Fangio, Prost, Schumacher and Vettel. In 2017 a fifth name joined the elite list of drivers crowned champion for a fourth time: Lewis Hamilton.
But it wasn't easy for the Briton. From the opening race of the season in Australia to the title deciding race in Mexico, via a controversial clash in Azerbaijan, Hamilton traded blows with Sebastian Vettel as a revived Ferrari threatened to end the run of Mercedes domination.
But there was so much more to 2017 than an exhilarating title race. The new breed of faster, wider Formula 1 cars caused lap times to tumble and records to be smashed.
There were emotional scenes in Canada when Hamilton equalled the 65 pole positions achieved by his hero Ayrton Senna - and six races later, in Italy, the Mercedes man re-wrote the record books again as he smashed Michael Schumacher's all-time pole record.
