The greatest campaigns that didn’t win the F1 title

Hardcore motorsport followers know that the perfect performers aren’t at all times rewarded with a title at season’s finish. Unreliability, misfortune, weird scoring programs and inferior gear can mix to disclaim drivers even when they’re on the prime of their sport. 

For this record, in chronological order, we have now picked out System 1’s best all-season performances by drivers who didn’t win the championship. It doesn’t essentially imply that the champions from these years have been unworthy, it’s extra about highlighting star campaigns that went unrewarded. Nevertheless, there are undoubtedly some right here who drove higher over the 12 months than the precise champion. 

We’ve taken into consideration the equipment at their disposal, standout drives, the quantity of unhealthy luck that they had and the factors they gave away. 

Wish to see how we rank these? Have a look here.

Stirling Moss, 1958 

Hawthorn (left) turned champion, but it surely was clear to everyone that Moss (proper) was the perfect driver in ’58

Photograph by: Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd 
• Misplaced by: 1 level (8 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 4/10 

Hardly a stunning entry. Stirling Moss took extra wins (4 to at least one) and led extra laps (234 to 125) than Mike Hawthorn in 1958, and scored successes in two completely different automobiles, one in every of which was an underpowered privateer entry (Cooper) and the opposite fast however tough (Vanwall). But Hawthorn famously beat him to the title by a single level. 

Moss’s solely mistake of be aware was over-revving the Vanwall at Spa, except you rely the pitboard confusion over who had the quickest lap (for which there was then some extent) at Oporto – or him sticking up for Hawthorn to forestall his fellow Brit being disqualified that day.  

For his half, Hawthorn confirmed unimaginable consistency in a Ferrari that was extra dependable than the Vanwall, scoring 5 seconds and a 3rd in addition to his French Grand Prix win. However everyone knew who had changed the lately retired Juan Manuel Fangio as F1’s benchmark: Moss. 

Given he was the one driver to defeat the dominant Ferrari 156s and took third within the factors in an ageing privateer Lotus, Moss’s 1961 marketing campaign was additionally a contender for this record, but it surely’s his 1958 defeat that stands as one in every of F1’s most egregious championship outcomes.

Tony Brooks, 1959

Brooks delivered a near-perfect season within the front-engined Ferrari 246, however rear-engined F1 automobiles have been taking up

Photograph by: Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 4 factors (8 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 2/8 

The Ferrari Dino 246 was the most-competitive front-engined GP automotive through the marketing campaign through which Cooper actually received the rear-engined revolution going. Whereas the T51’s agility was evident, the Ferrari’s energy stored it within the sport at most circuits. 

Tony Brooks dominated the French GP at high-speed Reims and gained at Avus. He was denied a attainable victory on the previous, quick Spa – the place he’d gained the 12 months earlier than – because of the race being cancelled, and scored no factors at Monza resulting from a clutch failure.  

Ferrari additionally skipped the British GP, which chief rival Jack Brabham gained. Brooks did enter the race in a Vanwall, introduced out of mothballs, but it surely didn’t run easily and was a number of seconds slower than the Vanwalls had been two years earlier than. 

Other than lacklustre performances at Zandvoort and Monsanto, each the place Ferrari struggled anyway, it’s arduous to see factors Brooks gave away. Solely as soon as did he end behind a team-mate, in a squad that included future world champion Phil Hill and Dan Gurney.  

Given Brooks misplaced to Brabham by simply 4 factors, when eight have been awarded to the victor, the Belgian GP cancellation, Ferrari skipping the British GP and Italian GP failure have been greater than sufficient to determine the title.

Jim Clark, 1967

There have been a number of contenders, however ’67 goes down as Clark’s [left] greatest non-title-winning marketing campaign

Photograph by: David Phipps

• Ultimate place: third
• Misplaced by: 10 factors (9 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 4/11 

As soon as the Cosworth DFV-engined Lotus 49 arrived at spherical three of 1967, the Dutch GP, Jim Clark led each race. He took six poles and team-mate Graham Hill three, but unreliability price Clark and Lotus each championships. 

Late failures had misplaced Clark attainable titles in 1962 and 1964, however the Lotus 49’s benefit was such that 1967 ought to have been a cakewalk. Of his 9 world championship races within the automotive that 12 months, Clark gained 4 and suffered calamity within the different 5. 

At Spa he took pole by 3.1 seconds and led earlier than having to pit with spark-plug bother and completed sixth. In France, Germany and Canada, he appeared the seemingly winner till being pressured out with transmission, suspension and electrical woes respectively. And at Monza, he brilliantly stormed again to the entrance following an early puncture that put him a lap down, just for gas hunger to drop him to 3rd on the ultimate tour.

Clark led extra laps, scored extra wins and took extra poles than anybody else – and didn’t make an error well worth the title in 1967. Other than a high-quality efficiency within the moist in Canada, world champion Denny Hulme was hardly ever in a position to maintain the Lotus in sight. 

Given Hill’s even worse ending report (simply two from 9 within the 49), was it Clark’s finesse that coaxed miles out of the delicate 49 in its early days?

PLUS: Formula 1’s great Lotus landmarks – Lotus 49

Jackie Stewart, 1968 

1968 was an extremely unhappy 12 months with the loss of life of Clark, however up stepped Stewart as his worthy successor

Photograph by: Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 12 (9 for a win)
• Wins: 3/10 

“One man actually excelled so far as the drivers have been involved: Jackie Stewart,” wrote Patrick McNally in Autosport’s evaluation of the 1968 F1 season. “He was the one pilot who constantly displayed superior talent; the Scotsman is a worthy successor to Jimmy’s crown.” 

Stewart was the one driver to problem the pacesetting Lotus 49s within the South African GP opener, splitting Clark and Hill for a while earlier than retiring from third when the Cosworth DFV in his Matra MS9 blew up. 

He then missed the Spanish and Monaco GPs resulting from accidents sustained in an F2 accident. Each races have been gained by Hill, choosing up Staff Lotus within the wake of Clark’s loss of life, so Hill had 24 factors to Stewart’s zero after three rounds. 

Stewart returned for the Belgian GP and was set to win earlier than operating out of gas on the ultimate lap, being labeled fourth. There have been wet-weather masterclasses at each Zandvoort and the Nurburgring, a 3rd within the rain at Rouen and a distant sixth at Manufacturers Hatch on a day the wingless Matra lacked tempo. 

Stewart then climbed from sixth to combat eventual winner Hulme’s McLaren for the lead in a Monza slipstreamer, solely to retire with engine failure. Hill had already gone out, however was nonetheless 4 factors forward of the Scot. 

Matra was once more off the tempo in Canada and Stewart misplaced seven laps with a suspension drawback however completed sixth in a race of attrition through which Hill took fourth and Hulme introduced himself into title rivalry with one other win. 

Stewart led the US GP from begin to end, however Hill was second and so took a three-point lead into the Mexico finale. Regardless of beginning seventh, Stewart was shortly up with chief Hill, the duo quickly joined by poleman Jo Siffert’s Rob Walker-run Lotus. 

After Siffert stopped for consideration to his throttle linkage, Stewart chased Hill till a gas pump problem slowed the Matra. Stewart fell to a point-less seventh as Hill gained, securing the title by an unrepresentative 12 factors.

Niki Lauda, 1976  

Lauda’s notorious crash on the Nurburgring prevented him from romping in direction of a second title in 1976

Photograph by: Getty Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 1 level (9 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 5/14 

James Hunt took his shock McLaren alternative brilliantly, getting into Emerson Fittipaldi’s footwear and wringing the neck of the ageing M23. However he would have been a high-quality runner-up in 1976 had it not been for the terrible crash that befell runaway factors chief Niki Lauda on the Nurburgring. 

Lauda had gained 4 of the primary six races (5 earlier than Hunt was reinstated within the Spanish GP outcomes) and, even after the German GP (spherical 10 of 16), was (finally, after protests!) 26 factors forward of Hunt when 9 have been rewarded for victory. 

Lauda’s heroic return on the Italian GP, simply six weeks after his crash, stands as one in every of sport’s best comebacks. He managed to hold a three-point lead into the Fuji finale earlier than withdrawing as a result of appalling situations, Hunt’s last-gasp cost to 3rd after a pitstop simply being sufficient.  

Making use of the 2026 factors system to the season would give Lauda the title by two factors – Hunt would have wanted to beat Patrick Depailler to second in Japan. 

Lauda had been unfortunate to not be champion in 1974, but it surely actually did take a outstanding story to forestall him from taking the title two years later. Maybe somebody ought to make a movie about it…

Nigel Mansell, 1987

It was solely mechanical failures which prevented the dominant Mansell from beating Williams team-mate Piquet to the ’87 crown

Photograph by: Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 12 factors (9 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 6/14 

You could possibly make a case for Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna or Alain Prost being the perfect driver of 1987. Autocourse went for the order of Prost-Mansell-Senna, with world champion Nelson Piquet fifth (additionally behind Gerhard Berger), but it surely’s Mansell we’re going to focus on right here. 

Williams ‘team-mates’ Mansell and Piquet had been evenly matched in 1986 however, after Piquet’s massive crash at Imola, it wasn’t a lot of a contest in 1987. At the very least, not by way of efficiency.  

Mansell scored six wins and eight poles to Piquet’s tallies of three and 4 because the Williams-Honda FW11B set the tempo. Mansell led 416 laps (41%) in comparison with Piquet’s 154, and there was one in every of Mansell’s most well-known comeback drives at Silverstone.

Mansell misplaced attainable wins by no fault of his personal at Monaco (turbo) and the Hungaroring (wheelnut, which gifted Piquet victory), plus was operating second in Portugal when electrical issues put him out. It’s additionally seemingly Prost and Mansell would have been 1-2 at Hockenheim however each hit bother (electrical and engine respectively). Guess who gained that one… 

Mansell’s 1987 was not excellent – it was his mistake that led to the Suzuka qualifying crash that meant he missed the ultimate two rounds. However the championship ought to have been accomplished and dusted by then. With out him, Williams scored no wins, poles, quickest laps or factors in Japan or Australia.

Alain Prost, 1990

Prost and Senna have been a lower above the remaining in 1990, however the title combat ended controversially in Japan…

Photograph by: Ercole Colombo

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 7 factors (9 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 5/16 

This entry was going to be about Prost’s 1984 season. He gained extra races than anybody else, usually outperformed McLaren team-mate Lauda and solely misplaced the title to the Austrian by half some extent after struggling greater than his justifiable share of misfortune. Prost was virtually definitely the perfect driver that season – and would have been champion beneath the present scoring system – however he additionally made errors, notably his offs in Dallas and Austria. 

In 1990, it was far much less clear lower who the perfect driver of the season was – Prost or Senna – however the Frenchman gave little away. Having revitalised Ferrari right into a title challenger, Prost’s 4 1990 retirements have been resulting from: an oil leak; battery issues; spinning off following transmission failure in Hungary; and being smashed off by Senna at Suzuka. 

Prost largely outperformed team-mate Mansell, who did are inclined to get the brunt of Ferrari unreliability, and Prost’s victory from thirteenth on the grid in Mexico was one of many best drives in grand prix historical past. 

Senna arguably carried out extra miracles in a McLaren-Honda that was extra highly effective however typically extra of a handful than Prost’s Ferrari, however he too made errors, reminiscent of clashing with Satoru Nakajima’s Tyrrell in Brazil and spinning at Silverstone. If it was as much as us, we’d recommend Senna ought to have been the 1989 champion and Prost the 1990 title winner…

Ayrton Senna, 1993 

Senna was the perfect driver in 1993, however did not have the quickest automotive to again it up

Photograph by: Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 26 (10 for a win)
• Wins: 5/16 

Though Senna most likely deserved to be champion in 1989, he was additionally in the perfect automotive, whereas his 1993 efforts have been in opposition to the chances. 

The MP4/8 was a good chassis hamstrung by Ford buyer energy in opposition to a works Renault behind the all-singing, all-dancing Williams FW15C of Prost and Damon Hill. However Hill was a rookie and soon-to-retire Prost was by no means fully comfy with the gizmo-laden Williams, and Senna was in a position to rating 5 victories. 

His early wins at Interlagos and Donington Park have been sensible wet-weather drives and a few success helped him to a record-breaking sixth win at Monaco, after which he led the championship. 

Alongside Benetton’s Michael Schumacher, Senna was constantly the strongest challenger to Williams and whereas the rising German star had overwhelmed Senna within the 1992 standings, in 1993 Senna was second solely to Prost. 

Of Senna’s non-scores, solely the collision(s) at Monza was his fault. If there’s a criticism of Senna in 1993 it’s that his wage calls for and in the end profitable efforts to get a Williams seat maybe hampered McLaren’s push. However on-track he enhanced his standing as the perfect driver on the planet.

Michael Schumacher, 1997

Williams had the dominant automotive in 1997, however Schumacher nonetheless took the title combat with Villeneuve right down to the wire…solely to be DSQd!

• Ultimate place: 2nd earlier than DSQ
• Misplaced by: 3 factors earlier than DSQ (10 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 5/17 

This entry would have been increased had it not been for Schumacher’s try and take out Jacques Villeneuve within the Jerez finale. The Ferrari F310B had no proper difficult the Williams FW19, which was 2.1s quicker on the Melbourne opener. And but Schumacher conjured up unimaginable wet-weather victories at Monaco and Spa, took the Canadian and French GPs from pole, and gained in Japan with the assistance of team-mate Eddie Irvine.

PLUS: Michael Schumacher’s top 10 F1 victories

That meant Schumacher went to the European GP showdown with a one-point lead over Villeneuve, who had scored extra wins but additionally made extra errors. Together with the second Williams of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, they certified with the identical time, Villeneuve taking pole because of setting the time first. 

Schumacher grabbed the lead and held on till simply after the second spherical of pitstops. On lap 48 of 69, Villeneuve opportunistically dived down the within into the Flip 6 hairpin, Schumacher instinctively giving him room earlier than turning proper into the Williams’s sidepod. The Ferrari bounced off and received beached, whereas Villeneuve continued to complete third and take the title.

Schumacher was subsequently stripped of his second place within the desk. It was the right resolution however was a tragic method for such an in any other case glorious marketing campaign to finish.  

Other than Jerez, there was a misjudgement on the first nook in Argentina that put Schuey out on a day Irvine completed a powerful second, he received a stop-go penalty for overtaking beneath yellows in Austria and, being tremendous essential, he selected the unsuitable Goodyear compound in Hungary (together with most others). However there have been additionally factors misplaced outdoors of his management: a wheel bearing failure whereas battling for the lead at Silverstone; he was the harmless sufferer of a first-corner pile-up on the Nurburgring.  

It was the start of the Schumacher-Ferrari mixture combating for the title.

Kimi Raikkonen, 2005

Raikkonen gained his sole title at Ferrari, however he was at his greatest with McLaren

Photograph by: Michael Cooper / Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 21 factors (10 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 7/18 

Regardless of profitable his title with Ferrari, Kimi Raikkonen was at his greatest at McLaren. He was sensible in 2003 and 2006, however 2005 is the season that received away. The Finn and the MP4-20 typically set the tempo however a mixture of unreliability and a relentless rival in Renault’s Fernando Alonso denied Raikkonen the crown. 

At Imola, a driveshaft failure took poleman Raikkonen out of the lead, whereas a hydraulics problem did likewise at Hockenheim. And the requirement for engines to final two weekends caught out McLaren-Mercedes, Raikkonen struggling 10-place penalties at Magny-Cours, Silverstone and Monza. He managed very good recoveries to second, third and fourth respectively however every time Alonso completed forward to take care of the championship buffer he had constructed up within the early rounds. 

There was additionally the notorious last-lap suspension failure on the Nurburgring, although Raikkonen has to take among the blame given his lock-up created the harmful vibration. 

At different instances, Raikkonen and the MP4-20, which pioneered the seamless shift transmission, racked up wins in Spain, Monaco, Canada, Hungary, Turkey and Belgium, typically with massive profitable margins.  

However such was Alonso’s scoring that third place on the Brazilian GP clinched the Spaniard the title, simply earlier than Raikkonen’s best race. One other 10-place penalty pressured him to start out seventeenth at Suzuka however he stormed by to grab a outstanding victory from Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault on the ultimate lap.

Given the equipment at his disposal, Alonso was a deserving world champion in 2005 – which he underlined with a powerful win within the Chinese language finale – but it surely’s additionally arduous to see a lot unsuitable with Raikkonen’s greatest F1 marketing campaign.

PLUS: F1’s fastest runner-up

Jenson Button, 2011

Button dominated team-mate Hamilton in 2011, his Canada victory being that 12 months’s spotlight

Photograph by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 122 (25 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 3/19 

Jenson Button’s transfer to affix Lewis Hamilton at McLaren straight after profitable the 2009 world title was courageous and daring. And, although Hamilton total proved his tempo and gained extra races, it paid off: Button scored extra factors over their three seasons collectively, largely because of a superb marketing campaign that was arguably higher than his championship-winning season. 

Sure, private points meant Hamilton wasn’t at his greatest, however Button additionally outscored Mark Webber within the second Crimson Bull, peak Alonso and beat his team-mate by 43 factors. Button’s 2011 Canadian GP, grabbed from Sebastian Vettel on the final lap after a rain-hit race of incidents and drama, might be his most well-known drive, however there have been a number of different standout races. 

Nice tyre administration and over-ruling a workforce name to pit in troublesome situations on the Hungaroring helped Button take victory, whereas a chic efficiency at Suzuka allowed him to defeat Alonso and runaway title winner Vettel. 

Button was nowhere close to toppling Vettel and the RB7 in 2011 and there have been days when Hamilton beat him, however Button was excellent – and added credibility to his 2009 crown.

Fernando Alonso, 2012 

The truth that Alonso was even in title rivalry throughout 2012 was outstanding

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 3 factors (25 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 3/20 

On common uncooked tempo, the Ferrari F2012 was the fourth quickest automotive of 2012. Even considering the randomness created by fragile Pirelli tyres, the actual fact Alonso got here so near the title is a testomony to one of many best campaigns in motorsport historical past. 

Ferrari began the season over a second off the tempo however Alonso made the many of the arrival of rain in Malaysia to win from eighth on the grid. His relentlessness and Ferrari’s slick operation meant he often moved ahead in races, typically helped by nice begins – and he took each alternative as others made errors or hit bother. 

His Spanish GP qualifying effort was one of many nice laps, setting him up for second, forward of all his title rivals, even when he couldn’t cease Pastor Maldonado profitable for Williams.

PLUS: Top 10 F1 one-hit wonders ranked: Alesi, Maldonado and more

The European GP in Valencia was maybe Alonso’s best drive. From eleventh, Alonso pulled off incisive, opportunistic overtaking strikes to succeed in second, then took a outstanding win when chief Vettel’s Crimson Bull failed. 

Rain at Silverstone and Hockenheim allowed Alonso to take two poles, which he became a second and a primary respectively in two dry races.   

What factors did Alonso drop? At Monaco, a barely later pitstop would possibly have pushed him increased than third, but it surely was a superb efficiency to get the Ferrari that top anyway after qualifying sixth quickest. He was additionally the harmless sufferer of Romain Grosjean insanity at first in Belgium. 

Solely in Japan, when he moved barely throughout on Raikkonen’s Lotus and retired after the following collision, may a lack of factors be put at Alonso’s door. 

As is at all times wanted when somebody battles for the title in an inferior automotive, Alonso’s rivals had points. Other than Vettel’s alternator at Valencia, Hamilton misplaced seemingly wins at Singapore and Abu Dhabi by McLaren unreliability. 

When Vettel discovered himself dealing with the unsuitable method on the primary lap of the Interlagos finale, a shock Alonso title appeared attainable. However the Crimson Bull ace recovered to sixth and Alonso simply couldn’t overcome chief Button’s McLaren to seize the factors he wanted. 

Staff-mate Felipe Massa scored 122 factors to Alonso’s 278 and, aside from the Spaniard’s two retirements, didn’t end forward of Alonso all season, although he did permit him by on the Brazilian GP finale. Massa scored two podiums to Alonso’s 13. 

It’s no slight on champion Vettel however there’s a purpose each Autosport and Autocourse rated Alonso as the perfect driver of 2012.

Lewis Hamilton, 2021

Hamilton was one lap away from a record-breaking eighth world title

Photograph by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 8 factors (25 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 8/22 

We actually don’t need to get drawn into the poisonous dialogue in regards to the Abu Dhabi 2021 GP, so let’s simply say Hamilton was extremely unlucky that motorsport precedent was turned on its head. 

Previous to that, the combat between the Briton and Crimson Bull’s Max Verstappen had been brutal, with each pulling out beautiful performances round clashes, often brought on by the Dutchman.  

Hamilton did make errors in 2021, most notably at Imola (a crimson flag saving him after he slid off at Tosa) and Baku, plus he was quiet at Monaco. However Verstappen wasn’t excellent both, witness the French, Italian and Saudi Arabian GPs. That underlined the depth of the battle, one through which Crimson Bull had arguably the higher automotive, albeit marginally. 

There have been additionally some unimaginable peaks, Hamilton’s drive to victory at Interlagos being one in every of his best weekends following grid penalties. There he went from final to fifth within the dash, then from tenth to win the GP, regardless of doubtful defence from Verstappen. 

We’re not saying Verstappen was an unworthy 2021 champion, for each have been equally sensible and he merely performed the playing cards he was dealt in Abu Dhabi. However Hamilton didn’t need to lose the title because of selections from race management that left him defenceless. 

Much less controversially, Hamilton was largely sensible in 2007, when he misplaced the championship by one level. That will get an honourable point out as most likely F1’s best rookie marketing campaign.

Max Verstappen, 2025 

Verstappen was clearly the perfect driver in 2025

Photograph by: Clive Rose / Getty Photographs

• Ultimate place: 2nd
• Misplaced by: 2 factors (25 for a win)
• Wins/begins: 8/24 

Verstappen’s 2020 marketing campaign, through which he completed miles forward of the following non-Mercedes driver and managed to grab a few wins in opposition to one of many best racing automobiles of all time, was very good. However we’ve gone for the 2025 season through which he got here inside two factors of his fifth world title regardless of having a automotive drawback for many of the 12 months. 

Verstappen’s season was an illustration of maximising the automotive on any given weekend, even enhancing it in a single day with the assistance of Crimson Bull’s simulation and set-up instruments. 

When the RB21 was inferior to the McLaren MCL39, Verstappen stored the stress on Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. An excellent pole at Suzuka allowed him to regulate the race and take a win in opposition to the run of play, whereas an opportunistic transfer on Piastri at Imola arrange one other victory. 

Then, when the Crimson Bull acquired its upgrades in September, together with a brand new ground, Verstappen reeled off six extra wins, together with the title decider in Abu Dhabi.   

Sure, McLaren blunders – most notably the double disqualification in Las Vegas and technique blunder in Qatar – helped maintain Verstappen within the sport, however that shouldn’t take something away from the Dutchman’s stellar season, through which he solely clearly gave away factors in one of many 24 GPs… 

When individuals come to evaluate Verstappen’s profession, it’s going to maybe be seen as becoming that he misplaced the 2025 title by lower than the factors he gave away together with his red-mist second in Spain, penalised from fifth to tenth for driving into George Russell, however there’s additionally little doubt that – by way of pure, relentless, driving efficiency – Verstappen’s marketing campaign was one of many best.

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– The Autosport.com Staff