Top 5 drivers who led the F1 championship during the summer break but failed to win the title

There haven't been many instances in F1 when the driver leading the championship during the summer break goes on to lose the title at the end of the season. But recently it has happened quite a few times involving some of the biggest names in the sport.

Drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Sebastian Vettel have won and gone on to lose the championship despite leading the standings during the mid-season break.

Here are five times it happened:

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#1 Lewis Hamilton - 2021 F1 season

Regarded as one of the best seasons in the history of F1, the 2021 season saw an epic championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen which went down until the final lap of the season.

It was the young Dutchman who eventually prevailed over the seven-time world champion. Heading into the mid-season break, the Mercedes driver had a slight eight-point advantage over Verstappen. But Hamilton eventually lost the title by the same margin in Abu Dhabi.

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#2 Sebastian Vettel - 2017 season

Going for his fifth world championship and his first with Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel made a cracking start to the 2017 season as he led Lewis Hamilton for most of the year.

Heading Into the mid-season break, the German had built a substantial lead over the Mercedes driver but failed to win the championship in the end losing by over 40 points.

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#3 Nico Rosberg - 2014 season

In the battle between the Mercedes drivers, Nico Rosberg led Lewis Hamilton by 11 points heading into the mid-season break despite losing four races on the trot until Hungary.

The German driver was the more consistent of the two and always found himself with the rub of the green. But that wasn't enough for Rosberg to go on to win his maiden world championship as he could not sustain the challenge and eventually lost out on the title to his teammate in the final race.

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#2 Fernando Alonso - 2012 season

In arguably the most competitive season of all time in F1, Fernando Alonso showed why everyone regarded him as one of the best in the history of the sport.

The Ferrari driver, in an uncompetitive car, led the pack by over 40 points in the mid-season break. But the Spaniard lost out on the title to Sebastian Vettel in heartbreaking fashion in the final race in Brazil by just three points.

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#1 Mark Webber - 2010 F1 season

In one of the most closely contested championships in recent memory, Mark Webber was never really leading the title race from Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, and Jensen Button by that big margin. But he was still ahead of the pack during the mid-season break.

The Aussie just could not convert his advantage into his first world championship as he lost out to his teammate Sebastian Vettel in dramatic fashion and finished in third spot.