The official Formula 1 Twitter account has released a chronological video timeline of race winners since the sport began in 1950 – and the results are fascinating.The early years of F1 were dominated by Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari, who secured seven of the first eight Drivers’ Championship titles between them.Despite strong competition from Stirling Moss, Fangio’s 24 wins is enough to keep him top of the rankings until 1968, when he is overhauled by Jim Clark.Then arrives the main names of the 1970s – Sir Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi and Niki Lauda. Three-time champion Stewart’s 27 wins is enough to take top spot by the time he retired in 1973, whilst Lauda’s return to the sport with McLaren in the early 1980s sees him charge up the leaderboard and draw level with Clark in second place.The Austrian is then overtaken by McLaren teammate Alain Prost, who went on to win four world titles in the 1980s and 90s. The Frenchman reached the summit in 1987, and despite being pushed all the way by Ayrton Senna over the coming seasons, would not give up the pole position until 2001, when the great Michael Schumacher began to cement his dominance in the sport.In graphical form, Schumacher’s rise up the rankings is quite remarkable. After passing Prost’s record of 67, his marker continues to move forward until it stops at race win number 91, secured at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.It is then the turn of a new generation of drivers to challenge. Fernando Alonso’s two world titles for Renault in 2005 and 2006, and subsequent success in terms of race wins with McLaren and Ferrari, sees him rise up the leaderboard.

But it is Sebastian Vettel, the driver that took four consecutive titles with Red Bull between 2010 and 2013, who goes above Alonso into fourth in the all-time rankings with 39. That his marker stops suddenly in 2014 – a season where the German recorded zero wins – is symbolic of the move to a turbo hybrid era and a shift in momentum towards Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton.

Having already taken 21 victories with McLaren, and a world title, Hamilton’s decision to join to the Silver Arrows from 2013 sparked unparalleled success for the Brit.

After a challenging first season, where the Merc was a strong package but struggled with tyre management during races, Hamilton came to the fore in 2014. By 2015, he had overtaken Vettel in the all-time race win rankings. 2016 sees him surge past Prost.

The ascent does not stop there, with the Brit overtaking Schumacher to become F1’s most successful driver in terms of race wins at the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix. Vettel’s success with Ferrari sees him sit third, ahead of Prost, with the returning Alonso currently in fifth.