List of Formula One Champions
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The Formula One World Championship is awarded by the FIA to the most successful driver (World Drivers' Championship or WDC) and constructor (World Constructors' Championship or WCC), as determined by a pointscoring system based on results over the season. The WDC has been awarded every season since 1950, and the WCC has been awarded every season since 1958.
Before 1991 a driver could not count all of his results towards the championship - in the first season 4 races out of 7 were counted, and in the era of 16-race seasons, only 11 resutls from 16 counted. This was most significant in 1988, when McLaren drivers Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were dominant. Prost finished 14 races in either first or second, retiring from the other two, while Senna won 8 races to Prost's 7, meaning that he only needed 3 further 2nd places to secure the championship irrespective of Prost's other results. This resulted in the anomaly that Prost took a record number of points, yet was not champion.
The exact points system has varied over the years. Originall the top 5 finishers scored 8-6-4-3-2 and the driver setting the fastest lap scored 1, but this was changed to 9-6-4-3-2-1 for the top 6 in 1960. 1991 saw a change to 10 points for a win, while in 2003 the championship started awarding points to the top 8 finishers, 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. This has allowed more teams to score points regularly, and produced a more representative middle section of the standings, but (as demonstrated in 2005) it makes finishing race smuch more important). Under the old points system Fernando Alonso would still need another podium finish to secure the championship, as of following the Brazillian race.
The first World Drivers' Champion was Italian Nino Farina, the first World Constructors' Champion was Vanwall. The first driver to score multiple Championships was Alberto Ascari in 1952 and 1953. German driver Michael Schumacher has won the most Drivers' Championships (seven) and Scuderia Ferrari have won the most Constructors' Championships (fourteen).
By season
Notes
- * Indicates the team also won the Constructors' Championship (awarded since 1958).
- ^ Fangio shared the win of the 1951 French Grand Prix with Luigi Fagioli.
- ^ Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes.
- ^ Fangio shared the win of the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix with Luigi Musso.
- ^ Fangio shared 2nd position in the 1956 Monaco and Italian Grands Prix with Peter Collins.
- ^ Hill won the Championship at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, where teammate Wolfgang von Trips died after an accident in the race.
- ^ Surtees became the first person to win World Championships on motorcycles and cars, having previously won seven titles in both 350cc and 500cc.
- ^ Rindt died during practice for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, but his Championship was not confirmed until two rounds later, making him Formula One's first (and only) posthumous World Drivers' Champion.
- ^ Andretti became Champion after teammate Ronnie Peterson died following an operation due to a collision at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix.
- ^ Narrowest margin of victory ever, after half points were awarded at Monaco due to early finish because of bad weather.
- ^ Ayrton Senna won the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix, but was disqualified for cutting the chicane after receiving a push-start from track-side marshalls. McLaren appealed the decision but lost, handing Prost the title.
- ^ Damon Hill is the son of Graham Hill, who won the Drivers' Championship in 1962 and 1968, making them the first father-son pair to both win Drivers' Championships.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kimi Räikkönen won by 1 point over both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
By number of championships
Drivers
- 7 – Michael Schumacher
- 5 – Juan Manuel Fangio
- 4 – Alain Prost
- 3 – Jack Brabham, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Jackie Stewart
- 2 – Alberto Ascari, Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mika Häkkinen, Graham Hill
- 1 – Fernando Alonso, Mario Andretti, Giuseppe Farina, Mike Hawthorn, Damon Hill, Phil Hill, Denny Hulme, James Hunt, Alan Jones, Nigel Mansell, Jochen Rindt, Keke Rosberg, Jody Scheckter, John Surtees, Jacques Villeneuve
Constructors
- 14 – Ferrari
- 9 – Williams
- 8 – McLaren
- 7 – Lotus
- 2 – Brabham, Cooper
- 1 – Benetton, BRM, Matra, Renault, Tyrrell, Vanwall
Notes
- Though the FIA will not confirm the outcome of the World Championships until the end of the season, Fernando Alonso secured a mathematically unbeatable lead over Kimi Räikkönen after the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Reference
- "Hall of Fame". formula1.com. Accessed 26 September 2004.