15 Formula 1 Cars That Destroyed The Competition

One of the coolest things about Formula 1 is, of course, the cars themselves. No matter how good the driver is, it’s the speed and power of these incredible vehicles that get them that podium. And Formula One cars happen to be some of the most sophisticated and expensive machines ever connected to four wheels, aside from being the world’s fastest cars around the track.

Yet, as much as success depends on the driver, there have been a few F1 cars that absolutely dominated the competition with their performance. The cup-winning Mercedes and Ferrari cars are just the tip of the iceberg, with many surprising and intriguing machines also securing their spot among the greatest F1 cars ever built.

So, here are 15 Formula 1 cars that annihilated their competition on the race track

No.15  Mercedes W05

This car almost needs no introduction. Mercedes W05 ushered in the turbo-hybrid era of Formula 1 and it lost only three races in the 2014 season. Thanks to this car, only one pole position did not go the way of Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton ultimately won that year’s title, with teammate Nico Rosberg coming up short as the season entered its closing stages.

No.14 Ferrari F2004

This has often been heralded the ultimate Ferrari, although many will say the F2002 actually holds that title. It is also the last car that Michael Schumacher won a world title with, the next two years proving fruitless as Fernando Alonso claimed the title for Renault. It won 15 out of 18 races, with 13 of those alone going the way of Schumacher.

No.13  McLaren MP4/4

When Formula 1 fans think of dominant cars, they often think of this. The Honda-powered MP4/4 from McLaren has become the car that came closest to a clean sweep of a season. 15 out of 16 races went its way and honestly, all 16 should have. This is the ultimate of F1-dominanting cars.

No.12  Williams FW18

Williams had an amazing run from 1991 to 1997, with all of those cars fighting for the title and the FW18 was the ultimate of those machines. No other car really came close to it with 12 wins from 16 races as Damon Hill and Jaques Villeneuve fighting it out for the 1996 title.

Whilst the 1994 season saw accusations fly about whether or not Benneton was cheating, no one was in any doubt that the 1995 195 was simply the better machine, securing 11 wins in 17 races, with 9 of them going the way of Michael Schumacher and two to teammate Johnny Herbert. The 195 was the envy of the competition.

The 2019 Mercedes W10 left its rivals fearing a repeat of the 2014-16 dominance from the silver arrows. In the first eight races of the year, it cleaned up, winning them all, before Red Bull ended that run in Austria. Ultimately, the team dominated the season, although Ferrari and Red Bull caught up towards the season’s end.

Many regard the late Jim Clark as one of the best drivers in the history of Formula 1. The Lotus 25 was the car which took Clark to the 1962 world title and is perhaps the car we associate most with the quiet Scotsman.

This is the car many believe to be the best car Schumacher ever drove. Whilst the F2004 was pretty good, so was the F2002. With 15 wins out of 19 races, it dominated the 2002 season. And it was so good Ferrari used it in the early part of 2003, as the F2002B. It took three podiums, one being a win at the San Marino Grand Prix.

No.7  Red Bull RB9

Red Bull built some pretty fast cars while it had Sebastian Vettel on its books. Perhaps none were quicker than the RB9. Or was it all in the car? Because teammate Mark Webber didn’t win a single race that year. Vettel won 13, 9 consecutively in the second half of the year. Currently, the last Vettel and Red Bull title winner. What a machine.

No.6  Renault R26

Whilst the Renault R26 didn’t exactly sweep the field like other cars on this list, it did win the title and beat Schumacher and Ferrari just like the previous year’s R25. McLaren was out of the picture in 2006, so the R26 just had the Ferrari’s to fight, and Fernando Alonso once again came out on top.

This was another of the very best from Red Bull. Only one race that year did not see a Red Bull start on pole position. And Sebastian Vettel won 11 races that season, with Mark Webber winning one in Brazil at seasons end. Nobody came close to beating Red Bull in 2011.

No.4  Mercedes W07

This was the car that saw perhaps the best title fight in the Rosberg – Hamilton rivalry. Nico Rosberg ultimately came out on top, in a year that saw Mercedes win 19 of the 21 races. Red Bull won the other two. The title fight in Abu Dhabi at seasons end was perhaps the tensest in living memory.

No.3  Tyrrell 007 and 006

This isn’t a car that truly dominated like others. But the Tyrrell 007 was a very, very good race car. The 007 car was used from 1974 to 1977 and the 006 from the end of 1972 to the end of 1973. They won just under 10 races together but they saw Jackie Stewart take the world title in 1973.

The Brawn BGP001 was the ultimate Formula 1 fairytale car. From the ashes of the Honda team came Brawn, and Jenson Button won six of the first seven races of the year. Rubens Barichello won two later on. The car tailed off near the end of the season, but it still won both championships.

2015 was the second year of F1’s turbo hybrid rules, and if anything, the W06 was more dominant than the W05. It won 16 out of 19 races with Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel winning the other three. 18 out of 19 pole positions went its way and Lewis Hamilton took his second title in two years. Rosberg again lost out.