While F1 has been around since the mid-1940s, the FIA didn’t ratify the formation of the Formula 1 World Championship until 1950. As such...that's where our list of world champions begins.
F1 stands as the pinnacle of global single-seater racing, and arguably global motorsport, to the day, and some historic names have had their names carved on the trophy.
A total of 34 drivers have experienced the elation of winning a Formula 1 title with their names now etched into the history books and eternalised in motor racing folklore.
Eight of these champions have been crowned in the new millennium, with Dutch superstar Max Verstappen becoming the latest new name to be immortalised among the F1 greats when he claimed his maiden title in 2021.
Out of the 34 drivers to boast an F1 world championship, only 18 have managed to repeat the feat and become two-time world champions.
When Verstappen was crowned champion in the Qatar 2023 Sprint, the Dutchman joined Ayrton Senna, Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham as winners of three titles.
F1 World Champions, the full all-time list
Here is a complete rundown of every F1 world champion since the championship was formed in 1950.
The current record for the most F1 world titles is seven, shared between Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton, although the latter still has hopes of claiming an eighth as his career winds down.
Juan Manuel Fangio sits third in the record tables with five world championships, while Sebastian Vettel and Alain Prost have four titles each.
Who is the youngest ever F1 world champion?
Sebastian Vettel currently stands as the youngest world champion in F1 history after the legendary German claimed his first title in 2010, driving for Red Bull at the age of 23 years and 133 days.
Who is the oldest ever F1 world champion?
Juan Manuel Fangio currently holds the record for the oldest-ever Formula 1 world champion, and that record is unlikely to be broken any time soon.
Argentina's finest racing talent clinched the 1957 world championship while driving for Maserati at the age of 46 years and 41 days.