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

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

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 the seven-time world champion broke many of the records previously set by Schumacher.

It came after a disappointing 2016 when Hamilton was beaten to the championship at the Abu Dhabi season finale by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who subsequently announced his retirement just five days later.

A new team-mate in Valtteri Bottas presented Hamilton a fresh start for 2017, a year in which the regulations were overhauled. Although Mercedes remained competitive, Ferrari now presented a threat so large that come the summer break Sebastian Vettel led Hamilton at the top of the championship by 14 points.

The Brit responded perfectly though by winning five of the next six grands prix to clinch his fourth title with two rounds remaining. Vettel made another title charge the following year and even led the championship after 10 rounds, but he again fell short as a strong second half resulted in Hamilton clinching his fifth crown with two races to go.

Mercedes was then left as the outright dominant force again in 2019, as the Ferrari SF90 struggled with overall downforce. This left Bottas as Hamilton’s main threat, but the Finn was never capable of consistently challenging his team-mate meaning the world champion cruised towards a third and fourth consecutive title in 2019 and 2020.

The latter even saw Hamilton claim the record for the most race wins ever after surpassing Schumacher’s tally of 91 at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. His dominant period ended at the season finale in 2021 though, when Hamilton was set for a record-breaking eighth world championship until Verstappen overtook him for the lead on the final lap after a controversial late safety car restart in Abu Dhabi.

4 – Sebastian Vettel (2010-13)

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing, salutes his car

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Race wins during dominant run: 34 from 77 starts
Poles during dominant run: 40
Podiums during dominant run: 53
Team during dominant run: Red Bull

All four of Vettel’s world championships came during a dominant period with Red Bull from 2010 to 2013. The Austrian squad continued its strong end to 2009 – it won the final three grands prix – by largely keeping the same car design for 2010 but having maximised the RB6’s rear length to aid the double diffuser, a device that improved downforce.

It helped Red Bull win nine of 18 grands prix, five of which were won by Vettel who became F1’s youngest ever world champion – 23y133d – after clinching the title on the final day despite having never led the standings until then.

The German’s second championship was more straightforward because he clinched it with four rounds left in 2011 aboard the dominant RB7, which gave him 11 victories in 19 as well as a record-breaking 15 pole positions.

Regulation changes meant Red Bull overhauled its car for 2012 though, which put it behind some rivals. Ferrari’s Alonso led the championship by 37 points after 13 races but extensive updates for round 14, the Singapore GP, significantly changed Red Bull’s campaign as Vettel won the next four grands prix before claiming the title at the Interlagos season finale.

He then cruised towards a fourth championship in 2013, as the then 26-year-old clinched it with three rounds remaining amid a record-breaking run of nine consecutive race wins to end the year. But that was Vettel’s final championship as Mercedes mastered the switch to turbo-hybrid engines in 2014, while Vettel won zero races that year before joining Ferrari in 2015.

4 – Juan Manuel Fangio (1954-57)

Juan Manuel Fangio, Mercedes, congratulates Stirling Moss, Mercedes

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Race wins during dominant run: 17 from 28 starts
Poles during dominant run: 18
Podiums during dominant run: 21
Teams during dominant run: Maserati (1954 and 1957), Mercedes (1954-55) and Ferrari (1956)

Juan Manuel Fangio was the man to beat in the 1950s, as the Argentine won five world championships – four of which were done on the bounce – between 1954 and 1957. It began with Fangio becoming the first and only driver to win a title competing for more than one team in a season, as in 1954 he left Maserati for debutants Mercedes from round four onwards.

Fangio won six of nine grands prix that year to clinch his second world title with two races remaining, before claiming the 1955 crown with rounds to spare again.

But that was his final year racing for Mercedes, as it withdrew from motorsport following the fatal Le Mans 24 Hours in 1955 where 83 spectators died after Silver Arrows driver Pierre Levegh crashed into the crowd.

So, Fangio joined Ferrari for 1956 as the Italian outfit now had the quickest car thanks to it inheriting Lancia’s remarkable D50. The Scuderia won five of eight grands prix as a result, with three going to the reigning world champion which resulted in him beating Maserati’s Stirling Moss to the title on the final day.

But Ferrari wasn’t willing to pay his high salary again, so Fangio returned to Maserati in 1957 where six podiums including four victories helped him cruise to a fifth crown. But at the age of 46, Fangio was growing tired of racing so he only started two grands prix in 1958 before retiring mid-season thus ending his world-championship winning run.

3 – Max Verstappen (2021-23)

World Champion Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Erik Junius

Race wins during dominant run: 44 from 66 starts
Poles during dominant run: 29
Podiums during dominant run: 56
Team during dominant run: Red Bull

Verstappen has created headlines ever since he came to F1 at the age of 17, which made him the youngest driver to start a grand prix. He then became the youngest driver to win a grand prix when he won on his Red Bull debut at the 2016 Spanish GP, aged just 18y227d.

It took a few years to consistently fight for victories due to the dominance of Mercedes, however in 2021 the Silver Arrows was hurt by regulation tweaks that decreased downforce – while Red Bull had an upgraded Honda engine fitted.

This aided a title battle for the ages between Hamilton and Verstappen, where the latter initially had the upper hand as he led by 32 points after nine rounds.

That advantage rapidly closed though when Hamilton won the British GP, while Verstappen crashed out after being hit by his title rival at Copse. It caused the tension between both to escalate and the Mercedes driver claimed the championship lead at the next race, as he finished second in Hungary while Verstappen was ninth after suffering damage on lap one.

The rest of the season was extremely dramatic as the title rivals often collided into one another and they entered the final round level on points – though Verstappen was ahead as he had an extra victory.

But it looked like Hamilton would eventually claim the title, as he led the Abu Dhabi GP with eight laps remaining when Nicholas Latifi’s crash caused a safety car. Although Red Bull pitted Verstappen for fresh tyres, Hamilton stayed out and this proved costly as the race restarted with one lap to go – even though rules stated that the race should have finished behind a safety car – allowing the Red Bull driver to overtake at Turn 5 and claim his maiden world championship.

But, as 2021 was the final season before a huge regulation overhaul, it was unknown who would be the leading team come 2022.

That proved to be Red Bull though, and by some way, culminating in Verstappen dominating his way to three titles on the bounce in a manner that had never been seen before. During that time, he set several records like most wins in a season (19 in 2023), most consecutive race victories (10 in 2023) and most podiums in a year (21 in 2023).