Mercedes F1 title winners: Kimi Antonelli joins small but elite club

Kimi Antonelli has joined an elite club by becoming only the fourth works Mercedes driver ever to win the F1 World Drivers’ Championship, and has become the youngest to ever do so.

He joins a small but historic group of names in the sport, each with their own illustrious history with the Silver Arrows and how they are remembered more widely within the pantheon of Formula 1 history. Let’s take a look.

Juan Manuel Fangio

Mercedes championships: 2 (1954, 1955)
Overall championships: 5 (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Mercedes races: 12
Mercedes wins: 8
Overall wins: 24

Perhaps the longest-standing entrant in Formula 1’s ‘greatest of all time’ debate, Juan Manuel Fangio’s standalone record of five World Championships stood for 46 years, prior to Michael Schumacher’s era of dominance with Ferrari.

Within his illustrious career of competing across categories, Fangio was famed among the paddock for not just his astounding victory record, but for being unafraid to move teams in search of the most competitive car.

His 1954 title came after a mid-season move from Maserati to Mercedes, with the W196 proving a hugely advanced car compared to its rivals, and Fangio went on to win four of the remaining six races which, when paired with his two wins with Maserati, saw him finish well clear of runner-up, José Froilán González.

Fangio and the W196 continued to dominate in 1955, with the Argentine driver winning a further four races of the seven that season in what has become by far the most valuable Formula 1 car of all time, when sold at auction.

Fangio’s time at Mercedes was a neat summary of his career, in a sense. A short-but-sweet spell, bringing enormous levels of success with him, and heading onwards to continue with his driving prowess.

He won five titles with four different teams, and is rightly continually mentioned among the sport’s all-time greats.

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes championships: 6 (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Overall titles: 7* (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Mercedes races: 246
Mercedes wins: 84
Overall wins: 106*
*Driver still active

Lewis Hamilton shocked the Formula 1 world in 2012 when it was announced that he would be making the move to Mercedes for 2013, switching from proven regular title contenders – and what was his only previous home in Formula 1 – in McLaren to a team which, at that time, was an occasional race winner at most.

Hamilton took the gamble not for the 2013 season, even though he took victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, but for the mass regulation changes for 2014.

The significant switch to V6 turbo hybrid engines came around and, as the following years proved, Mercedes as a team was the class of the field.

With Hamilton at the forefront, he and Mercedes forged a dynasty which catapulted the Briton from his single title in 2008 to matching Schumacher’s all-time record, setting new records for career race victories, pole positions and many more in the process.

The Briton continued with the team until the end of 2024 and, with Mercedes having struggled to compete at a title-winning level in the post-2022 ground effect era, Hamilton opted for another surprise switch – this time to Ferrari.

Nico Rosberg

Mercedes championships: 1 (2016)
Overall titles: 1 (2016)
Mercedes races: 136
Mercedes wins: 23
Overall wins: 23

While Hamilton arrived on the other side of the Mercedes garage in 2013, Nico Rosberg had comfortably held the upper hand on Michael Schumacher in his three seasons with the Silver Arrows, with Schumacher’s retirement opening the door for Hamilton’s move.

Rosberg, in fact, won Mercedes’ first race since its return to Formula 1 by winning the Chinese Grand Prix in 2012, and his partnership with Hamilton evolved from a feel-good story of two former teammates reuniting to one of the most acrimonious teammate battles in recent memory.

Hamilton had the upper hand on Rosberg through Mercedes’ all-conquering 2014 and 2015 seasons, and Rosberg now famously exhausted all his mental and physical capacity to try and become World Champion himself in 2016.

Rosberg got off to a flying start, too, winning each of the first four races, and their rivalry came to a head when, with neither giving any quarter at the start of the Spanish Grand Prix, both collided and put themselves out of the race.

Despite streaks of wins for Hamilton, Rosberg continued putting his Mercedes on the top step himself and, after the Briton’s retirement in Malaysia and Rosberg’s win in Japan, the German played the championship game, dutifully finishing second to his teammate in four consecutive races to secure his sole title. Just days later, he announced his retirement.

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