30. McLaren M23
Years Used: 1973-1978
Wins: 16
Championships: 1974
& 1976 Drivers' & 1974 Constructors'
The McLaren M23 debuted at the 1973 South African Grand Prix
at the hands of Denny Hulme who secured a pole position on the car's debut. The
race was not as successful as Hulme only finished fifth but the M23 provided
some good results through the rest of the year. Hulme picked up the first win
for the car during 1973 at the Swedish Grand Prix and just two races later
Peter Revson scored another win for the M23 as Hulme finished third to give the
car its first ever double podium. Revson picked up one more victory for McLaren
in 1973 at the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix. The three wins combined with other
strong results throughout the season was enough for McLaren to finish third in
the Constructors' standings. For 1974, McLaren hired Emerson Fittipaldi to drive
for the team alongside Denny Hulme as they continued using the M23. The season
started off strongly for McLaren as Hulme won the first race in Argentina and
Fittipaldi won the second race in Brazil. The team only managed two wins for
the rest of the season which were both by Fittipaldi. Due to a competitive
season this was enough for Fittipaldi to win the Drivers' Championship and
McLaren won its first Constructors' Championship in team history. For 1975,
Jochen Mass was brought in by McLaren to drive along with Fittipaldi but the
team was not able to defend its titles. Despite this, Fittipaldi was able to
win two races and Mass scored what would be his only Formula 1 victory in
Spain. Fittipaldi was able to use his strong results throughout the year to finish
second in the Drivers' Championship behind Niki Lauda and the team still
finished third in the Constructors' Title. 1976 was a strong year for McLaren
as they brought in James Hunt to replace Emerson Fittipaldi after he left the
team. The season did not start off as hoped for the team as Hunt retired from
four of the first six races but the two he finished he scored a first and
second place finish. During this same stretch, Jochen Mass only managed one
podium with a third place finish in South Africa. Hunt rebounded the second
half of the year though as he scored points in seven of the last nine races
while winning five of them. Hunt also originally won the British Grand Prix as
well but was later disqualified. With such a strong second half, Hunt was able
to make a comeback and clinch the Drivers' Championship at the Japanese Grand
Prix by one point with a third place finish in what would become one of the
most historic title deciders in Formula 1 history. Mass was not able to produce
as good results which meant the team could only finish second in the
Constructors' Championship. McLaren ran the M23 for the first half of 1977 but
Hunt and Mass only produced one podium each for the car. The M23 was used in
private entries through the 1978 season but with no significant results.
29. Cooper T51
Years Used: 1959-1963
Wins 5
Championships: 1959
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Cooper T51 is one of the most important cars in Formula
1 history as it became the first car to win a championship without its engine
in the front of the car. This led Formula 1 to a change as everyone else
followed with putting the engine behind the driver. At the first race for the
T51 at the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss finished
third to give the car a double podium finish on its debut. The team also scored
a double podium in its second race with a second from Brabham and a third place
finish by Masten Gregory. After a third place finish in France, Brabham won the
next race which was the British Grand Prix while Bruce McLaren brought the T51
to another podium finish in third. After many of the T51 cars retired in
Germany, Stirling Moss was able to win the next two races in Portugal and
Italy. At the season finale at the United States Grand Prix, Bruce McLaren won
his first grand prix in which he would become the youngest grand prix winner at
the time excluding the Indianapolis 500. Maurice Trintingnant followed with a
second place finish while Jack Brabham pushed his car home to a fourth place
finish after running out of fuel to allow him to clinch his first Drivers'
Championship. With strong results across the board for the Copper team, they
were able to win the Constructors' Championship as well. The car was used for
private entries through over the next couple of years through the 1963 season
and managed to score some decent results over that time including a second
place finish by Olivier Gendebien at the 1960 French Grand Prix.
28. Benetton B195
Years Used: 1995
Wins: 11
Championships: 1995
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Benetton B195 was built as the successor to the B194
which led Michael Schumacher to his first title. The main change in the B195
from the previous year was the change from Ford power to Renault power. This
gave Benetton access to the same engine that their main rival Williams was
using. On the cars debut at the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher
took victory but was disqualified after the race because his fuel did not match
the sample given to the FIA. The victory was later reinstated however. Team
mate Johnny Herbert failed to finish the race after a collision with Aguri
Suzuki. The next two races did not bring as much success to the Benetton team
as Schumacher and Herbert were third and fourth in Argentina and then did not
score any points at the San Marino Grand Prix. The team rebounded at the
Spanish Grand Prix with Schumacher leading home a 1-2 finish for Benetton and
Schumacher took victory again at the next race in Monaco. After just a fifth
place for Schumacher in Canada Schumacher was back on top in France. At the
British Grand Prix, Schumacher was leading but then collided with Williams
driver Damon Hill which put both cars out of the race. This left Johnny Herbert
to take his first career victory. Schumacher followed this up with another
victory at Germany. After a disappointing race at Hungary, Schumacher came from
16th position on the grid to claim victory in Belgium. Schumacher and Hill once
again collided at the next race in Italy and once again this left Johnny
Herbert to take his second victory for Benetton. Schumacher could only manage a
second at the next race but then won the next three races after that while
Herbert scored points in all three. Both cars retired from the last race but
Schumacher already had enough points to claim his second straight championship
while finished in fourth and the team was able to claim its first and only
Constructors' Championship by 25 points over rival Williams.
27. Williams FW07
Years Used: 1979-1982
Wins: 15
Championships: 1980
Drivers' & Constructors', 1981 Constructors', & 1982 Drviers'
The Williams FW07 was the car designed by the Williams team
during the ground effects era of Formula 1. The car debuted at the fifth race
of the 1979 season and had difficulty finishing races early as both car did not
finish the first two races with the FW07. At its third race in Monaco, Alan
Jones retired again but Clay Regazzoni in the other Williams finished in second
place. After a fourth and a sixth place finish in France, the car went on to
win five of the next six races. Regazzoni won the team's first race at the 1979
British Grand Prix after Alan Jones retired from the lead in the other
Williams. Jones won the next three races including a 1-2 finish at the German
Grand Prix and Jones then won again in Canada. The team ended the year with a
double retirement but it was clear Williams had the fastest car the second half
of the season. For 1980 Carlos Reutemann was brought into the team to replace
Regazzoni. Alan Jones got the season started off right for Williams by winning the
first race and then finishing third at the second race. The team's only points
over the next two races came from a fifth place by Reutemann but they then
rebounded with a second and third place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Reutemann followed this up by winning at Monaco while Jones won the two races
after that. The team did not win any of the next four races but they still
managed six podiums over those races between the two drivers. The season then
finished strongly for the team as Jones led Reutemann home for a 1-2 finish in
the last two races of the season. The strong results over the year allowed
Jones to win the Drivers' Championship while Reutemann finished third and the
team took home the Constructors' Championship by almost doubling the points
title of second place Ligier. This was the first time that Williams had won
both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. 1981 started off where 1980
finished as the team scored a 1-2 finish at the first two races of the year
with one victory for Jones and one victory for Reutemann. After that the team
did not enjoy as much success as they had achieved the previous year. Jones and
Reutemann each won just one more race during the season as they struggled to
get along although with consistent point scoring finishing Reutemann was
leading the championship heading into the final race. Reutemann only finished
eight at the last race which was not enough for him to win the title but the
two drivers had earned enough points throughout the year the claim the Constructors'
Championship. The FW07 was used for the last time for the first three races for
the 1982 season before being replaced. During those three races the car managed
two more second place finishes including one by Keke Rosberg who would go on to
win the Drivers' Championship that year.
26. Ferrari 156
Years Used: 1961-1964
Wins: 7
Championships: 1961
Drivers' & Constructors' & 1964 Constructors'
The Ferrari 156 is one of the most recognizable cars in the
history of Formula 1. The 156 is also known as sharknose because of the pointed
nose at the front of the car. The 156 first competed on the Formula 1 grid in
1961 and at its first race in Monaco the car achieved a second, third, and
fourth place finish. After this, the Ferrari team dominated the rest of the
1961 season as it won five of the next six races. The wins were spread out with
Phil Hill winning twice, Wolfgang von Trips also winning twice, and Giancarlo
Baghetti picking up the final win. This led to Ferrari having a commanding lead
in both championships and the Drivers' Championship came down to Phil Hill and
von Trips. At the Italian Grand Prix von Trips was tragically killed in a crash
which handed the title to Hill. After this Ferrari did not compete in the last
race of the year. The following year in 1962 was not as successful for Ferrari.
The team did not manage to win a race all season and despite a few podium
finishes along the way, the team only finished sixth in the final Constructors'
Championship. The team showed up in 1963 with an updated version of the 156
which did not feature the sharknose design. Results were better as John Surtees
won the German Grand Prix and had two other podium finishes but the team
struggled to finish races and still only finished fourth in the Constructors'
Championship. The team had a new chassis for the 1964 season but still ran the
156 on occasion mostly for Lorenzo Bandini. Bandini had some strong results
with the car including a win at the Austrian Grand Prix. These strong results
Bandini had using the 156 helped Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship for
the season.
What is your opinion about these rankings? Do you feel any
of these cars should be higher or lower on the list? Please feel free to share
your opinion in the comments section below. Also, don't forget to check back on
Thursday as we reveal cars 21-25 on the list.
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