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 four-time consecutive champion Sebastian Vettel (bottom left) holds the record for being the youngest World Drivers' Champion, having won the 2010 Formula One World Championship at 23 years and 134 days old. Lando Norris (bottom right) is the current World Drivers' Champion, having won the 2025 title.

Alain Prost, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna, three World Drivers' Champions, celebrating on the podium of the 1985 Dutch Grand Prix

The Formula One World Drivers' Championship is a super exciting award given to the best driver in Formula One racing each year! It's like being crowned the champion of the world for racing. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), which is the main group that organizes motorsport around the globe, gives this trophy to the driver who earns the most points during the whole season of races. The champion is celebrated at a special ceremony after the racing season ends.

Two legends, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, share the amazing record of winning this championship seven times each! Close behind is Juan Manuel Fangio with five wins. Michael Schumacher also holds the record for winning five championships in a row, from 2000 to 2004. The youngest champion ever was Sebastian Vettel, who was just 23 years and 134 days old when he won in 2010. On the other hand, Juan Manuel Fangio was the oldest champion, winning his last title at 46 years and 41 days old in 1957.

Since the first championship in 1950, 35 different drivers have become champions. The very first champion was Giuseppe Farina. The current champion, for the 2025 season, is Lando Norris. Drivers from the United Kingdom have won the most titles, with 11 different drivers winning a total of 21 times! When it comes to teams, Scuderia Ferrari drivers have won 15 titles, and McLaren drivers have won 13. Sometimes, the championship race is super close, decided in the very last race of the season! Other times, a driver like Michael Schumacher in 2002, or Max Verstappen in 2023, wins with many races still to go, showing their incredible dominance.

Champions by Season

This section lists all the Formula One World Drivers' Champions, year by year. It shows who won, their age, the team they drove for, and other interesting facts about their winning season.

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
2024	Max Verstappen	27	Red Bull	Honda RBPT	P	8	9	14	3	437	65.030	Round 22 of 24	2	63	14.416
2025	Lando Norris	26	McLaren	Mercedes	P	7	7	18	6	423	65.278	Round 24 of 24	0	2	0.473
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 highlights the incredible drivers who have won the World Drivers' Championship, showing how many times each driver has claimed the top prize. Drivers in bold have competed in the 2026 World 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 four consecutive World Drivers' Championships in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 with Red Bull Racing.

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
Max Verstappen		2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
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
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
Lando Norris		2025
35 drivers		76 titles

Champions by Driver Nationality

This table shows which countries have produced the most Formula One World Champions and how many titles they've won. Drivers in bold have competed in the 2026 World Championship.

World Drivers' Champions by nationality

Country	Titles	Drivers	Seasons	By driver (titles)
United Kingdom	21	11	1958, 1962–1965, 1968–1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008–2009, 2014–2015, 2017–2020, 2025	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)
				Lando Norris (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)
Netherlands	4	1	2021–2024	Max Verstappen (4)
Italy	3	2	1950, 1952–1953	Alberto Ascari (2)
				Giuseppe Farina (1)
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	76 titles	35 drivers

Records

This section highlights some amazing achievements and records held by Formula One World Drivers' Champions.

Youngest Drivers' Champions

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	Lando Norris	26 years, 24 days	2025
8	Niki Lauda	26 years, 197 days	1975
9	Jacques Villeneuve	26 years, 200 days	1997
10	Jim Clark	27 years, 188 days	1963

This list shows the youngest drivers when they first won the championship. If a driver won multiple times, we only show their very first win here. Drivers in bold are still racing in the 2026 World Championship.

Oldest Drivers' Champions

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

This list shows the oldest drivers when they won their last championship. Drivers in bold are still racing in the 2026 World Championship.

Consecutive Drivers' Championships

Winning championships back-to-back is a huge achievement! Eleven drivers have managed to win the World Drivers' Championship in consecutive years. Interestingly, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton are the only two drivers who have achieved this feat more than once!

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
	Max Verstappen	2021–2024
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 2026 World Championship.

Champions by Chassis Constructor

This table shows which car manufacturers (constructors) have built the cars that won the most World Drivers' Championships. Constructors in bold have competed in the 2026 World Championship.

Champions by Engine Manufacturer

This table shows which engine manufacturers have powered the cars that won the most World Drivers' Championships. Engine manufacturers in bold have competed in the 2026 World Championship.

Champions by Tyres Used

This table shows which tyre manufacturers were used by the World Drivers' Champions during their winning seasons. Tyre manufacturers in bold have competed in the 2026 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