Lewis Hamilton has won a sixth world championship, moving one ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio and within one of Michael Schumacher's record.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the drivers in whose company Hamilton finds himself.
Michael Schumacher
Titles: 7
Starts: 306
Wins: 91
Poles: 68
Podiums: 155
Fastest laps: 77
Win ratio: 30 per cent
Schumacher won seven championships, two with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 and then an unprecedented five on the spin for Ferrari at the turn of the century.
A controversial driver, he collided with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve at the 1994 and 1997 championship deciders, before he was adjudged to have deliberately parked his Ferrari at Monaco in 2006 to prevent Fernando Alonso from setting a lap in qualifying.
He galvanised Ferrari following his move from Benetton, and his total of 91 victories is eight greater than any driver, with Hamilton next on the list.
Little is known of Schumacher's current medical health following a skiing crash on holiday with his family in the French Alps in 2013.
Lewis Hamilton
Titles: 6
Starts: 248
Wins: 83
Poles: 87
Podiums: 149
Fastest laps: 46
Win ratio: 33 per cent
Hamilton was the youngest world champion when he won his first title in 2008 – a record since broken by Sebastian Vettel – and 11 years later he is firmly among the elite.
His tally of pole positions is the most ever and, still only 34, he has time to push for Schumacher's other records. The German won his last title at the age of 35 and his final race at 37.
Juan Manuel Fangio
Titles: 5
Starts: 51
Wins: 24
Poles: 29
Podiums: 35
Fastest laps: 23
Win ratio: 47 per cent
Fangio was among Formula One's founding fathers, competing in the 1950s when death was synonymous with the sport.
Considered by many as the greatest of all time, Fangio, known as El Maestro, won five championships in just six seasons.
A feather in his cap was that he uniquely won those titles with four different constructors: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes and Maserati.
His team-mate, Sir Stirling Moss, still says he is the best driver ever.
Hamilton has described the Argentinian – who died in 1995 – as F1's godfather. Fangio's record of five championships stood for nearly half a century.
