The 16 Greatest Wet-Weather Drivers in Formula 1 History

Rain rewrites the order of a Grand Prix, and the same handful of names keep turning up at the front of it. Sixteen drivers who treated a wet track as an opportunity.

1

Ayrton Senna

Brazilian three-time champion whose Donington 1993 opening lap is the most replayed wet drive in the sport.

2

Michael Schumacher

Nicknamed Regenmeister after winning the rain-soaked 1996 Spanish Grand Prix by nearly a minute in his first Ferrari season.

3

Lewis Hamilton

Seven-time champion whose wet breakthrough came at Silverstone 2008, where he won by over a minute.

4

Jackie Stewart

Scottish triple champion who won the fog-bound 1968 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring by four minutes.

5

Jim Clark

Two-time champion of the 1960s whose car control on streaming circuits was considered untouchable by his rivals.

6

Jacky Ickx

Belgian racer who carried the original Rainmaster label through the late 1960s and 1970s.

7

Stirling Moss

British great who never won a title but built a reputation on drives in conditions that stopped other cars.

8

Gilles Villeneuve

Ferrari driver whose wet laps at Watkins Glen in 1979 were seconds clear of the entire field.

9

Pedro Rodriguez

Mexican driver remembered for a dominant wet run at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix and long sportscar drives in rain.

10

Max Verstappen

Dutch champion whose comeback from 17th to victory at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix came in torrential conditions.

11

Jenson Button

2009 champion whose best days came on wet tracks, including his last-lap win at Canada in 2011.

12

Sebastian Vettel

Four-time champion whose first F1 podium and first win both came in the wet as a young Toro Rosso driver.

13

Fernando Alonso

Two-time champion known for reading changing conditions and gambling on tyre calls before anyone else.

14

Rubens Barrichello

Brazilian veteran whose 2000 German Grand Prix win came from 18th on a track that turned wet mid-race.

15

Niki Lauda

Austrian triple champion who both won and famously withdrew in the rain, treating conditions as a calculation.

16

Mika Hakkinen

Finnish double champion whose smooth style translated into some of the fastest wet laps of the late 1990s.