Red Bull may rule the roost nowadays but there is no doubt just who is F1’s most iconic team of all time. Ferrari remains the most successful constructors since the sport emerged back in the 1950s with 16 constructors championships and 15 drivers championships to boot. The Scuderia have been on the grid since F1’s inception and as such have produced and been associated with some of the sport’s biggest icons. Nowhere is that clearer than in the long list of legendary drivers that have gotten behind the wheel for Ferrari. Some of the greatest to ever do it have driven for the Italians and so we take a look back at the cream of the crop from the last 74 years of Autosport. Here’s our look at the best Ferrari F1 drivers in history.
Alberto Ascari
This Milan native was the man who started it all. Ferrari’s first driver in F1 became their first World Champion in 1952 and again in 1953 also making Ascari the first man to win back-to-back titles. Not only was the Italian Juan Manuel Fangio’s main foil, but he was also a vital part of Enzo Ferrari’s construction team as well. He had taken his experience from GP level and applied it on the main stage to form a powerful partnership with Ferrari making him one of the best drivers in the world. He won nearly half of his races for the Scuderia, crossing the line first in 13 of his 27 starts behind the wheel for Ferrari. While his spell with the constructor may not have been a lengthy one by modern standards, his legacy still holds up to this day which deservedly earns him a spot on this list. The parimatch welcome offer will give you free bets to place on the next F1 race.
Fernando Alonso
A modern-day great, Alonso became the first Spaniard to ever secure an F1 drivers championship and is still going strong 18 years after his second title victory. His F1 career stretches back all the way to 2001 and with that the 42-year-old has affirmed his status as a true legend of the sport. With a career as long as he has had it comes as no surprise that Alonso also has a long list of records too. His tally of 2,267 points is the fourth best on the all-time list and his 32 Grand Prix wins is the seventh best tally and puts him amongst some of the greatest drivers the sport has ever produced. It’s true that the majority of his success was enjoyed elsewhere, in fact most notably wrestling the constructors title away from Ferrari to end their longstanding vice grip on the championship in the early 2000s. However his four year stint with the team was hardly an unsuccessful one. Red Bull provided fierce competition from 2010 to 2014 and Alonso fell agonizingly short of recording championship wins in both 2010 and 2012. The latter was a particularly impressive season in which the driver registered three victories despite driving in a vehicle significantly slower than his other title contenders. Their partnership may have ended in unceremonious fashion but 11 wins from his 96 starts is a healthy return and earns him an entry in the pantheon of great Ferrari drivers.
Niki Lauda
For the longest time the Austrian of F1 was the measuring stick by which all other Ferrari drivers that followed would be judged. After joining in 1974, Lauda helped transform Ferrari into the dominant force in the sport. Before the then 25-year-old arrived with the Scuderia, the team had only won two constructors championships in the 24-year history of the sport but that was all about to change. With Lauda leading the charge, they would secure a hat-trick of constructors titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977, paving the way for their dominance of the sport for the next decade. Lauda himself picked up two drivers championships along the way in 1975 and 1977. His move elsewhere in 1978 arguably cost him a third championship in four years but with 15 races from 57 starts, Lauda had played his part to perfection for Ferrari, establishing himself as the best driver the team had at their disposal for a generation.
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari fans were made to wait over two decades for another Lauda-esque talent to arrive behind the wheel but it was worth it. Schumacher is arguably the greatest driver of all time and his exploits driving for Ferrari are considered to be some of the best the sport has ever seen. The German was so successful in his ten year stint with the constructor from 1996 to 2006 that his name is now synonymous with F1. He earned five drivers championships while with Ferrari and earned an astonishing 72 Grand Prix victories from his 179 starts with the team. His personal success paved the way for the team’s success too as Ferrari would secure six consecutive constructors championships from 1999-2004. His seven world championships still stands as a record today and no matter what his predecessors have achieved since, he remains THE F1 icon and is undoubtedly the best driver Ferrari has ever had.
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