Formula 1, IndyCar on pace to add two 5-time champions in 2018

By Asher Fair | Jul 6, 2018

BAKU, AZERBAIJAN - APRIL 29: Sebastian Vettel of Germany driving the (5) Scuderia Ferrari SF71H leads Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes WO9 on track during the Azerbaijan Formula One Grand Prix at Baku City Circuit on April 29, 2018 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /

Seven drivers have won at least five championships in Formula 1, IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series. Formula 1 and IndyCar are on pace to add two more drivers to that list in 2018.

Heading into 2018, seven drivers in the history of Formula 1, IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series had ever won at least five championships. Of those seven drivers, two won their championships in Formula 1, one won his championships in IndyCar, three won their championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, and one won his championships in both Formula 1 and IndyCar.

Those two drivers who won their championships in Formula are seven-time champion Michael Schumacher and five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio. The one driver who won his championships in IndyCar is seven-time champion A.J. Foyt.

The three drivers who won their championships in the NASCAR Cup Series are seven-time champions Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson. The one driver who won his championships in both Formula 1 and IndyCar is 1978 Formula 1 champion and four-time IndyCar champion Mario Andretti.

Of those seven drivers, only Johnson is still active. He currently sits in 12th place in the NASCAR Cup Series championship standings and does not appear to have too much of a chance to win his record-breaking eighth career Cup Series championship this year.

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But more importantly as far as this particular article goes, there are no other active Cup Series drivers who have won more than one championship thus far, so there are no Cup Series drivers who have a chance to become five-time champions this year.

However, three drivers in Formula 1 and IndyCar have great chances to add their names to the list of these seven drivers who have won at least five championships this year. A maximum of two can possibly do so, and two are currently on pace to do so. It is certainly not hard to imagine that list of seven drivers growing to nine drivers by the time 2018 comes to a close.

Four-time Formula 1 champions Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport currently sit atop the Formula 1 driver standings. Vettel leads Hamilton by one point (146 to 145), and Vettel’s teammate, 2007 Formula 1 champion Kimi Raikkonen, is in a distance third place with 101 points.

In other words, the likelihood that a third driver does not join Schumacher and Fangio this season as a Formula 1 driver who has won at least five championships is very slim.

Four-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing currently sits atop the IndyCar championship standings. He leads Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay and Alexander Rossi, who are in a second place tie in the standings, by 45 points (393 to 348).

While there is a ton of parity in IndyCar and there are several drivers who are still in the mix to win the 2018 championship, Dixon is the only active driver who has won more than one championship and is certainly the favorite to win this year’s title, especially since he has a 45-point lead, which is a pretty sizable lead at this point in the season with seven races to go.

Therefore, there is a great chance that Dixon will join A.J. Foyt this year as the only two drivers to win five IndyCar championships. After all, the 37-year-old hasn’t failed to win an IndyCar championship in a year ending in a “3” or an “8” since 1998, and he wasn’t even driving back then.

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By the time 2018 comes to an end, will there be nine drivers who have won at least five championships in Formula 1, IndyCar or the NASCAR Cup Series? The last time a name was added to that list was in 2010 when Jimmie Johnson won his fifth Cup Series title. Will two drivers’ names be added to that list this year?

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