Formula 1 is the ultimate combination of man and machine with even the very best driver having no chance of success if they are hamstrung with an uncompetitive car. However, nothing equalises the playing field quite like a bit of wet weather. It is in these conditions that a driver is best able to overcome the deficiencies of their machinery, creating the potential for little known stars driving for minnow teams to showcase their potential to the watching world.
From Ayrton Senna's giant killing podium in Monaco in his debut season of 1984 for the little known Toleman team to Sebastian Vettel's remarkable debut win for the former Minardi team in Monza 2008, wet weather conditions have created the platform from which to launch the stars of tomorrow.
In our latest blog, we are going to look beyond these one off performances and assess the wet weather driving abilities of racers over the entirety of their careers to come up with a definitive list of the top 5 best F1 drivers in the wet from the history of the sport. We are going to take into account the drivers who are still actively racing in the sport in our assessment to see how the current crop stack up against motor racing royalty.
1. Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna's wet weather abilities are legendary, with the Brazilian's incredible opening lap at the 1993 European Grand Prix in Donington regularly being cited as a prime example of a driver transcending the performance of his car. Senna recovered from being 5th on the run down to the 1st corner to leading by the end of the opening lap, making his fellow racers including the likes of Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill look like amateurs as he magically grasped the grip levels available on a damp track.
However, it is Senna's debut race win at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix which is perhaps even more remarkable despite being less storied. In torrential conditions, Senna lapped the entire field up to 2nd place Ferrari driver Michele Alboreto who was still over one minute behind at the flag.
Senna's 1985 Lotus was far from being the class of the field, but it was still a big upgrade on the car the Brazilian took to 2nd place at the previous year's Monaco Grand Prix. Had the race not been red flagged early, Senna would almost certainly have taken victory for the Toleman team who had previously never even finished on the podium. This was ultimately the performance which launched Senna onto the front pages of newspapers and made him a key target for the top teams.
What set Senna apart in these conditions was his otherworldly ability to judge grip levels. The confidence he had in own abilities meant that he was able to fearlessly throw a car into a corner at speed and trust that would be able to stay on top of any corrections that might be required. With grip levels almost always varying in the wet as more or less water covers the circuit, this was a key tool in his skill set and gave him a massive advantage over more cautious drivers who prefer to build up to their limits or leave a small margin of error in case things go wrong.
2. Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher was the ultimate successor to Senna as the sport's de-facto fastest driver. However, this wasn't the only title that Schumacher inherited from the Brazilian, with Schumacher also establishing himself as the best F1 driver in the wet after Senna's tragic passing in 1994.
Even before this, Schumacher was still standing out as being a little bit special in these conditions. Getting involved in the battle for the lead with Senna and Nigel Mansell in the wet 1991 Spanish Grand Prix on just his fourth race start and taking his first F1 victory at the wet 1992 Belgian Grand Prix both underlined his remarkable skills.
Further evidence of this came at the same two circuits later in his career, with Schumacher somehow climbing from a 16th place grid start to winning in Belgium 1995. This included a phase of the race where Schumacher incredibly defended his lead position from the Williams of Damon Hill whilst driving in the wet on dry tyres!
However, it was the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix which was arguably Schumacher's greatest drive. The German bogged down badly at the start due to a clutch problem, but quickly hauled his appalling Ferrari into the lead in a matter of just 13 laps. By lap 20, his lead went up to over 40 seconds giving him the chance to pit for fresh tyres and still emerge with a comfortable gap over the superior Williams of Jacques Villeneuve. The fact that the Ferrari engine then developed an oil leak meant that he had to be satisfied with a winning margin of just 45 seconds at the flag.
3. Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart is synonymous with safety, with the Scot having long campaigned to improve the levels of medical care at the circuits and strength of the cars in an effort to reduce the tragically high fatality rate which haunted the sport throughout his time in the sport. It is therefore perhaps surprising that he was actually one of the fastest drivers in the most lethal conditions.
No circuit was feared by drivers as much as the original 14.2-mile Nurburgring circuit. Known as the 'Green Hell', the drivers were met with terrorious wet weather conditions at the start of the 1968 race. Stewart somehow managed to ascertain which parts of the tarmac would offer the most grip, taking unusual racing lines when compared to his rivals. From the third row of the grid, he was leading by 8 seconds at the end of lap one. On lap 8, he set a lap time which was 15 seconds faster than anyone else!
This was just one of Stewart's remarkable wet weather performances, with the Scots ability to put concerns over driver safety to the back of his mind once the visor came down making him almost a Jekyll and Hyde figure.
4. Jim Clark
Scotland is quite accustomed to the odd rain shower, which is perhaps why it has a reputation for producing some of the very best F1 drivers in the wet. Another of the nation's drivers who stood out in such conditions was Jim Clark.
Despite winning just two World Championships, Clark is considered by many to have been perhaps the greatest talent the sport has ever seen. His tragic death in a minor F2 race in 1968 robbed the sport of its talisman, but during his all too brief career Clark has well and truly proved himself to be a master of wet conditions.
This was no more in evidence than at the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix where Clark stormed from an 8th place starting position to victory with a lead of almost 5 minutes at the end of the race. This remains one of the largest winning margins in history and was achieved despite the fact Clark had to drive one handed, with the Scot having to hold his gear lever in place whenever going into 5th gear.
5. Jenson Button
Unlike the other drivers who have featured on this list so far, Jenson Button has never really been considered to be one of the sport's outright greatest drivers. However, for a period in the late 2000's and early 2010's, Button was thought of as being the man to watch in wet conditions.
There were two reasons for this. Firstly, Button had an incredible feel for the grip levels being offered by the circuit. This allowed him to accurately gauge the ever changing conditions. This also fed into the second reason why Button was one of the best F1 drivers in the wet - his strategic calls. His unique abilities also meant he was best able to assess when a track would be ready for a move onto or off dry tyres. Button would therefore often be the first to make the switch to dry tyres when a track was drying out or wet tyres when hit by a rain shower, giving vital extra time on superior rubber. Conversely, his rivals would often face a number of laps battling on fading tyres while debating what call to make.
Button was therefore never a standout driver when wet weather conditions were at their most extreme. He was instead the man to watch in variable conditions and after his wins in Hungary 2006, Australia 2010 and Hungary 2011, many of his rivals would ask their teams to keep them up to date with what Button was doing whenever rain clouds were on the horizon.
Conversely, this extreme sensitivity ultimately proved to be Button's undoing in conventional dry conditions. It meant that the Brit could detect even the most minute of imbalances in his car, often resulting in him backing off slightly where others would remain full throttle. This resulted in Button often being well off the pace of his team-mates when racing a difficult car such as his 2001 Benetton and 2008 Honda.
Which F1 Driver is Best in the Rain Currently?
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It has probably not escaped your attention that we have not featured any of the current grid in our list of the best F1 drivers in the wet. So, which F1 Driver is best in the rain currently and why haven't any of them made it into our top 5?
Arguably it is Max Verstappen who stands out as the best driver in the rain currently, with the Dutchman's performance in the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix standing out as one of his most impressive drives. A grid penalty for an engine change left him 17th on the grid, but the Dutchman stormed through the field to an unlikely win at a point where his Red Bull was nowhere near the pace of the leading McLarens. This ascent was helped by a fortuitous red flag which allowed Verstappen to change his tyres prior to the re-start, saving him from having to make a pitstop later in the race. His incredible pace means he may well have won anyway, but the red flag does take some of the shine off the achievement.
Verstappen was also brilliant in the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix, being clearly the fastest driver on the circuit throughout the race. However, this performance was interspersed with a few spins which relegated him to 3rd at the flag. Ultimately, this leaves Verstappen without a single standout wet weather victory.
The man who won that 2016 Brazilian race and who already has a number of stand out wet weather performances is of course Lewis Hamilton. His win at the 2008 British Grand Prix is perhaps the most impressive of these, with the Brit finishing his home race over a minute ahead of 2nd place Nick Heidfeld
While Hamilton is an astounding wet weather talent, he has had just as many anonymous wet weather drives as stupendous. This makes it difficult to read which Lewis Hamilton we can expect to see when the clouds roll in.