F1 Drivers with the most Grand Slams or Grand Chelem

Reigning six-time World Champion Michael Schumacher
Reigning six-time World Champion Michael Schumacher

There have been many drivers in Formula One over the years, many have won races, some have won drivers and constructors titles but few have become a member of a very prestigious club of ‘Grand Slam’ winners.

F1 Grand Chelem or Grand Slam means drivers who have taken pole position, fastest lap and led every single lap in a race victory, from lights out to the chequered flag.

In this list, we take a look at the top 5 drivers who have achieved this over the many years of Formula One and earned their place in the history books.


#5 Ayrton Senna (4 Grand Slams)

Grand Prix of Hungary
Grand Prix of Hungary

At number five is Ayrton Senna. He had to be in this top 5 somewhere and indeed he is, the Brazilian driver who some say was the best to ever grace Motorsports comes in at number five with a respectable 4 grand slam wins.

Ayrton Senna da Silva was born on March 21, 1960, and went on to win three world drivers titles with McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991. Between 1989 and 2006, Ayrton Senna held the title of the most pole positions achieving 65, only two drivers are ahead on that list but are they included in this one? Most regarded him as the most influential driver Formula One had ever seen and he holds the record for the most wins at the Monaco Grand Prix, six in total.

Here are the places on the F1 calendar where Senna achieved the grand slams:

1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, 1989 Spanish Grand Prix, 1990 Monaco Grand Prix, 1990 Italian Grand Prix

I have included Ayrton Senna in the top five but it could have been these other three drivers who all sit on the same amount of grand slams. Jackie Stewart, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel are all on 4 slams, the German driver being the only one who can still rise up the leaderboard.

#4 Alberto Ascari (5 Grand Slams)

Alberto Ascari, Grand Prix Of France
Alberto Ascari, Grand Prix Of France

Claiming the number four spot is Alberto Ascari. Born in Milan on July 13, 1918, the Italian driver went on to win two drivers championships and also took part in one of the best years for any team, between 1952 and 1953, Ascari and his amazing Ferrari 500 won 11 out of the 13 world championship Grands Prix they entered. This was an incredible achievement and once more all 5 of his grand slam wins came in the space of these 13 races.

Here are the places where Ascari achieved the grand slams:

1952 French Grand Prix, 1952 German Grand Prix, 1952 Dutch Grand Prix, 1953 Argentine Grand Prix, 1953 British Grand Prix.

#3 Lewis Hamilton (5 Grand Slams)

Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix - Qualifying
Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix - Qualifying

At number three is Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton was born on 7 January 1985, in Stevenage. In 2008 he won his first drivers title at McLaren becoming the 30th Formula One World Champion and the youngest ever until Sebastian Vettel claimed his first in 2010.

Lewis Hamilton has achieved the grand slam style five times with three of those coming in the 2017 season which is the year he won his fourth drivers title. Until 201,4 Lewis Hamilton was in with a rare group of F1 drivers which included the likes of Alain Prost, Kimi Raikkonen and ex-teammate Jenson Button as drivers who had won a world title but never recorded a Grand Slam.

He is the only driver on this list still in F1 to date. Can he continue his great success in Formula One and one day find himself at number one? Only time will tell but he certainly has the potential to do so.

Here are the races that Lewis Hamilton accomplished his grand slams:

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix, 2015 Italian Grand Prix, 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, 2017 British Grand Prix.

#2 Michael Schumacher (5 Grand Slams)

German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher
German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher

At number two is the great Michael Schumacher. He was born on 3rd January 1969, near Cologne, Germany, six years before his brother Ralf Schumacher. He is the sport’s most successful driver winning seven drivers' championships between 1994 and 2004.

In his last championship winning year in '04, Schumacher won twelve out of the first thirteen races and went on to win a record 13 times highlighting that he still had it after a decade of winning in F1.

Another accolade where the German is miles in front of the rest is the Hat-trick achievement which is a win, pole position and fastest lap. He has accomplished 22 of them, which is 11 more than the driver at the top of grand slams. His first grand slam came in the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix which was the first race after the tragic death of Ayrton Senna.

Schumacher is one of the greatest drivers ever to set foot in an F1 car and you have to be a seriously good driver to put the German in the #2 spot.

Here is the list of races where Schumacher achieved his grand slams:

1994 Monaco Grand Prix, 1994 Canadian Grand Prix, 2002 Spanish Grand Prix, 2004 Australian Grand Prix, 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix.

#1 Jim Clark (8 Grand Slams)

Jim Clark, Grand Prix of Mexico
Jim Clark, Grand Prix of Mexico

At the number one spot is British Motorsport legend Jim Clark. James Clark, junior, was born on March 4, 1936, and lived in Scotland's Berwickshire.

He was widely regarded as one of the quickest drivers in the history of the sport. Paired with that Lotus some race weekends he just looked in a world of his own. The Scot won his first grand slam at the British Grand Prix in Aintree in 1962 with the last arriving at the Nurburgring at the German Grand Prix in 1965.

When he died in 1968 he had won 25 Grand Prix from 72 starts (73 entries). At 32 years old when he died it was so tragic to lose a driver that could have achieved much more. The sport was so much more dangerous back then but Clark did win two F1 championships in his career, 1963 and 1965.

He was an inspiration for many drivers that have followed in his footsteps and many more drivers to come. This record of grand slams is also a great achievement and one that will still see his name at the top for a few more years to come.

Here is the list of races where he achieved his grand slams:

1962 British Grand Prix, 1963 Dutch Grand Prix, 1963 French Grand Prix, 1963 Mexican Grand Prix, 1964 British Grand Prix, 1965 South African Grand Prix, 1965 French Grand Prix, 1965 German Grand Prix

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Edited by Raunak J