F1 records: The SportsRush has compiled a list of drivers with the most World Championship wins in the sport’s history.
Formula 1 is currently in its 70th year, and since 1950, 33 drivers have won the World Driver’s Championship. The WDC is awarded by the FIA to the most successful driver of the season, in terms of race points. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is the reigning F1 World Champion.
Which driver has the most F1 championships?
But Lewis Hamilton is still one short of equaling Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 Championship wins. Schumacher won the first two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995. He then went on to win 5 consecutive titles with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004. He is considered by many to be the greatest F1 driver of all time. Interestingly, Schumacher ended his F1 career racing for Mercedes, the same team Hamilton is in currently.
Lewis Hamilton has been a revelation in 21st century Formula 1, winning the Championship in his rookie season with McLaren in 2008. This set him out on a path to greatness, which led him to make the switch to the revamped Mercedesin 2013. The Brit has repeated Schumacher’s feat of winning five consecutive championships from 2014 to 2019. Hamilton is currently leading the 2020 Driver’s Championship, and should be able to maintain his hold at the top all season. If he does, it will provide him the opportunity to win it again next season topple Schumacher in the merit list.
Also read: Mercedes writing an era of epic proportions, with Lewis Hamilton as the star of the show.
Third on the list, is from a very different timeline to the two aforementioned drivers. Juan Manuel Fangio, aka El Chueco or El Maestro, is a legend from the first decade of F1 racing. The Argentine won the Championship 5 times, with four different teams, a record. The teams he lifted the title with are Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari.
List of most Formula 1 World Champions (Top 10)
| Rank | Driver | Nationality | No. of Championships |
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | German | 7 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | British | 6 |
| 3 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Argentine | 5 |
| 4 | Alain Prost | French | 4 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | German | |
| 6 | Jack Brabham | Australian | 3 |
| 6 | Jackie Stewart | British | |
| 6 | Niki Lauda | Austrian | |
| 6 | Nelson Piquet Sr. | Brazilian | |
| 6 | Aryton Senna | Brazilian |
Today’s fun fact: Mercedes have never entered an F1 World Championship Grand Prix without either Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton in their driver line-up.
The three drivers with the most titles in history. Talk about going big or going home 🤯
— Alejandro (@motorsport_geek) July 26, 2020
