A victory also in 2026
The victory in the Hungarian GP allowed Lando Norris to smile again after a complex first half of the season for him and McLaren, also avoiding a risk for the Woking team driver: that of becoming one of the #1 who, as reigning world champions, did not win any race in the following year. Something that may seem rare, but which has actually happened on several occasions from the origins of Formula 1 to recent years.
The 1950s
Five-time world champion in his career, and therefore one of the greatest ever in the history of the Circus, Juan Manuel Fangio never stood on the top step of the podium as reigning champion in two seasons: the first was in 1952, although the Argentine did not actually participate in that world championship following an accident at Monza in a Formula 2 race. The second, instead, was in his last year in his career in 1958, after three disappointing races with the South American/Novi Auto Air Conditioner team. Another great name in F1 of those years was Alberto Ascari: after winning the world title in 1953, the Milanese did not achieve any success the following year after racing with several teams, all Italian: Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati.
The 1960s
Cases were not lacking even in the following decade, starting with the one who won world titles not only as a driver but also as a constructor: Jack Brabham. Three-time champion in his career, the Australian had to face a disappointing season with Cooper in 1961, collecting as many as six retirements. The following year was instead more ‘positive’ for the outgoing champion Phil Hill, with the American Ferrari driver achieving three podiums in the first three races, but without wins. A similar record to that of John Surtees in 1965, also in Ferrari, for the man who is still known today as the only driver to have won a title both in Formula 1 and in the Motorcycle World Championship.
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From the 1970s to today
At the end of the 1970s the only lack of wins as champion was that of Mario ‘Big Foot’ Andretti, never ahead of everyone with his Lotus in 1979. The same happened, a year later, with the South African Jody Scheckter, who after a disastrous season with Ferrari also decided to hang up his helmet. Having moved from Williams to Lotus in 1988, Nelson Piquet also failed to win any race as reigning champion, in what was the season that marked the beginning of the slow decline of the British team. Another driver who decided to leave Williams as outgoing champion was Damon Hill, who in 1997 came very close to winning not only the first seasonal victory with Arrows, but also what would prove to be the first ever for the British team. The one who won the world championship in ’97 was his former teammate Jacques Villeneuve, who despite staying with the Grove team had to deal with a not very competitive car in 1998, so much so that the Canadian did not achieve any wins. In more recent times, finally, the positive streak of four world titles of Sebastian Vettel ended in 2014, the year in which the then Red Bull driver was ‘stopped’ by Lewis Hamilton.
The statistics do not take into account drivers who, after winning the world championship, decided to retire from F1: the first case was Jackie Stewart in 1973, followed by Nigel Mansell in 1992 (although the ‘Lion’ raced some races with Williams and McLaren in 1994 and 1995) and Alain Prost. Ten years ago, instead, this happened with Nico Rosberg, who emerged victorious from the internal battle with Hamilton at Mercedes. The saddest cases, instead, were those of Jochen Rindt and Mike Hawthorn. The first lost his life at Monza, with the Austrian becoming the first posthumous world champion driver in 1970. Finally, the case of Mike Hawthorn was different, champion in 1958 but deceased the following year.
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