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Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom

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There have been 163 Formula One drivers who have represented the United Kingdom, four of whom have competed in the 2024 Formula One World Championship. Ten World Champions have driven under the UK flag. Of those, Lewis Hamilton has won the most titles, with seven putting him level with Michael Schumacher for most titles. Hamilton is still active in the sport; he has won the most races (105), recorded the most pole positions (104) and amassed the most points (4829.5) of any driver representing the UK.

Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom
Drivers163
Grands Prix1108
Entries4541
Starts4261
Best season finish1st (20 times, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1992, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Wins314
Podiums771
Pole positions301
Fastest laps273
Points11,928.78
First entry1950 British Grand Prix
First win1953 French Grand Prix
Latest win2024 Singapore Grand Prix
Latest entry2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
2024 driversOliver Bearman
Lewis Hamilton
Lando Norris
George Russell

World champions and race winners

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Jackie Stewart won three world champion titles

There have been ten Formula One World Drivers' Champions representing the United Kingdom, winning a total of 20 titles between them including the 2020 season. The first British champion was Mike Hawthorn, who in 1958 became only the fourth different person to win the title. In the 15 seasons between 1962 and 1976 the title was won by a driver representing the UK nine times: Graham Hill (1962, 1968), Jim Clark (1963, 1965), John Surtees (1964), Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971, 1973), and James Hunt (1976). Despite these successes, it wasn't until 2015 that a champion representing the UK retained their title, when Lewis Hamilton achieved this, following on from his victory in 2014. Hunt's victory was the last title until 1992, Nigel Mansell's winning season. Graham Hill's son Damon won in 1996 before another lengthy period without a world champion representing the UK. Lewis Hamilton won by just one point in 2008, with Jenson Button winning the following year, in 2009.[1] Lewis Hamilton became the fourth multiple world champion representing the UK when he won his second title in 2014.

The British Grand Prix has been won by eleven drivers representing the UK: Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, Clark, Stewart, Hunt, John Watson, Mansell, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, David Coulthard, and Hamilton who have won the event 25 times between them.[2][3] Ten other men representing the UK have also won Formula One races, but never the British Grand Prix. These are Hawthorn, Tony Brooks, Innes Ireland, Graham Hill, Surtees, Peter Gethin, Eddie Irvine, Button, George Russell[4] and Lando Norris.[5]

Current drivers

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Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton made his debut with McLaren in 2007. He managed to finish on the podium in each of his first nine races: a record which stands to this day.[6] He achieved his first win at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix[7] and came within one point of winning the world title in his rookie season. He made up for this defeat in his second year, winning the 2008 title by a single point.[8] He continued to race for McLaren until the end of the 2012 season, and won races in each of his six seasons with the team. He moved to Mercedes for the 2013 season and broke what had been Nigel Mansell's national record, with a total of 105 Grand Prix wins, the most in Formula One.[9] Hamilton has been described as the best driver of his generation,[10][11] and one of the greatest Formula One drivers of all time.[12][13]

 
Lando Norris in a McLaren at the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix
 
George Russell in a Williams at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix

Lando Norris and George Russell made their Formula One debuts at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix for McLaren and Williams respectively.[14] Russell currently drives for Mercedes, replacing Valtteri Bottas after the 2021 season, and is contracted with them until the end of 2025. Norris is contracted to drive for McLaren until the end of 2025.

Former drivers

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Notable former drivers

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Jim Clark in 1966
 
James Hunt at the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix
 
Nigel Mansell in a Williams in 1985

Scotsman Jim Clark is one of the most highly regarded drivers in the history of the sport. He had won two world championships, missing out on two others due to car failure. He died on 7 April 1968 at an F2 race in Hockenheim after his Lotus suffered a tyre failure. His hall of fame entry on the official Formula One site summarises that "Few champions were as dominant. Fewer still are remembered so fondly."[15] An Autosport survey taken by 217 Formula One drivers saw Clark voted as the fifth greatest F1 driver of all time just ahead of fellow Scottish driver Jackie Stewart.[16]

Jackie Stewart won in 1969, 1971, and 1973. By the time of his retirement he had won 27 races, a record that would stand until finally being bettered by Alain Prost in 1987. Stewart remained highly active with the sport, running his own team and being one of the most vocal proponents for the improvement of safety standards in Formula One.[17][18]

Stirling Moss has been called the "greatest all-round racing driver" for his successes in sportscars, touring cars, and rallying as well as Formula One.[19] He finished second in the championship in four successive seasons (1955 to 1958)[19] and has therefore been given the title of "the greatest British driver never to win a world title".[20]

Mike Hawthorn was the first British world championship title winner, beating Moss to the 1958 title by just one point.[21] He remains one of only two drivers who won the title with only one race win, the other being Keke Rosberg.[22] Though he won the season he was disillusioned with the sport, having seen Ferrari teammate Peter Collins die in an accident at Nürburgring. Hawthorn had been reluctant to complete the season and quit Formula One immediately after the final race. Just a few months later, in January 1959, Hawthorn died when his speeding Jaguar skidded off a wet road.[21]

Nigel Mansell has won 31 Grands Prix, placing him seventh in the overall race winners' list and making him, by that measure, the second most successful British driver after Lewis Hamilton.[23] He also holds the record for the most races completed in his career before finally winning a world championship. Mansell made his debut in 1980 and came close to winning the title in both 1986 and 1987. He eventually achieved the success in 1992 in some style, securing the title in August, the earliest that it had ever been decided.[24] Mansell left to join CART in 1993, winning the championship in his debut season and making him the only person to hold both the CART and F1 titles at the same time. He briefly returned to Formula One for the end of the 1994 season and the start of 1995.[23]

Graham Hill started 176 races, all of which were in British-built cars. His long career lasted for 17 seasons, ending in 1975 when he died in a plane crash. He won the driver's title in 1962 with BRM and 1968 with Team Lotus.[25] His son, Damon Hill, followed him into the sport, making his debut in 1992 for Brabham. He was described by team boss Frank Williams as "a tough bastard" and went on to win the championship with Williams in 1996. Despite that success he was dropped by the team and moved to the uncompetitive Arrows.[26]

James Hunt was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1976. Hunt was notorious for his unconventional behaviour on and off the track, which earned him a reputation for cavalier indulgence in both alcohol and sex.[27] Having been part of Formula One when the series was consolidating its global popularity, Hunt's image was the epitome of the unruly, playboy driver, with a touch of English eccentricity. The movie Rush is centered on the rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda during the 1976 Formula One motor-racing season.

John Surtees was a multi-title winning motorcyclist before moving to four wheels. His 1960 debut saw him qualify in pole position in his third race and he would go on to win the championship title with Ferrari in 1964.[28] He remains the only person to have won world championships on both two and four wheels.

Tony Brooks, a qualified dentist, made his debut in 1956 for BRM. In his first race, the 1956 British Grand Prix, he was involved in a serious crash, being thrown from the car and breaking his jaw. At the 1957 British Grand Prix Brooks was in second place when he was called into the pits. He stepped out of the car and gave it to teammate Stirling Moss whose own car had developed technical problems. Moss rejoined in ninth and went on to win the race. This marked the first world championship victory for a British car, fittingly driven by two British drivers at the British Grand Prix.[29] Brooks retired from Formula One in 1961 over safety concerns saying "I felt I had a moral responsibility to take reasonable care of my life".[30]

 
Coulthard driving for Red Bull at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix

David Coulthard came into F1 as a replacement for Ayrton Senna after Senna's death in 1994. He went on to finish in the top-three in the world championship five times throughout his career.[31] Compared to other British drivers, Coulthard had competed in the most races (246) and amassed the highest points total (535) at the time of his retirement at the end of the 2008 season.[32][33]

 
Button driving for Brawn GP at the 2009 Turkish Grand Prix

Jenson Button made his Formula One debut in 2000 at the age of 20, making him the youngest British driver to compete in the sport until Lando Norris made his debut in the 2019 F1 season. He started his career with Williams, scoring a point in his second race. He would later race for British American Racing, a team that would then be purchased by Honda with whom he would win his first race, the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. Following the 2008 season, Honda decided to withdraw from F1, and the team was saved by a management buyout. The team returned as Brawn GP and saw immediate success. Button went on to achieve his most significant F1 successes, winning six of the first seven races in 2009 on the way to the world title. In 2010, he moved to McLaren, for whom he raced until the end of his career.[34][35] He retired at the end of the 2016 season but raced in the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix as a replacement driver.[36]

Other former drivers

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In addition to those detailed above, the following drivers started at least ten races:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Formula One World Drivers' Champions". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  2. ^ "Facts and Stats for the 2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix". Silverstone. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  3. ^ "2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  4. ^ "Lewis Hamilton: Natural-born racer". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Norris beats Verstappen in Miami for first F1 win". Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Lewis Hamilton (profile)". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Lewis Hamilton". Autosport. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  8. ^ "Lewis Hamilton (biography)". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Statistics Drivers - Wins - By number". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  10. ^ Coulthard, David (26 October 2016). "Lewis Hamilton has proved himself to be the best F1 driver of his generation". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Vettel says Hamilton 'greatest driver of our era'". INQUIRER.net. Agence France-Presse. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  12. ^ McCague, Niall (27 November 2019). "Lewis Hamilton has already surpassed Michael Schumacher as greatest of all time, says Eddie Jordan - Sport360 News". sport360.com. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  13. ^ La Salle, Rob (23 January 2020). "Rubens Barrichello: "Hamilton ist das grösste Talent" / Formel 1 - SPEEDWEEK.COM". www.speedweek.com (in German). Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  14. ^ "2019 • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  15. ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Jim Clark". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  16. ^ "Jim Clark". Autosport. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  17. ^ Weaver, Paul (2 March 2011). "Sir Jackie Stewart expected to recover after falling ill on plane". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  18. ^ "Jackie Stewart". Autosport. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  19. ^ a b "Stirling Moss". Autosport. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  20. ^ Pattni, Vijay (15 March 2012). "Top Gear chats with Sir Stirling Moss". Top Gear. BBC Worldwide. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  21. ^ a b Donaldson, Gerald. "Mike Hawthorn (profile)". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  22. ^ Williamson, Martin. "Mike Hawthorn". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  23. ^ a b "World Championship Grand Prix Wins". Forix. Autosport. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  24. ^ "Nigel Mansell". Autosport. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  25. ^ "Graham Hill". Autosport. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  26. ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Damon Hill". Formula One World Championship Limited. Archived from the original on 29 November 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  27. ^ "Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing". The Independent. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  28. ^ "John Surtees". Autosport. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  29. ^ "Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1957". grandprix.com. Inside F1, Inc. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  30. ^ Williamson, Martin. "Tony Brooks". ESPN F1. ESPN EMEA Ltd. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  31. ^ "David Coulthard". Race of Champions. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  32. ^ "David Coulthard". F1 Pulse. Sportz Interactive. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  33. ^ "Driver profile: David Coulthard". Brits on Pole. Onlineability. 29 October 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  34. ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Jenson Button (biography)". Formula One World Championship Limited. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  35. ^ "Jenson Button". Autosport. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  36. ^ "Jenson Button: McLaren driver to retire from F1 after Abu Dhabi GP". BBC Sport. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
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