Formula One’s greatest champions as Max Verstappen joins elite group
The Red Bull driver has won four titles in a row.
Max Verstappen has become only the sixth driver in Formula One history to win four world championships or more.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the drivers in whose company Verstappen now finds himself.
Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Hamilton is statistically the greatest of all time. The Briton has won seven world championships – one in just his second year in 2008 with McLaren before storming to six titles in seven seasons at Mercedes between 2014 and 2020.
He has 104 pole positions – 36 more than second-placed Michael Schumacher – while his 105 victories puts him 14 clear of the great German.
Verstappen’s first title came at Hamilton’s expense in the controversial 2021 season decider in Abu Dhabi following one of the greatest title battles ever witnessed.
Michael Schumacher (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
The 55-year-old has not been seen in public for more than a decade following a skiing crash on holiday with his family in the French Alps in 2013. Little is known of his condition.
Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
A feather in his cap was that he uniquely won those titles with four different constructors: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Maserati.
Alain Prost (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993)
The diminutive Frenchman – well known for his fierce rivalry with Ayrton Senna – won 51 times which puts him fifth on the all-time list, with only Hamilton, Schumacher, Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel ahead of him.
Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
A big-money move to Ferrari followed for Vettel but, despite ending his career with 53 victories, he failed in his quest to deliver the title he so desperately craved for the Italian team.
