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Formula One drivers from the United States
List of Formula One drivers who competed as Americans From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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There have been 58 Formula One drivers from the United States including two World Drivers' Championship winners, Mario Andretti and Phil Hill. Andretti is the most successful American Formula One driver, with one title and 12 race wins. Eddie Cheever has started the most Grands Prix, with 132; Andretti has 128, and no other driver has more than 86 starts.
As of 2024[update], Andretti is the last American to win a Formula One race, taking the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix in his title season. Logan Sargeant is the most recent American driver, having competed in 2023 and 2024.
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Indianapolis 500 era (1950–1960)
From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 counted towards the FIA World Championship of Drivers (now known as the Formula One World Championship).[1] However, the oval track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) differed significantly from the road courses prevalent in Formula One, and the Indianapolis 500 was not subject to the FIA's racing formula (that is, "Formula One"),[2] potentially forcing teams to design a special car for one race per year.[3] In addition, the race did not count towards the International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.[4] Coupled with the expense and hassle of traveling to Indianapolis,[3] very few teams and drivers from Europe participated in the event.[1][5]
In 1959, Formula One began organizing a standalone United States Grand Prix on an American road course, which was generally East Coast track Watkins Glen until the 1980s.[6][7] The USGP was often scheduled as the season finale, and supplanted Indianapolis as America's world championship race.[6] Formula One did not return to Indianapolis until 2000, after IMS built a road course in its infield.[8]
Because of the presence of the Indianapolis 500 on the World Championship calendar, statistics for United States Formula One drivers are not representative of America's true participation in the competition. While 233 drivers from the United States have started a World Championship race,[9] 175 of these drivers only ever raced at Indianapolis. Excluding those drivers, 58 American drivers have taken part in Formula One.[10]
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Two drivers have won the World Drivers' Championship under an American license, with Phil Hill winning in 1961 and Mario Andretti winning in 1978.[11] Andretti was the last American driver to win a Formula One race – the 1978 Dutch Grand Prix.[12]
Including Indianapolis-only drivers, 233 American drivers have started a World Championship race; 15 drivers have won at least one race; 5 drivers have won multiple races (Andretti, Gurney, Hill, Revson, and Vukovich); and 20 drivers have started 10 or more races.[9] However, of the 20 Americans to start 10 or more races, three competed in only U.S.-based races, and another three competed in just one season.
Excluding Indianapolis-only drivers, 58 American drivers have started a Formula One race, most recently Williams Racing's Logan Sargeant (2023–24).[10][13] Americans have won 22 races (12 by Mario Andretti).[14] Five Americans (Cheever, Andretti, Gurney, Schell, and Ward) have competed in 10 or more World Championship seasons, although Ward never competed outside the United States.[15]
From 1993 to 2023, only four Americans competed in a Formula One race (Michael Andretti, Scott Speed, Alexander Rossi, and Sargeant), and only Andretti and Sargeant scored points.[16] America's relative lack of participation has been attributed to the fact that Formula One's FIA Super License system generally requires aspiring drivers to enter the European-centered junior racing pyramid as teenagers.[16][17] The high cost of racing in the European junior pyramid has also been cited as a factor.[17] Scott Speed noted that America has other motorsport competitions with cheaper junior pyramids, like NASCAR, although "if you really wanted to make it to Formula 1, you're going to find a way".[18]
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List of drivers with 10 or more starts
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Reference:[9]
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Notable former drivers
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Mario Andretti immigrated to the United States from Italy at the age of 15, became a U.S. citizen in 1965, and became America's most successful Formula One driver.[38][39] Andretti debuted with Team Lotus at the 1968 Italian Grand Prix,[40] but focused on his IndyCar career, which paid better at the time.[41] He started only 21 of 84 races from 1968 to 1974, driving for four teams (Lotus, Ferrari, and his two IndyCar teams, one of which ran a privateer F1 chassis[41][42][43]). He won his first race in his Ferrari debut, the 1971 South African Grand Prix. However, he did not achieve sustained success in Formula One until rejoining Lotus in 1976. After helping develop the groundbreaking ground-effect Lotus 78,[44] he won four races in 1977 but lost the drivers' title to poor reliability.[45][46] In 1978, he piloted the Lotus 78 and Lotus 79 to six wins and the title.[46][47][48] Lotus' performance declined precipitiously the following year, and Andretti never won another Formula One race.[49][50] He retired from full-time Formula One racing in 1981 and competed in his final race in 1982.[51][52] In 128 race starts, Andretti won 12 races and collected 19 podiums.[20] Andretti will return to Formula One in 2026 as a director for the incoming Cadillac team.[53]
Phil Hill is the only American-born Formula One champion. He won with Ferrari in 1961 after having had a season-long battle for top spot with teammate Wolfgang von Trips. Hill's win at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix secured the drivers' title for the American but, after passing the chequered flag and returning to the pits, he discovered that his close rival had died in an accident during the race.[54] The collision between von Trips and Jim Clark's Lotus also killed 15 spectators – Hill's victory coincided with the worst tragedy in Formula One history.[55] During his Formula One career Hill started 48 races and won just three events, the joint lowest of any world champion alongside Briton Mike Hawthorn.[54]
Dan Gurney is highly regarded for his Formula One contributions both on and off track. He is the only driver to have scored the first victory for three constructors: Porsche (1962), Brabham (1964), and Eagle (1967). He himself had built the Eagle.[56][57] Gurney's name is still associated with aerodynamics; he was the first person to use what is now known as a "Gurney flap" on the wing of his car. He is also credited as the first person to spray champagne on the podium.[56] Gurney had made his debut with Ferrari in 1959, finishing in the top three in two of the four races he contested. His second season, now with BRM, was much less successful and his only race finish was in tenth position. Between 1961 and 1965 Gurney drove for three teams and was classified in the top six in the drivers' championship on each occasion, but he would never get higher than fourth in the title race. He left the sport in 1968 but made a brief return with McLaren after the death of founder Bruce McLaren.[57] Gurney won four races out of the 86 he started.[56][57]
Peter Revson started four races for Lotus in 1964, but returned to the US to drive in sports cars and Indy Cars. He made a guest appearance for Tyrrell at the 1971 United States Grand Prix and, though he did not finish the race, he impressed enough to be signed for McLaren for the following season. He stood on the podium at four of the nine races he attended, and stayed with the team for an even more successful year in 1973. Revson won the 1973 British Grand Prix and the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix, both in wet conditions, but chose to move to Shadow when McLaren offered him only a third car. While testing for the 1974 South African Grand Prix the front suspension of Revson's car failed, sending him into the barriers with fatal results.[58]
Eddie Cheever had a brief spell in Formula One in 1978 before starting full-time drives in 1980 with Osella. The new team were unable to provide him with a decent car and he only finished in one of the races that year. He moved to Tyrrell for 1981 and things improved but he still missed out on podium finishes. With Ligier in 1982 he finished in the top three at three races before another change of team beckoned. Cheever enjoyed his most successful season with Renault in 1983, finishing on the podium four times. He was still unable to taste victory and, though his career would go on to the end of 1989, he was only ever able to finish at best third in two races.[59] Cheever started more races than any other American driver. Throughout the 132 races he was never able to achieve a win, a pole position, or a fastest lap.[9]
Richie Ginther started 52 races in the 1960s, finishing on the podium 14 times. He won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix with Honda and came third overall in the 1963 season with BRM.[60]
Bill Vukovich competed in five Indy 500 races when they were part of the Formula One World Championship. In 1951 he was forced to retire after just 29 laps and could only finish 17th the following year. He came back for the 1953 event, took pole position and then won the race. He won again in 1954 and was leading in 1955 when he crashed into a back marker. The collision pitched the car into and over a concrete wall, fracturing Vukovich's skull and killing him at the scene.[5][61] Statistically Vukovich won 40% of the Formula One races in which he competed, but drivers who competed only at the Indy 500 events are often omitted from the history of the sport.[5]
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