35. Vanwall VW5
Years Used: 1957-1958
Wins: 9
Championships: 1958
Constructors'
Vanwall had a fairly short time as a constructor in Formula
1 but they managed to produce one car that was capable of winning. The VW5
debuted at the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix and looked strong right from the start as
Tony Brooks finished second in the race. At the British Grand Prix later in the
year the car created history as Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks shared a drive to
win the race. This was historic because it was the first time in history that a
British built car won a race in the Formula 1 World Championship. After a
difficult German Grand Prix, Moss won the final two races of the season, the
Pescara and Italian Grand Prix to make it three wins in the final four races
for the VW5. This put Moss second for the season in the Drivers' Championship
and Tony Brooks placed fifth. After not being ready to compete in the first
race of 1958, the VW5 was first entered in the second race in Monaco.
Unfortunately for Vanwall, all three drivers retired in this race for them.
Vanwall rebounded and won the next two races however as Moss won the Dutch
Grand Prix and Brooks won the Belgian Grand Prix with the third Vanwall of
Stuart Lewis-Evans finishing third. After not winning the next two races,
Vanwall came back to win the final four races of the year. Two of the wins were
by Moss and two by Brooks. Moss won in Portugal and Morocco while Brooks won in
Germany and Italy. This was not enough for either driver to win the title
though as reliability plagued the team throughout the year. The three wins by
Brooks were the only points he scored all year while Moss lost out by one point
to champion Mike Hawthorn. The team did win the first ever Constructors'
Championship in 1958 which would be the only title won in the team's short
history. After the 1958 season, team owner Tony Vandervell's health was
declining and the team only entered one race the next two years but not using
the VW5. The VW5 remains to be the only front-engine car to win the
Constructors' Championship.
34. Cooper T53
Years Used: 1960-1963
Wins: 5
Championships: 1960
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Cooper T53 was built to defend Cooper's Drivers' and
Constructors' Titles of the 1959 season. The T53 did not contest in the first
race of the year and debuted in Monaco of 1960. Bruce McLaren finished second
in this race to give the car its first points and podium finish. After this
Jack Brabham won the next five races in the championship including the Belgian
Grand Prix in which he and team mate Bruce McLaren were the only cars to finish
on the lead lap. During these five races, McLaren was able to pick up three
podiums to put the two Cooper's in a dominant position in the championship. Following
a boycott of the Italian Grand Prix by Cooper and the other British teams
because the organizer's planned on using the banking at Monza, the T53 ended
the year with a third and fourth place finish at the United States Grand Prix
at Riverside. The car's dominant stretch through the middle of the season was
enough for Brabham to win the championship and McLaren finished second in the
other T53. The team also on the Constructors' Championship for the year. The
Cooper works team had moved on from the T53 for the 1961 season but the car
still showed up with private entries over the next few years. No significant
results were achieved by the car though and it last appeared at a Formula 1
race at the 1963 Italian Grand Prix in which it did not qualify.
33. Brawn BGP 001
Years Used: 2009
Wins: 8
Championships: 2009
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Brawn BGP 001 has one of the most interesting stories of
any of the cars on this list as it almost did not ever make it to a Formula 1
grid. The car was originally designed by Honda throughout 2008 as 2009 saw
drastic regulation changes to the cars but during the winter Honda pulled out
of Formula 1. Late in the offseason the team was bought by team principal Ross
Brawn and renamed Brawn GP. The team quickly gathered a Mercedes engine to
replace the Honda and had to redesign parts of the rear of the car so the
engine would fit. The car quickly showed its speed throughout testing and then
during the first race of the year in Australia by locking out the front row and
then coming first and second in the race with Jenson Button winning. This was
the first time a team had debuted with a one-two finish since Mercedes in 1954.
There was a lot of controversy however with the car's double-diffuser which
occurred by the team discovering a loophole in the regulations. The FIA
eventually declared the car legal though. Jenson Button won again at the second
race of the year in Malaysia and then the team was defeated for the first time
in China but the team still managed a third and fourth place finish. After
this, Button managed to win the next four races while Rubens Barrichello was
able to finish second in two of those. The second half of the year was not as
strong for Brawn though as they spent many races in the middle of the point
scoring finishes. Barrichello however broke through with two wins during the
second half at the European and Italian Grand Prix while Button finished second
in Italy. Through scoring consistent points throughout the second half of the
year Button managed to clinch the title with a fifth place finish in Brazil while
the team also clinched the Constructors' title during the race. The season
ended with one more podium for Button as he finished third in the Abu Dhabi
Grand Prix. After the season ended, Brawn GP was sold to Mercedes which means
that the team won both championships in their first and only year in the sport.
32. Red Bull RB6
Years Used: 2010
Wins: 9
Championships: 2010
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Red Bull RB6 was the challenger designed by Red Bull for
the 2010 season and started the year by looking as if they had the fastest car
on the grid. However Sebastian Vettel had problems while leading in both the
first two races which cost the team a win. In the third race of the year in
Malaysia the team got their first win and podiums of the year as Vettel won and
team mate Mark Webber came in second. The team followed that up by locking out
the front row for the Chinese Grand Prix but having a difficult race due to the
wet conditions but still managed to finish in the points. Webber won the next
two races as Vettel managed a third and then a second place which put the two
drivers tied for first place in the championship. At the following Turkish
Grand Prix Red Bull looked as if they were on for another one-two finish but
Vettel tried passing Webber for the lead which resulted in a collision. Vettel
suffered a DNF but Webber recovered for a third place finish. The team did not
get a podium at the next race in Canada but won the next two races after that
as Vettel won the European Grand Prix and Webber won the British Grand Prix.
Vettel took another podium in Germany and then both drivers finished on the
podium in Hungary as Webber won and Vettel finished third. Red Bull did not win
any of the next three races although Webber managed two podiums to Vettel's one
over the course of those races which gave Webber an 11 point title advantage
over Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. The team then got a one-two finish in Japan
with Vettel winning but then in Korea Webber crashed out during the race and
Vettel's engine blew while leading in the closing stages. Webber was now second
in the championship and Vettel fourth 25 points behind the leader Alonso. The
team rebounded to score another one-two finish in Brazil with Vettel winning which
clinched the team's first ever Constructors' Championship despite neither
driver leading the Drivers' Championship. In the last race in Abu Dhabi, Vettel
won from pole while Webber got stuck in the midfield after an poorly timed pit
stop and could only manage an eighth place finish. The poor result from Webber
combined with a seventh place finish from Alonso allowed Vettel to score enough
points for him to clinch his first Drivers' Championship while Webber could
only manage third.
31. Ferrari F2003-GA
Years Used: 2003
Wins: 7
Championships: 2003
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Ferrari F2003-GA missed the first four races of the 2003
season as Ferrari continued to develop the chassis. Ferrari debuted the
F2003-GA at the Spanish Grand Prix as Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello
locked out the front row and then Schumacher led home to victory as Barrichello
finished third. Schumacher won again at the following Austrian Grand Prix while
Barrichello again finished in third. Schumacher got another podium with a third
place at Monaco and then won again in Canada. The team picked up a third place
at the next two races; one by Barrichello and one by Schumacher. Barrichello
then won the British Grand Prix but Ferrari then struggled for the next two
races. Barrichello retired from both of them while Schumacher only managed
three points over the two races. Ferrari rebounded from this to win the last
three races of the season with Schumacher winning two and then Barrichello
winning the final one in Japan. With a difficult start to the season with the
2002 car, Ferrari managed to comeback with the F2003-GA to win both the
Drivers' and Constructors' Championship for 2003.
How do you feel about the cars in these rankings? Do you
think any of them should be higher or lower on the list? Please share your
opinion in the comments section below. Also, don't forget to check back next Tuesday
as we reveal the next five cars on the list.
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