Chapter 05

The drivers

There are only 22 seats in F1. Here’s who has them, how they got there, what a race does to their bodies, and the champions they’re chasing.

The 2026 grid

22 drivers, two per team

The oldest, Fernando Alonso, is 45; the youngest, Arvid Lindblad, is 19. Five of them have been world champion and twelve have won a grand prix. Two are : Arvid Lindblad and Rafael Câmara.

Each driver picks a number when they arrive in F1, and most keep it for their whole career; the champion may swap theirs for #1. Pick a driver to meet them. Their teams, and where each one came from, are in Chapter 04: The teams.

Lando Norris

#1 · British · Age 26

Lando Norris

McLaren

The 2025 world champion, by two points, with seven wins that year.

Titles
1
2025
Wins
13
Debut
2019

Titles and wins up to date after the Mexico City Grand Prix. Age as of November 2026.

From karting to F1

Almost every driver on the grid started racing karts as a child, then climbed a ladder of junior series, each with faster cars: Formula 4, Formula Regional, Formula 3 and Formula 2. F2 and F3 race on F1 weekends, so you can watch the next generation before the grand prix.

To race in F1 a driver needs a . It takes 40 points from those series over three seasons, two full seasons of racing, a rules test, and an 18th birthday (17 if the FIA makes an exception). Try building one.

Few get there alone. Teams run that sign drivers young and pay towards their racing. Red Bull’s, founded in 2001, brought through Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen; Ferrari’s, from 2009, brought through Charles Leclerc.

The ladder, and what a champion earns

  1. 01Karting4 ptsWhere almost every F1 driver starts. FIA championships are open from age 12.
  2. 02Formula 412 ptsThe first real racing car, from age 15. Many countries run their own championship.
  3. 03Formula Regional25 ptsA faster car and a step up in difficulty.
  4. 04Formula 330 ptsInternational, and it races on F1 weekends.
  5. 05Formula 240 ptsThe last step, also on F1 weekends. Finishing in the top three is enough for a superlicence on its own.
  6. 06Formula 1From age 18, with a superlicence.

40 points needed for a superlicence

Build your superlicence

Season 1+12
Season 2+15
Season 3+12

39 points. 1 short. Not enough for a superlicence yet.

Simplified: one championship a season. In the real rules up to two can count each year, and points from F1 practice sessions and a clean record add a few more.

Harder than it looks

For most of a race, a driver’s body is pulled by forces several times its own weight. Braking hard from top speed takes up to 6, and a fast corner holds 4 to 5g for seconds at a time. A road car manages about 1g in an emergency stop.

That’s why drivers train their necks so hard. The neck has to hold the head and helmet up against that pull, corner after corner, for up to two hours.

Heat makes it harder. Since 2025 the FIA can declare a heat hazard when the forecast heat index tops 31°C; teams must then fit a cooling system to the car, though each driver can choose not to wear the cooling vest. The 2026 cars have less downforce, so corners pull a little less, but Liam Lawson said the strain on the neck is “not that different”.

How hard it pulls (g)

  • Road car, cornering0.75g
  • Road car, emergency stop1g
  • F1, fast corner (held for seconds)4–5g
  • F1, heavy braking6g

350kg

1g, standing still6g, braking hard
Heart rate, for long stretches of a race
170+bpm
Water a driver can sweat out in a hot race like Singapore
4kg
Cockpit temperature it can pass on hot days
60°C
What some drivers can lift with their neck alone
40kg

The names to know

The drivers’ world championship began in 1950. So far it has been won 77 times by 36 drivers, and 17 of them won it more than once. Titles tend to come in runs. A champion in the best car can win year after year, until the rules change or a rival catches up.

The records keep moving. At the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix, Kimi Antonelli clinched the title aged 20, which makes him the youngest champion yet.

Three titles or more

Pick a driver to light up their titles.

  1. 1950Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo
  2. 1951Juan Manuel Fangio, Alfa Romeo
  3. 1952Alberto Ascari, Ferrari
  4. 1953Alberto Ascari, Ferrari
  5. 1954Juan Manuel Fangio, Maserati and Mercedes
  6. 1955Juan Manuel Fangio, Mercedes
  7. 1956Juan Manuel Fangio, Ferrari
  8. 1957Juan Manuel Fangio, Maserati
  9. 1958Mike Hawthorn, Ferrari
  10. 1959Jack Brabham, Cooper
  11. 1960Jack Brabham, Cooper
  12. 1961Phil Hill, Ferrari
  13. 1962Graham Hill, BRM
  14. 1963Jim Clark, Lotus
  15. 1964John Surtees, Ferrari
  16. 1965Jim Clark, Lotus
  17. 1966Jack Brabham, Brabham
  18. 1967Denny Hulme, Brabham
  19. 1968Graham Hill, Lotus
  20. 1969Jackie Stewart, Matra
  21. 1970Jochen Rindt, Lotus
  22. 1971Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell
  23. 1972Emerson Fittipaldi, Lotus
  24. 1973Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell
  25. 1974Emerson Fittipaldi, McLaren
  26. 1975Niki Lauda, Ferrari
  27. 1976James Hunt, McLaren
  28. 1977Niki Lauda, Ferrari
  29. 1978Mario Andretti, Lotus
  30. 1979Jody Scheckter, Ferrari
  31. 1980Alan Jones, Williams
  32. 1981Nelson Piquet, Brabham
  33. 1982Keke Rosberg, Williams
  34. 1983Nelson Piquet, Brabham
  35. 1984Niki Lauda, McLaren
  36. 1985Alain Prost, McLaren
  37. 1986Alain Prost, McLaren
  38. 1987Nelson Piquet, Williams
  39. 1988Ayrton Senna, McLaren
  40. 1989Alain Prost, McLaren
  41. 1990Ayrton Senna, McLaren
  42. 1991Ayrton Senna, McLaren
  43. 1992Nigel Mansell, Williams
  44. 1993Alain Prost, Williams
  45. 1994Michael Schumacher, Benetton
  46. 1995Michael Schumacher, Benetton
  47. 1996Damon Hill, Williams
  48. 1997Jacques Villeneuve, Williams
  49. 1998Mika Häkkinen, McLaren
  50. 1999Mika Häkkinen, McLaren
  51. 2000Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
  52. 2001Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
  53. 2002Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
  54. 2003Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
  55. 2004Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
  56. 2005Fernando Alonso, Renault
  57. 2006Fernando Alonso, Renault
  58. 2007Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari
  59. 2008Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
  60. 2009Jenson Button, Brawn
  61. 2010Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
  62. 2011Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
  63. 2012Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
  64. 2013Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
  65. 2014Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  66. 2015Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  67. 2016Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
  68. 2017Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  69. 2018Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  70. 2019Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  71. 2020Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
  72. 2021Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  73. 2022Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  74. 2023Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  75. 2024Max Verstappen, Red Bull
  76. 2025Lando Norris, McLaren
  77. 2026Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Most titles
7
Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton
Most wins
106
Lewis Hamilton
Most pole positions
105
Lewis Hamilton
Youngest race winner
18 years
Max Verstappen, 2016 Spanish GP
Youngest champion
20 years
Kimi Antonelli, 2026
Oldest champion
46 years
Juan Manuel Fangio, 1957

What to watch for on race day

  • The numbers on the cars. Most drivers keep theirs for their whole career, so a number tells you who it is even when two ’ cars look the same.
  • Formula 2 and Formula 3. They race on many F1 weekends, so the drivers winning there now are the F1 drivers of the next few years.
  • The drivers after a hot race, in places like Singapore or Qatar. Some sweat out up to 4 kg of water in two hours.

Line-ups, titles and wins up to date after the Mexico City Grand Prix.