The history of Formula 1 is full of great names that have put their name with hour letters on the list of world champions, but only a few have managed to repeat the feat and add two titles in the highest category of motorsport.
Here is the list with all of them after Max Verstappen was added at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix.
The list with all the two-time F1 world champions in history
Pilot | Equipment | F1 champion seasons |
Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 1952 y 1953 |
Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo and Maserati/Mercedes | 1951 and 1954 |
Jack Brabham | Cooper | 1959 y 1960 |
Jim Clark | Lotus | 1963 y 1965 |
Graham Hill | BRM y Lotus | 1962 y 1968 |
Jackie Stewart | Matra y Tyrrell | 1969 y 1971 |
Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus and McLaren | 1972 and 1974 |
Niki Lauda | ferrari | 1975 and 1977 |
Nelson Piquet | Brabham | 1981 y 1983 |
Alain Prost | McLaren | 1985 y 1986 |
Ayrton Senna | McLaren | 1988 y 1990 |
Michael Schumacher | Benetton | 1994 y 1995 |
Mika Hakkinen | McLaren | 1998 and 1999 |
Fernando Alonso | Renault | 2005 and 2006 |
Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 2010 y 2011 |
Lewis Hamilton | McLaren y Mercedes | 2008 y 2014 |
Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 2021 y 2022 |
Throughout the 72-year history of the highest category of motorsport, only 17 drivers have managed to be world champions on two or more occasions, although there are two on the list that can continue to increase their statistics because they are still active, and those are Fernando Alonso and the newly crowned Max Verstappen.
The first to become a two-time world champion was Alberto Ascari , who won his championships at the beginning of the Gran Circo, in the 1952 and 1953 seasons, with the Ferrari team, and immediately after, Juan Manuel Fangio , in 1951 and 1954, with the combination of Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Mercedes equaled the feat.
Nothing similar was seen again between the names mentioned until 1960 , with Australian Jack Brabham’s Cooper, although he would still have another title to add to his record, but Jim Clark and his Lotus would not take long to join the list, since that five courses, in 1965 , after the 1963 World Cup, he was also proclaimed two-time champion.
Added to these drivers is Graham Hill , who in addition to having won his two Formula 1 world titles in the 1962 and 1968 seasons with BRM and Lotus respectively, is the only one in history to have completed the Triple Crown, that is to say , win the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The British myth was followed by another of the most recognized faces in Brazil, that of Emerson Fittipaldi , who in 1972 and 1974 , with Lotus and McLaren, was proclaimed world champion, but not before welcoming another Briton who won in 1969 and 1971 with Matra and Tyrrell respectively, Jackie Stewart, who was yet to win another championship in 1963.
Throughout the 1970s, only Niki Lauda would reach those already mentioned, when with Ferrari he was the best in 1975 and 1977 , although many more two-time champions would arrive in subsequent seasons. This was the case of Nelson Piquet , who with the Brabham team would win the Formula 1 world crowns in 1981 and 1983 , succeeded by Frenchman Alain Prost , who won the 1985 and 1986 titles at the controls of his McLaren .
One of the Frenchman’s greatest rivals, Ayrton Senna , is also an illustrious driver with two championships or more, and the Brazilian, like ‘ The Professor ‘, reaped his successes with the Woking team, although they were in 1988 and 1990 , in what would be the last of the old school, since Michael Schumacher extended his career so much that it could be considered contemporary.
The German won the titles in 1994 and 1995 with Benetton, and although his first steps at Ferrari did not go as expected, in the following decade he would become the most successful driver of all time, but not before seeing how a Finn equalized momentarily.
Mika Hakkinen was crowned twice after waging epic battles against Michael Schumacher in the 1998 and 1999 seasons, when the ‘ Kaiser ‘ had not yet won a championship with Ferrari, but then five would come in a row. Interestingly, the German’s successor on the list of champions is the other who holds two world titles, Fernando Alonso , who won the 2005 and 2006 titles with Renault.
However, Sebastian Vettel broke all the records for precociousness in the Great Circus and won the 2010 and 2011 championships with Red Bull, which was followed by another two in a time of overwhelming dominance of Heppenheim. Another of those who are still active, Lewis Hamilton had to wait much longer between his first and second world championships, since it was not until 2014 with Mercedes when he was able to accompany the 2008 trophy achieved with McLaren in an agonizing appointment in Brazil that it was decided on the last lap after overtaking Timo Glock a few meters from the finish.
The last one, and for sure that he will be able to climb more, is Max Verstappen, who at the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix was proclaimed world champion with his Red Bull in a dominant way, with four races still to be played.
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