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In 2022, Max Verstappen begins his first season as the 34th Formula 1 world champion. Like the champions before him, his post-title campaigns have been varied. Let's take a look back at what happened next.
A world championship can propel a driver to glory or leave them discouraged. What does the future hold for Max Verstappen? The legendary history of Formula 1 may offer some clues to the 2021 champion.
Giuseppe Farina (Italy) – 1950 champion, 4th in 1951 The first F1 world champion, Giuseppe Farina will forever be remembered as the pioneer who paved the way for those who followed. At the wheel of the powerful Alfa Romeo 158, he outperformed his teammates Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli to win the first ever F1 race at Silverstone on May 13, 1950, and clinch the first world title. In 1951, despite a victory in Belgium, he finished the season in fourth place overall. Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina) – Champion in 1951, injured in 1952 Second behind Farina in 1950, Fangio dominated the 1951 season at the wheel of the Alfa Romeo 159, winning three races. In 1952, he moved to Maserati, but fractured a cervical vertebra at Monza, which kept him off the track until 1953. He then won four consecutive championships.
Alberto Ascari (Italy) – Champion in 1952 and 1953 The first driver to defend his title, Ascari became the first double world champion and the first Ferrari driver to win the title. He remains the last Italian to have won the championship. Mike Hawthorn (Great Britain) – Champion in 1958, retired in 1959 Hawthorn had a short but brilliant career, becoming the first British world champion and also enjoying success at Le Mans. He retired a few days after winning the 1958 title with Ferrari, but was never able to enjoy it, dying in a car accident in January 1959.
Jack Brabham (Australia) – Champion in 1959, champion in 1960 Two consecutive titles with Cooper in 1959 and 1960 made Brabham a motorsport legend. He added a third championship to his record in 1966 at the wheel of a car that bore his own name, a unique feat in F1 history.
Phil Hill (United States) – Champion in 1961, 6th in 1962 A three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferrari, Hill reached his peak in 1961 by winning at La Sarthe and the F1 world title, also with Ferrari. In 1962, strained relations with his team and an uncompetitive car ended his hopes of winning a second consecutive title.
Graham Hill (Great Britain) – Champion in 1962, 2nd in 1963 During a career that spanned nearly two decades, Graham Hill won two F1 world titles with BRM and Lotus, as well as the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He remains the only driver to have won the triple crown, a legacy that was later inherited by his son Damon. Jim Clark (Great Britain) – Champion in 1963, 3rd in 1964 Forever associated with Colin Chapman's Lotus, Clark is regularly cited as one of the three greatest F1 drivers of all time. His two titles in 1963 and 1965, as well as his victory in the Indianapolis 500 in 1965, give only a glimpse of his talent. He died at the age of 32 during an F2 race at Hockenheim in 1968.
John Surtees (Great Britain) – Champion in 1964, 5th in 1965 The only man to have won world titles on both two and four wheels, Surtees clinched the F1 crown with Ferrari in 1964 after seven motorcycle championships. An entrepreneur at heart, he went on to found his own racing team in the 1970s. Denny Hulme (New Zealand) – Champion in 1967, 3rd in 1968 A modest but effective driver, Hulme won the title in 1967 with Brabham. He joined McLaren the following year, working alongside team founder Bruce McLaren and playing a key role in the team's survival after McLaren's death in 1970.
Jackie Stewart (Great Britain) – Champion in 1969, 5th in 1970 Stewart won his first championship with Matra in 1969, then two more with Tyrrell in 1971 and 1973. Beyond his successes on the track, the Scotsman became a fervent advocate for safety, earning him the respect of the entire paddock. Jochen Rindt (Austria) – Posthumous champion in 1970 Rindt remains the only driver to have been crowned world champion after his death. After Jim Clark's death, he became Colin Chapman's new protégé. Dominant at the wheel of a Lotus, he won more than half of the races in 1970 before dying in an accident during practice at Monza. (Brazil) – 1972 champion, 2nd in 1973 A versatile driver with remarkable longevity, Fittipaldi won two titles in the 1970s – with Lotus in 1972 and McLaren in 1974 – and finished second in 1973 and 1975. He also won the Indianapolis 500 twice. Niki Lauda (Austria) – Champion in 1975, 2nd in 1976 Lauda's career was full of twists and turns. He first restored Ferrari to its former glory, then moved to Brabham, before ending his F1 career at McLaren with a third title. The year following his first title is forever linked to his duel with James Hunt and his terrible accident at the Nürburgring. James Hunt (Great Britain) – Champion in 1976, 5th in 1977 Perhaps the most flamboyant champion in F1 history, Hunt combined an unbridled lifestyle with undeniable talent. His battle for the title with Lauda in 1976 is legendary, and in 1977 he finished fifth overall, adding three more wins for McLaren. Over four decades, the Formula 1 throne has seen a kaleidoscope of personalities, with each champion's story marked by a meteoric rise, a brief peak, and often an unexpected reversal.
Mario Andretti, the American who turned a Lotus 78 into a title-winning machine in 1978, disappeared from the winners' circle the following year and never made it back to the podium, leaving F1 at the end of 1982. His 35-year odyssey in motorsport began with a USAC title in 1965 and ended at Le Mans in 2000. On the other side of the globe, South African Jody Scheckter became the continent's only world champion in 1979, beating his Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve. Overtaken by an obsolete car in 1980, he immediately retired, leaving behind a legacy of just one season. Australia's Alan Jones opened up new prospects for Williams in 1980, but his 1981 campaign was marred by a bitter feud with teammate Carlos Reutemann, which cost him a second title despite a strong start.
Nelson Piquet considered Brabham his family and won his first two titles in 1981 and 1983. A temperamental BMW engine cost him any chance of defending his title in 1982, and a fierce rivalry with Nigel Mansell marked his third championship with Williams in 1987.
Finland's Keke Rosberg won only five Grand Prix races, including the 1982 title, which was won in tragic circumstances: the death of Gilles Villeneuve and the serious accident involving Didier Pironi. He never competed for the championship again, retiring at the end of 1986.
Alain Prost, France's only world champion, turned two consecutive runner-up finishes into titles in 1985 and 1986 with McLaren, before adding a third with Williams in 1993. His career is inseparable from his legendary rivalry with Ayrton Senna.
Senna, the Brazilian idol who shone beyond the racetracks, won three titles with McLaren, the last in 1991, before his fatal accident at Imola in 1994, an ending that still resonates today in the world of motorsport.
Nigel Mansell finally won the title at the age of 39 in 1992, after years of near misses, before falling out with Williams and retiring in 1993. He returned for a single victory in 1994, becoming the last driver in his forties to stand on the top step of the podium.
Michael Schumacher's meteoric rise began with a controversial victory in 1994 for Benetton, followed by an undisputed title in 1995. After a period of dominance with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004, he restored the Scuderia to glory after a 21-year drought, cementing a statistical legacy that still dominates the record books today.
Damon Hill made history as the first son of a world champion to follow in his father's footsteps, winning the title in 1996 with Williams before a turbulent final season saw him move through Arrows and Jordan, finishing 12th in 1997. Jacques Villeneuve arrived after enjoying success in IndyCar, winning the championship in his second season in F1 in 1997. The loss of Renault's support in 1998 left him without a win thereafter, highlighting how quickly luck can change. Mika Häkkinen, Finland's second world champion, waited five years for McLaren's comeback before winning two consecutive titles in 1998 and 1999, his duels with Schumacher becoming modern legend.
Fernando Alonso ended Schumacher's dominance at Ferrari in 2005 and 2006, then diversified his record with two victories at Le Mans, starts in the Indy 500, and participation in the Dakar Rally, highlighting a career marked by versatility.
Kimi Räikkönen, another Finnish ace, won the title in 2007 and finished third in 2008, his stoic “I'm just happy to be here” attitude offering a discreet contrast to the drama surrounding many of his predecessors.
Together, these stories illustrate a recurring pattern: a meteoric rise to the top, a brief reign, then a turning point—whether retirement, new battles, or a different racing discipline—reminding us that in Formula 1, glory is as fleeting as it is glorious.
The second season after a driver's first world title has become a litmus test for greatness in Formula 1. While some champions ride their momentum to back-to-back titles, the majority see their fortunes collapse, and a handful even leave the sport altogether. Kimi Räikkönen's “Iceman” persona masked a turbulent 2008. Fresh from his triumph at Ferrari in 2007, he was overshadowed by teammate Felipe Massa and rising star Lewis Hamilton, ultimately finishing third in the standings. Hamilton himself experienced the vagaries of defending a title: after winning the championship at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, a complete overhaul of the technical regulations robbed him of his competitive edge and he finished fifth in 2009. Jenson Button's story followed a similar pattern. The British driver won the 2009 title with a dominant Brawn-GP, rewarding his loyalty to the Brackley-based team, but his move to McLaren in 2010 earned him only a fifth-place finish.
Sebastian Vettel stands out as the most successful defender of a first title in the modern era. After winning his first championship in 2010 with Adrian Newey's monster Red Bull, he repeated the feat in 2011, becoming the first driver since Michael Schumacher's double in 1994-95 to retain his title. Nico Rosberg, after winning the coveted title in 2016, chose to retire at the end of the 2017 season, ending a career that had peaked with a single championship.
History shows that only seven drivers have managed to retain their title immediately after their first victory: Alberto Ascari (1952-53), Jack Brabham (1959-60), Alain Prost (1985-86), Michael Schumacher (1994-1995), Mika Häkkinen (1998-1999), Fernando Alonso (2005-2006), and Sebastian Vettel (2010-2011). For each new champion, the chances of repeating their feat are slim.
The overall picture confirms this trend. Of the 33 world champions to date, only a minority have improved or maintained their position in the year following their first title. The table below shows the year each champion started and their results the following season: – Giuseppe Farina (Italy) – champion in 1950, 4th in 1951
– Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina) – champion in 1951, injured in 1952 – Alberto Ascari (Italy) – champion in 1952, retained his title in 1953 – Mike Hawthorn (Great Britain) – champion in 1958, retired in 1959 – Jack Brabham (Australia) – champion in 1959, champion again in 1960 – Phil Hill (United States) – champion in 1961, 6th in 1962 – Graham Hill (Great Britain) – champion in 1962, 2nd in 1963
– Jim Clark (Great Britain) – champion in 1963, 3rd in 1964 – John Surtees (Great Britain) – champion in 1964, 5th in 1965
– Denny Hulme (New Zealand) – champion in 1967, 3rd in 1968 – Jackie Stewart (Great Britain) – champion in 1969, 5th in 1970 – Jochen Rindt (Austria) – champion in 1970 (posthumously) – Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil) – champion in 1972, 2nd in 1973 – Niki Lauda (Austria) – champion in 1975, 2nd in 1976 – James Hunt (Great Britain) – champion in 1976, 5th in 1977 – Mario Andretti (United States) – champion in 1978, 12th in 1979 – Jody Scheckter (South Africa) – champion in 1979, 19th in 1980 – Alan Jones (Australia) – champion in 1980, 3rd in 1981
– Nelson Piquet (Brazil) – Champion in 1981, 11th in 1982 – Keke Rosberg (Finland) – Champion in 1982, 5th in 1983 – Alain Prost (France) – Champion in 1985, champion again in 1986
– Ayrton Senna (Brazil) – Champion in 1988, 2nd in 1989 – Nigel Mansell (Great Britain) – Champion in 1992, retired in 1993
– Michael Schumacher (Germany) – Champion in 1994, Champion again in 1995 – Damon Hill (Great Britain) – Champion in 1996, 12th in 1997 – Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) – Champion in 1997, 5th in 1998 – Mika Häkkinen (Finland) – champion in 1998, champion again in 1999 – Fernando Alonso (Spain) – champion in 2005, champion again in 2006 – Kimi Räikkönen (Finland) – champion in 2007, 3rd in 2008 – Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) – champion in 2008, 5th in 2009 – Jenson Button (Great Britain) – champion in 2009, 5th in 2010 – Sebastian Vettel (Germany) – champion in 2010, champion again in 2011
– Nico Rosberg (Germany) – Champion in 2016, retired after 2017 The data shows a brutal reality: defending a title is the exception, not the rule. As the sport awaits its next champion, the pressure to prove that this first triumph is not a flash in the pan will be immense.
