Norris the next in line? Every driver to win a world title with McLaren

It was Emerson Fittipaldi who could first win a drivers' title in 1974, the year that also marked the team's first ever constructors' title. The Brazilian driver was already a champion in 1972, and after he failed to defend his title against Sir Jackie Stewart and Tyrrell the following year, he joined McLaren. Similarly to his time at Lotus, Fittipaldi once again finished second in 1975 behind Niki Lauda, and decided to leave.

In 1976, James Hunt joined. The story that is also well-known thanks to the movie 'Rush', Hunt could defeat Niki Lauda that season, and won his one and only title in the competition. Lauda however could bounce back in 1977 with Ferrari, while won three Grands Prix that season. On this list as well, it was Lauda who follows Hunt. After leaving F1 in 1979, the Austrian signed with McLaren in 1982, and then in 1984, he won his third career championship, as he finished only half a point ahead of Alain Prost.

Lauda remained at the team for the following year, however, after joining from Renault, Prost was able to dominate in 1985, and the Frenchman then became the first person to defend a title with the British team the following year, defeating Nigel Mansell by two points. In this period, starting from 1984, McLaren were exceptionally successful, winning seven constructors' titles and not finishing outside of the Top 2 teams until 1993.

After a more difficult 1987 for Prost, the next big talent signed with McLaren: Ayrton Senna. Prost could win his third title in 1989, while Senna won each of his three championships with McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991. The pair's time together ended with the notorious Suzuka incident, after which Prost joined Ferrari.

After a more difficult period when Benetton and Williams could overtake the team shared glory, in 1998, Mika Häkkinen could earn his first championship with a Mercedes engine against Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, and in 1999, he was once again victorious, defeating Eddie Irvine by just two points in the standings.

However, in the 2000s, there is only a single driver to win a championship, and that person is Lewis Hamilton. Another Finnish driver, Kimi Räikkönen, came close finishing first in 2003, but unlike for Häkkinen, the two points were on Ferrari's side as Michael Schumacher earned his fifth ever title equalling Juan Manuel Fangio that season. Räikkönen however could win in 2007 ahead of the two McLaren drivers, rookie Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso by a single point. The last driver to win with McLaren was then Hamilton in 2008, after he was crowned in Brazil thanks to famously overtaking Timo Glock exiting the final corner.

16 years have past without a McLaren driver winning the championship, and now, Lando Norris is fighting against Max Verstappen and Red Bull. The British driver could become the eighth driver to have the WDC title under his belt competing for the team. With six weekends to go, the Briton trails Verstappen by 52 points in the standings.

The list of world champions with McLaren

1974 - Emerson Fittipaldi
1976 - James Hunt
1984 - Niki Lauda
1985 - Alain Prost
1986 - Alain Prost
1988 - Ayrton Senna
1989 - Alain Prost
1990 - Ayrton Senna
1991 - Ayrton Senna
1998 - Mika Häkkinen
1999 - Mika Hãkkinen
2008 - Lewis Hamilton