Formula 1 has existed as a racing series since 1946, but the FIA, the sport's governing body, didn’t announce the formation of the F1 World Championship until 1950.
Since then, fans have been blessed with iconic world champions galore and with F1 still standing as the pinnacle of motor racing today, the sport's growth to unprecedented levels of popularity, especially in the US, could mean a future is being inspired by the show-stopping grands prix we see today.
A total of 34 drivers so far have experienced the thrill of winning an F1 title, each of their names now etched into the history books and eternalised in motor racing folklore.
Two stars on this illustrious list have won the title racing under the US flag, with American F1 champions Phil Hill and Mario Andretti claiming victory in the 1961 and 1978 seasons respectively.
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.
Following the exhilarating 2024 edition of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Verstappen has now claimed his fourth consecutive title, matching the feat of Sebastian Vettel, who also achieved four in a row with F1 giants Red Bull.
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.
As Verstappen was crowned champion once again in Vegas, he joins the illustrious company of Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio and Alain Prost as winners of four or more titles.
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 takes an interesting change of direction ahead of his move to Ferrari for 2025.
Fangio sits third in the record tables with five world championships, while Verstappen has now joined Vettel and Prost, who each have four titles.
Who is the youngest F1 world champion in history?
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 F1 world champion in history?
Fangio currently holds the record for the oldest-ever F1 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.