Lando Norris
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Bruce McLaren entered his own Formula 1 team in 1966, and since then, his team have won 10 drivers’ and 13 constructors’ championships – the latest came in 2025.
Lando Norris achieved glory for the Woking outfit this year after a hard-fought battle with Max Verstappen and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
Where does Norris rank?
Winning seven races and only standing off the podium six times, the Brit took the championship to the final race in Abu Dhabi. His P3 was enough as Norris became F1’s 35th drivers’ champion by just two points.
Norris’ triumph makes him McLaren’s eighth world champion since the works team was set up almost 60 years ago. But where does the 25-year-old rank among the team’s victors? Well, F1 Oversteer has had a look back over history and answered that question.
8 Niki Lauda – One title (1984)
Three-time champion Niki Lauda won his final title with McLaren in 1984, marking an incredible comeback following his accident at the Nurburgring in 1976.
Lauda joined McLaren in 1982 and struggled for consistent results, but in 1984, he found himself in battle with Alain Prost for the championship. While he won fewer races (Lauda – 5, Prost – 7) and had more retirements (Lauda – 6, Prost – 5), he finished in the top two in all but one race he did finish.
Lauda beat Prost by the smallest margin in F1 history, winning by just half a point after the Monaco GP gave out half points as less than 75% of the race was completed. It was a devastating defeat for the Frenchman, but he does appear a bit later on this list.
7 James Hunt – One title (1976)
Lauda had an intense rivalry with James Hunt in the mid-1970s, with the Brit joining McLaren in 1976 as he and the team sought to defeat the Austrian and Ferrari.
Initially, it was the latter who had the upper hand, with four wins and seven podiums from the first eight races, while Hunt struggled with unreliability. But after Lauda’s near-fatal crash at the Nurburgring, McLaren were, in tragic circumstances, afforded the chance to catch up.
With four wins in the final eight events, the Brit clinched the title by just one point, despite Lauda’s best efforts. He sensationally returned just three races after his crash at the Nurburgring, but withdrew from the final race at Fuji due to torrential rain.
6 Lando Norris – One title (2025)
The 2025 champion ranks ahead of Lauda and Hunt not only because he won his title by a larger points margin, but also because of the comeback he pulled off to achieve it.
Where do you think Lando Norris will rank among McLaren’s greatest drivers when he retires?
Norris sat 34 points behind Piastri after the Dutch GP, looking almost certainly out of the running as he struggled with his car. But a change of approach kicked him into a new gear, collecting two wins and six podiums in the last nine races.
It was a brilliant turnaround and a display of the Brit’s talent in F1. Norris proved a lot of doubters wrong in 2025, and he is certainly capable of much more in his career.
READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration
5 Emerson Fittipaldi – One title (1974)
McLaren’s first world champion came in the form of Emerson Fittipaldi, who triumphed over Clay Regazzoni by three points in 1974.
The Brazilian may have only won three races and grabbed seven podiums from 15 races that year, but his consistency shone through while his rivals struggled. Fittipaldi wrote his name in McLaren history, securing his third and final championship with the team.
4 Lewis Hamilton – One title (2008)
Up until 2025, Lewis Hamilton was McLaren’s last champion back in 2008. His fight with Felipe Massa stands as one of the closest and most intense title battles in recent F1 history.
The pair were neck and neck throughout the season, grabbing 10 podiums each. Massa won six races to Hamilton’s five, but it was the McLaren star who came out on top at the final race in Brazil after a last-lap overtake on Timo Glock at the last corner, beating the Ferrari driver by one point.
The 2008 championship remains a contentious issue to this day, thanks to the Crashgate scandal. Massa is hoping to share the title with Hamilton after taking the matter to court, but as of now, the Brit holds the crown, and it has set him up for one of F1’s greatest ever careers.
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family
3 Mika Hakkinen – Two titles (1998, 1999)
McLaren have had three multiple world champions in their history, and Mika Hakkinen is the latest. After Williams’ dominance ended after 1997, the Finn took advantage and claimed consecutive titles in 1998 and 1999.
Hakkinen had a tense rivalry with Michael Schumacher during his career, beating the Ferrari driver by 14 points in 1998. The following year, Eddie Irvine became his rival after the German’s accident at Silverstone and came agonisingly close to winning the title, but the McLaren driver held on by two points.
2 Alain Prost – Three titles (1985, 1986, 1989)
McLaren have had two three-time champions in their history, and it brings us to that age-old debate: Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna.
Making his debut with McLaren in 1980, Prost returned to the team in 1984 after three years with Renault. He narrowly missed out on the title to Lauda that year before dominating the championship in 1985.
The Frenchman edged Nigel Mansell for the title in 1986 and beat Senna in a tense fight in 1989. Their rivalry was one of the most intense in the sport’s history, which almost certainly gave McLaren a headache when they were teammates, but one has the Brazilian victorious.
1 Ayrton Senna – Three titles (1988, 1990, 1991)
Prost ‘asked’ McLaren to sign Senna as his teammate in 1988, a decision he would probably come to regret as the Brazilian clashed numerous times with the Frenchman during their title fights.
Senna achieved legendary status with McLaren, winning his three championships in 1988, 1990 and 1991. His incredible skill behind the wheel, notably in the wet, made him a class above the field.
McLaren have not had a three-time champion since Senna. With their current control over the field, it is hard to imagine them not finding a third name to go alongside him and Prost in the near future.
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