Formula 1, the largest and most popular motorsport championship in the world, is regulated by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and has won over fans all over the world since 1950, when it was created. Over the course of this long history, there have been several drivers who stood out from their competitors, marking generations of spectators of the sport.
In this article, we highlight 8 Formula 1 drivers who, without a doubt, achieved important records and achieved feats that were often unimaginable. Follow along!
8. Niki Lauda
The Austrian driver Niki Lauda (1949-2019), who won three world titles (1975, 1977 and 1984), is a great example of overcoming and determination in Formula 1. In 1976, he suffered a near-fatal accident on the Formula 1 circuit. Nürburgring, in Germany, which gave him 3rd degree burns, in addition to some damage caused by smoke inhaled during his car's fire.
Another remarkable episode in Lauda's career was at the Monza GP, six weeks after recovering and returning to F1: during a dispute with his biggest rival throughout his career, James Hunt, he finished in 4th place with his balaclava (a hood worn by pilots under the helmet) covered in blood.
An interesting fact about the driver is that he retired in 1979, returning in 1984, the year he won his last title in Formula 1.
Niki Lauda, even after his retirement, never stopped being present in the sport he loved so much: the Austrian held important consultancy and management roles at Ferrari and Jaguar, and supervision at Mercedes.
7. Jim Clark
Jim Clark (1936-1968), holder of two Formula 1 titles (1963 and 1965), was one of the most versatile drivers in the history of Formula 1, also standing out in other forms of motorsport, such as NASCAR, Touring Car, Indy 500 and Formula 2.
The Scotsman also had an important role in car design: in the Lotus team, alongside Colin Chapman, he designed cars that gave him two Formula 1 world titles.
Proof of his genius in racing is his total performance in Formula 1, which was an impressive 34.25%: this number is higher than that of many renowned drivers, such as Alain Prost, for example.
Clark died tragically at the age of 32 in a Formula 2 race, however, he would probably have won many more victories if he had lived longer. 
6. Sebastian Vettel
Four-time Formula 1 champion (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013) Sebastian Vettel, despite being from the youngest generation of drivers, deserves a place on our list. His dominant seasons have often led to him being compared to his compatriot and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, hero of many F1 fans.
Vettel broke several records throughout his career, such as being the youngest driver to win a race, in 2008, and at the age of 23, in 2010, he became the youngest driver to win a world title. However, his last years on the track, with failed title attempts, did not contribute to the driver's popularity.
Even so, his talent, his extremely great attention to detail and his attitude as an athlete continued to stand out. In 2021, Vettel joined a less competitive team in Formula 1, which affected his performance, and in 2022, he said goodbye to racing.
Putting Vettel's merit in numbers, we have that, according to the Elo classification system, which calculated the highest average score of the 5 best years of the greatest Formula 1 drivers, the German appears in 4th place, above from names like Alain Prost and Damon Hill. 
5. Lewis Hamilton
This name really couldn't be left out! Lewis Hamilton is considered the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time in terms of number of achievements: 7 world titles (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020), and even almost became champion in 2021, losing to the Dutchman Max Verstappen in a fierce dispute, decided in the last race of the season. In total, the Briton has 103 victories.
If you've followed the last few seasons of F1, you know that Hamilton had the dominant car in most of his titles. However, something that must be considered is its performance in races, proving that it is capable of performances that few can imagine offering. Furthermore, more than one title he obtained was won in non-competitive cars.
His story of overcoming (Hamilton came from a humble family in England, as well as being the first black driver to compete in F1) and the causes for which he fights, are further proof of his merit. 
4. Juan Manuel Fangio
Such was the legacy of Argentinean Juan Manuel Fangio (1911-1995), who held the record for the most titles and victories in Formula 1 for 45 years, meaning some people consider him the best driver in the category of all. the times.
In total there are 5 titles (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957), won in 4 different teams (Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Ferrari and Maserati) and 24 race victories, the last being on the Nürburgring circuit , in 1957, the most famous. Interestingly, no other driver managed to win the championship for more than two teams, so Fangio's record remains to this day.
On top of all this, their winning percentage is 46%! No other pilot has achieved this feat to this day. Impressive, isn't it?
3. Alain Prost
Four-time Formula 1 champion (1985, 1986, 1989 and 1993) and the only Frenchman to win a title in the category, Alain Prost faced the best in Formula 1 throughout his career, such as Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna (both were his teammates at McLaren), and stood out for his smooth driving style.
Nicknamed “The Professor”, Prost was also known for his rivalry with Ayrton Senna, with whom he alternated titles during a few seasons. But, after leaving Ferrari, he had the glory of joining the dominant Formula 1 team in 1993, Williams, which gave him the championship in the same year.
Like Niki Lauda, Prost remained in the Formula 1 environment for many years after his retirement from the tracks in 1993. He even founded the Prost Grand Prix team, which went bankrupt in 2002. Until 2021, the Frenchman was the team leader at Alpine (formerly Renault), but ended up being fired by the constructor. 
2. Michael Schumacher
Also a seven-time F1 champion (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004), one of the most deservedly admired drivers and holder of 91 race victories, German Michael Schumacher simply dominated the sport for most of your career.
Schumacher, definitely a special talent for directing: the episode in which this became clearer was in 1994, when he overcame Damon Hill in a fierce dispute for the title. He was also responsible for reviving Ferrari, which was on a 17-year hiatus in 1996.
The German driver's dominance sometimes damaged his reputation, as his always predictable victories alienated fans, in addition to some of his actions being judged as cheating.
In 2006, Michael Schumacher retired, returning to Formula 1 in 2010, where he achieved just one podium in three seasons. In 2013, he suffered a serious skiing accident that left him paralyzed ever since.
Little is known about Schumi's health status: what the family has disclosed is that the former pilot undergoes therapy, communicates with restrictions, and receives care to ensure he remains comfortable at all times.
1. Ayrton Senna
Named the greatest Formula 1 driver by the British BBC network, Ayrton Senna (1960-1994), hero of our Brazil, deservedly occupies 1st place in our ranking.
In practice, Senna won 3 championship titles (1988, 1990 and 1991), which is little compared to the number of other titles. However, his talent, charisma, desire to win, his passion for the sport, his ability to stand out in races on wet tracks (his nickname “King of the Rain” comes from this feat of Ayrton), also These are factors that influence us to place it in 1st place on our list today.
In addition, during many of his seasons, Senna had the misfortune of participating in less competitive teams and driving inferior cars to those of his competitors.
To give you an idea, according to Elo, Ayrton Senna occupies 1st place on the list of best drivers of all time, and still with a big advantage over 2nd place Michael Schumacher: around 100 points above German.
Final considerations
In this post we saw stories of several Formula 1 drivers who made a mark on their era. Among the 8 drivers we mentioned were big names, such as Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
If you want to know more about Formula 1 and motorsport, be sure to check out our “Sports“ ! Here, you will find calendars, important information and the latest events in your favorite sport so you can always stay up to date!
