Every Formula 1 champion – From 1950 to 2023

The 2023 Formula 1 (F1) season was a triumphant one for Max Verstappen and his team the Dutchman smashing his own previous record of 454 points to reach a monumental 575, more than double the runner-up, teammate Sergio Perez, securing the driver’s and constructor’s championship for Red Bull in the process.

But while it seems like the Milton Keynes-based outfit is all that we’ve been hearing from lately, the constructor only started dominating the grid as late as 2010, a good 60 years after the launch of the drivers’ world championship.

Before that, Mercedes and Ferrari were the top contenders, and before that, it was a hotchpotch of privateers and manufacturers, some more famous than others.

The very first F1 driver’s champion was Nino Farina in 1950, who took home the trophy after scoring 30 points in his Alfa Romeo. Back then, the points totals were far lower than they are today due to a different scoring system and the fact that there were only six races in Europe and one in the USA in the entire season – compared to the 23-race calendar of 2023.

This was the only time Farina would reach pole position, as he was beaten the next year by Juan Manuel Fangio also in an Alfa, who in turn was conquered the year thereafter by the legendary Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari.

The first time a driver peaked past 100 points in a season was in 1992, when Nigel Mansell in a Williams Renault claimed the season’s driver title with a score of 108.

The first time someone got in excess of 200 points only came 18 years later, with Sebastian Vettel grabbing a massive tally of 256 in a Red Bull. The next year, the same driver in the same car reached an even more monumental 392 points.

It wasn’t until 2018, in the middle of the Hamilton-Mercedes era, that a driver managed to eclipse 400 points, and it took until 2023 for the 500-point milestone to be conquered by Verstappen.

Over the last 73 summers, the drivers with the most championships were:

• Michael Schumacher – 7 championships
• Lewis Hamilton – 7 championships
• Juan Manuel Fangio – 5 championships
• Alain Prost – 4 championships
• Sebastian Vettel – 4 championships

Despite Verstappen’s recent victorious reign, he’s still not within the all-time top three and will need to win at least one more to make it into the ranks.

Every F1 champion in history

The table below details every Formula 1 champion since the first drivers’ world championship at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, UK on May 13, 1950.