The modern era of Formula One has been beset by monopolies on both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships.
Whether Mercedes, Red Bull and now, seemingly, McLaren, there has often been a single driver or team that has dominated proceedings and turned the title battles into a one-horse race.
But, heading into the final weeks of the 2025 season, there are signs that Max Verstappen can yet be a menace to the McLaren duo’s dominance – he’s 49 points behind Lando Norris with three races left to run.
In that spirit, here’s a look back at some of the best three-way dances for the F1 drivers’ championship – including Kimi Räikkönen’s famous last gasp win for Ferrari in 2007.
Save the Best ‘til Last
Although the points table suggests that three drivers can still win the title in 2025, those that bet on sports can only avail themselves of odds of -800 on Norris getting over the line.
A bet calculator confirms that a $10 wager at such a price would yield a profit of just $1.25, an indication of how well fancied the Brit is by the market.
Back in 2007, the picture was even closer than that, with three drivers – Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso – all in the hunt at the final race of the season in Brazil.
Räikkönen had won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in his Ferrari F2007, but then endured a six-race hoodoo in which his best finish was third.
That allowed Hamilton and Alonso to get up a head of steam, and so despite wins at the French and British GPs, Räikkönen was still the underdog heading into the final races of the campaign.
#OnThisDay 9 years ago: Kimi Raikkonen becomes an #F1 world champion – beating Hamilton & Alonso by ONE point >> https://t.co/MmeTvTfW6t
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 21, 2016
It all came down to the final race of the season at Interlagos, where Hamilton led the way. But gearbox failure saw him slip down the grid to seventh, while Alonso could only muster a third-place finish – Räikkönen, sensing an opportunity, took the tape to win both the Brazilian GP and the Drivers’ Championship, by a solitary point.
It still remains Ferrari’s last drivers’ title, some 18 years later.
Three is the Magic Number
Back in 1986, three icons of the track – Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, and Nelson Piquet – were all involved in a titanic battle at the top of the standings.
The animosity between Mansell and Piquet meant that the Williams drivers continued to take points off one another, which left the door ajar for Prost heading into the final race of the season in Australia.
In Adelaide, Williams had a shocker – Mansell suffered tyre failure, while an ill-timed pit stop for Piquet enabled Prost to roar by and wrap up the win. The Frenchman would therefore land the Drivers’ Championship too, just two points separated him from Mansell, with a gap of three points to Piquet.
ON THIS DAY! Alain Prost wins the 1986 Adelaide Grand Prix and Formula 1 world championship following a dramatic tyre blowout for title rival Nigel Mansell. Profile of Prost in Adelaide here: https://t.co/WdSzWDvmCj #F1 #Adelaide pic.twitter.com/c1MnABTXiI
— Adelaide Grand Prix (@Adelaide_GP) October 25, 2018
We can also go all the way back to the 1950 season for another remarkable three-way dance. The trio of Alfa Romeo stars in Luigi Fagioli, Juan Manuel Fangio, and Nino Farina were locked in a fascinating battle at the top of the leaderboard, with Fangio leading by two and four points respectively to Fagioli and Farina.
But there would be an almighty upset at Monza as Fangio was forced to retire and Fagioli could only muster third place – allowing Farina, on home soil, to land an emotional race and championship victory.
Could the 2025 season end in similarly jaw-dropping fashion?
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