Top 5 Formula One Drivers with the highest win percentage

Formula One is a sport that has been dominated by some of the greatest drivers in history. From Juan Manuel Fangio to Michael Schumacher, there have been many drivers who have left a lasting impact on the sport. However, one of the most important factors that define a driver’s legacy in Formula One is their win percentage. Winning is the ultimate goal of every driver, and those who have consistently managed to come out on top are revered as legends. In this blog post, we’ll be looking at the top 5 Formula One drivers with the highest win percentage. These are the drivers who have had the most success in terms of wins, and who have truly made their mark on the sport. So, let’s dive in and see who comes out on top!

 

Number 5. Michael Schumacher

 

 

When Michael Schumacher returned to Formula 1 in 2010 after a three-year break, he wasn’t concerned about his previous statistics. He had already accomplished so much in the sport.

However, if you exclude the 58 winless Grands Prix he raced for Mercedes during his comeback, Schumacher’s victory rate would have been an astonishing 36.55 percent. Schumacher had already earned 19 F1 wins and two championships with Benetton before joining Ferrari. His legendary partnership with the Scuderia led to five World titles and rewrote the record books of his era. Schumacher retired again in 2012 and a year later, he was involved in a skiing accident. Since then, his health status has been kept private, and he hasn’t been seen in public.

 

Number 4. Lewis Hamilton

 

 

Lewis Hamilton has been the driving force behind Mercedes’ exceptional success in the hybrid era of Formula 1, clinching victory after victory with remarkable efficiency. He remained unbeaten in winning a Grand Prix every season since his impressive debut with McLaren in 2007, until the previous year when he failed to secure a win.

Hamilton has already surpassed Michael Schumacher’s record for most Grand Prix victories in 2020 and became the first driver to cross the 100-win milestone. With 103 wins under his belt, the Stevenage-born racer shows no signs of slowing down. However, with the completion of the 2023 season, Hamilton will have the third-highest number of starts in Formula 1 history, but he needs a competitive car from Mercedes to continue his winning ways.

 

Number 3. Jim Clark

 

 

Even though Lewis Hamilton’s accomplishments are unparalleled, he is not the leading Brit on this list. That distinction belongs to Jim Clark, another immensely rapid driver who departed from the sport too soon.

With a win percentage of 34.72%, Clark stands at third place on the all-time list, giving younger generations who did not witness his excellence an impression of the Scottish driver’s velocity.

Clark raced for nine F1 seasons with Team Lotus and achieved 25 victories in only 72 starts. He won seven out of the ten races in the 1963 season, clinching his first title and repeating it two years later.

Clark savored Grand Prix triumphs for seven continuous seasons, from 1962 to his passing in 1968 at the age of 32, while driving a Formula 2 car at the Hockenheimring.

 

Number 2. Alberto Ascari

 

 

Alberto Ascari is considered one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history, despite only competing in three full seasons. In 1952, his dominance was on full display, winning all six of the remaining races after missing the season-opener in Switzerland and retiring from the Indy 500. Ascari’s 1953 season was equally impressive, outshining Juan Manuel Fangio to secure the title. Although his life was tragically cut short in a crash at Monza in 1955, Ascari’s impressive record of 13 victories from 32 starts solidifies his place among the sport’s legends.

 

Number 1. Juan Manuel Fangio

 

 

Jackie Stewart and other Formula 1 legends of the past believe that Juan Manuel Fangio is the greatest driver of all time, surpassing the likes of Hamilton and Schumacher. It’s hard to dispute this claim when you consider Fangio’s remarkable win rate of almost one victory per two Grand Prix. Defeating Fangio was an incredibly difficult task, as evidenced by his five World Championships and two runner-up finishes between 1950 and 1958. With 24 wins from 52 starts, Fangio dominated the first decade of Formula 1. One can only imagine how many Grand Prix victories he could have amassed if F1 had been introduced earlier or had a longer season. At 39 years old, Fangio was already a veteran driver when the World Championship was established, having started his racing career in 1936. He became the oldest F1 champion at the age of 46.