Formula One

Drivers & Autobiography

Niki Lauda (1975, 1977, 1984 F1 World Champion)
Niki Lauda was one of few drivers to make a successful
comeback in Formula One, returning to win a third
championship after two years out of the cockpit. He
arrived in F1 in 1971 with March and moved on to BRM for
1973. Although he came from a wealthy background, he
subsidized his racing by taking out a loan. It paid off when
he was snapped up by Ferrari in 1974 and became a Grand
Prix winner. The following year he claimed the team’s first
drivers’ title for more than a decade. A shoo-in for the 1976
title, he crashed horribly at the Nürburgring, was pulled
from the burning wreckage, and so badly injured he was
read the last rites. Incredibly, he survived and returned to
the track just six weeks later. But he missed out on the title
by a single point after withdrawing from the final race of
the season, held in atrocious conditions at Fuji in Japan. He
got his revenge in 1977 with a second title, before leaving Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari had criticized
Lauda’s decision to withdraw from Fuji and brought in the competitive Carlos Routeman as
Lauda’s teammate. Three difficult years with Brabham followed before his retirement at the end
of 1979. And that, everyone assumed, was that.

Michael Schumacher (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 F1 World Champion)
Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969 in Hürth-
Hermülheim, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia,
West Germany) is a German Formula One racing driver
who most recently drove for Mercedes. He has seven
world titles (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004), 91
wins, 77 fastest laps, and 155 podiums. Schumacher had
for some time stood head and shoulders above other
Formula One drivers during his career. Schumacher
made an immediate impact driving at the Belgian Grand
Prix in 1991 at Spa for Jordan, and moved to Benetton the
next race, eventually winning the title in 1994
controversially and the 1995 title with relative ease. He
moved to Ferrari in 1996, and after four years without success (and even getting disqualified
from the championship in 1997), Schumacher won five titles in a row to end Ferrari's 21-year
driver's title drought in style, setting many records in the process, including most wins in a
season and most points before the 2010 points system overhaul. After a difficult 2005 and nearly
winning the title in 2006, Schumacher retired from F1. After nearly returning in 2009 to cover
for Felipe Massa, Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010 with Mercedes without much success,
taking just one podium on his return at the 2012 European Grand Prix.
He was replaced at Mercedes in 2013 by Lewis Hamilton, and subsequently following this
announcement, Schumacher opted to enter his second retirement from F1 at the end of the 2012
season. On 29 December 2013, Schumacher suffered a serious head injury following a fall while
skiing in the French Alps. Schumacher was skiing off-piste in the resort of Meribel, France,
when he fell and hit his head on a rock. Having been airlifted to hospital in Grenoble,
Schumacher was kept in a medically-induced coma until mid-June. He was moved home in
September.

Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991 F1 World Champion)

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil to a

wealthy family. When he was four years old his father Milton
bought him a go-kart, and by age eight Ayrton was regularly
competing in karting events. His career progressed quickly, and
in 1982 he moved to England to pursue his racing. In 1984 he
came to the attention of the whole world by racing in Formula
One. Over the next ten years he won the World Championship
three times and engaged in some controversial racing with
France's Alain Prost and England's Nigel Mansell. Ayrton Senna
was killed on 1 May 1994 in a race at the San Marino Grand Prix
when his car, which had been beset with problems the entire season, inexplicably left the track
and crashed into the concrete barrier. His was the last death in Formula One due to the major
safety reforms that the tragic weekend at Imola had brought about. He was voted by over two
hundred of his fellow Formula One drivers as the best driver of all time in a 2010 poll. Senna
was also a humanitarian who discreetly donated millions to help those less fortunate in his native
country.

Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 F1 World Champion)

Sebastian Vettel (born 3 July 1987 in Heppenheim, Bergstraße,
Hesse, West Germany) is a German Formula One racing driver
and a four-time Formula One World Champion, a title which he
won for the fourth consecutive time in 2013. He currently drives
for Aston Martin Racing alongside Lance Stroll, having
previously raced for Ferrari, BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso and Red
Bull. Vettel made his début in 2007, replacing injured Polish
driver Robert Kubica at the 2007 United States Grand Prix,
becoming the first teenager to score a point in F1.

Vettel is currently the holder of numerous records in F1, most notably including Youngest
Polesitter, Youngest World Champion, Youngest Double World Champion, Youngest Triple
Word Champion, Youngest Quadruple World Champion and Most consecutive victories in
consecutive events. Vettel's first title, 2010, was won at the final race. He had not led the
championship until the final race, taking the title off Fernando Alonso. In 2011, Vettel
dominated, winning 11 of the 19 races, and taking his second championship with ease. 2012 was
a different story, as the RB8 was slow out the blocks, but towards the end it came strong. Vettel
was able to win four races in a row to successfully defend his title from Alonso. For 2013, Vettel
strolled to his fourth title after a slow start, finishing the season with nine consecutive wins as
he broke his 2011 points tally. A switch to new regulations in 2014 cut out Red Bull's – and
Vettel's – advantage. He left the team for 2015, joining Ferrari on an initial three-year contract.
He then left for Aston Martin in 2021. As 2013 World Champion, Vettel held the number 1 car
for 2014, but switched to his permanent number 5, in 2015.

Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 F1 World Champion)
Hamilton was born in England in 1985. His father’s family is
originally from the Central American state of Grenada, an island in
the southeastern Caribbean Sea. His parents separated when he was
only two years old, but he loved to spend time with his father,
especially when they would go to Go-Kart tracks together. His
father did everything he could to support his son’s passion. He kept
four different jobs and stayed up at night for hours in the garage
repairing old karts. It’s also thanks to him that, at the age of ten,
Hamilton won his first national championship. This gave him the
opportunity to meet McLaren founder and president Ron Dennis.
The encounter changed his life: just two years later, he signed a
contract with the British racing team and, from that point onwards,
just kept winning. His Formula 1 debut took place in 2007. One year
later, at the tender age of 23 years, Hamilton celebrated his first
championship victory, with Ron Dennis as team leader. He won six
more World Championships in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2020,
together with the Mercedes team. Hamilton is also the driver with
the most victories (94 out of 263 races), top-three finishes (163) and pole positions (97) in the
history of the competition. When he started in 2007, Hamilton was the first black driver to ever
race in the sport, and, as of 2020, remains the only one.
Kimi Raikkonen (2007 F1 World Champion)

Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (born 17 October 1979 in Espoo, Finland) is a

Finnish Formula One driver who drives for Alfa Romeo, having
completed his second stint with the Ferrari. Räikkönen has also had a
two-year spell with Lotus-Renault following a two-year hiatus from
the sport. Before his first spell with Ferrari, Räikkönen had raced for
McLaren-Mercedes and Sauber-Petronas since 2001. Räikkönen won
the 2007 World Drivers' Championship with Ferrari, following a
season-long battle with McLaren-Mercedes drivers Fernando Alonso
and Lewis Hamilton, both of whom the Finn beat by a single point.
With the non-point finish in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, his second
non-points finish was in the 2013 Italian Grand Prix in his season with
Lotus-Renault. He missed the final two races during the 2013 season due to undergoing surgery, being
replaced by Heikki Kovalainen. Räikkönen's teammate at Alfa Romeo for the 2019 season is Antonio
Giovinazzi. Since the introduction of drivers' personal car numbers in 2014, his preferred car number is
#7.

Fernando Alonso (2005, 2006 F1 World Champion)

Fernando Alonso Díaz (born 29 July 1981 in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
[1]) is a racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2001 to
2018. Alonso has claimed the World Championship twice making
him a Double World Champion, winning the title in 2005 and 2006.
He is one of the finest drivers to have graced the sport. After
beginning his Formula One career with Minardi in 2001, Alonso
moved to Renault in 2002, initially as a test driver before being
promoted to full-time race driver in 2003. Within half a season,
was the sport's youngest polesitter; and the youngest driver to set
the fastest lap; and at the Hungarian Grand Prix, he became the
youngest winner. In 2005, he became the youngest World
Champion, at the age of 24 years and 58 days, after fending off Kimi Räikkönen, in 2006, the youngest
double World Champion after a good battle with Michael Schumacher. He moved to McLaren in 2007,
but after a difficult season, Alonso moved back to Renault for two more years without much success,
one of his wins was part of the Crash gate scandal. In 2010, he moved to Ferrari,[2][3] where after an
initial struggle Alonso nearly won the World Championship. While 2011 disappointed, 2012 was Alonso's
strongest season, however, he was beaten to the title by Sebastian Vettel. 2014 was the last year in
which Alonso drove for Ferrari. During the year he only managed to finish on the podium twice,
dropping down to 6th in the driver’s standings, albeit in an uncompetitive car, which was the result of
the new aero and power unit regulations for the season. In 2015, Alonso left Ferrari to rejoin McLaren,
now with Honda engines. Despite McLaren's worst-ever start to a season, he insisted he was happy with
the move. For the entire year, due to a faulty power unit, the team suffered a lot of retirements during
the season. Alonso fell to 17th in the driver’s standings, with only two points finishes to his name. In
2021, Alonso returned to Formula One and joined Alpine. While he may not hold the youngest driver
records anymore, Alonso has the sixth-most wins of any Formula One driver with 32 wins. He is known
for his ability to salvage a strong result regardless of grid position, so despite taking only 22 poles, he has
been on the podium 98 times and has scored 1990 points, the third-highest total in history.

Allain Prost (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 F1 World Champion)

Alain Marie Pascal Prost (born 24 February 1955 in Lorette,
Loire, France) is one of the most successful drivers in the
history of Formula One, winning four championships (1985,
1986, 1989 and 1993), being runner-up in another four
(1983, 1984, 1988 and 1990), and for taking 51 wins in the
time of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and
Niki Lauda's return. He is the only French world champion.

After retiring in Formula One in 1993, he returned back to

the sport as a test driver for McLaren in 1996. Before he
returned, he was testing the McLaren MP4/9 and the
McLaren MP4/10 in a private test.

Max Verstappen (2021 F1 World Champion)

Born in Hasselt, Belgium, in 1997, it wasn’t long before the

young Verstappen hit the race track, and by 2003 he was
karting regularly in Genk, Belgium. In 2005, things got
serious and he took part in his first championship, the
Belgium Championship Mini (VAS), where he won all 21
races. By 2013, Verstappen had won just about everything
karting had to offer, winning the 2013 World KZ
championship at Varennes-sur-Allier in France. His single-
seater debut came in the inaugural Florida Winter Series,
but he was soon snapped up by Van Amersfoort to take
part in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. At just
16, Verstappen took the F3 championship by storm,
winning his sixth race before going on to win an incredible
six consecutive victories in the series, placing third in the
overall rankings. Verstappen joined Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015, making him the youngest Formula One
driver in history, surpassing the record of Jaime Alguersuari by nearly two years. Verstappen went on to
score an impressive 49 points in his debut season, taking two fourth places. After just four races of 2016,
Verstappen moved from Scuderia Toro Rosso to join Red Bull Racing and race alongside Daniel Ricciardo.
In his very first grand prix for the team, in Spain, he defied the odds and, under relentless pressure from
2007 world champion Kimi Räikkönen in second place, took an epic first victory. Verstappen wasn’t
finished there, however. A further six podium finishes, including perhaps the standout drive of the
season in rain-lashed Brazil, landed Verstappen fifth overall in the 2016 World Championship and
confirmed him as the hottest young talent in F1. More promising results came in 2017, with victories in
Malaysia and Mexico, second in Japan and third in China securing him an overall finish of sixth place. But
Verstappen's form went up a gear during the 2018, when he finished in a career-best of fourth place
overall thanks to victories in Austria and Mexico and a string of impressive podium places all over the
world. Verstappen went one better once again in the 2019 Formula One Season with a third-place
overall finish in the standings as a result of consistent performances which earned him podium places in
Australia and Spain, a memorable win at the Red Bull Ring at the Austrian Grand Prix and an impressive
first place at the Hockenheimring at a dramatic and rain-soaked German Grand Prix. After that he
finished the 2019 campaign strongly with podium spots in Hungary, Singapore, the USA, first place in
Brazil and second place in Abu Dhabi to confirm his reputation as one of Formula One's most formidable
and improving drivers. After that Verstappen put an end to speculation about his future by signing a
contract extension through, a move which seemed to inspire even more big results in 2020. After
scoring third place in the Styrian Grand Prix, he went one better by finishing second at Hungarian Grand
Prix and the British Grand Prix. By that point it was clear that Verstappen had made a home from home
for himself on the F1 podium, and he went one better once again by claiming first place at the UK 70th
Anniversary Formula One Grand Prix. The Dutch driver ended the season in style with victory in Abu
Dhabi to end the campaign in third place overall. Season 2021 was one where Max went from a
consistent podium presence capable of occasional giant-killing results into a bona fide world
championship contender. The list of firsts were many, mostly because Max spent so much of the season
finishing first. A first win on the most famous city streets of all in Monaco, a first hat-trick of successive
wins in France, Syria and Austria (leading all 142 laps across two memorable races at the Red Bull Ring)
and a first win in the United States were highlights, but it would be hard to top his domination of his
home race at Zandvoort in September, where he took pole and won the race in front of a frenzied
orange-hued adoring home crowd. Max then finished on top of the world for the first time, securing his
first Formula One world title in the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

James Hunt (1976 F1 World Champion)

The transformation of this Wellington-educated public schoolboy
from the role of erratic F3 also-ran to serious F1 World
Championship contender was a process which took little more than
four years. But even at the pinnacle of his F1 achievement, James
was out to enjoy his life to the full and never took himself too
seriously. The son of a London stockbroker, James cut his teeth in
Formula Ford 1600 in the late 1960s before moving through the
closely contested F3 category, where his oft-impulsive
temperament got him into tight scrapes. He was unquestionably
quick, but a succession of accidents led him almost to be written off
as a bad job by the end of 1972. Yet just when it seemed as though
James had exhausted all career possibilities, support from the
enthusiastic and individualistic Lord Hesketh lifted him up into F2
for the start of the ’73 season and then into the sport’s most senior
category with a March 731 chassis. And James proved himself to be
an instinctive F1 driver in short order, gaining fourth place in the
British GP at Silverstone, third at Zandvoort and finally a superb second in the US race at Watkins Glen
where he tracked Ronnie Peterson’s Lotus 72 for the entire distance. Drawing on the experience from
running the March, Hesketh’s designer Harvey Postlethwaite built on his experience to develop the
Hesketh 308 for James to drive in 1974 and the ambitious young team demonstrated its potential by
delivering an impressive victory in the non-championship Silverstone International Trophy race. The
following year, 1975, James won his first GP at Zandvoort, holding off Niki Lauda’s Ferrari in a straight
fight. Lack of money forced Hesketh to close at the end of 1975, but then Fittipaldi’s shock departure
from McLaren opened up the perfect opportunity for James. In a matter of days, he had finalized a deal
to partner Jochen Mass for 1976. James and McLaren made a formidable, high-octane partnership. The
Englishman stamped his authority on the team by outqualifying Mass for his first Grand Prix, the
Brazilian race at Interlagos. But James and McLaren were never very far from controversy; after winning
the Spanish GP at Jarama, he was disqualified when his M23 was deemed to have infringed the
dimensional regulations – new rear wheels had made the car 1.8cm too wide. McLaren appealed and
the victory was reinstated, but it seemed to be a nerve-wracking case of swings and roundabouts as the
season unfolded, with James being disqualified from the British GP at Brands Hatch after what proved to
be an illegal restart following a first-lap collision. The circumstances were controversial but this time he
stayed disqualified! James’s season thereafter settled down to a slog with his arch-rival Niki Lauda, a
close and genuine friend whom James respected unreservedly. Although James’s own title hopes
received a boost after Niki suffered serious burns when he crashed his Ferrari during the German GP at
the Nurburgring, Hunt knew enough about his rival’s determination not to rely on any short-term points
advantage. Only a few weeks later Lauda would be back behind the wheel and picking up the threads of
his title defense. Confirmation of James’s Brands Hatch disqualification meant that he had to overcome
a deficit of 17 points over the last three races of the season if he was going to have a hope of securing
the crown. James rose to the challenge in brilliant style, adding wins in Canada and the USA to his
personal tally, and then storming home to a championship-clinching third in the inaugural Japanese GP
at Fuji, the race in which Niki pulled out after two tentative laps, declaring the torrential conditions
impossible. In 1977 James again drove well for McLaren but the team’s new M26 was, by common
consensus, not as driver-friendly as the M23 which had carried James to his ’76 success. Gradually
James’s and the team’s form faded until he decided that he would quit for 1979 and seek rejuvenation
with Walter Wolf’s nascent F1 squad. But it was Hunt’s motivation that was now flagging and, a few
races into the season, the popular British driver announced that he was calling it a day. Off-track James
may have retired, but he continued to be an ever-present item in the newspaper gossip columns. He
remained on the F1 scene as an informed and charismatic BBC television commentator until his untimely
death in 1993.