The Greatest F1 Drivers of All Time, by the Numbers

“Greatest of all time” arguments never end, but Formula 1 keeps two numbers that cut through most of the noise: championships and race wins. Here’s where the all-time greats stand — and how to think about them when you draft in 24-0.

By championships

• Lewis Hamilton — 7 titles (2008, 2014–2020). Also the all-time wins leader.
• Michael Schumacher — 7 titles (1994, 1995, 2000–2004). Held nearly every major record for a generation.
• Juan Manuel Fangio — 5 titles (1951, 1954–1957). Won them across four different constructors, in an era of six-to-eight-race seasons — a staggering strike rate.
• Alain Prost, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen — 4 titles each. Prost the master tactician of the 1980s; Vettel the Red Bull dominator of 2010–2013; Verstappen the defining driver of the 2020s.

By race wins

• Lewis Hamilton — 105 wins. The most in history, spread across a McLaren and a Mercedes career from 2007 onward.
• Michael Schumacher — 91 wins. The record for 20 years until Hamilton passed it.
• Max Verstappen — 63 wins and counting, including a record 19 in a single season (2023).
• Sebastian Vettel — 53, Alain Prost — 51, Ayrton Senna — 41, Fernando Alonso — 32, Nigel Mansell — 31.

Senna’s 41 is often cited as the number that most undersells a driver: his three titles and a widely-held reputation as the fastest of his generation came in a career cut short in 1994.

The era-by-era greats

Because 24-0 flavours each draft round by decade, it helps to know who defined each one:

• 1950s: Juan Fangio (5 titles, 24 wins), Alberto Ascari (2 titles, the 1952 near-sweep).
• 1960s: Jim Clark (2 titles, 25 wins), Jackie Stewart (3 titles), Graham Hill.
• 1970s: Stewart, Niki Lauda (3 titles, 25 wins), Emerson Fittipaldi.
• 1980s: Prost and Senna’s defining rivalry; Nelson Piquet (3 titles).
• 1990s: Schumacher’s rise, Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen.
• 2000s: Schumacher’s Ferrari peak, then Alonso’s two titles.
• 2010s: Vettel’s Red Bull run, then Hamilton and Rosberg at Mercedes.
• 2020s: Verstappen’s era of dominance.

What this means for your draft

The single strongest thing you can do in 24-0 is pair two genuinely elite drivers on a dominant car — a “two-car threat” where either driver can win any race. But there’s a real trade-off: spend everything on drivers and you may be left with a weaker chassis, and in most eras the car matters more. Our draft strategy guide breaks down exactly how to balance the two.