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.
1Ayrton SennaBrazilian three-time champion whose Donington 1993 opening lap is the most replayed wet drive in the sport.
2Michael SchumacherNicknamed Regenmeister after winning the rain-soaked 1996 Spanish Grand Prix by nearly a minute in his first Ferrari season.
3Lewis HamiltonSeven-time champion whose wet breakthrough came at Silverstone 2008, where he won by over a minute.
4Jackie StewartScottish triple champion who won the fog-bound 1968 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring by four minutes.
5Jim ClarkTwo-time champion of the 1960s whose car control on streaming circuits was considered untouchable by his rivals.
6Jacky IckxBelgian racer who carried the original Rainmaster label through the late 1960s and 1970s.
7Stirling MossBritish great who never won a title but built a reputation on drives in conditions that stopped other cars.
8Gilles VilleneuveFerrari driver whose wet laps at Watkins Glen in 1979 were seconds clear of the entire field.
9Pedro RodriguezMexican driver remembered for a dominant wet run at the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix and long sportscar drives in rain.
10Max VerstappenDutch champion whose comeback from 17th to victory at the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix came in torrential conditions.
11Jenson Button2009 champion whose best days came on wet tracks, including his last-lap win at Canada in 2011.
12Sebastian VettelFour-time champion whose first F1 podium and first win both came in the wet as a young Toro Rosso driver.
13Fernando AlonsoTwo-time champion known for reading changing conditions and gambling on tyre calls before anyone else.
14Rubens BarrichelloBrazilian veteran whose 2000 German Grand Prix win came from 18th on a track that turned wet mid-race.
15Niki LaudaAustrian triple champion who both won and famously withdrew in the rain, treating conditions as a calculation.
16Mika HakkinenFinnish double champion whose smooth style translated into some of the fastest wet laps of the late 1990s.
Comments
Rain is the one condition that outranks the car, which is how a 1968 win in fog and a 1993 opening lap qualify here: https://youpick.best/articles/hamilton-vs-schumacher-ranked
