From Fangio to Hamilton – Who are the oldest world champions in the history of Formula 1?

Formula 1’s 2025 grid will feature two championship-winning drivers in their 40s as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso race on – aiming to boost their tallies of seven and two world titles respectively. But who are the oldest champions when it comes to the sport’s all-time list? F1.com digs through the archives to present the numbers…
In an era where it was commonplace for drivers to race through their 40s and 50s, the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio won his maiden 1951 title as a 40-year-old, his second at 43, third at 44, fourth at 45 and fifth at 46 – just over two years clear of the next driver on the list.
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‘Nino’ Farina is that driver, having built on plenty of Grand Prix experience to take overall honours in the very first season of the F1 World Championship back in 1950. He did so by edging out his Alfa Romeo team mates – the aforementioned Fangio and Luigi Fagioli – across six races.
The third and final man to win an F1 world title in their 40s is Jack Brabham, who added to 1959 and 1960 triumphs for Cooper by bagging one more with his eponymous team in 1966 – the only time a driver has landed the championship in a car bearing their own name.
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Graham Hill was in his early 30s when he secured the 1962 title with BRM, after which the Briton logged three runner-up finishes and then experienced a couple of relatively lean seasons. Then, in 1968, and having switched to Lotus, Hill won a deserved second championship.
Matching Hill’s age, Nigel Mansell was 39 years old when he clinched his sole drivers’ title. After placing second in 1986, 1987 and 1991, via some dramatic moments, ‘Red 5’ finally got the job done through 1992 when he and the Williams FW14B were the class of the field.
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Alain Prost’s first and last world titles were separated by almost a decade, with the Frenchman winning at McLaren in 1985 and 1986, again in 1989 amid an intense rivalry with Ayrton Senna, and then making the most of another potent Williams – the FW15C – in 1993.
Mario Andretti is regarded as one of motor racing’s most versatile talents and, in 1978, he ticked the F1 championship box aboard the innovative Lotus 79 ground effect car. It was a bittersweet win for the 38-year-old, though, with team mate Ronnie Peterson passing away following a crash at Monza.
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Graham Hill was tragically killed in an aircraft crash seven years on from his second title win, but son Damon would continue the family legacy by emotionally claiming a title of his own in 1996 – though he had to wait until his mid-30s to do it, after he started out on the bike racing scene.
Lewis Hamilton features in both the youngest and oldest F1 world champion lists. His first title came as a 23-year-old with McLaren in 2008, bettered only by Sebastian Vettel since then, and his seventh, record-equalling trophy came as a 35-year-old with Mercedes in 2020.
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Niki Lauda became a double champion with Ferrari in the mid-1970s, either side of his terrifying crash at the Nordschleife, before moving to Brabham, taking some time out of the sport and then returning to add a third and final title at McLaren in 1984 – beating team mate Prost by just half a point.
Michael Schumacher, with whom Hamilton is tied on seven titles, was just three days younger than 1984 winner Lauda when he sealed the 2004 championship, while Nelson Piquet was some five months younger than that when he picked up his third crown in 1987.