When it comes to discussions of the best of all-time, World Championships are often a deciding metric, but what about the drivers who never quite reached the top spot?
A Championship win can be as much down to your car or your luck as it can be down to your talent, and these 10 drivers were not lacking in the last department.
The 10 best drivers never to win the F1 world title
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10. Robert Kubica
Kubica’s F1 career looked to be on an upward trajectory when he suffered a near-fatal accident whilst rally driving.
He was on the verge of a Ferrari move, set to partner Fernando Alonso in 2012, but crashed in the first stage of the Ronde di Andora rally ahead of his final season with Lotus.
He required surgery that lasted seven hours and understandably, was never able to get back to the level he once was.
His return to racing of any form is remarkable given the extent of his injuries and he even recovered enough to race in F1 once more, for Williams in 2019.
In a timeline without that accident, many have suggested that Kubica would have been fighting for world titles.
9. Mark Webber
Unfortunately for Mark Webber, there was just one driver better than him.
After a solid career, the Australian’s main Championship chance came via a move to Red Bull and Webber helped elevate the team from F1 upstarts to genuine title contenders.
Webber’s best season was 2010 when he made it to the final race in Abu Dhabi within touching distance of the title but strategy errors and tyre issues saw Sebastian Vettel crowned champion.
From then on, the German excelled and while Webber kept close, Vettel was always one better.
8. David Coulthard
Coulthard’s is perhaps a similar story to Webber’s in that there was always just one driver who was better.
In his early career, he was competing alongside Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher before a move to McLaren seemed to present him with a chance of a title. Except for the presence of Mika Hakkinen.
Coulthard came closest in the 2001 season, finishing second behind Schumacher, but ended his career as one of the greatest British drivers of all-time. The Scot has 13 wins and 62 podiums on his record but could never quite elevate himself to that next level.
7. Rubens Barrichello
Barrichello was the ultimate wingman for Michael Schumacher, but you don’t drive for Ferrari for that long without an immense level of talent.
The Brazilian started 322 races, winning 11 of them. He has 68 podiums on his record, 14 poles and 658 points and yet he was behind possibly the best driver of all-time.
Without Schumacher, Barrichello may have been able to win a title during Ferrari’s dominant years and even after a move to Honda which later became Brawn, he was not able to capitalise on their early advantage in the same way Jenson Button did.
He was consistently very good but always one step behind the best of the best.
6. Daniel Ricciardo
There will always be a sense of what could have been with Daniel Ricciardo.
His sliding doors moment came with a decision to leave Red Bull and join Renault as a young Max Verstappen gained control of the Milton Keynes outfit.
Ricciardo’s time at Renault is often harshly remembered but a move to McLaren never worked out and he fell down the Formula 1 pecking order. A return to the Red Bull family, this time with AlphaTauri, demonstrated how far his star had fallen but at his best, Ricciardo was a fantastic driver.
5. Didier Pironi
Frenchman Pironi joined Ferrari in 1981 and was soon battling for the world title against his team-mate Villeneuve.
11 races in and Pironi led the way, nine points ahead of the Canadian, but Villeneuve was killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Pironi looked certain for the title then in tragic circumstances, he too was to be part of a serious crash, this time during practice for the German Grand Prix.
Pironi hit a slowing Alain Prost at 170mph, flying through the air for nearly 200ft before gravity crushed both of his legs.
Months of surgery were required just to make him walk and he was never able to race again. According to legend, Enzo Ferrari visited Pironi in hospital and placed a cup next to his bed which read ‘Didier Pironi – the true 1982 World Champion’.
4. Gilles Villeneuve
Gilles Villeneuve was within four points of a world title and yet never managed to win one despite his talent.
His route into F1 came via a North American Formula Atlantic race in which he bested James Hunt and he was soon signed by Ferrari.
The Canadian is remembered less for his statistics, more for the way he drove and he still holds a soft spot in plenty of Ferrari hearts even if he never won the Championship.
His 1979 season was a highlight before he was tragically killed in 1982 just as Ferrari were returning to Championship contention.
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3. Jacky Ickx
Ickx’s talents were not just confined to F1 and the multiple Le Mans winner picked up plenty of titles but the F1 championship eluded him.
He started 116 grands prix, mostly for Ferrari, and came second in back-to-back seasons in 1969 and 1970.
In that latter season, he finished just five points off winner Jochen Rindt who had a fatal crash at the Italian Grand Prix.
From 1968 to 1972, Ickx finished no lower than fourth in the championship and although his later career faltered, he was clearly one of the best in the world in his prime.
2. Ronnie Peterson
Nicknamed the Superswede, Peterson may have only won 10 of his 123 races but it was often the car that let him down.
He failed to register a point in his first season but a move to March in 1971 had him finishing second in the Championship behind Jackie Stewart.
Peterson would start on pole 14 times in his career and was competing with team-mate Mario Andretti for the 1978 title when he suffered a fatal crash at the Italian Grand Prix.
He remains the best driver to have ever come from Sweden and comes second in our list.
1. Stirling Moss
It is not often in an F1 debate that there is so clearly a correct answer.
While some may argue Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Ayrton Senna or many more are the best Formula 1 driver of all-time, Sir Stirling Moss is in that conversation despite never having won the championship.
The London-born driver finished runner-up on four occasions, a feat that only Alain Prost matched, and won just under a quarter of the races he took part in at a time when reliability was no guarantee.
More than just the numbers though, it was the way Moss conducted himself that left him loved by so many. Sir Jackie Stewart said he “set a standard that I think has been unmatched since he retired” and that is perhaps best displayed by his selfless act in 1958.
When title rival Mike Hawthorn was accused of reversing during the final round at the Moroccan Grand Prix, Moss, who would have won the title had Hawthorn been disqualified, instead vouched for him. An act of sportsmanship that is hard to imagine being repeated today.
It was not just F1 either. Moss won 212 races in all categories including the Mille Miglia, the Targa Florio and sports car racing.
By every metric, Moss deserved an F1 world title but his place in its history is not diminished without one.
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