Alain Prost
Sebastian Vettel
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Sebastian Vettel leads 3 of 5 categories. Our all-time ranking places Alain Prost at #6 and Sebastian Vettel at #10.
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The case for Alain Prost
The Professor's four titles — 1985, 1986, 1989, 1993 — and 51 wins were built on an approach decades ahead of its time: manage the tyres, the fuel, the gearbox and the risk, be fastest only when it pays, and collect points with machine regularity, which is how he retired as the all-time leader in both wins and points. His teammate ledger is the strongest of his generation: he beat Lauda on points as a young driver in 1984 (losing the title by half a point), matched Senna at McLaren in 1988-89 and took the 1989 crown, and won 1986 in a McLaren that was slower than the Williams-Hondas, sealing it in the three-way Adelaide finale after Mansell's tyre exploded. In the turbo era's fuel-limited races, his economy of effort was a weapon nobody could copy. He is remembered as Senna's foil; the record says he was his equal, with a fraction of the drama.
The case for Sebastian Vettel
Four consecutive world titles from 2010 to 2013, 53 wins, 57 poles and 122 podiums. Vettel became the youngest champion in history at 23 years and 134 days, and his 2011 and 2013 seasons rank among the most complete ever driven — 15 poles in 2011, and in 2013 a run of nine straight wins to close the year, still the record. His mastery of the exhaust-blown-diffuser Red Bulls was genuinely singular: the technique of keeping the throttle open to energise the diffuser mid-corner suited him better than anyone, including teammate Mark Webber, whom he out-scored comprehensively across their partnership. The case against is the second act: the Ferrari years brought 14 wins but title collapses in 2017 and 2018 under pressure from Hamilton, including the decisive Hockenheim crash from the lead in the rain. His first win — Monza 2008 in a Toro Rosso, from pole, in the wet — remains one of the sport's great underdog results.