Fangio obtained first successes in the European motor racing only at a "high" age of 37 years. But then it went on in rapid succession. In 1950 he joined the new founded Formula One and became Vice-World Champion in his first year behind Nino Farina. In the following year he could win the title for the first time. 

In 1952 he had a serious accident in Monza and broke his neck. He struggled for his life for several hours. The accident happened because Fangio promised to take part at the race in Monza after his race in Budapest. Because he missed the connection he had to drive himself the whole night from Paris to Monza. Only half an hour before the race began he arrived and took up his starting position completely overtired. 

Thenext year he came back to the racing track and finished the World Championship on second place. 

In 1954 Fangio left Maserati and went to Mercedes where he won his second World Champion title. In the following three years nobody was able to defeat him and he won the title four times in a row. 

In 1958 Fangio drove his last race at the Grand Prix of France and afterwards retired. His result of victories compared with his starts will probably never been exceeded.  

The Australian Jack Brabham was born in Hurtsville in 1926. Already at the age of twelve he drove around with heavy trucks within his father's farm, later he became a car and aircraft mechanic. 

In 1955 he went to Europe. His road performance was influenced of races he drove in Australia, but this style didn't show to advantage. He changed soon his style and developed into a proper clever driver. After less successful years in the beginning he managed to win his first Formula One World Champion title in 1959. One year later he defended his tittle with five more race winnings. 

When the next season came to nothing he constructed his own racing car and in 1996 he won a Grand Prix as first driver of an own car. Further victories followed. The reward was his third World Champion title. In 1967 he had to admit defeated by his workmate Denis Hulme and became a Vice-World Champion. 

In 1970 Jack Brabham resigned from racing, but his car drove successful races till 1992. Altogether the Brabham stable could record 35 victories.  

The American Phil Hill was born in Santa Monica in 1927. He started his race career in the United States and developed into one of the best long-distance drivers of the world. He could celebrate successes in the 24-hours-race of Le Mans in 1958, 1961 and 1962 as well as int the 1000-kilometer-race of Nürburgring in 1962 and 1966. Beside it he won two long-distance races for Ferrari in 1958. 

When his partner Peter Collins was killed in an accident during the Grand Prix of Germany in 1958, Phil Hill moved up. In 1960 he could win a race and in 1961 he won besides two races also the Worcl Championship. Although he won the title in 1961 he never was able to be glad about it because the till then leading Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips was killed during the Grand Prix of Italy. Hill lost his friend and workmate. 

When he "only" could achieve second or third places in 1962 he changed to ATS which brought him two disastrous years. From now on he devoted himself to the long-distance races again before he retired from racing. 

He died in 2008 at the age of 81. 

The Briton Graham Hill was born in Hampstead in 1929. Unlike most of his fellow drivers, he came to racing late in life. He initially worked as a mechanic at Lotus from the end of the 1950s and drove his first Formula 1 races in 1958 and 1959 before becoming a driver at R.R.M. in 1960.
Two years later, he celebrated his first Formula One world title in 1962. In each of the next three years he was runner-up on BRM and in 1966 he finished the world championship in 5th place. A switch back to Lotus followed and he finished the 1967 World Championship in 7th place.
In the unlucky year of 1968, when Lotus lost two drivers in Jim Clark and Mike Spence, Graham Hill was able to win his second world championship title with Lotus in 1968.

In the next few years, he was unable to build on his successes and survived several serious accidents, including one at Watkins Glen in 1969.

In addition, Graham Hill also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he finished in second place in 1964 and on the podium in 1972.

In 1973 he founded his own racing team with Embassy Hill, but success failed to materialize. In 1975 he retired from Formula 1.

On November 29, 1975, Graham Hill crashed his private plane on approach to Elstree Airfield - he was 46. His son Damon Hill also became Formula 1 world champion in 1996, making the Hills the first dynasty to win the world title.
    

The Scotsman Jim Clark was born in Kilmaddy in 1936. Since the mid-50s he drove English sportscars and was finally discovered by Colin Chapman. In 1960 Jim Clark made his debut in the Formula One and remained true to the Lotus team till his death. 

During six years Jim Clark dominated the competition almost at will. He achieved 25 victories in only 72 races. 

Where today reigns envy and resentment among the drivers, his rivals appreciated Jim Clark's superior style. Instinctive he plumbed the possibilities of car and race track. 

The accident during the Grand Prix of Italy in 1961 casted a dark shadow on Jim Clark's career. Clark's Lotus got in touch with Wolfgang von Trips' Ferrari. Subsequently the Ferrari was catapulted into the auditorium and killed several spectators as well as von Trips himself. 

In 1963 he dominated the Championship in an impressive manner. 7 out of 10 races he won. 

Parallel to Formula One he took also part in other races. He won besides his F1 World Champion title in 1965 the Indy500. 

The death hit unexpected. During an insignificant Formula Two race he got off the racing track and his car was smashed to pieces.  

Denis Hulme from New Zealand was born in Te Puke in 1936. He startet his career as a driver in 1959 with MG and Cooper. Later he went to Europe on his own account and he had to spend his nights in lowest flophouses or on the backseat of his car. In 1962 he could sign on by Jack Brabham and soon hat a reputation of a racing driving mechanic who was in a position to dismantle his car till to the last screw. Subsequently he won several Formula Junior races and in 1964 a Formula Two race. Finally he was promoted to the works team of Jack Brabham. 

In his first Formula One year he achieved the forth place. In the following year was his moment of truth. He won besides two races the  World Championship and sent his workmate and employer Jack Brabham on the second place. This led to the break up with Brabham because he still wanted to play the first fiddle. But Hulme didn't want to play the second fiddle. 

He changed to McLaren and won six more races till 1974. But the big money he earned in the Canadian American Cup which he could win in 1968 and 1970. 

Denis Hulme retired from racing in 1974 trat. Not till the end of the 70's, at the beginning of the 80's he took part at touring races. 
When he took part at the 1000 kilometer race Bathurst, Australia, he got off the road and collided with a wall. The car came to a stop nearly undamaged but the doctors had to realize that Hulme died as a result of a heart attack. 

Hulme was well-known for hisgruff nature to journalists what contributed him to tne nickname "bear". At the end of his life he changed into a friendly man who liked to give some information.  

The Scotsman John Young "Jackie" Stewart was born in Dumbuck in 1939. His father possessed a Jaguar agency and his older brother already drove during the 50's different sports car races. So it seems very likely that Jackie entered this direction too. After first successes in Jaguar sports cars he was employed by Ken Tyrell in 1964 for Formula Three races, where he dominated his competition. In 1965 He got a Forumula 1 contract with BRM and he drove at Graham Hill's side. In his debut year he won a race and finished the World Championship on the third place. 

But it took till 1968 before he belonged to the absolute top driver. In 1968 he became Vice-World Champion and in the following year he could win the title with six victories. Stewart was the second Scotsman after Jim Clark who could win this title. 

From 1971 till 1973 he continued todominate the Grand Prix. With a total of 15 victories within three years he could celebrate to further World Champion titles and a second Vice-Workd Champion title. Together with his workmate Francois Cevert they represented the team. Cevert could win one time and achieved 10 second places during this three years, usually behind his colleague Stewart. 

Jackie Stewart announced his resignation by Ken Tyrrell in April 1973. He wanted to drive his 100 th and last Grand Prix in Watkins Glen when is colleague Cevert was killed in an accident during the training. Stewart refrained from the race and announced official his resignation.  

Austrian Jochen Rindt was born in Mainz in 1942 and had German citizenship. When he lost his parents in a bombing raid on Hamburg in 1943, he grew up with his maternal grandparents in Austria and later worked exclusively for Austria in racing.

After school, he was briefly involved in the family import business, but soon turned to racing. He started his career in 1961 and eventually Ford Austria became aware of the young driver and Jochen Rindt drove a Formula 2 Brabham in several races. He took the victory at Mallory Park and finished 2nd at the Crystal Palace Race.

In 1964 he made his debut in Formula 1 for Brabham, but could only complete one race. In 1965 he switched to Cooper Car and after a 13th place in 1965, he achieved a surprising 3rd place in 1966 with three podiums. In 1967 he drove for Cooper Car for the last time and finished the World Championship in 13th place.

In 1965 he also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Masten Gregory.

In 1968 followed the switch to Brabham, but the year was marked by numerous retirements. The races he did finish, he finished on the podium in each case.

So Jochen Rindt went to Lotus in 1969, where he finally won his first Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. With two more podium finishes, he ended the World Championship in 4th place.
The following year was Jochen Rindt's big hour, and at the same time it was to be his fateful year. In the first race he finished 13th. In the next eight races, Jochen Rindt retired three times, but he won all the other five races. This laid the foundation for his 1970 world championship title.
However, Jochen Rindt did not live to see this triumph. During the final practice for the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Jochen Rindt had a fatal accident. However, his lead in the world championship was large enough that he became world champion with 5 points ahead of Jacky Ickx and 12 points ahead of Clay Regazzoni.
To this day, Jochen Rindt is the only Formula 1 driver to have been crowned world champion posthumously.
    

The Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi was born in Sao Paulo in 1946.came into contact with the motor sport at an early age. Alr4eady at the age of 15 he drove motorcycle and cart races for the first time. He achieved Brazilian national champion for several times before he orientadted himself to an international career. 
He joined the world-famous Jim-Russell-Driver school in England and thereafter took part in Formula Ford and Formula Three European Championships very successful. In his debut year he won 11 of 20 races right off. 

The talent of Emerson Fittipaldi couldn't be overlooked any longer and Colin Chapman, team boss of Lotus, made it possible for Fittipaldi to start in the Formula One for the first time - at Jochen Rindt's side. Rindt was on his way to the World Champion title when he was killed in an accident. Fittpaldi took his seat and could already win his first Grand Prix at his forth stake. 
1972 was his time. Together with five victories he became the youngest World Champion of all time at the age of 25. 
In 1973 he couldn't defend his title but he became Vice-World Champion at least. 
In the following year he changed to McLaren and could win back his title. In the next year he lost his title again but finished the saison once more on second place. 

Fittipaldi retired from motor sport in 1980 and his race stable Copersucar he shut down in 1982 for lack of success. 
In 1983 Fittipaldi drove again supercart races in Brazil and developed once more a taste for the motor sport. He began his second career one year later in the USA in the Indy car serial where he won the raco of Indianapolis and 1989 and also won the championship. In 1993 he could assert himself again in Indianapolis. He finished the championships in 1993 and 1994 on second place. 
Unfortunately he substained a bad accident which brought his career to an end.  

NIKI LAUDA (1949-2019) ----- World Champion in 1975, 1977 and 1984

The Austrian Niki Lauda was born in Vienna in 1949. He did his first races in 1968 at mountain races for Cooper and circuit races for Porsche. 
In 1970 he drove for the Formula Three and one year later for the Formula Two Championship. He also celebrated his debut in the Formula One for March. 
In order to get a fixed start place in the Grand Prix circus he had to purchase himself with a high loan. But March wasn't a competitive car, also BRM, with which he drove for the next saison, was without any chances. But thanks to his courageous drive in Monaco he left a lasting impression by Enzo Ferrari, what got him a contract with Ferrari for 1974. Already his first two races he could win and in 1975 he even won the World Champion title for the first time. 

When he contracted very serious burns through a frightening accident in 1976 - which mark him till today - people thought, that his career would be brought to an end. But only six weeks later he already sat in the cockpit. Still he lost the Championship to James Hunt who could beat him by a lead of one point. 
However Lauda could triumph again in 1977. With three victories and six second places he conquered his second title. 
Later on there was a breaking-off between Lauda and Enzo Ferrari and Lauda drove for Brabham in the next years. 

In 1979 he announced his resignation for the first time in order to give his undivided attention to the erection of his own airline. When he came into a financial bottleneck he came back to the circuit in 1982. The second career of Niki Lauda became fact and he rounded it off with his third World Champion title in 1984 - with only a half point ahead of Alain Prost. 

The year 1985 marked his final resignation from Formula One.  

The Englishman James Hunt was born in Belmin in 1947. He bagan with the racing at the age of 22. But the beginning was unpromising. He became well-known to be involded in sensational accidents. Although he couldn't get a victory in Formula Two and only could achieve two places he managed the jump to Formula One. He succeeded in convincing Lord Alexander Hesketh to set up an own team. In 1975 Hunt obtained the only victory for this team, after this it was winded up because of financial difficulties. 

James Hunt changed to McLaren and the year 1976 was marked by the fight between Hunt and Lauda. Hunt drove often in borderland of the regulations, this led to a deprivation of his victory in Brands Hatch, which was awarded to Lauda. After this Lauda had his horrible fire accident and had to pause for two races. The decision for the World Championship came with the last race. Lauda gave up the race as a result of the rain (security reason), James Hunt became, thanks to a third place, World Champion with one point lead. 

In his active career Hunt was known for sex, drugs and Rock 'n' Roll. This image was inherented to him in later years although he was "reformed" long ago. James Hunt died in 1993 because of a heart attack.  

The American Mario Andretti was born in Montana (Italy) in 1940. He came from a poor family and his family migrated from the refugee camp in Lucca to the Americanreception camp in Nazareth (USA). He managed the rise from a poor wretch to a winner. Since the mid of the 50's he drove Stock car races, sprint and Midget racing cars with borrowed money. By the victor checks he got he could keep his head above water. Finally his successes brought him in the start opportunity for the IndyCar championship which he won in 1965, 1966 and 1969. Also a victory in the 500 miles race of Indianapolis joined his successes. 

Between 1968 and 1975 he only drove sporadically for the Formula One but still celebrated his first win of a Grand Prix in 1972. 
Not until 1976 he could turn his back on the American racing car and devoted his attention completely to the Formula One. In 1977 he achieved four victories and the 3rd place in the World Championship. In 1978 he climaxed his career with six victories and the win of the World Championship. 

After that it followed hard times. Lotus wasn't competitive any longer and also his new stable Alfa Romeo didn't lead to improvement. 
Finally Mario Andretti parted with the Formula One and returned to the IndyCar where he achieved his fourth titel.  

The South African Jody Scheckter was born in East London (South Africa) in 1950. He achieved his first successes in Go-Kart races and was sent to Europe at the age of 21. 

His efforts in Formula Ford and Formula Three convinced and in 1972 he got the chance to gain a foothold in the Formula One. 
After the resignation of Jackie Stewart he was obliged by Tyrrell for three years. During this time he achieved six Grand Prix wins and one of them with the legendary six-wheeled Tyrrell type P 34. Scheckter finished the Championship on the third place. 

When he signed up by Wolf in 1977 he surprised everyone with this decision. But already one year later he secured the Vice-World Championship title for Wolf. Scheckter was the only one who could achieve victories for Wolf (altogether three victoreis). 

When Scheckter was engaged by Ferrari in 1979 he finally got a car donation with which he could conquer the World Champion title. But Scheckter didn't conquer the title with a brilliant performance but rather because of a constant season. Critics judged his team colleague Gilles Villeneuve far higher. 

After a failed season in 1980 for Ferrari he retired from the Formula One business.  

The Brazilian Nelson Piquet was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1952. His father Estacio Soutomajor was minister for tourism of Brazil and his family belonged to the upper class. Although the racing frowned upon in this circles, Piquet turned to the motor sport. He replaced his father's name by his mother's name - Piquet. 

He achieved first successes with a Kart and in the Formula Super V before he got to Europe and won the Formula Three Championship in 1978. In the same year he celebrated his debut for the Formula One for four races for Ensign and McLaren. After that he changed to Brabham and achieved some of his most important successes, including two World Champion titles. He won his first title very narrow. Although Carlos Reutemann had a passable lead in the championship he became such a nerve flutter that he only was one point ahead before the last race. In the last race Reutemann dropped out and Nelson Piquet could take his first title with a fifth place and one point in lead. Also in 1983 it was similar narrow. This time Alain Prost was his sacrifice. Piquet could win two of the last three races and left Prost with two points behind him. With that Nelson Piquet was simultaneous the first World Champion with a turbo. 

But in 1986 the same destiny caught up with Nelson Piquet. He missed the title for only three points and was "only" placed third. 
He conquered his third Championship title because of a constant season. It is true he only achieved three victories (Nigel Mansell achieved six victories in the same season) but he was able to refer Mansell to second place. 

In the last four years of his active career he achieved three more Grand Prix victories, then retired.  

KEKE ROSBERG (1948) ----- World Champion in 1982

The Finn Keke Rosberg was born in Stockholm in 1948. Because his parents drove rallys it wasn't astonishing that Rosberg was enthusiastic about racing. 

Rosberg came relative late to the Fourmula One. Since 1965 he drove different races and only thirteen years later he had his first entrance in the Formula One. His most spectacular race he had at the Jim-Clark-Memory race where he crashed into the rear wheels of a competitor and overturned in a frightening way. After that he got out uninjured, pulled out his wide briming hat from the cockpit and bowed to the spectators. The audience was enthusiastic. 

But back to the Formula One. The first two years he spent in third-world cars like Theodore, ATS and Wolf. After four years in the Formula One Rosberg achieved only a third and a fifth place. But then the fortune was on his side. Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann announced their resignation in 1981. "Cheap"- driver Rosberg was engaged by Williams and he thanked Williams with his first World Champion title. Williams was a "Sauger" and wasn't a match for the "Turbos", but thanks to its reliability he was able to collect enough points in order to got the title. But especially the bad accident of Didier Pironi, who actually was uncatchable up with, made it possible for Rosberg to win the title. For Pironi this accident marked the end of his career. 

Rosberg concluded his career with McLaren where he was in Prost's shadow.  

The Frenchman Alain Prost was born in Lorette in 1955. Already as a young person he was extreme sporting and he was active as athlete and soccer. When he turned to the motor sport he found his real passion. He became a threefold French Kart champion at the first go, he was a European Kart champion, winner of the French Formula Renault in 1976, overall winner of the European Formula Renault in 1977 and European champion in Formula Three in 1979. 

In 1980 Alain Prost joined the Formula One where he took part for McLaren. For the next three years he drove for Renault and won 9 races in this period and in 1983 he became Vice-World Champion. 

The year 1984 was marked by the duel between Prost and Lauda. Although Prost won 7 races he had to be content with the second place with only half a point behind Lauda. 

In 1985 and 1986 Prost was finally able to achieve the title of a World Championship. The following year was a "transition year" before he could fight for the World Champion title again in the next three years. 

Despite of seven victories in 1988 he was sent off on second place by his new team colleague Ayrton Senna, but already in the following year he could turn the tables. Both drivers developed into archenemies and Prost bump into Senna during the last race and guaranteed his third title. 

Prost changed after that to Ferrari but was defeated by Ayrton Senna in the next two years. 

Alain Prost had a race break in 1992 in order to conquer his forth World Champion title with Williams in an impressive manner. As an acting World Champion he retired from the active racing. 

Because of his well thought-out drives and tactival skill he was respectful called "professor".  

The Englishman Nigel Mansell was born in Baughton in 1953. He was a great fan of Jim Clark and dreamt of a great career for himself. His wife Rosanne assisted himin his plans and consented to mortgage Mansell's life insurance and to sell their house for it. 

Nigel Mansell could win a lot of fans in his career because he was a unyielding fighter. He drove the first five years for Lotus in the Formula One, and in 1984 his car broke down during the Grand Prix of Dallas because of a defective. Mansell tried to push his car over the finishing line but collapsed and lost his consciousness. 

His change to Williams in 1985 was ill-fated. He had two terrible accidents after blowouts and the doctors prescribed a race break for him because of some broken ribs.But Mansell drove on and could celebrate his first victory in this season. 

Mansell controlled the Formula One in 1986 and 1987 had to let other drivers have the title under dramatically circumstances in spite of five respectively six victories. During the last race in 1986 a rear wheel burst and with it his dream of the first title. In 1987 he sustained contusions and a cracked dorsal vertebra during a training for the second to last race. 

In 1989/1990 Mansell drove for Ferrari but wasn't able to fight for World Championship. Only when he changed to Williams he took the right course again. It is true that he had to be conent in 1991 with his third Vice-World Champion title but one year later the moment of true came. With nine victories he set up a new record and could win the long overdue title. 

After expressions of disapproval with Frank Williams he turned his back on Formula One in 1993 as reigning World Champion and joined the IndyCar serial where he let all American drivers behind him and guaranteed himselfthe title premature. 

In 1994 he returned to the Formula One and could manage to win one more race. In the season of 1995 he only entered two times and finally retired.  

The German Michael Schumacher was born in Hermühlheim in 1969. Already at the age of four he drove Kart and became a Kart Europe Champion in 1987, a Formula König Champion in 1988 and a Formula Three Champion in 1990. 

Because of the arrest of Jordan driver Bertrand Gachot after a tear gas attack against a taxi driver, Schumacher moved up. He convinced with a seventh place during  a training and his next race he drove for Benetton. In 1992 and 1993 he could each celebrate a victory, but in 1994 - after the retirement of Mansell, Piquet and Prost as well as the deadly accident of Senna - the moment of truth was coming. He achieved the World Champion title for the first time with a total of eight victories. In 1995 Schumacher achieved his second title. 

Thereafter he changed to Ferrari (which couldn't achieve a title since 1979) for a very lucrative offer. In 1996 he reached three victories and ended on the third place. In 1997 he was the leader of the championship till the last race and than he tried to knock out his rival Jacques Villeneuve. But Schumacher missed his target and landed in the gravelly soil himself. The commission perceived the foul attack and Schumacher was locked out from the Championship. 

Schumacher lost again the win of the World Championship in 1998. He caused a rear-end collision in Spa and messed his start for the last race. In 1999 he was put in his place clearly and ended the Championship on 5th place. 
But in the next years a visible matured Michael Schumacher was convincing and he dominated his competitors nearly at will. In the year 2000 he put his main competitor Mika Häkkingen inhis place and in the next three years he became also world champion and with it the most successful driver of all time.  

The Englishman Damon Hill was born in London in 1960. His father Graham Hill was also a successful Formula One driver who became World Champion in 1962 and 1968. Graham Hill crashed with a plane in 1975. 

Because of the death of his father, the family went into financial troubles. Damon Hill earned his living as guitarist for the rock group "Hitler, Sex and the Hormones". 

Between 1984 and 1991 he drove for the Formula Ford, Formula Three and Formula 3000 but never appeared specifically. Therefore it astonished that he got a test contract for Williams. 

He had his debut for Formula One only one year later for Brabham. When Nigel Mansell retired, Williams offered the second seat at Prost's side to the well-known loser Damon Hill. But Hill belied his critics by winning three races in his first year and with the third place in the World Championship. 

In the following two years he was defeated by Michael Schumacher. But in 1996 he was ready. With a total of eight victories he received the World Champion title. 

Because of expressions of disapproval with his team he went to Arrows  because of financial reasons, one year later to Jordan where he could celebrate his last victory. After another unsuccessful season he retired in 1999.  

The Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was born in St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu in 1971. His father was the legendary Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve who was killed in an accident in 1982. 

He had his first great successes with Indycars. In 1995 he not only won the prestigious Indy500 race but also won the championship of the cart serial in the same year. 
One year later he entered the Formula One and was nearly able to win his debut race which he ended on place two because of a technical defect. But only three races later he managed to win his first Formula One race. He became second in the world championship in his first year. 

The season 1997 marked the height of his career. After impressive races he was able to win the World Championship. Afterwards followed the fall into the mediocrity. He was not able to go on from his former successes. 
After the saison 2003 followed a longer interruption before he drove the last three races of the saison for Renault.  

The Finn Mika Häkkinen was born in Helsinki in 1968. He already drove cart races at the age of six and whe he joined the Formula Ford 1600 in 1987 he dominated the competition. The Champion title for the British Formula Three followed in 1990. 

When Häkkinen was able to beat Formula Three Champion Michael Schumacher in a invitation race he got a contract for Lotus. Already in his first year he achieved first points. 

In 1993 he was allowed to drive the last races for McLaren when Michael Andretti fell out of favour because of several accidents. 

The following years weren't particularly successfull and after an accident in 1995 his career seemed to be finished. The doctors had to carry out a windpipe incision, Häkkinen was in danger of life for several days. But he came back and could celebrate his first victory in 1997. 

Mercedes finally had a competitive car and Häkkinen conquered his first World Champion title in a sovereign manner. In the following year he could defend his title. 
In 2000 he had to submit to Michael Schumacher and to be content with the second final rank.  

Fernando Alonso began at the age of 3 to drive first kart races and from the age of 8 he could win first races. In 1993 and 1994 he became Junior champion of the Spanish kart championship. In 1996 he became Junior world champion. 

He changed to the Euro Open Movistar by Nissan in 1999 and was able to win the championship in his first year which led to an invitation for test runs for the formula one team Minardi.

In 2000 he drove for the Formel-3000 championship and finished the saison on position four. Finally he was contracted by Flavio Briatore for the formula one and Alonso became the driver for Minardi in 2001.

In the next year he changed to Renault F1 as test driver and in 2003 he was announced as an official driver for this team. In this year he was able to win his first Grand Prix and was the youngest winner by then. 
He finished the season on position 6.

In the saison 2004 he could achieve some succès d'estime although he was not able to win a race. This changed in 2005 when Alonso was able to win seven races in one season. He became World Champion of that year and was the youngest champion by then.

He was able to follow up in 2006 and he won again seven races and became world champion as well.

As a reigning world champion he changed to McLaren in 2007 and demonstrated a great duel with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen. At the end he had to be satisfied with the third position.

Because of the espionage scandal with McLaren and statements of Alonso he left the team again after one year and returned to Renault in 2008 where he remained till 2009. 

But both years were not as successful as the years before although he was able to win two races in 2008. He finished the champion ships on position five and on position nine.

With the change to Ferrari his career went up again. He won five races and became world vice champion in 2010.  

Kimi Räikkönen made his first experience with the motor sport at the age of 9 and he drove as many later Formula 1 drivers his first races with a kart.
He became Finnish junior champion in 1991, in 1997 and 1998 followed the first place at the Finnish kart championship of the class A.

He changed to the British Formula Renault in 1999 and one year later he was able to win the championship with seven victories of total ten races. 

Because of an invitation by Peter Sauber he was able to have a first look into the formula one. The test runs were so successful that Räikkönen got a contract by Sauber and in 2001 he made his debut in the formula one.
He finished his first season on position 10.

McLaren did buy his way out from the contract with Sauber in 2002 and engaged him themselves. Räikkönen was driving for McLaren till 2006.
In his first season for McLaren he conquered the 6th position, in the next year he even became world vice champion, only two points behind Michael Schumacher. 

McLaren and Räikkönen were not able to go on in 2004 as in the preceding year and the Finn has to be satisfied with position 7.

In 2005 they emerged stronger than before and Räikkönen could celebrate seven victories and the second position.

The next saison has to be contemplated as setback, he finished the saison on position five without winning a race. 

Kimi Räikkönen joined the team of Ferrari in 2007 as follower of Michael Schumahcer. Räikkönen could win six races in his first year for Ferrari and also became World Champion for the first time.

In the next two years he could iterate the former success. In 2008 he won two races and finished the season on position three, in 2009 he finished on position six with one win.

Afterwards Räikkönen decided to leave the formula one and join the rallye world championship.

Kimi Räikkönen is the owner of the team "Räikkönen Robertson Racing" since 2004, together with Steve Robertson. The team is active for the British formula 3 championship.

Lewis Hamilton began his career in karting in 1993. In 1998, Ron Dennis signed him up for the McLaren Driver Development Program.
But first he earned his spurs in the British Formula Renault in 2001 and took first place there in 2003.
In 2004, he raced in the Formula 3 Euroseries and became champion the following year with 15 wins in 20 races. In 2006 he switched to the GP2 series, which Lewis Hamilton won at the first attempt.
So in 2007 Lewis Hamilton was hired by McLaren for Formula 1. In his very first year he was able to achieve 4 victories, plus 8 more podium finishes, which earned him the runner-up title behind Kimi Räikkönen.
In the following season followed the first world championship title with a total of 5 season wins.

From 2009 McLaren could no longer keep up with the competition and Lewis Hamilton finished the following four years in 4th and 5th place respectively.
The switch to Mercedes followed - a move of great significance. Although he only managed to finish 4th in his first year for Mercedes, in the following years Mercedes advanced to become the dominant racing team with Lewis Hamilton at the helm. In the next seven years Lewis Hamilton became world champion six times, only in 2016 he had to admit defeat to his teammate Nico Rosberg.

On the way to these seven world titles, Lewis Hamilton pulverized just about every record, and by the end of the 2021 season he had turned in the final race with his eighth world title in sight - a milestone that no Formula 1 driver before him had ever achieved. But then he was caught on the last lap by Max Verstappen, who benefited from a tire change and the release of the race after a safety car period. Max Verstappen became world champion, Lewis Hamilton had to settle for second place. 

The formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel was born in Heppenheim in 1987. He began his driving career already at the age of seven and could make important experiences for the future. To his first success belong winning in cart races and in the formula BMW. 

In 2005 he changed to the formula 3 Euroserie where he could win first race in 2006. 

He was able to get in touch with the formula 1 as a test driver for BMW Sauber in 2006 for the first time. 
Already one year later he made his debut in the formula 1 as Robert Kubica had to fail some races because of an injury. Already with his first race he made his way to his first point with position eight and is with it the youngest driver so far who was able to win a point in the formula 1. 

Finally he transferred to Toro Rosso in the same year. 

There he conquered his first pole position of his career in 2008 and is with it the youngest driver of the formula 1 who managed to do so. To this success he let follow his first formula 1 race triumph and is with it of course again the youngest driver in history. 

Sebastian Vettel went to Red Bull in 2009 and was able to win four races at that year and became vice world champion behind Jenson Button. 

The height of his career followed in 2010 when he conquered with impressive efforts and a total of five race wins - especially in the second part of the season his first world champion title against Fernando Alonso. Again Sebastian Vettel is the youngest driver to achieve this goal. 
 
In the next three years, Sebastian Vettel again became Formula 1 world champion, making him one of the legends of the sport. 

Like Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg began his career in kart racing, where he first competed at the age of 11.
In 2000, he competed in the European Formal A Championship and finished second behind Hamilton. He then raced in the Formula Super A category.
In 2002, he switched to German Formula BMW, where he drove for his father's team - Formula 1 World Champion Keke Rosberg. The next year Nico Rosberg was in Formula 3, where he competed for the last time under the Finnish flag. From 2004 onwards, he drove all his races as a German.

GP2 in 2005 was his last stop before he joined Formula 1 the following year and drove for the Williams team for the next four years. In those four years he only made the podium twice, his best World Championship finish being 7th in 2009.

He switched to Mercedes in 2010, where he continued to wait for a breakthrough in the early years. He did make it onto the podium three times, but it was not until 2012 that he celebrated his first Formula 1 victory. In 2013, two more wins and two podiums followed and he finished the season in 6th place - his best finish so far.

In 2014, Mercedes took over the reigns in Formula 1 and Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton each made up the world championship title in the following years. In 2014 with 5 wins and in 2015 with 6 wins, Nico Rosberg was runner-up each time, but in 2016 he finally achieved the long hoped for success and he knocked Lewis Hamilton off the world champion throne with 9 wins and 7 more podiums.

In a complete surprise, Nico Rosberg announced his retirement from Formula 1 in December 2016.

After his sports career, Nico Rosberg came to the fore with his commitment to the environment and is an investor in the popular TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen" (The Lion's Den), where he primarily invests in start-ups with sustainable goals.
    

Max Verstappen started his career at the age of 8 in karting, where he raced in the Benelux until 2009. In 2010, he moved to the international karting scene, where he became KF3 class champion in 2010 and 2011.

In 2014, Max Verstappen raced in Formula 3 and achieved ten wins and finished third overall. His driving style caught the eye and he was accepted into the development programme by Red Bull.
Also in 2014, he was able to participate in Formula 1 for the first time as a test driver for Toro Rosso, and the following year he became a permanent driver at Toro Rosso. He thus became the youngest Formula 1 driver of all time at the age of 17. He finished the season in 12th position.

In 2016 he was again with Toro Rosso, but only for four races, before he was taken over by Red Bull in exchange for Daniil Kwjat. Max Verstappen took the opportunity to race in a much better car and he celebrated his first Formula 1 victory and also finished on six other podiums. He finished the season in 5th place.

In 2017 and 2018, Red Bull still lagged well behind Mercedes. Max Verstappen managed 4 wins and 11 other podiums in those two years. He finished the world championships in 6th and 4th place respectively.

From 2019, Red Bull became competitive again and Max Verstappen managed a total of 5 wins and 15 podiums in 2019 and 2020. He finished each year in 3rd place.

The big moment came in 2021, when Max Verstappen's Red Bull was on a par with Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes and the world championship swung back and forth, offering more excitement than it had in a long time. The duel culminated in the very last race, where Max Verstappen overtook Lewis Hamilton on the very last lap to snatch away what he thought was a certain victory and his 8th world championship title. With 10 wins and 8 second places, Max Verstappen became world champion.

Formula 1 from 1963 - 1968
36 races, no victory
Total 27 points, no Pole Position
Best WM-Position: 4th place in 1966
 

Mike Spence began his sporting career in 1960 in Formula Junior, where he drove until 1963.
He made his Formula 1 debut in 1963 at the Italian Grand Prix as a substitute for Trevor Taylor. In addition to Formula 1, he celebrated victories in the 1965 Race of Champions and the 1966 South African Grand Prix, and his only podium finish in a Formula 1 race came in 3rd place at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix.
In 1968 he was a team-mate of Jim Clark. When Jim Clark was killed in an accident, Mike Spence took over the cockpit for the Indianapolis 500-mile race a month later as Jim Clark's replacement driver. During practice for this race he crashed and crashed into the concrete wall. Hours later, he died from the injuries he sustained - exactly one month to the day after Jim Clark's death.

Formula 1 from 1978 - 1982
68 races, three victories
Total 101 points and 4 Pole Positions
Beste WM-Position: 2nd place in 1982
 

Didier Pironi celebrated his first success in 1973 at the French racing school Winfield with a victory. He then raced in Formula Renault and became champion in 1974 and 1974 respectively. After that he conquered the 3rd place in the European Formula 2 Championship in 1977.
In 1978 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Jean-Pierre Jaussaud and in the same year he made his debut in Formula 1, driving for Ken Tyrell until 1979. In 1980 he switched to Ligier and managed to finish 5th at the end of the season.

  From 1981 Didier Pironi drove for Ferrari, but the first year was still disappointing.
The turning point came in the 1982 season, when Didier Pironi took two victories and four more podium finishes. After 11 of a total of 16 races, he was clearly leading the world championship. But then he had a serious accident after a collision with Alain during practice at Hockenheim. He had to undergo 35 operations and his career in Formula 1 ended abruptly. At the end of the season he was beaten by Keke Rosberg by 5 points and finished the season as runner-up.

Didier Pironi recovered from the serious accident and started a new adventure in motorboat racing, where he was also successful from 1986. But in the powerboat race off the Isle of Wight in 1987 he had a fatal accident.

Formula One History and much more