40. McLaren MP4-20
Years Used: 2005
Wins: 10
Championships: None
McLaren developed the MP4-20 to compete in the 2005 season
and the car was the quickest car throughout the year. The team got off to a bit
of a slow start by not picking up a podium until Kimi Raikkonen finished third
in the third race of the year in Bahrain. At the next race in San Marino,
Raikkonen got the pole but retired from the lead early on due to a driveshaft
failure. Alex Wurz who was filling in for Juan Pablo Montoya who had a tennis
accident finished in third place for the team however. Raikkonen was able to
rebound by winning the next two races in Spain and Monaco to get the first
McLaren wins of the year. At the following European Grand Prix, Raikkonen
looked like he was going to win his third straight win but during the middle
stages of the race he locked his front right tire while lapping Sauber's
Jacques Villeneuve. During 2005, a set of tires had to last the whole race so
Raikkonen could not get off of these tires. On the last lap, the vibration of
the flat spotted tire caused Raikkonen's suspension to fail handing the win to
championship rival Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen came back to win the following
race in Canada and then did not start the following race in Indianapolis due to
a Michelin tire controversy. Raikkonen suffered ten place grid penalties at the
next two races due to engine changes but still managed to pick up a second and
third place finish. At the British Grand Prix, Juan Pablo Montoya picked up his
first win for the McLaren team and then at the next race in Germany, Raikkonen
was again leading comfortably but suffered a hydraulic failure which again
handed another win to Alonso. Raikkonen won the next two races and then
suffered another engine change penalty at Monza. Raikkonen rebounded to finish
fourth but Montoya was able to salvage another win for the McLaren team. The
two drivers combined to win the next three races to make it six consecutive
victories for the team before being beaten in the final round by Alonso. The
team's run at the end of the year was not enough for them to claim any titles
as reliability cost the team in the end despite having the quickest car on the
grid.
39. Lotus 49
Years Used: 1967-1970
Wins: 12
Championships: 1968
Drivers' & Constructors', 1970 Drives' & Constructors'
The Lotus 49 was built after Lotus struggled with the new 3
liter engine regulation implemented in the 1966. The car was designed around
what would become the highly successful Cosworth DFV engine. Also throughout the Lotus 49's life,
many breakthroughs in aerodynamics were made as wings started to appear on
Formula 1 cars. The original wings were attached to the suspension of the car
but these were deemed dangerous and banned so Lotus started mounting wings onto
the bodywork of the car. On the car's race debut at the 1967 Dutch Grand Prix
Jim Clark brought the Lotus 49 home to victory. The whole year did not go this
well however as the car had too many reliability problems. Graham Hill only
finished in two of the nine races he used the Lotus 49 in the 1967 season but
Jim Clark did manage to pick up three more wins for the Lotus 49 during the
year. This was not enough for him to catch the more reliable Brabham's in the
championship however. Clark won the season opening South African Grand Prix the
following year but before the next race Clark was killed at a Formula 2 race at
Hockenheim. This led Graham Hill to lead the team as he managed to win three
races throughout the year which was enough for him to win the Drivers'
Championship. Jo Siffert also won the British Grand Prix in a privately entered
Lotus 49 by Rob Walker in 1968. 1969 was more difficult for the Lotus 49 as the
car won only two races during the season. Graham Hill won the Monaco Grand Prix
and then Jochen Rindt won his first career race at Watkins Glen. Rindt picked
up a win in a Lotus 49 at the beginning of the 1970 season in Monaco but the
car was soon replaced by the Lotus 72. The Lotus 49 last appeared in a race at
the 1970 Austrian Grand Prix driven by rookie Emerson Fittipaldi and a
privatley entered was driven by Pete Lovely at Watkins Glen later that year but
he did not manage to qualify.
38. Benetton B194
Years Used: 1994
Wins: 8
Championships: 1994
Drivers' Championship
Benetton produced the B194 for the 1994 season which was the
first season after electronic driving aids had been banned following 1993.
Benetton used a V8 Ford engine which was down on power compared to the V10
Renault that its main competitor Williams used which made the car suffer on
power tracks but it was able to make up the difference in more technical
sections. Benetton's lead driver Michael Schumacher started off the 1994 season
strong by winning the first four races of the year but during this stretch
title favorite Ayrton Senna of Williams was tragically killed in the San Marino
Grand Prix. Senna's death combined with no one else consistently scoring points
allowed Schumacher to open up a 30 point lead over second place Gerhard Berger
after the first four races. In the fifth race at Barcelona, it looked like
Schumacher would win his fifth in a row but his car got stuck in fifth gear
which allowed Williams driver Damon Hill to win although Schumacher still
managed to finish second. Schumacher rebounded by winning the next two races
which opened up his title lead to 37 points. Schumacher was disqualified from
his second place at the following British Grand Prix due to ignoring a black
flag and then retired from his home German Grand Prix but won the following
Hungarian Grand Prix. At this race, Benetton team mate Jos Verstappen scored
his first career podium by finishing third. Schumacher again won at the Belgian
Grand Prix but was disqualified after the wooden plank underneath his car had
too much wear on it. This promoted Verstappen to third and his second career
podium. Schumacher was banned from the next two races in Italy and Portugal due
the events at the British Grand Prix and Benetton only scored two points over
the two races and Schumacher's title lead was reduced to one point. Schumacher
won on his comeback at the European Grand Prix and then finished second at the
Japanese Grand Prix to set up a classic title decider in Australia. On lap 36,
Schumacher ran wide and when he returned to the track Damon Hill tried to pass
for the lead but the two collided. Schumacher retired immediately and Hill
tried to continue but his car was too damaged. This allowed Schumacher to claim
his first career Drivers' Championship but Benetton could not do enough
throughout the year to win the Constructors' Title losing out to Williams.
During the year many people suspected Benetton of using illegal electronic
driving aids and during an investigation by the FIA a launch control system was
found but it was never proved that they actually used it. The FIA could find
nothing else illegal on the car.
37. Maserati 250F
Years Used: 1954-1960
Wins: 8
Championships: 1954
&1957 Drivers' Championship
The Maserati 250F debuted during the 1954 Formula 1 season
and the car won in its first race driven by Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio at his
home race to open the 1954 season. At the following race in Belgian, Fangio
gave the car its second win and Stirling Moss finished in third for Maserati to
pick up his first career podium and points. Following this race Fangio left to
drive for Mercedes as they had their cars ready to enter the championship as he
went on to win the championship for the year. Maserati picked up two more
podiums in the year with Onofre Marimon's third at the British Grand Prix and
Luigi Musso's second at the Spanish Grand Prix. For the 1955 Maserati ran Jean
Behra, Luigi Musso, and Roberto Mieres for full seasons but the Mercedes cars
were too fast for Maserati and the only managed to finish on the podium twice
during the season. 1956 brought new hope that the Maserati 250F could be at the
front though as Mercedes pulled out of Formula 1 and Stirling Moss was brought
back into the team. Moss won two races during the year with the 250F in Monaco
and Italy but it was not enough for him to win the title. The team however
managed to have at least one car on the podium at every race during the season.
1957 brought even more hope for the team as three time defending champion Juan
Manuel Fangio joined the team although Stirling Moss left for Vanwall. Fangio
had a successful year as he won four races and had two second place finishes
which was enough for him to win his last Drivers' Championship. Following The
Maserati factory tem pulled out of Formula 1 following the 1957 but many
privateer entries were made using the 250Fover the next three season. Without
factory support and Formula 1 starting to shift to rear-engine cars, no significant
results came out of these entries as the
car was no longer seen following the 1960 season.
36. Renault R25
Years Used: 2005
Wins: 8
Championships: 2005
Drivers' & Constructors'
Renault used the R25 for the 2005 season which was the last
year that V10 engines were allowed in Formula 1. Renault started off the year
strongly by winning the opening race of the year in Australia with Giancarlo
Fisichella and then team mate Fernando Alonso followed that up by winning the
following three races. Renault took a step back to McLaren the next two races
but Alonso still scored a second and fourth place finish. Alonso then inherited
a win from Raikkonen following his suspension failure on the last lap of the
European Grand Prix but the team then had a double retirement at the following
Canadian Grand Prix. After not starting the United States Grand Prix due to the
Michelin tire controversy, Alonso won two of the following three races and also
picked up a second place finish. Following a difficult race in Hungary in which
neither driver scored any points Alonso finished the next three races in second
place while Fisichella picked up a podium at Monza with a third place finish.
Alonso then clinched the Drivers' Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix with
a third place and became at the time the youngest World Champion. The team
finished second and third at the next race in Japan although it looked as if
Fisichella was heading to victory until he was passed on the last lap by
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso won the season finale in China and Fisichella
finished fourth in the race which was enough to clinch Renault its first
Constructors' Championship as a factory team in Formula 1. Even though the R25
may not have had as much speed as the McLaren that year, it was more reliable
which brought them consistent finishes that led them to win the championship.
Please feel free to share any thoughts you have about these
rankings in the comments section below. Do you think any of these rankings are
too far off? What do you consider to be among the greatest Formula 1
cars? Also, don't forget to check back Thursday as we reveal the next five cars
on the list.
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