Max Verstappen secured a startling statistic when he won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with his 46th win in the ground effect era meaning that, by the time it ends, he will have won a minimum of 50% of the races since the start of 2022.

With that, we have decided to take a look at several other multiple World Champions, specifically in the times where they were at their most dominant, to see how the Dutch driver’s performances stack up over time.

Calculated: How Max Verstappen stacks up against historic periods of F1 dominance

Now, some housekeeping before we get going.

We have already calculated the best win percentages in Formula 1 history from across drivers’ entire careers, but we are looking specifically at the times certain drivers achieved the most success in the sport.

With that, we have clustered together drivers from their most dominant spells in the sport, be it through title-winning streaks or multiple titles in a close span, to compare just how Verstappen’s success in the ground effect era matches up.

The Red Bull driver won an impressive 10 out of 22 races in his maiden title-winning campaign in a closely-fought battle with Lewis Hamilton in 2021, but we are taking the ground effect era specifically into account here as that in particular is when his dominance has accelerated in Formula 1 – even though the 2025 Drivers’ title appears unlikely at this stage.

With that in mind, let’s take a look.

Statistics correct as of 2025 Italian Grand Prix

1: Alberto Ascari (1952-1953)

Race victories in chosen years: 11
Era win percentage: 68.75%
World Championships: 2
Career win percentage: 40.62%

Alberto Ascari took 11 of his 13 career victories in his two title-winning seasons of 1952 and 1953, winning all six of the F1 events he entered in the first of them, alongside a retirement in the Indianapolis 500.

While the number of races was far lower in the early days of Formula 1, the lack of reliability and safety compared to today’s machinery made each race difficult to navigate for the drivers.

Another impressive five victories out of eight race entries in 1953 puts Ascari firmly at the top of these standings, and while the sample size is smaller, it does not take away from a remarkable achievement.

2: Michael Schumacher (2000-2004)

Race victories in chosen years: 48
Era win percentage: 56.47%
World Championships: 5 (7 in total)
Career win percentage: 29.64%

After several years building his title potential at Ferrari, the turn of the new millennium was the opening of the floodgates for Michael Schumacher and the Scuderia.

Unequivocally the number one driver, Schumacher had a crack team of people around him in senior positions and the German made the most of his talent and machinery to rack up five title successes in a row.

The picks of the seasons were 2002 and 2004, with the German having finished every single race on the podium in 2002, including nine victories, and going on to conquer many of Formula 1’s lap records in the F2004, one of the most dominant car-driver combinations in Formula 1 history.

His career victory count stopped at 91 in his 2006 title battle with Fernando Alonso, but while he returned for three seasons with Mercedes without adding to his total, Schumacher’s dominant streak with Ferrari is among the strongest ever.

3: Max Verstappen (2022-25*)

Race victories in chosen years: 46
Era win percentage: 54.77%
World Championships: 3 (4 in total)
Career win percentage: 29.33%

*Season ongoing at time of writing

Max Verstappen has guaranteed himself the position of, by the end of 2025, going through a full four-year regulation cycle by having won half of the races within it, after his victory at the Italian Grand Prix.

His win percentage in this era was even higher going into the 2025 campaign, however, having faced the challenge of trying to overhaul McLaren in the competitive order this season.

His 2023 season was the most successful ever in terms of race victories, winning a record 19 of 22 races (86.3%) on his way to his third World Championship.

Red Bull had been the class of the field in the early years of ground effect, with the 2022 RB18 swiftly overhauling Ferrari as the car to beat, before the RB19 was a world-beater in Verstappen’s hands.

He has faced improved challenges at the front of the field in 2025, but will be likely to look back happily on the ground effect era when Formula 1’s regulation changes come into effect in 2026.

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4: Jim Clark (1963-1965)

Race victories in chosen years: 16
Era win percentage: 53.33%
World Championships: 2
Career win percentage: 34.72%

Widely held among the best Formula 1 drivers of all time, Jim Clark’s two title-winning seasons – either side of a still-successful 1964 – were the bedrock of his success.

His name synonymous with Team Lotus, Clark’s 1965 campaign in particular was incredibly impressive, winning all but one of the races in which he crossed the line, including a run of six victories in a row when he competed.

With the World Championship standings only selecting the drivers’ best results for points at the time, Clark holds a remarkable record in that both his title successes came as a result of earning 100% of the points available to him.

His life was tragically cut short after a Formula Two accident at Hockenheim in 1968, but he still holds several records in Formula 1, including the highest number of Grand Slams (or Grand Chelems), having taken pole position, led every lap of a race, won the race and taken the fastest lap on eight different occasions.

5: Lewis Hamilton (2014-2020)

Race victories in chosen years: 73
Era win percentage: 53.28%
World Championships: 6 (7 in total)
Career win percentage: 28.23%

Having already won his first title with McLaren in 2008, Lewis Hamilton’s move to Mercedes saw him take a gamble on the Silver Arrows’ performance at the start of the turbo hybrid era in his second season there, 2014.

Sure enough, Mercedes proved the class of the field throughout that time, but in Nico Rosberg especially, he found a tough rival to fight for World Championship glory.

Taking the title in 2014 and ’15, Rosberg won overall glory in 2016 before swiftly retiring. The chassis regulations changed for 2017, which brought Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel into play, but Hamilton still reigned supreme, with Mercedes’ nadir being the all-conquering W11 from 2020, utilising incredible technological innovations along with Hamilton’s skill to bring the Briton six titles in seven seasons.

6: Juan Manuel Fangio (1951-1957)

Race victories in chosen years: 21
Era win percentage: 48.84% (Indianapolis 500 not included, Fangio did not enter)
World Championships: 5
Career win percentage: 47.06%

Juan Manuel Fangio holds the distinction of not only being Formula 1’s first five-time World Champion, he is also the driver with the highest overall win percentage in the sport’s history.

Always working hard to put himself in the best possible position to win by working his way into the best cars, the Argentine would make the most of his machinery and, despite finishing as runner-up in the opening Formula 1 season to Giuseppe Farina, he would go on to win five of the next six titles in the seasons when he competed.

Not including the Indianapolis 500 in his ratings, considering he did not enter when it was a part of the World Championship, Fangio took 21 wins in 43 races as his title tally built up over the years.

7: Sebastian Vettel (2010-2013)

Race victories in chosen years: 34
Era win percentage: 44.16%
World Championships: 4
Career win percentage: 17.73%

As Formula 1 banned refuelling in time for the 2010 season, one of the most open grids for a long time convened, and even four drivers had the chance of winning the 2010 title in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

Sebastian Vettel emerged victorious, however, and went on a title-winning streak that would catapult him into the history books, knowing how best to secure a pole position and break the DRS zone at the start of races.

While heavily challenged by Fernando Alonso in 2012, Vettel held firm and recovered from a first-lap spin at Interlagos to take the points he needed for another title, but his dominance reached a peak in 2013, winning a whopping nine consecutive races to end the season.

8: Ayrton Senna (1988-1991)

Race victories in chosen years: 27
Era win percentage: 42.19%
World Championships: 3
Career win percentage: 25.47%

While longtime rival, Alain Prost, saw his four titles arrive over a longer span in Formula 1 (hence why he is not on this list), Ayrton Senna took his three World Championships in the space of four seasons – and the circumstances in which the 1989 title was handed to Prost remain controversial to this day.

Senna and Prost’s names are forever linked in Formula 1 history for their duel as McLaren teammates while driving one of the most dominant cars the sport had ever seen, splitting race victories between them as they duelled for glory.

The all-time record-holder for pole positions in his time in the sport, Senna’s qualifying performances were often matched by success on race day.

While his record in his title-winning stint remains incredibly strong, 12 retirements through those years leads to wondering if he could have been even more successful.

9: Mika Hakkinen (1998-1999)

Race victories in chosen years: 13
Era win percentage: 40.63%
World Championships: 2
Career win percentage: 12.42%

Having waited a long time to secure his first victory in Formula 1, Mika Hakkinen finally broke his duck at the end of the 1997 season, which would then prove to be a springboard for two consecutive title-winning years.

Beating both Ferrari and then-McLaren teammate David Coulthard, Hakkinen racked up 13 of his 20 career victories in the span of his title-winning campaigns.

He stayed in Formula 1 for a little while longer before taking a sabbatical, which still hasn’t ended…

10: Fernando Alonso (2005-2006)

Race victories in chosen years: 14
Era win percentage: 37.84%
World Championships: 2
Career win percentage: 7.67%

Fernando Alonso became Formula 1’s youngest ever World Champion at that point when he earned title victory in 2005, holding off Kimi Raikkonen to take a maiden title with Renault.

His 2006 triumph was a titanic battle with Michael Schumacher that went in the Spaniard’s favour, but while he has had multiple close calls since – in 2007, 2010 and 2012 in particular, he has yet to add to his title tally.

His most recent victory came at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, over half his career ago in terms of race starts, but having largely been limited by his machinery, few doubt his prowess behind the wheel and the ability to capitalise when he has the chance.

11: Jackie Stewart (1969-1973)

Race victories in chosen years: 22
Era win percentage: 36.07%
World Championships: 3
Career win percentage: 27.27%

Jackie Stewart won his three World Championships in a five-year span in Formula 1, and but for a retirement-plagued 1970 season could have featured more highly on these standings.

Stewart’s partnership with Matra and Tyrrell brought about enormous success in his career, with the Scot also being an outspoken advocate for advancements in safety in motorsport throughout his career.

He took six victories in an 11-race calendar in 1969, another six wins in his second title-winning campaign in 1971, and added five to his tally in 1973, while interspersing that with other strong results in between.

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