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Mercedes made it five constructors championships in a row with Lewis Hamilton's win in Brazil last week, a record only bettered by Ferrari during Michael Schumacher's time at the team in the late 90's and early 2000's. There have been 15 different teams that have won the esteemed constructor's trophy since the award's inception in 1958 when Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks piloted the team to their only championship. The driver's championship gets more a spotlight in the media and by the fans, but this is the competition which the teams care about the most, as it's the one which defines how much prize money the various outfits are awarded at the season'. Which teams have the most overall titles, though?
The leader may be obvious but the rest of the top 5 produces some real surprises!
#5 Mercedes - 5
Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes is a combination that now strikes fear into their opponents and after winning five constructors titles in a row in the past five seasons, you'd be a fool to rule out them extending that run in 2019 and equalling Ferrari's consecutive record. 5 puts them ahead of Red Bull (4), Brabham (2) and Renault (2), amongst others, a magnificent achievement for a team that only re-entered the sport in 2010.
Had the constructor's championship been around during the 1950's (it was introduced for 1958), then they would've had two more from Juan Manuel Fangio's time at the team. That two extra would put them level with the next highest on the list.
Despite taking over a championship winning outfit (Brawn) for their re-entry into the sport, before 2014, the team were firmly in the midfield, with just 4 wins to their name, 3 of those coming in 2013. The biggest shakeup of regulations in generations provided the Brackley outfit with an opportunity to climb the grid - just like Red Bull did a few years earlier - and the Silver Arrows have been the team to beat ever since, something no team have managed yet. Nico Rosberg also deserves a mention in here, as he was with the team from 2010 to 2016, where he finally realised his dream of becoming a world champion, and aided the team in 3 of their successful constructors championship wins.
#4 - Lotus (7)
Lotus is a name that evokes fond memories that are old enough to remember their glory days in the 1960's and 70's. Colin Chapman is one of the best designers to have ever created a Grand Prix car, with revolutionary designs being the norm during his time at the team. Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti all won driver's world championships at the team, producing seven constructor's titles in that time.
The death of Chapman signalled the decline of the team in 1982, as no more constructors titles went their way, despite drivers like Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen all driving for the team. By 1994, financial issues meant the team folded and would've appeared on the grid for '95, a sad end to a once dominant force in motorsport.
The Lotus name would return to Formula 1 in 2010 and be shared with two teams, the latter of which won two races with world champion Kimi Raikkonen choosing the Enstone outfit for his F1 comeback.
#3 - McLaren (8)
A surprise team is in third, not because it's too high, but it's too low that you'd expect. Bruce McLaren's team are second in drivers championship (12), but not in terms of constructor's championships, that honour belongs to another well-known British team. Their last came back in 1998, despite winning the driver's world championship in 1999 and 2008 and also being disqualified in 2007.
They're the second longest running Formula 1 team, behind only Ferrari, but have fallen on tough times recently, not having a win since 2012 and are without a podium since 2013. Emerson Fittipaldi in 1974 was their first driver's champion, with the Brazilian also helping them to their first constructor's championship.
James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and most recently, Lewis Hamilton in '08. With fresh drivers, a decent engine and new a leadership structure, the team could return to the podium for the first time in six years sometime in 2019.
#2 - Williams (9)
You'd never guess if you looked at their most recent season, but Williams are the second-most successful team in terms of constructor's championships. They've only won 7 driver's titles, but they've won two more constructor's as they've often had the best car but not the best driver.
1986 is a key example of this, as Alain Prost in a far worse car won the driver's championship, despite Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet comfortably won the Grove outfit the constructor's title. Alan Jones won their first in 1980, just their third year as a constructor! From there, Piquet, Mansell, Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve also won driver's titles at the team, the mid-80's to mid-90's being Williams' golden years.
Their last champion was the only Canadian to win the title, coincidentally, this was also the last champion from the Americas, Frank Williams had a habit of liking South American drivers as well as home-grown British aces. It has been a while, though, 1997 was the last time they won the driver's and constructor's championships and have a long way to climb before they can realistically win another.
#1 - Ferrari (16)
Who else could've been but these guys? Ferrari have been a part of Formula 1 since day 1, entering the championship in all of its 69 seasons of existence.
Their first driver's title came in just the third season, Alberto Ascari triumphing in 1952, but the constructor's championship wouldn't arrive until to 1958. Phil Hill became the first of three men with that surname to win the driver's and constructor's championship with Ferrari, and since then, 15 more followed, with legends such as John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Kimi Raikkonen and of course, Michael Schumacher.
They are the most successful team of all time in every category, championships, wins, podiums, poles etc... and have also been Mercedes' closest challenge in recent seasons and have the best chance of them knocking the silver arrows off their golden perch.
