Lando Norris becomes F1’s 35th champion: how his breakthrough reshaped sport

Who has the most titles

Norris became the 35th Formula 1 champion in history. Seventeen of them won the title more than once. There are two record holders – legendary German Michael Schumacher and this year’s competitor, British driver Lewis Hamilton. Both have seven triumphs. Third is Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, who won five titles back in the 1950s.

Formula 1 multiple champions:

• Michael Schumacher (Germany) – 7 titles (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004);
• Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) – 7 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020);
• Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina) – 5 (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957);
• Alain Prost (France) – 4 (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993);
• Sebastian Vettel (Germany) – 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013);
• Max Verstappen (Netherlands) – 4 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024);

Michael Schumacher (photo: Wikipedia)

The longest winning streak belongs to Schumacher, who won five consecutive championships (2000–2004). If Verstappen had triumphed this year, he would have matched that achievement.

However, it didn’t happen, so the Dutchman remains among drivers with four consecutive championship wins.

Others in this group include:

• Fangio (1954–1957);

• Vettel (2010–2013);

• Hamilton (2017–2020);

McLaren chasing Ferrari

Norris brought McLaren its 13th Constructors' Championship. This is the second-highest total in the historical constructors' battle.

The leader is Ferrari with 15 titles. At one point, the Italian team led by a wide margin, but now competitors are catching up. It’s not surprising, since Ferrari’s last triumph was in 2007, when Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen secured the title.

Top 7 titles by team:

1. Ferrari (Italy) – 15;

2. McLaren (UK) – 13;

3. Mercedes (Germany) – 9;

4. Red Bull (Austria) – 8;

5. Williams (UK) – 7;

6. Lotus (UK) – 6;

7. Brabham (UK) – 4;

Britain leads

In the ranking of champions by country, the UK is the undisputed leader. Norris became the 11th British driver to win the title, bringing the country’s total to 21 championships.

Top 10 world champions by country:

1. United Kingdom – 21 titles (11 drivers);

2. Germany – 12 (3);

3. Brazil – 8 (3);

4. Argentina – 5 (1);

5. France – 4 (1);

6. Australia – 4 (2);

7. Austria – 4 (2);

8. Finland – 4 (3);

9. Netherlands – 4 (1);

10. Italy – 3 (2);

Sebastian Vettel (photo: Wikipedia)

Seventh youngest

In addition, Norris entered the list of the youngest champions in racing history. Becoming a champion at the age of 26 years and 23 days, he took seventh place in this ranking.

Youngest F1 champions:

1. Sebastian Vettel – 23 years, 145 days (2010);
2. Lewis Hamilton – 23 years, 299 days (2008);
3. Fernando Alonso – 24 years, 58 days (2005);
4. Max Verstappen – 24 years, 73 days (2021);
5. Emerson Fittipaldi – 25 years, 273 days (1972);
6. Michael Schumacher – 25 years, 314 days (1994);
7. Lando Norris – 26 years, 24 days (2025).

When the next season starts

The 2026 F1 season will start on March 8. It will also consist of 24 races. Eleven teams will participate, with newcomers being Audi (Germany) and Cadillac (USA).