The History of the 'Perfect Season' Chase in Formula 1

Winning every race of a season is Formula 1’s white whale. In 75 years no one has done it. But the shape of the chase has changed completely as the calendar has grown from a handful of races to 24 — and that history explains why “24-0” is such a hard target.

The 1950s: short calendars, fragile cars

The early World Championship ran just six to eight rounds, one of which was often the Indianapolis 500 that European teams skipped. In theory, fewer races meant a clean sweep was more reachable. In practice, cars broke constantly, and the fields were unpredictable.

The high-water mark came in 1952, when Alberto Ascari won every championship Grand Prix he entered for Ferrari. It remains the closest anyone has come to a perfect run of a season’s races — but even that was a sweep of the events he contested, not the full listed calendar. Juan Manuel Fangio, who won five titles in the decade, never swept a season either.

The 1960s–1980s: dominance without the sweep

As calendars grew to 10–16 races, dominant drivers piled up wins but never all of them. Jim Clark won seven of ten in 1963. Later, the McLaren of Senna and Prost produced the era’s defining near-miss: 15 wins from 16 in 1988, undone only by a late collision at Monza. It was the closest a team had ever come, and it set the standard that stood for 35 years.

The 2000s: bulletproof cars, longer seasons

Reliability transformed in the 2000s. Cars that once broke weekly now finished almost everything, and a dominant package could win in bunches. Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari won 13 of 18 in 2004 and stood on the podium in every race of 2002. But calendars had grown to 17–19 rounds, and the extra races were exactly where perfection slipped away.

The 2010s–2020s: the 24-race wall

Two forces collided in the modern era. Cars became more reliable than ever, so a great team could dominate — but calendars ballooned to a record 24 races. Mercedes won 19 of 21 in 2016; Red Bull won 21 of 22 in 2023, with Verstappen taking a record 19. Both are among the most dominant seasons ever. Both fell short.

The math is unforgiving: even a team that wins 90% of individual races would complete a 24-race sweep only about 8% of the time. Push the per-race rate to a realistic-but-dominant 95%, and a full-season sweep still happens only around 30% of the time. The longer the season, the steeper the wall.

Why “24-0” is the modern benchmark

The 2024 and 2025 calendars both featured 24 races, which is why 24-0 has become shorthand for a perfect modern season. It’s the number the 24-0 game is built around: draft the strongest team you can and find out how rarely even a great package runs the table. For the record-by-record detail, see has any driver won every race and the most dominant seasons ever.