Schumacher and Hamilton
Most Formula One drivers' world championships (shared)
Michael Schumacher won seven Formula One drivers' titles between 1994 and 2004, and Lewis Hamilton equalled him with seven between 2008 and 2020. No driver has won more than seven.
Michael Schumacher won his seven titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 and with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004. Lewis Hamilton took his first title with McLaren in 2008, then won in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, mostly with Mercedes. Fans and commentators often compare the two, though cars, rules, and teammates differed by era.
Hamilton had a chance to take an eighth championship in 2021, when he and Max Verstappen finished level on points entering the final race in Abu Dhabi. Verstappen won the title after a controversial late safety-car decision, and the stewards' handling of the race led to a review by the sport's governing body, the FIA. The result stood.
Drivers' championships are awarded on a points system that has changed several times since the series began in 1950. The record for most race wins is held by Hamilton, while Juan Manuel Fangio won five titles in the 1950s.
Titles are counted by season, so the totals can change only when a season ends with a driver clinching the championship; the figure here reflects the record as sources described it at the time of verification. Schumacher also holds records of his own, such as five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004, a sequence that remains distinctive in the sport's history.
The two careers differ in structure. Schumacher moved from Benetton to Ferrari in 1996 and built a dominant team there over several seasons, while Hamilton's titles came across two teams, McLaren and Mercedes, with Mercedes' run aligned with the turbo-hybrid engine rules introduced in 2014. Points scales also differ: the system changed in 2010 to award 25 points for a win, so raw points totals across eras are not directly comparable.