20. McLaren MP4/6
Years Used: 1991-1992
Wins: 8
Championships: 1991
Drivers' & Constructors'
The McLaren MP4/6 was designed to start competing in 1991
and used a brand new Honda V12 engine. McLaren was dominating the sport at the
time and the MP4/6 looked to continue that domination. The team started the
1991 season out on the right foot as lead driver and defending champion Ayrton
Senna took pole and won the first four races of the year. Team mate Gerhard
Berger did not have as much success over this time but still managed a second
and third place finish along with two retirements during these first four
races. After this McLaren had a bit of a dip in performance as both cars
retired from the Canadian Grand Prix and then Senna finished 3rd at the next
two races as Berger retired from both to extend his streak to four consecutive
retirements. Berger finally finished again as he finished in 2nd position at
the British Grand Prix as Senna could only manage 4th and then at the German
Grand Prix Berger finished 4th as Senna finished out of the points. At the next
race in Hungary Senna took victory to give McLaren its first win of the season
since the first four races while Berger finished 4th and then at the Belgian
Grand Prix Senna led home a McLaren 1-2 finish. Senna continued his strong form
with 2nd place finished at the next two races while Berger managed a 4th and a
retirement while at the Spanish Grand Prix Senna only finished 5th while Berger
once again retired. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Berger led home a McLaren 1-2
finish as Senna had allowed Berger to take the victory on the last lap. This result
was good enough to allow Senna to clinch the Drivers' Championship as rival
Nigel Mansell spun out into a retirement. The season ended in Australia as
Senna took one more victory while Berger claimed a strong 3rd place finish.
McLaren continued to use the MP4/6 for the first two races of the 1992 season
as the continued to get their next car ready but the best they could do was a
3rd place by Senna in South Africa.
19. Red Bull RB7
Years Used: 2011
Wins: 12
Championships: 2011
Drivers' & Constructors'
The RB7 was the challenger used by Red Bull during the 2011
season. The team was coming off its first Constructors' Championship and
Sebastian Vettel had won his first Drivers' Championship the year before as
well. The year started out strong for Red Bull as Vettel won the first two
races of the year but team mate Mark Webber did not fare as well with a 5th and
then 4th place finish. At the third race of the year in China, Vettel was
defeated for the first time by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton but the team still
managed a 2nd place finish for Vettel and a 3rd for Webber. The team returned
to its winning ways at the next race in Turkey as Vettel led home a 1-2 finish
for the team which started a streak of three consecutive wins for Vettel.
Vettel was finally defeated again in Canada in a chaotic wet race in which he
was passed on the last lap by McLaren driver Jenson Button after making a
mistake. Vettel still managed to come home 2nd while Webber was behind in 3rd.
Vettel then won again at the European Grand Prix as Webber finished third and
the team then took a 2-3 finish at the British Grand Prix. Webber led the way
for Red Bull at the German Grand Prix with his fourth consecutive 3rd place
finish as Vettel could only manage a fourth place finish. Vettel scored another
podium in Hungary with a 2nd place finish and then at the next race in Belgium
Vettel led home a Red Bull 1-2. This started a streak of three consecutive wins
for Vettel as Webber also managed a 3rd place finish at the Singapore Grand
Prix. At the next race in Japan the team only managed a 3rd and 4th place
finish with Vettel leading the way but it was still enough to clinch Vettel his
second consecutive Drivers' Championship. At the next race in Korea, McLaren
won the pole which was the only time all season a Red Bull was not on pole. The
team recovered for the race though as Vettel won and Webber finished in 3rd.
Vettel repeated this victory at the Indian Grand Prix while Webber was off the
podium in 4th position and then at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix neither Red Bull
was on the podium for the only time all season. Vettel had qualified on pole
but retired on the opening lap due to a puncture while the best Webber could
manage was 4th. The team came back at the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix as
Webber led home a 1-2 victory for the team.
18. Lotus 79
Years Used: 1978-1979
Wins: 6
Championships: 1978
Drivers' & Constructors'
The Lotus 79 was one of the most important cars in Formula 1
history as it is one of the first cars to introduce ground effects. This gave
the car a lot more downforce than many of its competitors had. The Lotus 79 did
not arrive until the middle of the 1978 season at the Belgian Grand Prix but
Mario Andretti brought home pole and victory for the car's first race. Andretti
completed this feat again at the next race in Spain as team mate Ronnie
Peterson finished 2nd in the other Lotus 79. Andretti retired from the Swedish
Grand Prix but Peterson was still able to manage a 3rd place finish for the
team. The team was back on top again in France as Andretti once again led home
a Lotus 1-2 finish. Both Lotus cars qualified on the front row for the British
Grand Prix however both of them retired from the race. Andretti then won the
German Grand Prix as Peterson retired while Peterson won in Austria as Andretti
retired. At the Dutch Grand Prix Andretti led home another 1-2 finish for
Lotus. At the Italian Grand Prix Andretti once again won but was given a
one-minute penalty for jumping a restart which dropped Andretti to 6th. However
at the beginning of the race there was a large crash involving the other Lotus
of Ronnie Peterson. Peterson was taken to the hospital and a few days later
died due to embolism. Since Peterson was tragically killed this clinched the
Drivers' Championship for Andretti. The team replaced Peterson with Jean-Pierre
Jarier for the final two race but did not score any points with either driver.
The team continued to use the Lotus 79 for the 1979 season but by then many
other teams had caught up. Andretti was paired with the experienced Carlos
Reutemann who finished 2nd at his first race with the team at his home
Argentine Grand Prix. Reutemann matched this result at the Spanish Grand Prix
which would be the best results for the team all year. Reutemann also managed
two 3rd place finished during the season while Andretti didn't score a podium
all season. After a difficult year the team only managed to finish in 4th place
in the Constructors' Championship.
17. Williams FW11
Years Used: 1986-1987
Wins: 18
Championships: 1986
Constructors', 1987 Drivers' & Constructors'
The Williams FW11 debuted at the beginning of the 1986
season and at the opening Brazilian Grand Prix Nelson Piquet took victory.
Piquet and team mate Nigel Mansell each scored a 2nd place finish at the next two
races while the other Williams retired. Mansell scored the only points for
Williams with a 4th place at Monaco but Mansell then won the next two races.
Mansell scored the only points again for Williams at the Detroit Grand Prix
with a 5th but then again won the next two races after that including a 1-2
finish for Williams at the British Grand Prix. Piquet then responded by winning
the two following races while Mansell finished 3rd both races. The team then
had a double retirement in Austria but Piquet then led home another 1-2 finish
for the team at the Italian Grand Prix. Mansell then won the Portuguese Grand
Prix while Piquet finished 3rd and the team then had a disappointing Mexican
Grand Prix in which neither car finished on the podium. The team headed to the
last race of the year in Australia with both drivers in contention for the
Drivers' Championship against McLaren driver Alain Prost. Qualifying went well
as Mansell was on pole and Piquet 2nd but the race ended in disappointment.
Mansell was running in 3rd place near the end of the race which was enough for
him to clinch the title but his tire exploded causing him to retire from the
race. Williams then called in Piquet for a precautionary pit stop while he was
leading which handed the lead to Prost. Prost went on to win the race along
with the title. Despite neither Piquet or Mansell winning the title, Williams
still scored enough points throughout the year to win the Constructors'
Championship. Williams returned in 1987 with an updated version of the FW11
chassis and Piquet started off the year strongly with a 2nd in Brazil. Mansell
then won the San Marino Grand Prix after Piquet did not start due to an injury
in a practice crash. Both Williams cars retired in Belgium and then Piquet
scored a 2nd place finish in Monaco. This started a streak of four consecutive
2nd place finished for Piquet. During these last two races, Mansell won to give
the team two straight 1-2 finishes. After this, Piquet then won two consecutive
races while Mansell did not score any points. Mansell then responded by leading
home a Williams 1-2 in Austria and then both Williams cars finished on the
podium in Italy with Piquet winning and Mansell 3rd. Piquet was the only
Williams to finish in Portugal with a 3rd place finish and Mansell then won the
next two races including another 1-2 finish for the team in Mexico. At the
Japanese Grand Prix, Mansell had a major crash in qualifying which ended his
season. This clinched the championship for Piquet. The Williams team did not
score any points in the last two races but they already had enough points to
win the Constructors' Championship along with Piquet's Drivers' Championship.
16. Ferrari 312T
Years Used: 1975-1980
Wins: 27
Championships: 1975
Drivers' & Constructors', 1976 Constructors', 1977 Drivers' &
Constructors', 1979 Drivers' & Constructors'
The Ferrari 312T debuted at the third race of the 1975
season in South Africa but the team only scored two points in the cars first
two races. Lead driver Niki Lauda took the first victory for the 312T at Monaco
and then won the next two races after that. The team continued to succeed
throughout the year as Niki Lauda took two more victories and Clay Regazzoni
also won a race in the other Ferrari. These wins combined with consistent
points finishes allowed Lauda to take his first Drivers' Championship and the
Ferrari team took the 1975 Constructors Championship. The team used an updated
version of the 312T for 1976 and started out strong by winning the first three
races of the year. This included Lauda winning the first two and Regazzoni
leading a Ferrari 1-2 in the third race. Lauda could only finish 2nd in Spain
but then went on to win the next two races. Lauda had another win at the
British Grand Prix but then at the German Grand Prix Lauda had an accident that
almost cost him his life. The team then did not race in the next race in
Austria and Regazzoni then scored a 2nd place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Lauda returned in Italy but only finished in 4th while Regazzoni scored another
2nd place finish. Lauda had one more 3rd place finish before the last race in
the year in Japan in which Lauda voluntarily pulled out because he thought the
conditions were too dangerous. This decision allowed the McLaren of James Hunt
to win the Drivers' Championship while Ferrari still claimed the Constructors'
Championship. Ferrari continued with even more updates to the 312T for 1977 and
replaced Clay Regazzoni with Carlos Reutemann. Reutemann scored the first win
for Ferrari during the season at the second race of the year in Brazil. Lauda
then followed this up with a win in South Africa. The team did not win any of
the next seven races but Lauda picked up four 2nd place finished during that
time while Reutemann had three podiums as well. Lauda finally won again at the
German Grand Prix and won again two races later at the Dutch Grand Prix. Lauda
eventually clinched his second championship with a 4th place at the United
State Grand Prix and then did not enter the final two races of the year as he was
leaving the team and his relationship with them was deteriorating. The team
also clinched the Constructors' Championship for the third straight year. For
1978 Ferrari replaced Lauda with young Canadian Gilles Villeneuve but the
season was not as strong for the team as the previous years. They were going up
against a strong Lotus team but still managed to win five races during the year
with four of them by Reutemann and one by Villeneuve. Lotus was too far ahead
but Ferrari still managed to finish 2nd in the Constructors' Championship for
the year. With more updates to the 312T for 1979 the team once again had a
strong year. South African Jody Scheckter joined the team and both drivers won
three races during the year including three 1-2 finishes. This allowed the
Ferrari drivers to finish 1st and 2nd in the Drivers' Championship as the team
also won the Constructors' Championship. The team continued to use the 312T for
one more year in 1980 but struggled to score points and only scored eight
points all year which put them in 10th in the Constructors' Championship.
What is your opinion about these rankings? Do you feel any
of these cars are not ranked in the right spot? Also don't forget to check back
Thursday as we reveal the next five cars in our rankings.
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