Is Lando Norris a worthy Components 1 world champion or not? That query has divided opinion since his title victory in Abu Dhabi. Fairly a number of imagine that Max Verstappen was the higher driver in 2025 and that Norris didn’t extract the utmost from his McLaren.
However in dividing opinion over his value as a champion, the Briton is way from alone in Components 1 historical past.
Let’s check out the uncooked numbers. Norris completed the season with 423 factors, whereas a most of 648 have been out there. That equates to a factors conversion charge of 65.28%.
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Amongst all 76 world championship seasons in F1 historical past, Norris’ marketing campaign ranks forty eighth when it comes to his factors conversion – by the way one place forward of Verstappen the yr earlier than, when the Dutchman achieved “solely” 65.03% of the out there factors in his Pink Bull.
In fact, statistics like these are all the time one thing of a gimmick – and much more so in Components 1. Automobiles differ massively in competitiveness and, as all the time, the varied factors techniques used over the a long time distort any such number-crunching train.
Even so, the figures recommend that Norris is a good distance from being an undeserving or unworthy world champion.
Nonetheless, let’s have a little bit of enjoyable and take a more in-depth have a look at who truly recorded the worst – and the most effective – factors conversion charges of each world champion in Components 1 historical past.
Ayrton Senna, McLaren MP4-5B Honda.
Photograph by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Photos
The restrictions
As talked about, that is difficult by the totally different factors techniques through the years. Earlier than 1991, dropped outcomes have been a part of the game: solely a sure variety of races counted in direction of the championship, with the remaining discarded.
Typically this had little influence, as a result of just one consequence per half of the season was dropped. At different occasions, nonetheless, drivers might afford various errors, as solely 11 of 16 races, for instance, have been counted in direction of the title.
For this text we determined to make use of solely the factors that have been genuinely out there – in different phrases, the utmost variety of factors a driver might have on the scoreboard by the tip of the season, and what number of he truly did rating.
Naturally, this method favours drivers from earlier eras. However, reliability was far worse again then, which might in any other case have made it just about not possible for them to realize robust statistics.
Unsurprisingly, Juan Manuel Fangio, the dominant power of the Nineteen Fifties, seems a number of occasions close to the highest of the rankings. In his case, normally solely the most effective 5 outcomes of a season counted (though seasons have been, in fact, a lot shorter again then). 4 of his titles due to this fact rank fifth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth when it comes to factors conversion.
Even higher than Fangio, nonetheless, have been two different drivers: Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark. Each primarily managed excellent seasons, scoring 100% of the factors out there to them.
In Ascari’s case, solely the most effective 4 outcomes from eight races counted on the time. After skipping the Swiss Grand Prix to compete within the Indianapolis 500, which was a part of the world championship again then, the Italian received the opposite six races and likewise set the quickest lap each single time. It merely cannot get any higher than that – and two of these victories didn’t even depend in direction of the championship.
Alberto Ascari, Ferrari 500
Photograph by: Motorsport Photos
The next yr, not all of his wins have been counted both. And since he didn’t set the quickest lap in one of many races that did depend, and needed to share the quickest lap level at one other victory with a second driver, he ended up 1.5 factors in need of perfection.
What Ascari failed to realize, nonetheless, was managed by one other driver. Clark received “solely” two Components 1 world championships – however each with an ideal 100% factors rating.
The 1965 season is especially fascinating. Clark received the primary six races he entered. As solely six outcomes counted in direction of the championship, it successfully didn’t matter what he did within the closing three races – his factors complete and the world title have been already secured.
Clark was killed in a Components 2 race at Hockenheim in 1968, and plenty of are satisfied that he would have received additional titles had he not misplaced his life so tragically.
If we have been to contemplate solely these seasons by which each race counted in direction of the championship – that’s, from 1991 onwards – Verstappen can be the clear primary. In 2023, Pink Bull received each race of the season besides Singapore, one thing that’s clearly mirrored within the statistics.
Verstappen scored 575 of a doable 620 factors, a conversion charge of 92.74%. Remarkably, the Dutchman dropped simply 45 factors – in a season with 22 races, six sprints and, crucially, the bonus level for quickest lap, which Verstappen usually had little affect over as a result of different drivers might merely pit late within the race.
That alone value him 13 factors.
Max Verstappen, Pink Bull Racing, 1st place, lifts the winners trophy
Photograph by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Photos
In consequence, the season was much more dominant than Michael Schumacher’s 2002 marketing campaign, when he completed on the rostrum in each race however nonetheless “solely” achieved 84.71% of the out there factors – 144 out of 170.
By the way, for those who have been to compile a top-10 of the fashionable Components 1 period from 1991 onwards and rank every season individually, it could not be significantly various: Verstappen, Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Vettel, Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Senna, Hamilton, Hamilton, Hamilton.
However it’s also value wanting on the different finish of the listing. And that is the place the influence of contemporary reliability turns into obvious. Just one driver from 2000 onwards seems within the backside 10: Vettel.
Being on this area doesn’t robotically imply {that a} world champion was weak or undeserving. In Vettel’s case, the 2010 season was in order that intently contested that many drivers took factors off one another. Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Hamilton and Jenson Button all harboured title hopes deep into the season, earlier than Vettel snatched the crown.
The German led the championship for the primary time all yr solely after Abu Dhabi – and that was sufficient to safe the title with a factors conversion charge of 53.89%.
Hardly anybody would argue that Jochen Rindt was a weak or undeserving world champion both, regardless of scoring solely 45 of a doable 99 factors. Quite the opposite: with 5 consecutive wins, Rindt might have ranked a lot increased on the listing.
However destiny intervened. Rindt was killed in a crash at Monza and was unable to compete within the closing 4 races of the season. As 5 of the final six races counted in direction of the championship, Rindt was left with simply his victory at Hockenheim – and 4 zero scores. Even so, no different driver might catch him, making him the one posthumous Components 1 world champion to this point.
Jochen Rindt, Lotus 72C Ford
Photograph by: Motorsport Photos
Rindt ranks second on the flop listing, surpassed solely by Keke Rosberg in 1982 – which is hardly shocking on condition that he received only one race that season. The Finn scored solely 44 of a doable 99 factors (44.44%), making him the world champion with the bottom factors conversion charge of all time.
In actual fact, his statistics are flattered by the dropped-results system, as solely 11 of 16 races counted. Had the whole season been counted, as it’s as we speak, 144 factors would have been out there – and Rosberg would have scored simply 30.56% of them.
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The entire listing
Yr
Driver
Conversion charge (%)
Factors received
1952
Ascari
100.00
36 out of 36
1963
Clark
100.00
54 out of 54
1965
Clark
100.00
54 out of 54
1953
Ascari
95.83
34.5 out of 36
1954
Fangio
93.33
42 out of 45
1962
Hill
93.33
42 out of 45
1966
Brabham
93.33
42 out of 45
2023
Verstappen
92.74
575 out of 620
1988
Senna
90.91
90 out of 99
1960
Brabham
89.58
43 out of 48
1955
Fangio
88.89
40 out of 45
1957
Fangio
88.89
40 out of 45
1951
Fangio
86.11
31 out of 36
2002
Schumacher
84.71
144 out of 170
2013
Vettel
83.58
397 out of 475
1950
Farina
83.33
30 out of 36
2011
Vettel
82.53
392 out of 475
2004
Schumacher
82.22
148 out of 180
2015
Hamilton
80.21
381 out of 475
1991
Senna
78.79
78 out of 99
2020
Hamilton
78.51
347 out of 442
1969
Stewart
77.78
63 out of 81
1958
Hawthorn
77.78
42 out of 54
2018
Hamilton
77.71
408 out of 525
2014
Hamilton
76.80
384 out of 500
1989
Prost
76.77
76 out of 99
1971
Stewart
76.54
62 out of 81
2022
Verstappen
76.17
454 out of 596
2019
Hamilton
75.64
413 out of 546
1961
Hill
75.56
34 out of 45
2006
Alonso
74.44
134 out of 180
1980
Jones
74.44
67 out of 90
1964
Surtees
74.07
40 out of 54
1987
Piquet
73.74
73 out of 99
1985
Prost
73.74
73 out of 99
2016
Rosberg
73.33
385 out of 525
1986
Prost
72.73
72 out of 99
1984
Lauda
72.73
72 out of 99
2017
Hamilton
72.60
363 out of 500
2001
Schumacher
72.35
123 out of 170
1979
Scheckter
70.83
51 out of 72
2005
Alonso
70.00
133 out of 190
2021
Verstappen
69.57
395.5 out of 568.5
1959
Brabham
68.89
31 out of 45
1972
Fittipaldi
67.78
61 out of 90
1992
Mansell
67.50
108 out of 160
1956
Fangio
66.67
30 out of 45
2025
Norris
65.28
423 out of 648
2024
Verstappen
65.03
437 out of 672
2007
Raikkonen
64.71
110 out of 170
2000
Schumacher
63.53
108 out of 170
1967
Hulme
62.96
51 out of 81
1998
Hakkinen
62.50
100 out of 160
1993
Prost
61.87
99 out of 160
1973
Stewart
60.68
71 out of 117
1996
Hill
60.62
97 out of 160
1995
Schumacher
60.00
102 out of 170
1991
Senna
60.00
96 out of 160
1975
Lauda
59.72
64.5 out of 108
1983
Piquet
59.60
59 out of 99
2003
Schumacher
58.12
93 out of 160
2009
Button
57.58
95 out of 165
1994
Schumacher
57.50
92 out of 160
2012
Vettel
56.20
281 out of 500
1976
Hunt
54.76
69 out of 126
2008
Hamilton
54.44
98 out of 180
2010
Vettel
53.89
256 out of 475
1977
Lauda
53.33
72 out of 135
1968
Hill
53.33
48 out of 90
1978
Andretti
50.79
64 out of 126
1981
Piquet
50.51
50 out of 99
1997
Villeneuve
47.65
81 out of 170
1999
Hakkinen
47.50
76 out of 160
1974
Fittipaldi
47.01
55 out of 117
1970
Rindt
45.45
45 out of 99
1982
Rosberg
44.44
44 out of 99
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