Formula One stars are the cream of the crop when it comes to motorsport, but some have become prolific and dominant winners.
Of course, the car plays a part, but certain drivers prove a level above their teammates by extracting the most out of the best vehicles.
Max Verstappen has not made this list just yet but already has three world titles to his name at the age of only 27 years old.
The Dutch star is eyeing another crown in the 2024 season and that will move him to a whole new level among a host of legendary names.
So who has won the most F1 Drivers’ Championships ever? talkSPORT.com takes a look…
Top five F1 title wins
5= Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
4 titles: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Vettel participated in F1 from 2007 until 2022, and while at Red Bull, he won four world championships.
The German started his career with BMW Sauber before being snapped up by Red Bull’s sister side, Torro Rosso.
In 2008, he became the youngest driver in history to win a race at just 21 before his record was broken by Verstappen eight years later.
He was named Rookie of the Season and replaced David Coulthard at Red Bull in 2009, where he remained for five years.
His first title win in 2010 saw him take victory on the final day at Abu Dhabi to pip teammate Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso to a dramatic title win.
Vettel then dominated the next three seasons, taking the most poles in a campaign during 2011 and nine consecutive wins in 2013.
In 2014, he joined Ferrari and never won a title again before retiring at Aston Martin in 2022.
5= Alain Prost – (McLaren and Williams)
4 titles: 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
Prost enjoyed a sensational career in F1, made even better by the fact he was often competing against some of the best drivers to have lived.
Aryton Senna, Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell and Damon Hill were all among his competitors across 12 years at the pinnacle of motorsport.
The Frenchman started his career with McLaren before joining Renault and earned a few victories before returning to McLaren and winning three world titles.
This included a spectacular victory in 1986 when Prost held off the more powerful Williams across a full season to become the first man to seal back-to-back titles since Jack Brabham in 1960.
Prost then went on a sabbatical in 1992 before returning and winning his fourth title in 1993 with Williams.
3. Juan Manuel Fangio (Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Ferrari and Maserati)
5 titles: 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
Fangio was an Argentinian F1 driver who dominated the first decade of the sport.
He started racing in his 30s so he was much older than almost everyone else he faced, but proved to be capable of driving any car.
His record of five driver championships stood for 46 years until Michael Schumacher broke it.
Fangio won his first title with Alfa Romeo, moved on to Mercedes, where he picked up two more titles, then spent one year at Ferrari and won again despite not seeing eye-to-eye with Enzo Ferarri.
He finished his career with a return to the team where it all started, Maserati, and sealed an incredible fifth win at the British Grand Prix when he came back from 50 seconds behind to pass two Ferraris and win.
1= Lewis Hamilton (McLaren and Mercedes)
7 titles: 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Hamilton is widely regarded as one of the greatest F1 drivers ever and one of the world’s biggest sports stars.
The Brit won his first world title with McLaren in 2008 when he finished fifth at the Brazilian Grand Prix to deny Felipe Massa by one point and become the then-youngest F1 champion.
What followed was a few barren years as McLaren struggled, prompting Hamilton to ditch them and join Mercedes, a team that hadn’t won anything for a long time.
But changes to the regulations in 2014 allowed the German manufacturer to get ahead of their opponents and spark a period of dominance for Hamilton.
From 2014 to 2020, he won six of the seven seasons and looked set for his eighth world title in 2021.
However, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he was controversially denied on the final lap by Verstappen, following a dramatic FIA intervention, who claimed the first of his three titles instead.
Hamilton is now ready for a new challenge in his already-glittering career as he prepares to join Ferrari in 2025.
1= Michael Schumacher (Benetton and Ferrari)
7 titles: 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
His longevity makes Schumacher stand out from this list of incredible drivers.
He won all seven of his world titles across ten years, which only Hamilton can beat, although the German’s trophies are more spread out than the Mercedes driver.
Schumacher started his career with Jordan before joining Benetton and winning his first two world titles after steadily building up to it in the years prior.
His first win was even better because he was disqualified from three races for ignoring a black flag and having illegal wear on his tyres.
His closest competitor at the time was Hill, who had a more powerful Williams, but Schumacher proved too good and won again in 1995.
He then moved to Ferrari, who hadn’t won an F1 world driver’s title since 1979, and although it took him a few years, he changed that in 2000 and then won the next four after that as Ferrari dominated again.
Schumacher then retired before returning in 2010 to take part in three more seasons with Mercedes before suffering a horrific skiing accident in 2013 that sadly left him with severe brain damage.
