Formula One’s greatest champions as Max Verstappen joins elite group
The Red Bull driver has won four titles in a row.
Max Verstappen has become only the sixth driver in Formula One history to win four world championships or more.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the drivers in whose company Verstappen now finds himself.
Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Hamilton is statistically the greatest of all time. The Briton has won seven world championships – one in just his second year in 2008 with McLaren before storming to six titles in seven seasons at Mercedes between 2014 and 2020.
He has 104 pole positions – 36 more than second-placed Michael Schumacher – while his 105 victories puts him 14 clear of the great German.
Verstappen’s first title came at Hamilton’s expense in the controversial 2021 season decider in Abu Dhabi following one of the greatest title battles ever witnessed.
Michael Schumacher (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Schumacher won seven titles, two with Benetton and then an unprecedented five in succession for Ferrari after he galvanised the Italian team. A brilliant but at times controversial driver, Schumacher collided with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at championship deciders in 1994 and 1997.
The 55-year-old has not been seen in public for more than a decade following a skiing crash on holiday with his family in the French Alps in 2013. Little is known of his condition.
Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Fangio was among Formula One’s founding fathers, competing in the 1950s when death was synonymous with the sport. Considered by many as the greatest of all time, Fangio won five championships in seven seasons between 1951 and 1957.
A feather in his cap was that he uniquely won those titles with four different constructors: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Maserati.
Alain Prost (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)
Nicknamed the Professor for his astute and intelligent race craft, Prost claimed three of his world titles at McLaren before securing his concluding triumph for Williams in what would be the final season of his career.
The diminutive Frenchman – well known for his fierce rivalry with Ayrton Senna – won 51 times which puts him fifth on the all-time list, with only Hamilton, Schumacher, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel ahead of him.
Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
Vettel and Red Bull combined to produce one of the most dominant spells the sport has ever seen as he raced to four straight titles, an achievement now matched by Verstappen with the same team.
A big-money move to Ferrari followed for Vettel but, despite ending his career with 53 victories, he failed in his quest to deliver the title he so desperately craved for the Italian team.
