Top 3 F1 Championships won by drivers in a slower car

In F1, more often than not, the driver that wins the championship holds the keys to the best machinery on the grid. In the turbo-hybrid era from 2014-2021, Mercedes has been the dominant force. And that is precisely why their drivers have picked up all but one title in this period.

Yet, there have been moments in history where it has not always happened this way. In this piece, we will share three scenarios where the F1 world championship was won by the driver in a slower car.

F1 Championships won by drivers in a slower car

#3 Fernando Alonso(Renault 2005)

In 2005, the F1 world found itself in the unlikeliest of scenarios where Ferrari was not in contention for the title. The team that had dominated the decade until then had messed up and did not have a competitive car. What this did was bring to the forefront a scenario where Fernando Alonso took his Renault to his very first F1 title.

This part is more or less remembered by most F1 fans. However, there is one crucial detail about this period that is forgotten. It was the presence of a McLaren car, that was operating at a much higher level. Whenever that car ran to its potential, there was nothing on the grid that could hold a candle in front of it.

However, that was the biggest problem with that car, it was just not reliable enough. Kimi Raikkonen, driving that car, struggled with reliability throughout the season as he suffered multiple DNFs/penalties because of this.

When the car ran to its potential, it produced races like Monaco GP 2005 and Japanese GP 2005. But when it didn't, it saw Kimi retire out of Imola while leading the race by a significant margin amongst other races.

Alonso, on his part, made the most of his machinery that was much more reliable and ultimately helped him win the title.

#2 Michael Schumacher(Benetton 1995)

Michael Schumacher's first title win caught the eye of everyone in F1 because of the controversial way it ended. However, the victory that should have been one of his biggest achievements was the 1995 championship. Yet it doesn't get anywhere close to the kind of recognition that it deserves.

Michael Schumacher, driving a Benetton, flattered the car's performance. He won the title comfortably in a car that was performance-wise slower than Williams.

Taking on the rather inexperienced duo of Damon Hill and David Coulthard, Schumacher used the mastermind and guile of Ross Brawn to gain a strategic advantage. He ended up winning as many as nine races in the season despite scoring only four pole positions.

The Williams drivers, on the other hand, scored 12 pole positions and despite that, failed to mount a challenge against Schumacher. This was one of the rare occurrences in history where driver skill alone resulted in deciding the title battle.

#1 Alain Prost(McLaren 1986)

The most famous instance of a slower car winning the title took place in 1986. Alain Prost was driving a McLaren that was significantly slower than the Williams in the hands of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell. However, the biggest challenge faced by the Williams team was the infighting between its two drivers.

While Nelson Piquet was signed by Williams on the pretext of him being the lead driver in the team, Nigel Mansell consistently outperformed Piquet, forcing the team to change its stance.

That led to the two drivers consistently taking points off each other throughout the season. Alain Prost, by staying consistent, was making the most of these missed chances by the two drivers and ultimately clinched the title in the last race of the season.