Scuderia Ferrari are arguably the most legendary team in Formula 1’s long and storied history. The scarlet red outfit have built some legendary cars which have been driven by some of the best drivers in the history of the sport. Ferrari have been ever-present in F1, with the team having competed in each and every Formula 1 season since 1950. The prancing horse are the most successful outfit in Formula 1 history, having won a record 16 Constructors’ championships. Ferrari have also won 15 Drivers’ championships, with 9 different drivers winning a world title while driving the iconic scarlet red car.
5 of those Drivers’ championships were won by the legendary Michael Schumacher, arguably the greatest driver in Formula 1 history. All of those titles came in a dominant period between 2000 to 2004, where Schumacher dominated the grid to win 5 successive championships. Schumacher won 79 races driving in a Ferrari and his period of dominance on an F1 track remains unparalleled, as the German racer conquered one and all, backed by a brilliant team at Ferrari.
Though Schumacher remains Ferrari’s greatest-ever driver, the Italian outfit have also been graced by many other legends who contributed a great deal to Ferrari’s success. This list doesn’t even include the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who are multiple-time world champions but could not win a title while driving for Ferrari. Honourable mentions also go out to Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello, who never won a world title but were legendary racers in their own rights. While celebrating the history and achievements of these legendary drivers, consider exploring the world of Formula 1 betting.
Without further ado though, let’s take a look at five of Ferrari’s best ever drivers apart from Michael Schumacher.
John Surtees
Ferrari were facing a lean period in the early 1960s, with the 1962 season in particular being a torrid affair for the Italian outfit. They went winless in the 1962 season, leading to a mass exodus of talent, with many of the staff departing for greener pastures.
Experience was needed to revive their dwindling fortunes and Ferrari called upon experienced British racer John Surtees for the 1963 season. The upward trajectory was almost immediate and was there for all to see.
In a 1963 season dominated by Jim Clark, Surtees still managed to eke out a win for Ferrari at the Nurburgring circuit in Germany, a remarkable feat considering Clark’s dominance.
The progress made in 1963 paid dividends in the 1964 season. It was a fiercely contested three-way championship battle between Surtees, Jim Clark and Graham Hill. The championship was decided in the final race in Mexico, as Surtees finished second, enough to hand him the championship. Surtees won two races in the season at the German and the Italian Grand Prix.
Overall, Surtees made 30 starts for Ferrari and won 1 world championship in his time with the outfit between 1963 and 1966.
Juan Manuel Fangio
The feisty Argentinian is one of the greatest drivers in the history of F1, winning five world championship titles. He was arguably F1’s first superstar and won his five championships with four different teams, a record which still remains unmatched to this day. Fangio also still holds the best winning percentage in F1 history, at 46.15%, having won 24 out of the 52 races he competed in.
One of the teams that Fangio won one of his five titles with was Ferrari. Fangio’s time with the Italian outfit was turbulent to say the least and he famously had many tiffs and arguments with different people in the outfit. This led to him racing only one season for Ferrari but the nature of his dominance in that particular season seals his place on the list.
Fangio joined Ferrari in 1956 and was simply the outstanding racer in the calendar year. He made 7 starts for Ferrari in the season, winning three of the races at Argentina, Silverstone and Germany. He also finished on the podium in five of the 7 races he competed in.
After the 1956 season, Fangio departed Ferrari to rejoin Maserati in 1957.
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen, to this day, still remains the last driver who won a world championship with Ferrari. His title came all the way back in 2007. While it speaks to Ferrari’s struggles in the modern times, with Mercedes and Red Bull emerging as dominant forces, it still speaks to Raikkonen’s achievements in the Scuderia Ferrari.
The 2007 season was Raikkonen’s maiden season with Ferrari as he replaced the retired Michael Schumacher at the Italian outfit. And it remained the most impressive one of his Ferrari career over his two separate stints with the outfit. In the 17-race season, Raikkonen won 6 races in Australia, France, Silverstone, Belgium, China and Brazil. Heading into the final race in Brazil, Raikkonen was third in the drivers’ championship standings, but a victory helped him win the title by one point over Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
Raikkonen departed Ferrari in 2009 but rejoined again in 2014 before leaving for the final time in 2018. Overall, Raikkonen made 151 starts for Ferrari and would win 10 races. But his victory in the 2007 Championship still remains iconic to this day, a feat that Ferrari are desperately trying to replicate currently.
Alberto Ascari
In the infancy of Ferrari’s journey in Formula 1, Alberto Ascari was perhaps the biggest contributor in making the Italian outfit a global powerhouse. Ascari won two world championships with Ferrari in 1952 and 1953 and is the only Ferrari driver apart from Michael Schumacher to retain their world championship. He also remains, to this date, Ferrari’s only Italian world champion. He is also the last Italian to win a F1 World Championship title.
The 1952 was as dominant as it gets, as Ascari romped to 6 victories in 8 races for Ferrari. After not winning the first two races, he would win in Belgium, France, Silverstone, Germany, Netherlands and Italy in what was one of the most dominant performances in an F1 calendar year.
Ascari would repeat his dominance in the following year, winning 5 of the 9 races in the calendar. Ascari would clinch victories in Argentina, Netherlands, Belgium, Silverstone and Switzerland.
After a salary dispute, Ascari departed Ferrari in 1954 but would still drive a one-off race for the outfit. Ascari would undoubtedly have won many more races and championships had it not been for his untimely and unfortunate death in 1955 in a testing accident.
All in all, Ascari drove 27 races for Ferrari, winning 13 of those and winning two world championships.
Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda single-handedly turned a struggling Ferrari back into a global powerhouse after his move to the outfit in 1974. Lauda won two world titles for Ferrari in his spell there, had it not been for reliability issues from the car or his unfortunate accident.
In his first season in 1974, Lauda would take 9 poles and would have been the frontrunner for the championships but a number of retirements led to a relatively disappointing season.
Those were quickly overcome in 1975 though, Lauda won five races with victories in Monaco, Belgium, Sweden, France and the United States of America giving him the world championship. This was also Ferrari’s first constructors’ championship since 1964.
The 1976 season could have been another march for Lauda as he won four races in the first six races but a horrendous crash at Nurburgring left Lauda fighting for his life. Lauda would make a stunning comeback in Monza though and was in the reckoning for the championship till the final race in Japan. But the conditions on track due to rain at Suzuka were less than ideal and Lauda took the brave call to retire after two laps, as James Hunt’s third-place finish handed him the title.
Lauda though would roar back in 1977, using all his experience despite Ferrari not having the strongest of cars in the season. Lauda would win three races in South Africa, Germany and Netherlands but consistently accumulated points to seal the championship with two races remaining. He then sat out the final two races to see out his Ferrari contract before joining Brabham in 1978.
Overall, Lauda won two championships and 15 races in 57 starts for Ferrari but his nous, tactical intelligence and fighting spirit made him one of Ferrari and F1’s greatest-ever racers.
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