ALL ABOUT FORMULA 1
LANGUAGE
REVIEWS OF ALL SEASONS
BEST F1 CARS AND PILOTS THAT DEFEATED THEM
Here are the most dominant F1 cars in chronological order, along with their statistics and the cars that defeated them.
OLD F1 (1950-1967)
1) Alfa Romeo 1950:
6 Wins in 6 races (100%)
6 poles
3 hat tricks
4 starting doubles
4 arrival doubles
5 breaks
Who defeated: Nobody.
Note: These Alfa Romeo cars were built before World War II. Excluding the Indy 500, which was not contested with F1 cars, that Alfa Romeo won every race of the 1950 season.
2) Ferrari 1952 (2.0s + fast) / Ferrari 1953 (1.0s + fast):
14 wins in 15 races (93%)
13 Poles
6 Hat-tricks
7 Starting doubles
9 Arrival doubles
15 Breaks
Who defeated: Fangio 1.
NOTE : Ferrari raced with 9 drivers out of 1952. Excluding the Indy 500, which was not contested with F1 cars, this Ferrari won every race of the 1952 and 1953 seasons, with the exception of the 1953 Italian Grand Prix, due to a spin by Ascari on the final lap. It is the most dominant car of the early F1 era.
3) Ferrari 1961 (1.6s + fast):
4 wins in 7 races (57%)
6 Poles
0 Hat-tricks
3 Starting Doubles
3 Arrival Doubles
5 Breaks
Who defeated: Moss 2, Ireland 1.
Note: It is a car that is rarely remembered, yet it secured the title for Phil Hill, considered the least talented world champion of the early F1 era. Von Trips also raced for Ferrari and could have been the champion, but he died in an accident at Monza and finished as runner-up.
4) Lotus 1965 (0.7s + fast):
7 wins in 11 races (64%)
6 Poles
4 Hat Trick
2 Breaks
Who defeated: Hill 2, Stewart 1, Ginther 1.
NOTE 1: In 1963, the Lotus was the best car, but it wasn't as dominant as the 1965 Lotus.
NOTE 2: In 1965 Clark did not race in Monaco because he was competing in the Indy 500, which did not count towards the F1 championship that year. Jim Clark won every race (seven) he finished that season.
MODERN F1 (1968 ONWARDS)
5) Lotus 1978 (0.5s + fast):
8 wins in 16 races (50%)
8 Poles
2 Hat-tricks
5 Starting doubles
4 Arrival doubles
10 Breaks
Drivers who defeated: Reutemann 4, Lauda 2, Villeneuve 1, Depailler 1.
Note: This was the first F1 car with ground effect. Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson finished first and second in the standings that season. Few people realize that Peterson left Lotus on bad terms in 1976 (Source: *Anuário Motores 76*, p. 43), he later returned to the British team in 1978 as the second driver, racing several rounds with equipment that was inferior to Mario Andretti's.
6) McLaren 1984 (0.4s + racing fast):
12 wins in 16 races (75%)
3 Poles
1 Hat-tricks
0 Starting doubles
4 Arrival doubles
7 Breaks
Who defeated: Piquet 2, Rosberg 1, Alboreto 1.
Note: In 1984, BMW, Renault, and Ferrari used dedicated qualifying engines, whereas Porsche did not, focusing instead on race engines, which explains why they secured few pole positions. The Porsche engine was the best in terms of race pace, as it combined good power with low fuel consumption, unlike the other engines.
7) Williams 1986 (0.2 + fast runs)/ Williams 1987 (0.7s + fast runs):
18 wins in 32 races (56%)
16 Poles
0 Hat Tricks
8 Double Start
6 Double arrival
12 Breaks
Who defeated: Prost 7, Senna 4, Berger 3.
Note: In 1986, Williams failed to win the title with either Mansell or Piquet because Alain Prost delivered a brilliant performance throughout the season and secured the championship for McLaren.
8) McLaren 1988/1989 (0.5s + fast):
25 Wins in 32 races (78%)
29 poles
5 hat-tricks
23 starting doubles
14 finish double
7 breaks
Who defeated: Mansell 2, Berger 2, Boutsen 2.
Video about MP 4/4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRtjeWsIscc&t=2506s
Note: The McLaren cars of 1988 and 1989 were the dominant machines of their respective seasons, but the efforts of two geniuses Prost and Senna made these cars appear even better than they actually were.
9) Williams 1992/93 (2.0s + fast in training and 1.0s + fast in races):
20 Wins in 32 races (62%)
30 poles
6 hat-tricks
22 starting doubles
7 arrival doubles
7 breaks
Who defeated: Senna 8, Berger 2, Schumacher 2.
Videos about this car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMMA5ChCnRc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb0B97-ieV0 (BOTH FROM THE ENERTO CHANNEL)
Note: Check out the page on this site titled "Williams 92/93: The Best Car of Modern F1," featuring explanations of the technology behind the FW14B and FW14C and why it is considered the best car in modern F1.
10) Williams 1996/97 (1.0s + fast):
20 victories in 33 races (61%)
23 Poles
4 Hat-tricks
13 starting doubles
6 arrival doubles
6 breaks
Who defeated: Schumacher 8, Coulthard 2, Panis 1, Berger 1, Hakkinen 1.
Note: These two cars are often overlooked by F1 fans, yet they delivered world championships to Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve, drivers considered by many to be the least talented world champions of the modern F1 era. Those Williams cars were about a second faster than the Benetton in practice, even though both used the same Renault V10 engine.
11) Ferrari 2002 (0.4s + fast) / Ferrari 2004 (0.5s + fast):
30 wins in 35 races (86%)
22 Poles
10 Hat-tricks
10 Starting doubles
17 Arrival doubles
4 Breaks (all with Rubinho)
Who defeated: Ralf 1, Coulthard 1, Raikkonen 1, Trulli 1 and Montoya 1.
Note: Ferrari failed to win every race in the 2002 and 2004 seasons only due to issues Schumacher encountered in certain races, or because the Michelin tires used by their rivals (Williams, McLaren, and Renault) proved superior under specific track conditions.
12) RBR 2010 (0.5s + fast) / RBR 2011 (0.6s + fast) RBR 2013 (0.5s + fast)
33 wins in 54 races (61%)
42 Poles
5 Hat-tricks
19 Starting doubles
10 Arrival doubles
7 Breaks
Who defeated: Alonso 8, Hamilton 7, Button 5, Rosberg 1.
Note 1: The RBR car was the best of 2012, but it was not the dominant car of the season; therefore, it is not on this list.
Note 2: The secrets behind Red Bull's success from 2010 to 2013 were the aerodynamics of the car designed by Adrian Newey and the naturally aspirated Renault engine, which consumed less fuel than its rivals. This provided an advantage, allowing the car to start the race about 8 kg lighter and perform better in the early stages.
13) Mercedes 2014 (0.8s + fast) / Mercedes 2015 (0.5s + fast) / Mercedes 2016 (0.5s + fast) / Mercedes 2019 (0.3s + fast) / Mercedes 2020 (0.5s + fast)
79 wins in 97 races (81%)
78 Poles
14 Hat Trick
58 starting doubles
45 Arrival double
10 Breaks
Who defeated: Verstappen 6, Ricciardo 4, Vettel 4, Leclerc 2, Gasly 1 and Perez 1.
NOTE: The 2017, 2018 and 2021 Mercedes cars were very good, but they weren't as dominant as the Mercedes cars from 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2020. Proof of this is that Vettel, driving for Ferrari, led the championship for several races during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. And in 2021, Red Bull had the best car in the first half of the season.
14) RBR 2022 (0,4s + fast)/RBR 2023 (0,6s + fast)
36 wins em 43 races (84%)
23 Poles
8 Hat-tricks
2 Starting Doulbles
11 Arrival Double
5 Breaks
Who defeated: Leclerc 3, Sainz 3, Russell 1.
NOTE: In 2023, Red Bull won 21 of the 22 races (95%), a record in both absolute numbers and percentage terms. Despite the car's dominance, the time gap to the second-best car (Ferrari) was not that large, however, Max Verstappen's talent enabled the car to perform well on almost every track and dominate those two seasons.
