Lewis Hamilton is the ninth Briton to lift the title. Keith Collantine illustrates the famous names whose ranks he has joined.

Damon Hill – world champion 1996

After losing out twice to Michael Schumacher, Hill claimed the title for Williams in 1996, beating team mate Jacques Villeneuve. Hill was the first son of a former champion to win the title himself.

Damon Hill interview

Nigel Mansell – world champion 1992

Crowd favourite Mansell was runner-up three times before claiming the title. He lost it in heart-braking fashion at the final race in 1986 when a rear tyre exploded. In 1992 his Williams-Renault FW14B was the car to beat and he scored a then-record nine wins in 16 races. On winning the title he quit F1 and went to race in America, winning the competitive Indy Car championship on his debut.

James Hunt – world champion 1976

Hunt was the ultimate F1 playboy, often seen with a model on each arm, and quite happy to vent his frustration at rivals by shaking his fist at them. He snatched the 1976 championship for McLaren after a controversial year long battle with Niki Lauda of Ferrari. He retired three years later, and became part of BBC’s much-loved commentary team with Murray Walker. Sadly, he died of a congenital heart defect in 1993.

Jackie Stewart – world champion 1969, 1971, 1973

A powerfully intelligent driver who applied his cool, analytical brain to devastating effect when behind the wheel. He reeled off a record of 27 wins in 99 starts that stood unbeaten for 14 years. At the fearsome Nürburgirng Nordschleife, in pouring rain and thick fog, he blew the opposition away by four minutes in 1968. A tireless campaigner for improved safety standards, Stewart’s work outside the cockpit saved lives. He later became a race-winning F1 team owner.

Jackie Stewart interview

Jim Clark – world champion 1962, 1965

Clark might have made his status as the greatest driver ever indisputable had he not lost his life in a minor Formula Two race in Germany in 1968. His two championships up to that point understate how far he dominated motor racing in the mid-sixties. He set pole position 33 times in 72 starts, underlining his incredible speed, but the fragility of his Lotuses prevented him from winning more races and championships.

Graham Hill – world champion 1963, 1968

Hill brought some cheer to Lotus by winning the 1968 championship after Clark died. After winning his second title he stayed in F1 for seven more years, and finally retired in 1975 with a record 175 starts to his name. Tragically he died shortly afterwards in a light aircraft accident that also claimed promising British driver Tony Brise.

John Surtees – world championship 1964

Controversy hit the 1964 championship as Surtees snatched the title from Hill in the final round at Mexico after Hill clashed with Surtees’ Ferrari team mate. The title made Surtees the first and so far only driver to win world championships in motor cars and on motor bikes. He is  currently helping his son Henry progress though the junior categories of motor racing.

Mike Hawthorn – world champion 1958

Britain’s first world champion was crowned 50 years ago. Hawthorn narrowly beat Stirling Moss to the title. Moss, four times a runner-up, never won it. Moss won four times that year but Hawthorn, with one win, took the title by a single point. Hawthorn announced his retirement from racing, but died in a road crash near Guildford the following January.

Stirling Moss interview

Click the image below to see how Lewis Hamilton became the 2008 Formula One world champion - from his win in Australia through to the heart-stopping finale in Brazil...