List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions

The Formula One World Drivers' Championship (WDC) is the most successful Formula One race car driver of the year. The award is given by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to the driver who scores the most points during a season.

The WDC was first awarded in 1950, to Giuseppe "Nino" Farina. The first driver to win more than one Championship was Alberto Ascari, in 1952 and 1953. The latest driver awarded the championship is called the reigning or defending champion. As of the end of the 2025 Formula One season, the reigning champion is Lando Norris of McLaren.

The FIA does not officially award the Championship until the end of the season. Sometimes one driver will be far ahead of the other drivers in points. Even if the leading driver scores no more points, none of the other drivers could pass his point total. When this happens, the driver is said to have clinched the Championship.

Champions

By season

Season	Driver	Age	Constructor	Engine	Tyres	Poles	Wins	Podiums	F. Laps	Points	% Points	Clinched	Margin	% Margin
1950	Giuseppe Farina	44	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	1	3	3	3	30	83.333 (47.619)	Race 7 of 7	3	10.000
1951	Juan Manuel Fangio	40	Alfa Romeo	Alfa Romeo	P	4	3	5	5	31	86.111 (51.389)	Race 8 of 8	6	19.355
19521	Alberto Ascari	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	F P	5	6	6	6	36	100.000 (74.306)	Race 6 of 8	12	33.333
19531	Alberto Ascari	35	Ferrari	Ferrari	P	6	5	5	4	34.5	95.833 (57.764)	Race 8 of 9	6.5	18.841
1954	Juan Manuel Fangio	43	Maserati2	Maserati	P	5	6	7	3	42	93.333 (70.547)	Race 7 of 9	16.857	40.136
			Mercedes2	Mercedes	C
1955	Juan Manuel Fangio	44	Mercedes	Mercedes	C	3	4	5	3	40	88.889 (65.079)	Race 6 of 7	16.5	41.250
1956	Juan Manuel Fangio	45	Ferrari	Ferrari	E	6	3	5	4	30	66.667 (45.833)	Race 8 of 8	3	10.000
1957	Juan Manuel Fangio	46	Maserati	Maserati	P	4	4	6	2	40	88.889 (63.889)	Race 6 of 8	15	37.500
1958	Mike Hawthorn	29	Ferrari	Ferrari	E	4	1	7	5	42	77.778 (49.495)	Race 11 of 11	1	2.381
1959	Jack Brabham	33	Cooper	Climax	D	1	2	5	1	31	68.889 (41.975)	Race 9 of 9	4	12.903
1960	Jack Brabham	34	Cooper	Climax	D	3	5	5	3	43	89.583 (53.750)	Race 8 of 10	9	20.930
1961	Phil Hill	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	D	5	2	6	2	34	75.556 (52.778)	Race 7 of 8	1	2.941
1962	Graham Hill	33	BRM	BRM	D	1	4	6	3	42	93.333 (64.198)	Race 9 of 9	12	28.571
1963	Jim Clark	27	Lotus	Climax	D	7	7	9	6	54	100.000 (81.111)	Race 7 of 10	21	38.889
1964	John Surtees	30	Ferrari	Ferrari	D	2	2	6	2	40	74.074 (44.444)	Race 10 of 10	1	2.500
1965	Jim Clark	29	Lotus	Climax	D	6	6	6	6	54	100.000 (60.000)	Race 7 of 10	14	25.926
1966	Jack Brabham	40	Brabham	Repco	G	3	4	5	1	42	93.333 (55.556)	Race 7 of 9	14	33.333
1967	Denny Hulme	31	Brabham	Repco	G	0	2	8	2	51	62.963 (51.515)	Race 11 of 11	5	9.804
1968	Graham Hill	39	Lotus	Ford	F	2	3	6	0	48	53.333 (44.444)	Race 12 of 12	12	25.000
1969	Jackie Stewart	30	Matra	Ford	D	2	6	7	5	63	77.778 (63.636)	Race 8 of 11	26	41.270
1970	Jochen Rindt	28	Lotus	Ford	F	3	5	5	1	45	45.455 (38.462)	Race 12 of 133	5	11.111
1971	Jackie Stewart	32	Tyrrell	Ford	G	6	6	7	3	62	76.543 (62.626)	Race 8 of 11	29	46.774
1972	Emerson Fittipaldi	25	Lotus	Ford	F	3	5	8	0	61	67.778 (56.481)	Race 10 of 12	16	26.230
1973	Jackie Stewart	34	Tyrrell	Ford	G	3	5	8	1	71	60.684 (52.593)	Race 13 of 15	16	22.535
1974	Emerson Fittipaldi	27	McLaren	Ford	G	2	3	7	0	55	47.009 (40.741)	Race 15 of 15	3	5.455
1975	Niki Lauda	26	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	9	5	8	2	64.5	59.722 (51.190)	Race 13 of 14	19.5	30.233
1976	James Hunt	29	McLaren	Ford	G	8	6	8	2	69	54.762 (47.917)	Race 16 of 16	1	1.449
1977	Niki Lauda	28	Ferrari	Ferrari	G	2	3	10	3	72	53.333 (47.059)	Race 15 of 17	17	23.611
1978	Mario Andretti	38	Lotus	Ford	G	8	6	7	3	64	50.794 (44.444)	Race 14 of 16	13	20.313
1979	Jody Scheckter	29	Ferrari	Ferrari	M	1	3	6	0	51	70.833 (44.444)	Race 13 of 15	4	7.843
1980	Alan Jones	34	Williams	Ford	G	3	5	10	5	67	74.444 (56.349)	Race 13 of 14	13	19.403
1981	Nelson Piquet	29	Brabham	Ford	M G	4	3	7	1	50	50.505 (37.037)	Race 15 of 15	1	2.000
1982	Keke Rosberg	34	Williams	Ford	G	1	1	6	0	44	44.444 (30.556)	Race 16 of 16	5	11.364
1983	Nelson Piquet	31	Brabham	BMW	M	1	3	8	4	59	59.596 (43.704)	Race 15 of 15	2	3.390
1984	Niki Lauda	35	McLaren	TAG	M	0	5	9	5	72	72.727 (50.000)	Race 16 of 16	0.5	0.694
1985	Alain Prost	30	McLaren	TAG	G	2	5	11	5	73	73.737 (52.778)	Race 14 of 16	20	27.397
1986	Alain Prost	31	McLaren	TAG	G	1	4	11	2	72	72.727 (51.389)	Race 16 of 16	2	2.778
1987	Nelson Piquet	35	Williams	Honda	G	4	3	11	4	73	73.737 (52.778)	Race 15 of 16	12	16.438
1988	Ayrton Senna	28	McLaren	Honda	G	13	8	11	3	90	90.909 (65.278)	Race 15 of 16	3	3.333
1989	Alain Prost	34	McLaren	Honda	G	2	4	11	5	76	76.768 (56.250)	Race 15 of 16	16	21.053
1990	Ayrton Senna	30	McLaren	Honda	G	10	6	11	2	78	78.788 (54.167)	Race 15 of 16	7	8.974
1991	Ayrton Senna	31	McLaren	Honda	G	8	7	12	2	96	56.875	Race 15 of 16	24	25.000
1992	Nigel Mansell	39	Williams	Renault	G	14	9	12	8	108	67.500	Race 11 of 16	52	48.148
1993	Alain Prost	38	Williams	Renault	G	13	7	12	6	99	61.875	Race 14 of 16	26	26.263
1994	Michael Schumacher	25	Benetton	Ford	G	6	8	10	8	92	57.500	Race 16 of 16	1	1.087
1995	Michael Schumacher	26	Benetton	Renault	G	4	9	11	8	102	63.750	Race 15 of 17	33	32.353
1996	Damon Hill	36	Williams	Renault	G	9	8	10	5	97	60.625	Race 16 of 16	19	19.588
1997	Jacques Villeneuve	26	Williams	Renault	G	10	7	8	3	81	47.647	Race 17 of 17	39 4	48.1484
1998	Mika Häkkinen	30	McLaren	Mercedes	B	9	8	11	6	100	62.500	Race 16 of 16	14	14.000
1999	Mika Häkkinen	31	McLaren	Mercedes	B	11	5	10	6	76	47.500	Race 16 of 16	2	2.632
2000	Michael Schumacher	31	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	9	9	12	2	108	63.529	Race 16 of 17	19	17.593
2001	Michael Schumacher	32	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	11	9	14	3	123	72.353	Race 13 of 17	58	47.154
2002	Michael Schumacher	33	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	7	11	17	7	144	84.706	Race 11 of 17	67	46.528
2003	Michael Schumacher	34	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	5	6	8	5	93	58.125	Race 16 of 16	2	2.151
2004	Michael Schumacher	35	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	8	13	15	10	148	82.222	Race 14 of 18	34	22.973
2005	Fernando Alonso	24	Renault	Renault	M	6	7	15	2	133	70.000	Race 17 of 19	21	15.789
2006	Fernando Alonso	25	Renault	Renault	M	6	7	14	5	134	74.444	Race 18 of 18	13	9.701
2007	Kimi Räikkönen	28	Ferrari	Ferrari	B	3	6	12	6	110	64.706	Race 17 of 17	1	0.909
2008	Lewis Hamilton	23	McLaren	Mercedes	B	7	5	10	1	98	54.444	Race 18 of 18	1	1.020
2009	Jenson Button	29	Brawn	Mercedes	B	4	6	9	2	95	55.882	Race 16 of 17	11	11.579
2010	Sebastian Vettel	23	Red Bull	Renault	B	10	5	10	3	256	53.895	Race 19 of 19	4	1.563
2011	Sebastian Vettel	24	Red Bull	Renault	P	15	11	17	3	392	82.526	Race 15 of 19	122	31.122
2012	Sebastian Vettel	25	Red Bull	Renault	P	6	5	10	6	281	56.200	Race 20 of 20	3	1.068
2013	Sebastian Vettel	26	Red Bull	Renault	P	9	13	16	7	397	83.579	Race 16 of 19	155	39.043
2014	Lewis Hamilton	29	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	7	11	16	7	384	76.800	Race 19 of 19	67	17.448
2015	Lewis Hamilton	30	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	10	17	8	381	80.211	Race 16 of 19	59	15.486
2016	Nico Rosberg	31	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	8	9	16	6	385	73.333	Race 21 of 21	5	1.299
2017	Lewis Hamilton	32	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	9	13	7	363	72.600	Race 18 of 20	46	12.672
2018	Lewis Hamilton	33	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	11	11	17	3	408	77.714	Race 19 of 21	88	21.569
2019	Lewis Hamilton	34	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	5	11	17	6	413	75.641	Race 19 of 21	87	21.065
2020	Lewis Hamilton	35	Mercedes	Mercedes	P	10	11	14	6	347	78.507	Race 14 of 17	124	28.054
2021	Max Verstappen	24	Red Bull	Honda	P	10	10	18	6	395.5	69.143	Race 22 of 22	8	2.022
2022	Max Verstappen	25	Red Bull	Honda	P	7	15	17	5	454	76.174	Race 18 of 22	146	32.159
2023	Max Verstappen	26	Red Bull	Honda	P	12	19	21	9	575	92.7%	Race 17 of 22	290
2024	Max Verstappen	27	Red Bull	Honda	P	8	9	14	3	437	67.4%	Race 22 of 24	63
2025	Lando Norris	26	McLaren	Mercedes	P	7	7	18	6	423	65.2%	Race 24 of 24	2
2026	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	P	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Race TBD or 24	TBD
Season	Driver	Age	Team	Engine	Tyres	Poles	Wins	Podiums	Fastest laps	Points	% Points	Clinched	Margin	% Margin

Bold indicates the team also won the Constructors' Championship (awarded since 1958).

1. ^ The 1952 and 1953 championships were run to Formula Two regulations.
2. ^ Fangio competed in the 1954 Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix with Maserati, then completed the season with Mercedes.
3. ^ Rindt's championship was confirmed two rounds after he had been killed in an accident during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
4. ^ Michael Schumacher scored 78 points during the 1997 season, 3 points behind Villeneuve, but was disqualified from the championship for deliberately colliding with Villeneuve in 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.

By drivers

Driver	Total	Seasons
Michael Schumacher	7	1994-1995, 2000-2004
Lewis Hamilton		2008, 2014,2015, 2017-2020
Juan Manuel Fangio	5	1951, 1954-1957
Alain Prost Sebastian Vettel Max Verstappen	4	1985-1986, 1989, 1993 2010-2013 2021-2024
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
Fernando Alonso	2	2005, 2006
Alberto Ascari		1952-1953
Jim Clark		1963, 1965
Graham Hill		1962, 1968
Emerson Fittipaldi		1972, 1974
Mika Häkkinen		1998-1999
Nino 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

By country

Country	Drivers	Total wins
United Kingdom	11	21
Germany	3	12
Brazil	3	8
Argentina	1	5
France	1	4
Australia	2	4
Austria	2	4
Finland	3	4
Netherlands	1	4
Italy	2	3
United States	2	2
Spain	1	2
South Africa	1	1
Canada	1	1
New Zealand	1	1

By constructor

Constructor	Total
Ferrari	15
McLaren	13
Mercedes GP	8
Williams	7
Red Bull	7
Lotus	6
Brabham	4
Cooper	2
Renault
Benetton
Alfa Romeo
Tyrrell
Maserati
BRM	1
Matra
Brawn

Constructors still active in Formula One are in bold.

Records

Youngest Drivers' Champion

	Driver	Age	Season
1	Sebastian Vettel	23 years, 133 days	2010
2	Lewis Hamilton	23 years, 301 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

Active drivers are in bold.

Oldest Drivers' Champion

	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, 341 days	2020
10	Niki Lauda	35 years, 242 days	1984

Active drivers are in bold.

Most Drivers' Championships won in a row

	Driver	Total	Seasons
1	Michael Schumacher	5	2000–2004
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	4	1954–1957
	Sebastian Vettel		2010–2013
	Lewis Hamilton		2017–2020
	Max Verstappen		2021–2024
3	Alberto Ascari	2	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

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Active drivers are in bold.

Related pages

• List of Formula One World Constructors' Champions
• Formula One World Championship scoring system

References

• GrandPrix.com - Grand Prix Encyclopedia Archived 2006-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
• Formula1.com - Hall of Fame Archived 2006-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
• ChicaneF1 - Drivers' Championships Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
• Formula 1 Championships Archived 2013-10-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Amara, Solange; Davillerd, Cyril; et al. (2004). Formula One Yearbook 2004-05. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-84707-072-9.