Is the Grand Slam the last title of the season?

At the start of the season, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have already won a Grand Slam and are locked in a fierce battle for the world title, but does this early success guarantee them the championship?

Achieving a Grand Slam in Formula 1 is anything but easy. This sport already has several exclusive clubs—race winners, triple winners, world champions—and the Grand Slam (pole position, victory, fastest lap, and first place from start to finish) is at the very top of this hierarchy.

Only three drivers have managed to win the Grand Slam and the title in the same season

It is very difficult to join the very exclusive circle of Grand Slam winners: to date, only 26 drivers have achieved this, with Charles Leclerc being the latest to join this prestigious club this year.

Of these 26 drivers, only three (11.5%) have achieved the Grand Slam and won the world championship in the same year: Alberto Ascari (1952 and 1953), Mike Hawthorn (1958), and Nico Rosberg (2016).

Twelve drivers (46.2%) have won the title without ever dominating a race weekend from pole to finish: Lewis Hamilton (2008, 2018, 2020), Michael Schumacher (1995, 2000, 2001, 2003), Jackie Stewart (1973), Ayrton Senna (1988), Sebastian Vettel (2010), Nelson Piquet (1987), Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, 1954, 1955, 1957), Jack Brabham (1959), Mika Häkkinen (1999), and Damon Hill (1996). Two other drivers, Niki Lauda (1975, 1977, 1984) and Fernando Alonso (2005, 2006), never won the Grand Slam in the seasons in which they were crowned champions.

Eight drivers (30.8%) achieved a Grand Slam but did not win the title at the end of the season: Jim Clark (1962, 1964), Jackie Stewart (1972), Ayrton Senna (1985), Nigel Mansell (1991), Nelson Piquet (1980), Niki Lauda (1976), Damon Hill (1995), and Fernando Alonso (2010). Finally, seven drivers (26.9%) achieved a Grand Slam without ever winning a championship: Stirling Moss, Jo Siffert, Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, Jacques Laffite, Gilles Villeneuve, and Gerhard Berger. The figures show that a Grand Slam does not guarantee a title: of the 72 championships awarded since 1950, only 28 (38.9%) have been won by drivers who have achieved at least one Grand Slam. Conversely, all drivers who have achieved two or more Grand Slams in the same season have finished the year as champions.

*Max Verstappen is not included in these calculations.

Drivers who have achieved a Grand Slam