Top 10 F1 cars of all time: What is the dominant F1 car in history?

Some truly incredible F1 cars have been built over the 75 years of the world championship.

F1 cars are the bedrock of a team’s success and failure in the sport. Create a rocketship and you will win races and world championships. In contrast, a flop of a car will see you take the unwanted label as a ‘back marker’.

Competitive F1 cars are pivotal to both team and driver hopes of title glory, and there have been many impressive machines over the years. But which car is the greatest of all-time?

1) Red Bull RB19

The 2023 Red Bull is the most dominant F1 car of all-time.

Red Bull’s RB19 racked up a sensational 21 wins from 22 races, with Singapore proving the only race Red Bull failed to win as Max Verstappen and his team easily romped to both world titles.

The RB19 claimed 14 pole positions from 22 races and took 30 out of the 42 available podiums. Over the course of the season, it clocked an astonishing win percentage of 95%.

Verstappen used the car to set a record-breaking 10 consecutive victories and clinched the title with six grands prix to spare. He won a total of 19 of that year’s 22 grands prix.

2) McLaren MP4/4

McLaren’s MP4/4 sits only just behind Red Bull’s RB19.

Like the Red Bull, McLaren’s greatest ever grand prix car won all but one race in an F1 season, taking 15 out of 16 victories in the 1988 world championship.

The MP4/4 boasts a win percentage of 94%, racking up 15 of 16 pole positions and taking 25 out of 32 podiums, helping McLaren to secure the constructors’ championship after just 11 rounds.

It was the car that took Ayrton Senna to his first of three world titles, beating teammate and arch rival Alain Prost in the process by eight wins to seven.

3) Mercedes F1 WO7 Hybrid

In 2016, Mercedes won 19 of that year’s 21 grands prix with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg behind the wheel of their near-all-conquering W07.

Mercedes only failed to win two races. The first came at the Spanish Grand Prix - the scene of Hamilton and Rosberg’s famous opening lap crash which paved the way for Verstappen’s historic first win. The second was Malaysia, where Hamilton suffered an engine failure while leading, and Rosberg battled back to third after a first-corner tangle left him facing the wrong way.

The W07 took all but one pole position in 2016 and ended the campaign with a win percentage of 90% as Mercedes celebrated a championship double for the third consecutive campaign.

4) Ferrari F2002

The Ferrari F2002 was the dominant car which took Michael Schumacher to a then-equalling fifth drivers’ world championship, winning 11 races that season.

The F2002 won 14 of 17 races (having replaced the F2001 after the first two rounds) giving it a win percentage of 88%. That was despite only taking eight poles.

Schumacher achieved a podium at every race, finishing first or second at all rounds except for Malaysia, where he finished third. The German incredibly wrapped up the championship in July with six races to go.

5) Alfa Romeo 158

Alfa Romeo’s 158 would have taken number one spot on this list had it entered and won the 1950 Indianapolis 500.

Despite opting not to contest that round, Alfa Romeo’s superior 158 won that season’s other six races. The car took pole at each of those six races and won them in dominant fashion, lapping every-non Alfa Romeo car in all but two grands prix.

It was the car Giuseppe Farina piloted to become F1’s first-ever world champion.

= 6) Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid

Mercedes’ first F1 car of the V6 hybrid era was almost unstoppable, winning 16 of 19 races in 2014. It was on pole at 18 of those races and claimed 31 podiums out of 38, giving the W05 a win percentage of 84%.

Mercedes’ spell of F1 domination was kicked off by Hamilton claiming his second world championship title, having edged out Rosberg.

In theory, the W05 was so dominant that it should have won every race, but a 100% record was not achieved. Both Mercedes drivers were hit with by reliability gremlins in Canada as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo stole victory.

Ricciardo would also win in Hungary where Rosberg struggled and Hamilton started from the back after an engine failure in qualifying, and again in Belgium, when the Silver Arrows duo collided on the first lap.

=6) Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid

Mercedes’ rivals were still left playing catch up in 2015 when their W06 proved to be as dominant as its predecessor.

The W06 boasts the same stats and win percentage as the W05, placing it joint-sixth on this list. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel prevented a complete Mercedes whitewash by winning in Malaysia, Hungary and Singapore.

But the W06 was still the clear class of the F1 field as Mercedes surged to back-to-back world championship doubles.

8) Ferrari F2004

Ferrari’s F2004 was the car with which Schumacher cruised to his seventh and final F1 championship.

Schumacher won 12 of the opening 13 races to secure an unprecedented world title, which he clinched at round 14 in Belgium. He claimed a total of 13 wins in 2004, surpassing his previous best of 11 wins in one season from 2002.

The F2004 won 15 of 18 races, giving it an 83% win percentage.

9) Ferrari 500

The Ferrari 500 won 13 of the 16 races it contested over the 1952 and 1953 seasons as Alberto Ascari sealed back-to-back drivers’ crowns.

In 1953 the Ferrari 500 won all but one of the races it contested, only failing to claim victory on home turf at Monza.

10) Red Bull RB18

Red Bull top and tail this list, with the predecessor to F1’s most dominant car in history also proving to be pretty handy.

Red Bull aced the 2022 regulation overhaul with their RB18 challenger, which claimed 17 wins out of 22 races at the start of F1’s new era and return to ground-effect cars.

Verstappen and Red Bull overturned an early deficit to Ferrari to surge to victory on both championship fronts, winning 10 of the final 13 races. Such was the dominance of the RB18, Verstappen was even able to win from 14th on the grid at Spa.