Who leads the championship, and when: 76 title races in numbers

Published Invalid Date · figures as of the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix, round 17.

In 36 of the 76 completed seasons the driver who led the championship after the first round went on to win it, and in 19 seasons the champion led after every round. At the other end, three champions took the lead for the first time at the last race or the one before it.

The figures come from the standings after each race, as the site stores them, for the 76 seasons from 1950 to 2025.

Champions who led from start to finish

Seasons	Champion
1953, 1954, 1957	Alberto Ascari, Juan Fangio, Juan Fangio
1959, 1962, 1969	Jack Brabham, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart
1991, 1992, 1994	Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Michael Schumacher
1996, 1998	Damon Hill, Mika Häkkinen
2001, 2002, 2004	Michael Schumacher
2009, 2011, 2015	Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton
2023, 2024	Max Verstappen

Nineteen seasons, a quarter of the total. Schumacher did it four times, Fangio and Verstappen twice.

Champions who took the lead late

Season	Champion	First led after round	Rounds
2010	Sebastian Vettel	19	19
1976	James Hunt	16	16
1982	Keke Rosberg	14	16
2017	Lewis Hamilton	13	20
1981	Nelson Piquet	12	15
1984	Niki Lauda	12	16

Vettel in 2010 and Hunt in 1976 never led the championship until it was over. Vettel arrived at the final race third in the standings; Hunt won the title by one point at a rain-soaked Fuji after Niki Lauda withdrew.

The smallest margins

Season	Champion	Margin
1984	Niki Lauda	0.5 points
1958	Mike Hawthorn	1
1961	Phil Hill	1
1964	John Surtees	1
1976	James Hunt	1
1981	Nelson Piquet	1
1994	Michael Schumacher	1
2007	Kimi Räikkönen	1

Lauda’s half point in 1984 came from the half-points Monaco Grand Prix, stopped in the rain. The eight closest finishes span 1958 to 2007; under the 25-point system since 2010 the closest has been 2021, decided on the last lap of the last race but by 8 points.

The largest margins

Season	Champion	Margin
2023	Max Verstappen	290 points
2013	Sebastian Vettel	155
2022	Max Verstappen	146
2020	Lewis Hamilton	124
2011	Sebastian Vettel	122

All five are from the 25-point era, which inflates margins: 290 points in 2023 is about eleven and a half race wins, where 1984’s half point was less than a tenth of one.

This season

The title scenarios page shows, for the current season, who can still win, what the leader needs at the next race, and a calculator for any finishing order. After round 17 of 2026 Andrea Kimi Antonelli has led after every round since round 3.