List of Formula One World Drivers' Championship runners-up
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This is a list of drivers who finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship.
Alain Prost and Stirling Moss have each finished as runner-up four times, Prost in 1983 for Renault, 1984 and 1988 for McLaren and 1990 for Ferrari, and Moss in 1955 for Mercedes, 1956 and 1957 for Maserati and 1958 for Vanwall. This also makes Moss the driver with the most runner-up spots without ever taking the title.
The United Kingdom has taken the most runner-up spots among the countries, with 22. These are Moss in 1955–1958, Tony Brooks for Ferrari in 1959, Jim Clark for Lotus in 1962, Graham Hill for BRM in 1963, 1964 and 1965, John Surtees for Ferrari in 1966, Jackie Stewart for Matra in 1968 and Tyrrell in 1972, Nigel Mansell for Williams in 1986, 1987 and 1991, Damon Hill for Williams in 1994 and 1995, Eddie Irvine for Ferrari in 1999, David Coulthard for McLaren in 2001, Jenson Button for McLaren in 2011, and Lewis Hamilton for McLaren in 2007 and in 2016 for Mercedes.
Ferrari team has had the most drivers in the runner-up spot over the years, with 22. These are Alberto Ascari in 1951, Giuseppe Farina in 1952, José Froilán González in 1954, Tony Brooks in 1959, Wolfgang von Trips in 1961, John Surtees in 1966, Jacky Ickx in 1970, Clay Regazzoni in 1974, Niki Lauda in 1976, Gilles Villeneuve in 1979, Didier Pironi in 1982, Michele Alboreto in 1985, Alain Prost in 1990, Michael Schumacher in 1998 and 2006, Eddie Irvine in 1999, Rubens Barrichello in 2002 and 2004, Felipe Massa in 2008, and Fernando Alonso in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
The smallest ever margin between 1st and 2nd was in 1984, when just 0.5 points separated McLaren team mates Alain Prost and champion Niki Lauda. The largest margin was in 2013, when (under a new scoring system) 155 points separated Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso and Red Bull's champion Sebastian Vettel.
The most ever wins by a runner-up is 10, by Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes in 2016. Two drivers have become runner-up without winning any races – Giuseppe Farina for Ferrari in 1952 and Ronnie Peterson for March in 1971.
Lewis Hamilton, driving for Mercedes in 2016, holds the record for the most points scored by a runner-up, with 380 (under a new scoring system). Stirling Moss, driving for Mercedes in 1955, had the least, with 23.
Two drivers have claimed the runner-up spot posthumously – Wolfgang von Trips for Ferrari in 1961 and Ronnie Peterson for Lotus in 1978.
By season
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† Von Trips died after a crash at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix; the accident also killed 14 spectators. Peterson similarly died after a crash at the 1978 Italian Grand Prix. These two fatal incidents mark their runner-up statuses in the championship as posthumous awards.
* In 1997, Michael Schumacher initially finished second in the Championship, three points behind Jacques Villeneuve, but was subsequently disqualified from the Championship, as punishment for causing an avoidable accident with Villeneuve at the season's final race.[1]
By driver
Below is a list of the drivers that have finished in the second place on multiple occasions. Added are the number of championships that the driver won, if any.
| Driver | Runner-up | Titles |
|---|---|---|
 Stirling Moss |
4 | 0 |
 Alain Prost |
4 | 4 |
| Graham Hill |
3 | 2 |
| Nigel Mansell |
3 | 1 |
 Fernando Alonso |
3 | 2 |
 Juan Manuel Fangio |
2 | 5 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Jacky Ickx |
2 | 0 |
| Jackie Stewart |
2 | 3 |
 Emerson Fittipaldi |
2 | 2 |
 Ronnie Peterson |
2 | 0 |
| Ayrton Senna |
2 | 3 |
| Damon Hill |
2 | 1 |
| Rubens Barrichello |
2 | 0 |
 Kimi Räikkönen |
2 | 1 |
 Michael Schumacher |
2 | 7 |
| Nico Rosberg |
2 | 1 |
| Lewis Hamilton |
2 | 3 |
See also
- Formula One
- List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions
- List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems
References
- ↑ "FIA World Motor Sport Council – 11 November 1997" (PDF). FIA. 1997-11-11. Retrieved 2006-10-29.