Formula 1 racing history spans over 70 years. Over the decades, huge strides in technological advancements have refined the sport to uphold it as the pinnacle of motor racing. Of course, fans don’t tune in just to see how well-developed F1 cars have become.
The face of every great team has always been a superb driver. However, becoming one of the over 30 Formula 1 champions isn’t enough to break into the top 10 Formula 1 drivers. To be among the best, a driver had to have a huge impact on the sport, tote an exciting racing style, and reach the pinnacle on multiple occasions.
Honourable Mentions
As there are more than 10 legends in contention for a place on this list, it’s only proper to start with some honourable mentions. Each of these former champions is a star of the sport in their own right. For now, though, they just miss out on the top 10 Formula 1 drivers list.
Nigel Mansell
Racing for Lotus, Williams, Ferrari, and McLaren through the 1980s to the mid-90s, Nigel Mansell set a new standard for British drivers in Formula 1. His 31 Grand Prix victories are second only to Lewis Hamilton among the Brits. In total, he amassed 32 poles, 30 fastest laps, 59 podium finishes, and one World Drivers’ Championship.
The title-winning season came in 1992, towards the end of Mansell’s career. However, it’d prove to merely be a springboard to further racing greatness. The Worcestershire native immediately pivoted into the CART IndyCar World Series. In that first season, he won the crown.
To this day, Mansell’s the only driver to be both a Formula 1 champion and IndyCar champion at the same time. A great personality on and off of the track, the Brit was relentless behind the wheel, boasting a crowd-pleasingly aggressive style. Adding to his legacy, Mansell also scored the Sports Personality of the Year twice.
Max Verstappen
The reigning champion has already reserved a place among Formula 1 legends, and while he’s fully expected to, Max Verstappen hasn’t quite broken into the top 10 Formula 1 drivers just yet. The Dutchman will almost certainly make it three titles on the bounce this season.
Such is Verstappen’s dominance that, even with several races to go, the<a href=”https://www.talksportbet.com/en-gb/sports/1300″>F1 betting page</a> only has outright odds for the next-best driver. He’s currently on pace to contend for several records. He’s finished first or second in each of the first 12 races and went on an ten-race winning streak as of the Italian Grand Prix until Carlos Sainz broke it by winning in Singapore.
Verstappen and his Red Bull Racing team made quite the spectacle of unseating the dynastic Hamilton and Mercedes in 2021. As he adds more titles and, hopefully, is drawn into more competitive races, the Dutchman will enhance his legacy. Throughout his career, his ability to maximise everything his car has has kept him at the front.
Nelson Piquet
While an incredibly talented driver and a legend in his own right, Nelson Piquet is perhaps most fondly remembered among British race fans for his thrilling rivalry with then-teammate Nigel Mansell. In 1986, both Formula 1 legends raced for Williams, but ultimately, the Brazilian managed to take the crown by 12 points.
Piquet entered Formula 1 in 1978 and managed to collect three World Drivers’ Championships before he retired in 1991. Never collecting back-to-back titles, the Rio de Janeiro native showcased his ability to step up again and again even with his distinctly non-aggressive racing style. His charm out of the cockpit always won over fans.
#10 Mika Häkkinen
“The Flying Finn” was one of the last true competitors to hold back Michael Schumacher’s eventual return to the top after he moved to Ferrari. Racing for McLaren, Mika Häkkinen’s finest showings came in 1998 and 1999. In ’98, he went head to head with Schumacher and came out on top.
From 161 starts, the man from Vantaa would put up 20 wins, 51 podium finishes, and score 420 points racing for Lotus and McLaren. On the track, he was ice-cold and battled tooth and nail with one of the greatest Formula 1 champions. Just as impressively, his debut for McLaren saw the Finn out-qualify teammate Ayrton Senna.
Häkkinen will always be remembered for his battles with Schumacher. Of course, many of the best Formula 1 drivers are fondly remembered for much of the same, but the Finn is one of the very few who’d come out on top. His final championship in 1999 was the last time that Schumacher and Ferrari would be held back.
#9 Fernando Alonso
Still racing today as a popular pick in the <a href=”https://www.talksportbet.com/en-gb/sports/22881″>motorsport betting</a> for his efforts with the upstart Aston Martin team, Fernando Alonso not only ranks among Formula 1 legends, but all-time motor racing greats. The Spaniard is the only driver to ever win the big three: the World Sportscar Championship, the World Endurance Championship, and the F1 title.
Where Häkkinen holds a place in Formula 1 racing history for holding back Schumacher, Alonso breaks through as the driver who took the title from the relentless German. Racing for Renault, Alonso’s 2005 triumph not only put Renault on the map again, but also marked him as the youngest champion at 24 years old.
Ferrari had a bad season, so perhaps the renegade Spaniard and Renault were a mere flash in the pan. To quash this line of thinking, Alonso burst out to nine consecutive first and second-place finishes in 2006. He eventually pipped Schumacher by 13 points to make it two wins in as many years.
One of the famous lovers of a bit of understeer, Alonso notoriously attacks the middle of each corner, making for quite the spectacle. He may now be 42 years old, but the Oviedo-born racer is very much a key component to Aston Martin returning to relevance, and might just add another title battle to his legend soon.
#8 Sebastian Vettel
Just as 23-year-old Lewis Hamilton had taken the 2008 title and 2009 had seen British fan-favourite Jenson Button finally get his title, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing arrived. The German-Austrian driver-constructor duo landed five wins in 2010, but that was enough to finish four points up on Alonso.
That closely contested season, which saw only 16 points between fourth and first, was not a sign of things to come. Vettel and Red Bull were suddenly miles ahead of the rest of the Formula 1 grid. By the time the 2011 season was finished, Vettel boasted 392 points – good for 122 more than second-placed Button.
From 2011 to 2013, Vettel landed all four titles and even marked an absurdly impressive 397-point triumph in what would be the very adaptable driver’s last championship-winning season. Few can hold a candle to the youngest-ever world champion’s four titles, let alone his 53 victories and 122 podiums.
#7 Jackie Stewart
Being a three-time champion would be enough to have Jackie Stewart in the conversation for the top 10 Formula 1 drivers. However, his impression on the sport goes far beyond his incredible performances on the track, which were invariably slick, clean-cut, and, essentially, gentlemanly.
The Formula 1 legend’s greatest impact has come through his advocacy of increased driver safety. A heavy-rain crash at Spa-Francorchamps in 1966, which saw Stewart crash and need to be rescued by his fellow drivers, spurred the Scotsman to become a strong advocate for safety in racing, spurring future improvements.
#6 Niki Lauda
Finishing his career with 25 wins, 54 podiums, and three championships, the moments that actually defined Niki Lauda as one of the top 10 Formula 1 drivers were a crash and comeback. After walking to his first title in 1975, the Austrian found himself in a heated rivalry with Britain’s James Hunt.
Leading in the standings coming into the 1976 Nürburgring Grand Prix – which Stewart himself had called “The Green Hell” – the Austrian’s Ferrari engulfed in flames after what would be a three-car crash. He sustained severe burns and breathed in toxic fumes. Just two races later, Lauda was back to compete in Italy.
Hunt won the title that year by a single point. In 1977, having survived what could have easily been fatal injuries, Lauda surged back to the World Drivers’ Championship. Their superb rivalry was dramatised in the 2013 movie Rush, and yet, Lauda has said of Hunt: “We had a respectful, nice relationship… We trusted each other.”
#5 Alain Prost
Lauda claimed his third and final title in 1984, beating Alain Prost by a mere half-a-point. In 1985, the Frenchman wasn’t prepared to delay his destiny as one of the great Formula 1 legends any longer, powering to the title by 20 points.
He’d add a few more championships in 1986, 1989, and 1993 to total four by the end of his career. Yet, it was his intense rivalry with the enigmatic Ayrton Senna that would define the Lorette native’s career. He’d also stare down Mansell and Piquet in a grand era for racing, and collected 51 wins, but his battles with Senna became legendary.
Senna and Prost were teammates in mighty McLaren, but neither was to be satisfied with playing second fiddle. In 1990, Prost moved to Ferrari to become McLaren’s primary opponent. The two clashed as teammates and opponents, but Prost was always the meticulous one to Senna’s almost adrenaline-junkie persona.
#4 Ayrton Senna
Active in Formula 1 for a decade, Ayrton Senna is one of the most beloved of all of the top 10 Formula 1 drivers for his thrilling, headstrong style and commitment to racing his best lap every time. While he did claim 41 wins, 80 podiums, and three World Drivers’ Championships, much of his legend comes from the lost potential.
The Brazilian’s raw talent was evident from the get-go, and his competitiveness injected even more spice to an era of legendary racers. However, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix would be Senna’s final race. During qualifying, Roland Ratzenberger crashed and suffered critical injuries, leading to the formation of the GPDA union.
The next day, with Senna instated as one of three directors for the reformed union, he came out leading Michael Schumacher. On the seventh lap, his car wouldn’t turn at the infamous Tamburello curve, sending him into the concrete barrier at 131 mph. He was killed instantly.
Of course, the legacy that Senna had already established on the track endures far beyond the shocking crash. His battles with Prost at the Japanese Grand Prix – both of which involved collisions to decide the title – remain fan favourites.
#3 Juan Manuel Fangio
He may have missed out on the first-ever title in 1950 – missing out by three points – but Juan Manuel Fangio was the original F1 superstar. The Argentine raced for Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, and Ferrari, and won titles for all of them.
These days, Ferrari and Mercedes are very much the best of the rest. They make for good picks when using sports betting offers below true outright odds, but in the 50s, neither was such a sure thing for success, let alone World Drivers’ Championships.
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Known as “El Maestro,” he claimed 24 wins, 35 podium finishes, and a mighty five championships. Even though the older seasons of Formula 1 were much shorter than modern ones, Fangio’s 46.15 win percentage is incredibly impressive, as is his standing as the only driver to win the crown with more than two different teams.
#2 Lewis Hamilton
Booming to prominence with a last-minute overtake of Timo Glock to sneak to a one-point title win, Lewis Hamilton was always destined for greatness. It took a 2012 move from McLaren to the building team at Mercedes for his immense talent to be truly cemented in the record books.
In 2014, Mercedes finally got their car up to Red Bull’s standards – helped by a rule change that hindered the Austrian team. From there, Hamilton won two races on the bounce. In 2016, a nasty rivalry with teammate Nico Rosberg saw Hamilton give up the top spot, but he’d then return to the top with four successive titles.
Verstappen ended Hamilton’s hopes of emulating Schumacher’s five consecutive titles in 2021, and Mercedes have fallen behind the Red Bulls since. However, the legendary Brit remains a popular pick in the F1 betting.
Hamilton still has faith in Mercedes catching up with Red Bull once again before he calls it a day. Even without another title, though, the Stevenage-born racer boasts the records for the most consecutive starts (265), most total wins (103), most wins without becoming champion (10 in 2016), and total pole positions (104).
#1 Michael Schumacher
Few would dispute Michael Schumacher being at the very top of this top 10 Formula 1 drivers list. The German won his first two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995. Still, he’s far more fondly remembered for his imperious five-year run as champion from 2000 to 2004 with Ferrari.
The fact that Ferrari was a struggling team when Schumacher first arrived in 1996 only bolsters his legacy. While the team certainly improved the car over the ensuing years, it was the Hürth-born driver’s relentlessness with the car, always ticking it to its limits, that propelled the team back to greatness.
Schumacher was an aggressive, passionate driver, and made the high-speed sport even more entertaining. By the end of his career in 2012 – following a break between 2006 and 2010 – he boasted still-top-10 stats of 306 race starts, 280 consecutive entries, 181 races for Ferrari, 91 total wins, and seven consecutive wins.
These are the best Formula 1 drivers of all time. Each won the title multiple times and, more importantly, was incredible to watch zip around the tracks of the world.
