List of Formula One drivers explained

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.[1] The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and cars must conform.[2] Each year, the F1 World Championship season is held. It consists of a series of races, known as, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.[3] Drivers are awarded points based on their finishing position in each race, and the driver who accumulates the most points over each championship is crowned that year's World Drivers' Champion.[4] As of the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, there have been 776 Formula One drivers from 41 different nationalities who have raced in at least one of the 1,115 FIA World Championship races since the first such event,[5] [6] [7] the .[8]

Seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most championships.[9] [10] Hamilton also holds the record for the most wins with,[11] the most pole positions with,[12] the most points with,[13] and the most podiums with .[14] Fernando Alonso has entered more than anyone else and also holds the record for the most Grand Prix starts .[15] The United Kingdom is the most represented country, having produced 163 drivers.[16] Ten countries have been represented by just one.[5] China became the latest country to be represented by a driver when Zhou Guanyu made his Formula One debut at the driving for Alfa Romeo.[17] The most recent driver to make their Formula One debut is Oliver Bearman, who debuted at the .[18]

This list includes all drivers who have entered a World Championship race, including participants of the Indianapolis 500 between and when it was part of the World Championship (although not being run according to Formula One rules or sanctioned by the FIA).[19]

Drivers

Symbol!scope=col
Meaning
~Currently active world champions
(driver competes in and has won the World Drivers' Championship)
Currently active drivers
(driver competes in 2024 and has not won the World Drivers' Championship)
^Former world champions
(driver has won the World Drivers' Championship and does not compete in 2024)

This list is accurate as of the UPTO}}. Drivers who only participated in Friday practice and who were not actually entered for the race are not included.

By country

Drivers from 41 countries have entered a World Championship race. The United Kingdom is the most heavily represented with 162 drivers. Second is the United States with 158; between 1950 and 1960 the American Indianapolis 500 race, then rarely contested by drivers from outside the United States, was part of the World Championship (but it was not sanctioned by the FIA and was instead sanctioned by either AAA in 1950–1955 or USAC in 1956–1960). A total of 36 American drivers have started World Championship races sanctioned by the FIA. Third is Italy with 99. Nine of these countries were represented in the very first race, the, and the most recent newly represented country is China, with Zhou Guanyu making his debut at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. Statistics are accurate as of the .

List of Formula One drivers by country!Country!Total
drivers!Champions!Championships!Race wins!First driver(s)!Most recent driver(s)/
Current driver(s)

25

Juan Manuel Fangio
Gastón Mazzacane

18

Tony Gaze
Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo

16

Jochen Rindt
Christian Klien

25Johnny Claes
Stoffel Vandoorne

32

Chico Landi
Pietro Fittipaldi

15

Peter Ryan
Lance Stroll
1Eliseo Salazar
(1981 USA West Grand Prix)
Eliseo Salazar
1Zhou Guanyu
(2022 Bahrain Grand Prix)
Zhou Guanyu

3Ricardo Londoño
Juan Pablo Montoya
1Tomáš Enge
Tomáš Enge

5Tom Belsø
Kevin Magnussen

4Ernst Klodwig, Rudolf Krause
Edgar Barth, Theo Fitzau,
Ernst Klodwig, Rudolf Krause

9

Leo Kinnunen
Valtteri Bottas

74

Philippe Étancelin, Yves Giraud-Cabantous, Eugène Martin,
Louis Rosier
Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon
/ West Germany
54

Paul Pietsch
Nico Hülkenberg
1Zsolt Baumgartner
Zsolt Baumgartner

2Narain Karthikeyan
Narain Karthikeyan
1Rio Haryanto
Rio Haryanto

5Joe Kelly
Ralph Firman

99

Luigi Fagioli, Nino Farina
Antonio Giovinazzi

21Hiroshi Fushida
Yuki Tsunoda
1Rikky von Opel
Rikky von Opel
1Alex Yoong
Alex Yoong

6Ricardo Rodríguez
Sergio Pérez

5Louis Chiron
Charles Leclerc
1Robert La Caze
Robert La Caze

17

Jan Flinterman, Dries van der Lof
Max Verstappen

10

Bruce McLaren
Liam Lawson
1Robert Kubica
Robert Kubica

5Mário Araújo de Cabral
Tiago Monteiro

5John Love
John Love
/
4Vitaly Petrov
Nikita Mazepin

23

Tony Maggs
Jody Scheckter

15

Paco Godia, Juan Jover
Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz Jr.

11Erik Lundgren
Marcus Ericsson

29Toulo de Graffenried
Sébastien Buemi

2Prince Bira
Alexander Albon

163

Geoffrey Crossley, Joe Fry, Bob Gerard, David Hampshire, Cuth Harrison, Leslie Johnson, David Murray, Reg Parnell, Peter Walker
Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, George Russell

58 (+175 Indianapolis 500 1950-1960 only)

Harry Schell
Logan Sargeant

4Eitel Cantoni
Asdrúbal Fontes Bayardo

3Ettore Chimeri
Pastor Maldonado
CountryTotal
drivers
ChampionsChampionshipsRace winsFirst driver(s)Most recent driver(s)/
Current driver(s)

References

General
Specific

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About FIA . . 31 October 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110628200958/http://www.fia.com/en-GB/the-fia/about-fia/Pages/AboutFIA.aspx . 28 June 2011.
  2. Web site: Williamson. Martin. A brief history of Formula One. ESPN. 23 December 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20150406023200/http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/3831.html. 6 April 2015.
  3. Book: Hughes. Mark. Mark Hughes (journalist). The Concise Encyclopedia of Formula 1. Tremayne. David. David Tremayne. Parragon. 2002. 978-0-7525-8766-0. 82–83. registration.
  4. Web site: 7 April 2020. 2020 Formula One Sporting Regulations. 15 April 2020. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). 3–4. 12 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200412175805/https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/2020_formula_1_sporting_regulations_-_iss_6_-_2020-04-07.pdf. live.
  5. Web site: F1 Stats Zone – Results by Driver. 18 November 2020. Sky Sports. 10 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210410185330/https://www.skysports.com/f1/stats/drivers/search. live.
  6. Web site: All-Time Calendar. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200917122323/https://www.chicanef1.com/cal.pl. 17 September 2020. 16 September 2020. ChicaneF1.
  7. Web site: Statistics Drivers - Grands Prix - Number. 8 December 2020. www.statsf1.com. 3 September 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230903214127/https://www.statsf1.com/. live.
  8. Web site: British GP is secure: Ecclestone. BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. 20 June 2009. 31 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170731004510/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8110859.stm. live.
  9. Web site: Diepraam. Mattijs. 3 November 2019. European & World Champions. 18 September 2020. 8W. 4 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201104074843/http://8w.forix.com/6thgear/worldchampions.html. live.
  10. Web site: Drivers' Championships. 19 September 2020. ChicaneF1. 5 July 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200705152152/http://chicanef1.com/alldchmps.pl. live.
  11. Web site: Diepraam. Mattijs. Young. Rob. World Championship Grand Prix wins. 8W. Forix. 13 December 2020. 10 February 2021. 14 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160414125607/http://8w.forix.com/6thgear/wins.html. live.
  12. Web site: Pole Positions By Number. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190614162055/https://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiques/pilote/pole/nombre.aspx. 14 June 2019. 18 November 2020. StatsF1.
  13. Web site: Diepraam. Mattijs. Fisher. Alan. Total World Championship points. 8W. Forix. 13 December 2020. 10 February 2021. 10 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210410183830/http://8w.forix.com/6thgear/pointstotal.html. live.
  14. Web site: Podiums By Number. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201105125218/https://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiques/pilote/podium/nombre.aspx. 5 November 2020. 18 November 2020. StatsF1.
  15. Web site: Statistics Drivers – Grands Prix – Chronology of the record. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201008202955/https://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiques/pilote/gp/chronologie-record.aspx. 8 October 2020. 11 October 2020. statsf1.com.
  16. Web site: United Kingdom – Drivers. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170905094715/http://www.statsf1.com/en/united-kingdom/pilote.aspx. 5 September 2017. 18 November 2020. StatsF1.
  17. News: Takle. Abhishek. Holmes. Sam. Motor racing-China's first F1 driver Zhou celebrates dream debut. Reuters. 20 March 2022. 24 March 2022. 17 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220717005011/https://www.reuters.com/article/motor-f1-bahrain-idUKL6N2VN014. live.
  18. Web site: Grands Prix chronology. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20141021070356/http://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiques/pilote/gp/chronologie.aspx. 21 October 2014. 16 October 2014. Stats F1.
  19. Web site: Results. Formula1.com. 26 March 2018. 5 April 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180405153922/https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1950/races.html. live.
  20. Web site: Robert la Caze. espn.com. 21 April 2014. 24 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140424093425/http://www.espn.co.uk/cooper/motorsport/driver/754.html. live.
  21. Twite, Mike. "De Tomaso: Italian Precision with Brute Force", in Northey, Tom, editor. World of Automobiles, (London: Orbis, 1974), Volume 5, p. 531