Ranking the top 5 McLaren Drivers

McLaren is one of the few teams that has been perennial front-runners in F1. The Woking-based outfit are not just one of the oldest teams on the grid alongside Ferrari, they are among the most successful as well. It has been part of the sport for decades, and during this period, it has been home to some of the best talents to have ever driven an F1 car.

In this piece, we look at the top five drivers who have raced for the team. We will be keeping in mind the contribution they made, the success they had, as well as the length of their tenure with the team when ranking them.

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Ranking drivers who have raced for McLaren

#5 Lewis Hamilton

We begin with the boy from Stevenage — Lewis Hamilton. It might be a contentious choice to put arguably one of the greatest talents ever in F1 in fifth. It is, however, fair to say that most of Hamilton's accomplishments have come from his association with Mercedes. The Briton inherited a great car in 2007 and went on to pick up his first title in 2008.

From 2009 onwards, however, the team and driver combo failed to put together a concrete championship-winning season until Hamilton left the team in 2012. Although the 37-year-old remains the last world champion for the team, his contribution to the team pales in comparison to the other drivers on the list.

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#4 Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda returned to F1 in 1982 after retiring from the sport to pursue other interests. He made McLaren his home in his second innings in F1 and was instrumental in building the team. The outfit ultimately transformed into a championship contender in 1984 when he won the title and beat his teammate Alain Prost.

Niki's contribution to the team's rise in 1980s does get understated time and time again. It is, however, fair to say that the Austrian was responsible for building a strong base for the team, a base on which the team's dominance in the late 1980s was built.

Ranking drivers who have raced for McLaren (cont.)

#3 Mika Hakkinen

Mika Hakkinen will always remain a McLaren fan favorite because of how he represented himself and the team in the late 1990s. An unofficial successor of sorts for Ayrton Senna, the Finn stayed with the team during some of its toughest years of rebuilding from 1994 to 1997. He would ultimately reap the rewards of multiple years of labor by winning the title in 1998 and 1999.

Arguably one of the only drivers that could take on Michael Schumacher on his day, Hakkinen took the team from a desperate situation post Senna's departure, and turned it into a championship-winning team.

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#2 Ayrton Senna

Senna made the red and white liveried McLaren legendary (Photo by Pascal Randeau/Getty Images)

F1 legend Ayrton Senna needs no introduction. It was during Senna's partnership with McLaren that the team achieved its peak in terms of popularity. The Brazilian picked up multiple titles with the team and was a dominant force on the grid. Senna essentially made the red and white Marlboro livery iconic in the late 1980s and early 1990s, displaying blistering qualifying speed and never-before-seen supremacy in wet weather.

Senna, however, does not find himself at the top of the ranking and there is a reason for it. He inherited the team at its peak, but when things started to go south, Senna left the team instead of helping it rebuild and gain competitiveness.

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#1 Alain Prost

Alain Prost was the driver instrumental in transforming the team into a championship-winning team during 1980s. First, it was his partnership with Niki Lauda that helped the team build a solid foundation. Then, even after Lauda left, Prost outperformed a slower car to win the title in 1986. Prost was considered the best driver for the majority of 1980s and spent most of this time being a McLaren driver.

The Frenchman won as many titles as Senna did with the team. Prost, however, did it in comparatively less competitive machinery, while helping the team grow. It is for this reason he edges Senna as the best driver to ever drive for the team in F1.