Top 5 best Formula One drivers of all time

•  Lewis Hamilton has won races in 30 different countries, the F1 star has also won a race in every season he has competed  
• The seven-time world champion is the best F1 driver to have ever graced a circuit in terms of career wins and total career points
•  Michael Schumacher has been the best Formula One driver in the recent past, until the rise of Hamilton
• The Mercedes driver is now competing for his eighth title in the 2022 season

Racing is always the most appealing of all sporting events for individuals who enjoy extremely fast speeds and the adrenaline rush that comes with them.

Car races are also the ultimate gathering place for the best cars with the most advanced designs and technologies and the fastest speeds. Formula One is the peak of motorsport.

Lewis Hamilton (left), Sebastian Vettel (right) at 2017 Bahrain GP. Photo: Vbet News

That is why F1 Vehicle race championships are so popular among car lovers who also enjoy adrenaline rushes.

Racing drivers have steel nerves because they risk their lives and let the world around them blur while racing to the finish line or smashing their cars into walls or one other.

Many people are drawn to them because of their fearlessness.

Check out the Top 5 Best Formula One Drivers of All Time in 2022.

5. Alain Prost

• World Championships: 4 (1985-86, 1989, 1993)
• Number of races: 199
• Number of wins: 51
• Pole positions: 33

Alain Prost. Photo: Spotszfirst

Alain Prost’s careful manner allowed him to compete against Ayrton Senna in the infamous Ayrton Senna-Alain Prost rivalry.

Prost’s secret weapon was both speed and intelligence, and he drove with a natural precision that helped him become France’s first world champion in 1985.

In 1987, he broke Jackie Stewart’s record of 27 victories, and a year later, McLaren won 15 of the 16 races in the season, demonstrating Prost and Senna’s abilities.

Prost remained at the peak of his game until retirement at the age of 38, winning his fourth and last championship for Williams.

4. Ayrton Senna

• World Championships: 3 (1988, 1990-91)
• Races: 161
• Number of wins: 41
• Number of pole positions: 65

One of motorsport’s most renowned individuals, Ayrton Senna is still the gold standard for pure talent and personality.

Senna has a special place in the hearts of many motorsport fans due to his deep devotion to a lap and his persistent desire to push the boundaries for more.

His three championships hint at what may have been if he hadn’t perished in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Thanks to the natural speed and tireless ambition, Senna had an edge that was rarely seen.

Many drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, have come before them, not just in the present generation but also in previous generations.

He looks up to Ayrton Senna, and when Schumacher equalled his record of 41 victories in the 2000 Italian Grand Prix, he cried in the press conference. This demonstrates how influential he was in the sport of racing.

3. Sebastian Vettel

• World Championships: 4 (2010-13)
• Number of races: 279
• Race wins: 53
• Number of pole positions: 57

Sebastian Vettel Photo: Eurosport

While Sebastian Vettel‘s form in Formula One isn’t what it used to be, there was a time when he was nearly untouchable.

Vettel’s Formula One career began in 2007, with nine podiums and five victories in his first three years. However, this was nothing compared to what was to come.

He became the face of Formula One for the next four years, winning four championships in a row and becoming the youngest world champion (taking the accolade from Lewis Hamilton).

He also set records for most podium finishes, most victories, most pole positions, most laps led most consecutive wins, most consecutive grand slams, and most wins from pole position in a season.

2. Michael Schumacher

• World Championships: 7 (1994-95, 2000-04)
• Number of races: 308
• Number of wins: 91
• Pole positions: 68

Michael Schumacher. Photo: Eurosport

Michael Schumacher comes to mind when thinking of the best Formula One driver. Until the rise of Hamilton.

Schumacher was the face of dominance in Formula One: seven titles (five of them in a row), an almost impossible number of victories, and unwavering competitiveness .

Schumacher changed the game in F1 with his combination of dedication, passion, and, of course, raw talent.

While he won two championships with Benetton, he is most recognized for his time with Ferrari.

He joined the team in 1996; despite some ups and downs in the following years, the team won gold in 2000. Five world titles, 48 victories, and a record book with Michael Schumacher’s name in practically every field followed during the next five years.

1. Lewis Hamilton

• World Championships: 7 (2008, 2014-15, 2017-20) 
• Races: 288 
• Number of wins: 103 
• Number of pole positions: 103 

Lewis Hamilton is the best F1 driver of all time. Photo: Indiana Express

Lewis Hamilton is the best Formula One driver to have ever graced a circuit in terms of career wins and total career points.

The British racer has won races in 30 different countries, has won a race in every season he’s competed in and is now tied with Michael Schumacher for the world championships.

While he narrowly missed being world champion in his debut season by a single point, the following year, he became the (then) youngest world champion.

Thirteen years later, he has six additional titles under his belt and competes for an eighth.