'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQF/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgP/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMO0sv/EAB4QAAEDBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQABRIhUpOh/9oACAEBAAE/ALCswYDMXJiQyg5oL7WRCt79oyUc2us1/8QAFhEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAR/9oACAECAQE/ABy//8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAES/9oACAEDAQE/AJR//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In F1, it's often said that there are three things one needs to win the title - a great car, a great team, and a great driver. However, more often than not, the pendulum tends to swing more towards the car because of how overbearing an advantage the machinery can prove to be.
It's not often in F1 that a title is won by an inferior car. The last such case that comes to mind is the 2012 season when Fernando Alonso almost got it done in his Ferrari.
What if we told you that there have been instances of F1 drivers winning the title in an inferior car? Well, let's take a look at the list of three such instances where this did happen.
#1 1995 F1 season (Michael Schumacher)
Arguably the last time this happened was in 1995 when Michael Schumacher beat Damon Hill to win his second world title.
Two major advantages worked in Schumacher's case that season. The first was the fact that when it came to operation, his team Benetton was just heads and shoulders above Williams. The second was there was a clear gulf in driving ability between him and Hill.
The 1995 F1 season for Schumacher was all out putting the pressure on Hill by choosing the right strategy and pressurizing him all the time. More often than not, this would lead to the Williams driver making an error and handing the advantage to Schumacher.
The fact that only these two teams were at the top made it easier to make his entire campaign around Hill, so Schumacher ended up winning his second world title with relative ease.
#2 1986 F1 season (Alain Prost)
One of the more pristine examples of why two teammates fighting each other for the title is not desirable for any team is what happened in 1986.
The season featured Williams producing a stellar car that was just class. It was some distance ahead of everyone else in terms of performance and was the favorite to win the title. McLaren was arguably a step behind as the second-fastest car on the grid.
The problem for Williams was that the team had two great drivers who were more or less capable of producing relatively similar levels of performance. Both Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were joint contenders for the title within the team. On the other hand, McLaren had Alain Prost who was the lead driver and the team's sole challenger for the title.
The season saw Piquet and Mansell taking points off each other at various points and handing the advantage to Prost. In the end, in the last race of the season, Mansell suffered an unfortunate puncture to his tire and handed the title to Prost.
#3 1982 F1 season (Keke Rosberg)
The 1982 F1 season is a great example of how being consistent can yield spectacular results in the championship.
This was the mantra followed by former world champion Nico Rosberg's father Keke Rosberg. The season was very strange in different aspects as it featured far too many deaths and was a tumultuous time both politically and on the track.
In the end, Keke Rosberg, despite winning just one race, was able to win the title by beating a plethora of challengers that season. What stood out for him was the fact it was the only competitive car that had a naturally aspirated engine while everyone else had switched to the turbos.
