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Formula 1 worst and best drivers Photograph: (Instagram)
Formula 1 is about taking high risks to earn that extra speed advantage over others and win races. In this high-speed battle, some great drivers mastered the art of racing and won races and championships. Some drivers tried their best to win races but failed miserably due to countless crashes and accidents. There are also various reasons for coming on the worst list like not having a good machine, a car with a lack of pace and balance issues and many others.
The 2025 F1 season is one month away and in this list, we will see the top 5 best and the worst drivers of all time starting from 1995, when the Prost-Senna safety revolution. The two greats Prost and Senna won't feature on this list, but some Formula 1 drivers on this list are still racing this year and you will be surprised by some of our calls.
Also Check: Top 10 Highest paid Formula 1 drivers in 2025
Here are the worst F1 drivers in Modern era
5. Lance Stroll
Did you feel any surprise? You should be. The Aston Martin driver has been racing in Formula 1 since 2017. But still, he hasn't done anything great apart from his podium finish in Azerbaijan. His older teammate Fernando Alonso outpaces Stroll in every race. The Candian driver despite being so young has no answers. Many say only his father Lawrence who owns the Aston Martin F1 team is helping Lance to keep his driver's seat.
4. Mick Schumacher
The young German driver is the only son of the greatest Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher. Seeing Mick on our list is very painful even for us. We still rank Mick Schumacher as one of the most talented youngsters but when Mick was driving for the Haas F1 team, he had many collisions and accidents that rattled his career upside down. Especially his teammate Nikita Mazepin got too much under his skin making him lose form. We still want to see Mick Schumacher driving for a well-competitive F1 team again.
3. Romain Grosjean
The French driver was called by many names like ‘Phoenix’, and ‘Honey Badger’ for his fearless approach during races. But this fearless approach has brought him another name and that is ‘First Lap Nutcase’ due to his crashes during the opening lap of the races. Grosjean charges at his rivals aggressively and ends up colliding ruining the race. We still see many race crashes featuring Romain Grosjean all over the internet which were used as memes. But after his great escape from the burning fire in Bahrain, he became a god’s child.
2. Pastor Maldanado
Maldonado is the most unpredictable driver in the F1 modern era. He won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix by beating Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. Apart from that Maldanado is known for his collisions and crashing under safety car conditions which are not acceptable to F1 standards. Many F1 drivers fear going near him during races because of the ‘Maldonado curse’, which starts chaos on the track.
1. Nikita Mazepin
The Russian driver was called ‘Maze-Spin’ because he spins often during races. He was the son of a Russian billionaire, so with his father's help, he raced in F1. Nikita always crashes in Practice, qualifying, and races. He even caused chaos inside the team by fighting with his teammate Mick Schumacher and team boss Guenther Steiner. He was dropped from the grid after Russia invaded Ukraine. Till his final race he never really learned how to control the car.
Here are the best F1 drivers in Modern era
5. Fernando Alonso
The Oldest horse still running strong in F1 is Fernando Alonso. He is one of the all-time greatest drivers in F1. Though he won only two world championships, it doesn’t define his racing abilities and skills. The Spaniard is the only driver battling in Formula 1 for two decades. He is the only one who stopped Michael Schumacher and Ferrari during their prime.
4. Sebastian Vettel
The Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is one of the all-time greats. His heroics for Torro Rosso at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix earned him a seat in Red Bull in 2009. The rest is history, where Sebastian Vettel dominated the Formula 1 grid for four straight years. If there was a bit of luck in his favour then he could have defeated Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes. Vettel during his prime was unshaken and a winning machine.
3. Max Verstappen
The Dutch driver became one of our all-time great drivers because he won the 2024 Formula 1 championship with a third-fastest car. Only Nelson Piquet and Max Verstappen have achieved this feat in F1 history. Especially after his heroics in the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix, Max sculpted his name on the GOAT list of F1 racing. This makes us think, that even if the car had three wheels, Verstappen could win the race. Red Bull should be grateful to have him in their team.
2. Lewis Hamilton
One of the best in the business is definitely Lewis Hamilton. The British driver racing for Ferrari makes this period, one of the most wonderful times to live. He has the most race wins, he has the most championship among the current drivers, he has the most pole positions and everything that this man touches turns into gold. He is the biggest ambassador of Formula 1 and has grown bigger than the sport.
1. Michael Schumacher
The Greatest-ever driver to race in F1 is Michael Schumacher. The German legend challenged Ayrton Senna during his prime and his legacy in the sport will forever be remembered by all. He is also the only driver to race in multiple eras like the V12 V10 and V8. Before Lewis Hamilton, it was all Michael who did all the magic and unbelievable dominance. His time of challenges is greater than what we see in F1 today and winning 7 titles during that time makes him the GOAT F1 driver.
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