The Most Successful Teams In Formula One History

The first Formula One Constructors title was awarded in the 1958 season. Constructors titles are the cleanest way to judge the most successful F1 teams, as using aggregate race wins is heavily biased towards teams who have been successful in the 21st century due to the longer seasons.

Most teams have fluctuated throughout their existence from F1 betting favourites to also-rans and back again. It’s hard to sustain a title-contending car with changes to regulations and the massive budgets required.

Winning races isn’t all about the team, of course. Great drivers are needed to win Constructors titles and rack up race wins, even if the car is competitive.

Ferrari – 16 Constructors titles, 248 Race Wins

Ferrari only won two constructors titles between 1958 and 1975. Four were won in five years in the second half of the 1970s, with Niki Lauda winning a pair of Drivers’ Championships during that period.

Another drought came between 1983 and 1999 before the Scuderia established a period of then-unprecedented dominance. Behind the incomparable Michael Schumacher, the Italian team reeled off six consecutive titles, many of which were effectively sewn up after a handful of races.

In 2002, for instance, Ferrari won all but two of the races. Their 221 points were over double that of second-placed Williams.

Williams – 9 Constructors titles, 114 Race Wins

Without a race win in over a decade and having not won a constructors title this century, Williams have the fifth-most race wins all-time but are joint-second for titles.

Many of the sport’s greatest drivers have represented the iconic British team, including Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and Damon Hill. Six titles in seven years in the 1990s represented their strongest period with Nigel Mansell, Prost, Hill, and Jacques Villeneuve winning the Drivers’ Championship during the decade.

McLaren – 9 Constructors titles, 189 Race Wins

Second to Ferrari in race wins and claiming their ninth constructors’ title in 2024, McLaren were in the doldrums for much of the 2010s but have returned to relevance in the 2020s with Lando Norris and co. challenging Red Bull for race wins.

Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna led the golden era for McLaren. Prost and Senna’s rivalry is the fiercest in Formula One history, creating internal issues for the team, but entertaining neutrals worldwide along the way.

The 2024 crown was the first for the Woking-based team since David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen in 1998.

Mercedes – 8 Constructors titles, 129 Race Wins

Mercedes first competed in Formula One in 1954 and 1955. The German manufacturer left the sport after a couple of campaigns but returned amid a huge amount of hype in 2010.

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were the team’s driver pairing for the first three seasons before the Silver Arrows pulled off a coup by landing Lewis Hamilton from McLaren.

After a couple of race wins in 2013, Mercedes set about owning the start of the turbo-hybrid era. Eight consecutive constructors titles followed, with Hamilton claiming six drivers’ titles in the process. A dramatic duel with Rosberg saw the German win his lone title in 2016, while Hamilton was robbed off a record-breaking eighth title in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

Lotus – 6 Constructors titles, 79 Race Wins

Between 1958 and 1994, Lotus claimed six constructors titles, making them the joint-fifth most successful Formula 1 team of all-time.

The designs of Peter Wright, Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie and Tony Rudd on the Lotus 78 (used in 1977) ushered in a new era of Formula One with the application of ground effect. Controversial, ingenious, and groundbreaking, Lotus were consistently pushing what was possible in the sport, leading to 79 race wins.

Red Bull Racing – 6 Constructors titles, 122 Race Wins

Arriving on the scene in 2005, it took four years for Red Bull to win their first Grand Prix. The energy-drink-sponsored team haven’t looked back since then, being perennial online betting favourites for the constructors title over the following decade-plus.

First with Sebastian Vettel and then with Max Verstappen, Red Bull have enjoyed two periods of dominance. Interestingly, the team have won only six Constructors Championships despite eight Drivers’ Championships, with Mercedes and McLaren winning in Verstappen’s victorious 2021 and 2024 campaigns.