Formula 1 Racing

Who has won the most consecutive F1 world drivers’ championships?

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2002

Max Verstappen is currently enjoying a period of F1 world championship dominance, winning the last three drivers’ titles.

The Dutchman is also leading the 2024 standings and could claim a fourth straight crown which would make Verstappen just the fifth driver in F1 history to achieve said feat.

So, who are those drivers?

Michael Schumacher, Ferrari F2002

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

  • Race wins during dominant run: 48 from 85 starts

  • Poles during dominant run: 40

  • Podiums during dominant run: 66

Michael Schumacher holds the record for the most consecutive F1 drivers’ championships, as he won five on the bounce from 2000 to 2004. It began with a risky move to the struggling Ferrari team in 1996, which hadn’t won a title for 13 years while Schumacher was the reigning, two-time world champion following a successful stint with Benetton.

It took a while for the German to claim his third crown because the Scuderia needed a big rebuild, and Schumacher helped by bringing designer Rory Byrne and technical director Ross Brawn with him from Benetton. 

The three of them, alongside team boss Jean Todt, are credited for building Ferrari into a championship-winning organisation once again. It started with the constructors’ title in 1999, before Schumacher finally became a triple world champion in 2000 when he clinched the crown at the penultimate round.

But he was so dominant during the early 2000s that only one of his five titles with the Italian outfit was won on the final day of the season. That came in 2003 when a young Kimi Raikkonen finished just two points behind Schumacher in a breakout season for the then McLaren driver, who actually scored two more podiums than his Ferrari rival but five fewer victories. 
The following year was perhaps Schumacher’s most dominant though, as he set the then record for the most points in a season (148) after winning 12 of the opening 13 grands prix. But that was his seventh and final title, as the regulation overhaul in 2005 caused Ferrari to struggle while Renault’s Fernando Alonso became the new world champion. 
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1, 3rd position, performs celebratory donuts after the race

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1, 3rd position, performs celebratory donuts after the race

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

  • Race wins during dominant run: 42 from 78 starts

  • Poles during dominant run: 37

  • Podiums during dominant run: 61

Lewis Hamilton won four consecutive titles from 2017 to 2020, during which…

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