13 Most Iconic F1 Cars of All Time

There’s street racing, there’s NASCAR, and then there’s F1. F1 courses are notably more technical than other close-circuit courses, and F1 cars are a beast well-prepared for that burden.

F1 cars travel well over 200mph and cost millions of dollars to build. Traveling at 220mph and navigating technical terrain means making immediate decisions, and the car has to respond instantaneously.

But not all F1 cars are created equally, either. Over the years, there have been some shining-star examples of how an F1 build should be done. Here are the 13 most iconic F1 cars of all time, not because they cost the most money, have particular specs, or because they look the cleanest, but because they crushed their season. 

Mercedes-AMG W11

The Mercedes-AMG W11 was as fly as F1 cars can get, giving off big cyber-punk-does-F1 vibes. More importantly, though, the Mercedes W11 scored nine wins out of 11 races back in 2020. 

The W11 took an 180-point lead over Team Red Bull in the standings after 2020’s Eifel GP, and Red Bull qualified 0.037s behind the W11, giving the W11 pole position advantage at Nurburgring. Who knows how many more seasons this baby could have crushed–the car was discontinued due to new regulations about downforce levels starting in 2021, and the W11 was a tad too much. 

Williams FW18

Another absolute success story was the FW18, built by the Williams team to compete in the ’96 F1 season. This track rocket crushed 12 out of 16 races that year, thanks to a Renault 3-liter V10 engine capable of 700-hp. 

Race legend Jacques Villeneuve took control of the Williams FW18’s wheel for the second half of the season for one of the most successful runs in F1 history. My man took three wins, two pole positions, two second-place spots, and a third-placer just for good luck.

Lotus 72/7

Another iconic F1 Superstar is the Lotus 72/7, which won Five World Championship Grand Prix races back in 1972 with Emerson Fittipaldi in the driver’s seat. But Fittipaldo eventually switched to McLaren, and ‌the 72/7 had more race to win.

The 72/7 achieved multiple victories with several drivers. Team Gunston in South Africa bought the Lotus legend, which Ernest Gould “Paddy” Driver and Guy Tunmer used in the 1974 and 1975 seasons before Tunmer wrecked in it and sent the legendary ripper back to Lotus. The car was restored in 2019, and Fittipaldi has driven it twice since.

McLaren MP4/4

The McLaren MP4/4 they raced in 1988 is one of the most iconic F1 cars in the sport’s history. In fact, its signature red-and-white Molboro theme is what many car geeks think of when we picture F1.

The MP4/4 won 15 of 16 races, with a win percentage of 94+ %. The ’88 McLaren MP4/4 reached the podium 25 times and started from the pole position 15 out of 16 times. Autosport.com reported that F1 fans voting in a poll nominated the McLaren MP4/4 as their Fan Favorite Formula One car, confirming its iconic status.

Alfa Romeo 158

The Alfa Romeo is one of our all-time favorites — it was so ahead of its time in 1950 that it honestly wasn’t even fair. The Alfa Romeo 158 won six of seven races in the 1950 season with an 86% win percentage, but this OG right here’s iconic not just for its numbers and percentages of wins but for how hard it won.

In all but two of the 1050 Grand Prixs, the Alfa Romeo lapped every single non-Alfa Romeo car on the track. And to make this even more of a legend, let’s not forget that it was originally built in 1938, but the engineering was so ahead of its time that seasonal upgrades kept this ripper relevant for 12 killer seasons.

Ferrari F2002

As its name implies, the Ferrari F2002 was the Italian legend’s 2002 F1 entry. With 14 out of 17 wins and an 88% win percentage, the F2002 is definitely a standout icon of Formula One racing. 

The F2002 started from a pole position eight out of 17 times and 25 out of 34 podium spots. The Ferrari F2002 was such a crushing build that even its B version dominated into the next season.

Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid

F1 fans who were around for the 2014 season likely remember the Merceded F1 W05 hybrid, which dominated the competition that year with an 84% win ratio — 16 wins out of 19 races. The W05 took the pole 18 out of 19 races and put its driver on the podium 31 times. 

The Mercedes F1 W05 Hybrid’s secret was a distinct powerplant, the PU106. Back in 2014, people still laughed at the idea of a Hybrid, and the W05’s innovative turbocharger arrangement shut the crowd up.

Red Bull RB19

A more recent iconic riper is the Red Bull RB19, which crushed the 2023 season with 21 wins out of 22 races. Some quick math shows the RB19’s whopping win percentage was 95% that year.

There’s no doubt the RB19 is one of the most iconic cars ever to touch an F1 track, as few cars have ever crushed out ‌competitors quite this hard. In terms of podium finishes, Red Bull’s RB19 ranked in the top three finishers 30 times. 

Mercedes F1 W06 Hybrid

Mercedes definitely doesn’t hold back when it comes to their Formula One builds, and the W06 was no exception. Mercedes won 16 of 19 races in the 2015 season with an 84% win percentage, securing 18 out of 19 pole positions and 32 out of 38 podium places. 

The Mercedes F1W06 set multiple records in 2015. It claimed the title for the highest percentage of points, podiums, 1–2 finishes, front-row lockouts and established the record for most podium placements in a row. 

Ferrari F2004

Another Ferrari ripper was the F2004, which won 83% of its races in 2004, with a final record of 15 wins out of 18 races. 2004 marked a shift in Formula One regulations. Ferrari embraced that change more profitably than anyone that year, with a redesigned gearbox and the loss of all electronic driver aids shifting their strategy. 

This was the Ferrari that set the ‌lap records at the Monza and Shanghai tracks–records that still haven’t been broken. The F2004 is the car that secured F1 legend Michael Schumacher’s seventh championship and gave him the record for most points in a season.

Ferrari 500

The Ferrari is another old-school legend way ahead of its time, winning 13 out of 16 races in 1952 and 1953. In fact, the Ferrari 500 won every race it drove in for that first 1952 season.

Ferrari’s 500 set a record for most consecutive victories that held for 59 years. Its driver,  Alberto Ascari, used the 500 to win back-to-back drivers’ titles in the ’52 and ’53 seasons. 

Red Bull RB18

Another recent icon from Red Bull was the RB18, which won 17 of 22 races in the 2022 season with a 77% win percentage. These figures might seem low compared to other cars on the list, but Red Bull had a late start that season. The RB18 got held up in development due to some mechanical failures early on, but the RB18 made one of the greatest comebacks in F1 history.

The RB18 secured a six-win streak and crushed 10 of the final 13 Grand Prix. One of the most iconic moments in recent F1 was when the RB18 went from 14th on the grid to 1st at Spa. Red Bull’s RB18 stocked a side pod design that was as unique as it was aggressive, providing crucial aerodynamic load and downforce

Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid

The Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid dominated the 2016 season, winning 19 out of 21 races. It boasted a 90% win percentage and qualified for ‌pole position in 20 of those 21 races. 

The Mercedes W07 Hybrid was the car of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Between the two of them, the car took a top-three podium position 33 out of 42 opportunities. This car fueled one of the most intense team rivalries in history, which climaxed when Rosberg crashed into Hamilton.