Best F1 drivers of all time ranked

776 drivers have taken part in F1 Grands Prix over the years with a select few becoming “Hall of Fame” worthy.

RadioTimes.com brings you our round-up of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time.

10. Sebastian Vettel

Vettel perhaps doesn't get the credit he deserves due to the fact his F1 career ended in relative mediocrity at the end of 2022.

However, for four years at Red Bull, he was virtually untouchable, particularly in 2011 and 2013 when he won the title with several races to spare.

The German – a former protege of Schumacher – was an excellent frontrunner and often dominated races in which he started on pole.

A move to Ferrari did not yield in any further success but the German in certainly a great of the sport.

9. Fernando Alonso

It was always going to take a special driver to knock Michael Schumacher off his perch following five straight titles with Ferrari, and Alonso proved exactly that in his Renault in 2005 and 2006.

The Spaniard was a driving prodigy and showed plenty of ability, driving for the notoriously slow Minardi in 2001.

He moved to Renault in 2003 and two years later, the French manufacturer was standing on the top step of the podium.

A mixture of recklessness and bad career decisions – notably joining McLaren in 2007 to race alongside rookie Lewis Hamilton – meant that he never achieved another tile win.

However, he had a few of close shaves with Ferrari, finishing second in both 2010 and 2012, just three points behind Vettel in the latter.

8. Sir Jackie Stewart

Scotsman Stewart won three world championship titles in the 1970s and did that whilst driving for two different teams.

He won the 1969 championship with Matra before switching to Tyrrell where he enjoyed great success in 1971 and 1973.

“The Flying Scot” was a superbly talented operator and managed to win a total of 27 races in 99 starts.

His greatest contribution has been to driver safety however. Stewart was committed to making the sport safer and was instrumental in the addition of barriers and medical crews to be present at tracks, as well as seat belts and full frontal crash helmets.

7. Niki Lauda

Lauda’s rivalry with flamboyant Brit James Hunt is probably the most significant element of the Austrian’s career, so much so that it hit the big screen in 2013 following the release of “Rush”.

While the focus of that film was more on Hunt, it was Lauda who was the most successful of the two, winning three titles in the space of nine years.

It is Lauda’s bravery that makes him standout following a 1976 crash at Nurburgring which nearly cost him his life.

The Austrian suffered severe burns as well as losing most of his right ear, but he fought his way back to fitness and took the 1977 championship with Ferrari.

Seven years later, after retiring from action once, he won another title with McLaren.

6. Alain Prost

Frenchman Prost was the ultimate smooth racer as well as being a studious character – he earned the nickname “the Professor” during his career.

Prost is one of only five men to have won at least four F1 world titles and he managed to do so under the backdrop of the sport’s most famous ever rivalry between himself and Ayrton Senna.

The two had their controversial moments, in particular at the Japanese Grand Prixs of 1989 and 1990 when the duo each secured a title following collisions.

Prost was a master behind the wheel and ended his career on a high in 1993. He returned after a year long sabbatical to join Williams and breezed to a fourth title.

5. Juan Manuel Fangio

Fangio dominated the sport during the 1950s and was the sport’s original poster-boy.

He was largely untouchable during his time in the sport and notably won titles driving for four different manufacturers (Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, and Mercedes).

Fangio was often the oldest driver when racing and didn’t claim his first title until he turned 40 in 1951, proving that he could match the young upstarts against him.

4. Max Verstappen

The frightening thing about Verstappen being fourth on this list is that he is only 26 years of age and still has potentially another decade at the top.

The Dutchman is a three-time world champion with the last two years being officially the most dominant by one driver in he sport’s history.

Making his debut or Toro Rosso at just 17, the fiery competitor made waves early on and won his first race for Red Bull in 2016 on debut.

It took a few years more development for him to become a title challenger but he successfully dethroned Lewis Hamilton in 2021 by overtaking the Bit on the final lap of the final race in Abu Dhabi.

In time, he could rise to number one on this list.

3. Ayrton Senna

For all the wonderful memories Senna gave F1, the words accompanying his career will be “what if?”.

The Brazilian was arguably the most naturally talented driver the F1 world has ever seen. He seemed to have an innate understanding of where the grip was and that was evident in early races when he was over performing with slower cars.

His rivalry with Prost as mentioned defined F1 in the late 80s and early 90s and Senna successfully won three titles with McLaren.

His early death driving for the much-fancied Williams team was a huge shock to the sport and his life was immortalised in the “Senna” documentary released in 2010.

Senna’s charisma, outspokenness and sheer talent still make a fan’s favourite to this day.

2. Michael Schumacher

One of two seven-time world champions the sport has ever seen is the legendary Michael Schumacher, who was the sport’s dominant force in the 2000s.

His first two titles though came in the mid 90s driving for Benetton and the German proved to be a fiery competitor as well as a master of wet weather.

That increased ten-fold when he won five titles in a row between 2000 and 2004 driving for Ferrari. Records were tumbling left, right and centre during those days.

Schumacher knew how to produce moments when they mattered and his strict fitness regime saw him become a pioneer of the sport – taking F1 drivers to a new level of athleticism.

The saddest part of Schumacher’s story came post-retirement. He suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling in a skiing accident in 2013 and he is still recovering to this day, with few details disclosed about his condition.

1. Lewis Hamilton

The man who tops the majority of the record charts is the 38-year-old from Stevenage, who exploded onto the F1 stage in 2007.

Within two years of driving in the sport, he was a world champion and was argubaly the most exciting newcomer to the sport since Senna.

Hamilton had to bide his time before winning another title and earned it is 2014 following a switch to Mercedes, the start of a wonderful partnership where he would take six more crowns with the Silver Arrows.

Hamilton’s aggressive driving style has endeared him to fans and while the naysayers will point to him having the best car, he has proven his talent over the years.

An eighth world title would put him out in front in terms of the sport’s greatest and he is still hungry for more to this day.

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