List of World Rally Championship Drivers' champions
The World Rally Championship is a rallying series administered by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, motorsport's world governing body. The series currently consists of 13 three-day events driven on surfaces that range from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Each rally is split into 15–25 special stages, which are run against the clock on closed roads. The WRC was formed from well-known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship and/or the International Championship for Manufacturers; the series was first contested in 1973 [World Rally Championship season|1973]. The drivers' championship was first awarded in 1977 World [Rally Championship season|1977] and 1978 [World Rally Championship season|1978] as an FIA Cup for Drivers title, to Sandro Munari and Markku Alén, respectively. The first official world champion in rallying was Björn Waldegård in 1979.
Each season normally consists of 12 to 16 rallies driven on surfaces ranging from gravel and tarmac to snow and ice. Points from these events are calculated towards the drivers', co-drivers' and manufacturers' world championships. The driver's championship and manufacturer's championship are separate championships, but are based on the same point system. In the current points system, points are awarded at the end of each rally to the top ten WRC drivers and co-drivers that qualify as follows: 25, 17, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1. In addition to those points, from 2011 each event holds 1 special stage, the Power Stage, in which drivers and co-drivers can score extra points – currently awarded to five fastest drivers. From 2025 points are awarded to the five fastest crews on Sunday.
Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier hold joint record for the most drivers' championships, winning nine during their career. Loeb holds the record for the most championships won in a row; he won his nine titles consecutively from 2004 to 2012. Kalle Rovanperä is the youngest world champion; he was 22 years old when he won the 2022 World Rally Championship. French drivers have won the most titles with 19 championships between 3 drivers. Finland are second with 16 championships between 8 drivers. Citroën cars have won the most drivers' championships with nine titles, all of them with Loeb.
Image:Colin Mcrae square.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Colin McRae, winner of the 1995 World Rally Championship
Image:Petter Solberg - 2006 Cyprus Rally 3.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Petter Solberg won the World Rally Championship in 2003.
Winners
By driver
Image:Sébastien Loeb - 2009 Rally Australia.jpg|thumb|Nine-time champion Sébastien Loeb at the 2009 Rally Australia.Image:Sébastien Ogier Rally Monte Carlo 2016 001.jpg|thumb|Sébastien Ogier has recently tied Loeb for most drivers' titles with nine.
Image:Wrc fin 2004 makinen.jpg|thumb|Tommi Mäkinen won four World Rally Championships.
| Driver | Total | Seasons | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 sortname|Sébastien|LoebWRC|2004WRC|2005WRC|2006WRC|2007WRC|2008WRC|2009WRC|2010WRC|2011WRC|2012By nationalityImage:Marcus Grönholm - 2004 Rally Finland.jpg|thumb|Marcus Grönholm, the seventh Finnish world champion
By makeImage:Markku Alén - 1987 RAC Rally.jpg|thumb|Markku Alén driving a Lancia Delta HF 4WD in 1987. Rally versions of the Delta brought Lancia four drivers' titles.Privateers and manufacturers counted.
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