	30	66.667 (45.833)	Round 8 of 8	0	3	10.000
1957	Juan Manuel Fangio	46	Maserati	Maserati	P	4	4	6	2	40	88.889 (63.889)	Round 6 of 8	2	15	37.500
1958	Mike Hawthorn	29	Ferrari	Ferrari	E	4	1	7	5	42	77.778 (49.495)	Round 11 of 11	0	1	2.381
1959	Jack Brabham	33	Cooper	Climax	D	1	2	5	1	31	68.889 (41.975)	Round 9 of 9	0	4	12.903
1960	Jack Brabham	34	Cooper	Climax	D	3	5	5	3	43	89.583 (53.750)	Round 8 of 10	2	9	20.930
1961	Phil Hill	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	D	5	2	6	2	34	75.556 (52.778)	Round 7 of 8	1	1	2.941
1962	Graham Hill	33	BRM	BRM	D	1	4	6	3	42	93.333 (64.198)	Round 9 of 9	0	12	28.571
1963	Jim Clark	27	Lotus	Climax	D	7	7	9	6	54	100.000 (81.111)	Round 7 of 10	3	21	38.889
1964	John Surtees	30	Ferrari	Ferrari	D	2	2	6	2	40	74.074 (44.444)	Round 10 of 10	0	1	2.500
1965	Jim Clark	29	Lotus	Climax	D	6	6	6	6	54	100.000 (60.000)	Round 7 of 10	3	14	25.926
1966	Jack Brabham	40	Brabham	Repco	G	3	4	5	1	42	93.333 (55.556)	Round 7 of 9	2	14	33.333
1967	Denny Hulme	31	Brabham	Repco	G	0	2	8	2	51	62.963 (51.515)	Round 11 of 11	0	5	9.804
1968	Graham Hill	39	Lotus	Ford	F	2	3	6	0	48	53.333 (44.444)	Round 12 of 12	0	12	25.000
1969	Jackie Stewart	30	Matra	Ford	D	2	6	7	5	63	77.778 (63.636)	Round 8 of 11	3	26	41.270
1970	Jochen Rindt	28	Lotus	Ford	F	3	5	5	1	45	45.455 (38.462)	Round 12 of 13	1	5	11.111
1971	Jackie Stewart	32	Tyrrell	Ford	G	6	6	7	3	62	76.543 (62.626)	Round 8 of 11	3	29	46.774
1972	Emerson Fittipaldi	25	Lotus	Ford	F	3	5	8	0	61	67.778 (56.481)	Round 10 of 12	2	16	26.230
1973	Jackie Stewart	34	Tyrrell	Ford	G	3	5	8	1	71	60.684 (52.593)	Round 13 of 15	2	16	22.535
1974	Emerson Fittipaldi	27	McLaren	Ford	G	2	3	7	0	55	47.009 (40.741)	Round 15 of 15	0	3	5.455
1975	Niki Lauda	26	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	9	5	8	2	64.5	59.722 (55.128)	Round 13 of 14	1	19.5	30.233
1976	James Hunt	29	McLaren	Ford	G	8	6	8	2	69	54.762 (47.917)	Round 16 of 16	0	1	1.449
1977	Niki Lauda	28	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	2	3	10	3	72	53.333 (47.059)	Round 15 of 17	2	17	23.611
1978	Mario Andretti	38	Lotus	Ford	G	8	6	7	3	64	50.794 (44.444)	Round 14 of 16	2	13	20.313
1979	Jody Scheckter	29	Ferrari	Ferrari	M	1	3	6	0	51	70.833 (44.444)	Round 13 of 15	2	4	7.843
1980	Alan Jones	34	Williams	Ford	G	3	5	10	5	67	74.444 (56.349)	Round 13 of 14	1	13	19.403
1981	Nelson Piquet	29	Brabham	Ford	M G	4	3	7	1	50	50.505 (37.037)	Round 15 of 15	0	1	2.000
1982	Keke Rosberg	34	Williams	Ford	G	1	1	6	0	44	44.444 (30.556)	Round 16 of 16	0	5	11.364
1983	Nelson Piquet	31	Brabham	BMW	M	1	3	8	4	59	59.596 (43.704)	Round 15 of 15	0	2	3.390
1984	Niki Lauda	35	McLaren	TAG	M	0	5	9	5	72	72.727 (51.613)	Round 16 of 16	0	0.5	0.694
1985	Alain Prost	30	McLaren	TAG	G	2	5	11	5	73	73.737 (52.778)	Round 14 of 16	2	20	27.397
1986	Alain Prost	31	McLaren	TAG	G	1	4	11	2	72	72.727 (51.389)	Round 16 of 16	0	2	2.778
1987	Nelson Piquet	35	Williams	Honda	G	4	3	11	4	73	73.737 (52.778)	Round 15 of 16	1	12	16.438
1988	Ayrton Senna	28	McLaren	Honda	G	13	8	11	3	90	90.909 (65.278)	Round 15 of 16	1	3	3.333
1989	Alain Prost	34	McLaren	Honda	G	2	4	11	5	76	76.768 (56.250)	Round 15 of 16	1	16	21.053
1990	Ayrton Senna	30	McLaren	Honda	G	10	6	11	2	78	78.788 (54.167)	Round 15 of 16	1	7	8.974
1991	Ayrton Senna	31	McLaren	Honda	G	8	7	12	2	96	61.935	Round 15 of 16	1	24	25.000
1992	Nigel Mansell	39	Williams	Renault	G	14	9	12	8	108	67.500	Round 11 of 16	5	52	48.148
1993	Alain Prost	38	Williams	Renault	G	13	7	12	6	99	61.875	Round 14 of 16	2	26	26.263
1994	Michael Schumacher	25	Benetton	Ford	G	6	8	10	8	92	57.500	Round 16 of 16	0	1	1.087
1995	Michael Schumacher	26	Benetton	Renault	G	4	9	11	8	102	60.000	Round 15 of 17	2	33	32.353
1996	Damon Hill	36	Williams	Renault	G	9	8	10	5	97	60.625	Round 16 of 16	0	19	19.588
1997	Jacques Villeneuve	26	Williams	Renault	G	10	7	8	3	81	47.647	Round 17 of 17	0	39	48.148
1998	Mika Häkkinen	30	McLaren	Mercedes	B	9	8	11	6	100	62.500	Round 16 of 16	0	14	14.000
1999	Mika Häkkinen	31	McLaren	Mercedes	B	11	5	10	6	76	47.500	Round 16 of 16	0	2	2.632
2000	Michael Schumacher	31	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	9	9	12	2	108	63.529	Round 16 of 17	1	19	17.593
2001	Michael Schumacher	32	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	11	9	14	3	123	72.353	Round 13 of 17	4	58	47.154
2002	Michael Schumacher	33	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	7	11	17	7	144	84.706	Round 11 of 17	6	67	46.528
2003	Michael Schumacher	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	5	6	8	5	93	58.125	Round 16 of 16	0	2	2.151
2004	Michael Schumacher	35	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	8	13	15	10	148	82.222	Round 14 of 18	4	34	22.973
2005	Fernando Alonso	24	Renault	Renault	M	6	7	15	2	133	70.000	Round 17 of 19	2	21	15.789
2006	Fernando Alonso	25	Renault	Renault	M	6	7	14	5	134	74.444	Round 18 of 18	0	13	9.701
2007	Kimi Räikkönen	28	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	3	6	12	6	110	64.706	Round 17 of 17	0	1	0.909
2008	Lewis Hamilton	23	McLaren	Mercedes	B	7	5	10	1	98	54.444	Round 18 of 18	0	1	1.020
2009	Jenson Button	29	Brawn	Mercedes	B	4	6	9	2	95	57.576	Round 16 of 17	1	11	11.579
2010	Sebastian Vettel	23	Red Bull	Renault	B	10	5	10	3	256	53.895	Round 19 of 19	0	4	1.563
2011	Sebastian Vettel	24	Red Bull	Renault	P	15	11	17	3	392	82.526	Round 15 of 19	4	122	31.122
2012	Sebastian Vettel	25	Red Bull	Renault	P	6	5	10	6	281	56.200	Round 20 of 20	0	3	1.068
2013	Sebastian Vettel	26	Red Bull	Renault	P	9	13	16	7	397	83.579	Round 16 of 19	3	155	39.043
2014	Lewis Hamilton	29	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	7	11	16	7	384	76.800	Round 19 of 19	0	67	17.448
2015	Lewis Hamilton	30	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	10	17	8	381	80.211	Round 16 of 19	3	59	15.486
2016	Nico Rosberg	31	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	8	9	16	6	385	73.333	Round 21 of 21	0	5	1.299
2017	Lewis Hamilton	32	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	9	13	7	363	72.600	Round 18 of 20	2	46	12.672
2018	Lewis Hamilton	33	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	11	17	3	408	77.714	Round 19 of 21	2	88	21.569
2019	Lewis Hamilton	34	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	5	11	17	6	413	75.641	Round 19 of 21	2	87	21.065
2020	Lewis Hamilton	35	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	10	11	14	6	347	78.507	Round 14 of 17	3	124	35.735
2021	Max Verstappen	24	Red Bull	Honda	P	10	10	18	6	395.5	69.692	Round 22 of 22	0	8	2.023
2022	Max Verstappen	25	Red Bull	RBPT	P	7	15	17	5	454	76.174	Round 18 of 22	4	146	32.159
2023	Max Verstappen	26	Red Bull	Honda RBPT	P	12	19	21	9	575	92.742	Round 17 of 22	5	290	50.435
Season	Driver	Age	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Poles	Wins	Podiums	Fastest laps	Points	% Points	Clinched	# of rounds remaining	Margin	% Margin
			Constructor

Champions by Driver

This section lists all the drivers who have won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.

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.

Drivers by number of World Drivers' Championships won

Driver	Titles	Season(s)
Michael Schumacher	7	1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Lewis Hamilton		2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Juan Manuel Fangio	5	1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
Alain Prost	4	1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
Sebastian Vettel		2010, 2011, 2012, 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
Alberto Ascari	2	1952, 1953
Graham Hill		1962, 1968
Jim Clark		1963, 1965
Emerson Fittipaldi		1972, 1974
Mika Häkkinen		1998, 1999
Fernando Alonso		2005, 2006
Giuseppe 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
34 drivers		74 titles

Champions by Nationality

This table shows how many World Drivers' Championships have been won by drivers from different countries.

World Drivers' Champions by nationality

Country	Titles	Drivers	Seasons	By driver (titles)
United Kingdom	20	10	1958, 1962–1965, 1968–1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, 2017–2020	Lewis Hamilton (7)
				Jackie Stewart (3)
				Jim Clark (2)
				Graham Hill (2)
				Jenson Button (1)
				Mike Hawthorn (1)
				Damon Hill (1)
				James Hunt (1)
				Nigel Mansell (1)
				John Surtees (1)
Germany	12	3	1994–1995, 2000–2004, 2010–2013, 2016	Michael Schumacher (7)
				Sebastian Vettel (4)
				Nico Rosberg (1)
Brazil	8	3	1972, 1974, 1981, 1983, 1987–1988, 1990–1991	Nelson Piquet (3)
				Ayrton Senna (3)
				Emerson Fittipaldi (2)
Argentina	5	1	1951, 1954–1957	Juan Manuel Fangio (5)
Finland	4	3	1982, 1998–1999, 2007	Mika Häkkinen (2)
				Kimi Räikkönen (1)
				Keke Rosberg (1)
Australia	4	2	1959–1960, 1966, 1980	Jack Brabham (3)
				Alan Jones (1)
Austria	4	2	1970, 1975, 1977, 1984	Niki Lauda (3)
				Jochen Rindt (1)
France	4	1	1985–1986, 1989, 1993	Alain Prost (4)
Italy	3	2	1950, 1952–1953	Alberto Ascari (2)
				Giuseppe Farina (1)
Netherlands	3	1	2021–2023	Max Verstappen (3)
United States	2	2	1961, 1978	Mario Andretti (1)
				Phil Hill (1)
Spain	2	1	2005–2006	Fernando Alonso (2)
New Zealand	1	1	1967	Denny Hulme (1)
South Africa	1	1	1979	Jody Scheckter (1)
Canada	1	1	1997	Jacques Villeneuve (1)
15 countries	74 titles	34 drivers

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Championship Records

Youngest Champions

This table lists the youngest drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship. Their age is noted at the time they secured their first title.

Youngest World Drivers' Championship winners

	Driver	Age	Season
1	Sebastian Vettel	23 years, 134 days	2010
2	Lewis Hamilton	23 years, 300 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

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 Champions

This table lists the oldest drivers to win the World Drivers' Championship.

Oldest World Drivers' Championship winners

	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, 313 days	2020
10	Niki Lauda	35 years, 242 days	1984

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Consecutive Championships

A total of 11 drivers have won the World Drivers' Championship more than once in a row. Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are the only drivers to have achieved this twice.

Consecutive World Drivers' Championship wins

Championships	Driver	Seasons
5	Michael Schumacher	2000–2004
4	Juan Manuel Fangio	1954–1957
	Sebastian Vettel	2010–2013
	Lewis Hamilton	2017–2020
3	Max Verstappen	2021–2023
2	Alberto Ascari	1952–1953
	Jack Brabham	1959–1960
	Alain Prost	1985–1986
	Ayrton Senna	1990–1991
	Michael Schumacher	1994–1995
	Mika Häkkinen	1998–1999
	Fernando Alonso	2005–2006
	Lewis Hamilton	2014–2015

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Champions Whose Teams Didn't Win the Constructors' Title

Sometimes, a driver wins the World Drivers' Championship, but their team doesn't win the Constructors' Championship in the same year. This table lists those special cases.

Drivers' Champions for constructors who did not claim the Constructors' Championship that year

Championships	Drivers	Years
2	Nelson Piquet	1981, 1983
1	Mike Hawthorn	1958
	Jackie Stewart	1973
	James Hunt	1976
	Keke Rosberg	1982
	Alain Prost	1986
	Michael Schumacher	1994
	Mika Häkkinen	1999
	Lewis Hamilton	2008
	Max Verstappen	2021

Drivers in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Champions by Car Manufacturer

This table shows which car manufacturers (constructors) have built the cars that won the World Drivers' Championship.

Constructors in bold have competed in the 2024 World Championship.

Champions by Engine Manufacturer

This table shows which engine manufacturers have powered the cars that won the World Drivers' Championship.

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

Champions by Tyre Manufacturer

This table shows which tyre manufacturers were used by the World Drivers' Champions.

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

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

See also

In Spanish: Campeonato Mundial de Pilotos de Fórmula 1 para niños

• History of Formula One
• List of Formula One driver records
• List of Formula One drivers