Top 10 British Formula 1 Drivers
Written by Bjorn SlootwegNov 18, 2022
6 min
Formula 1
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A total of 167 British drivers have competed in Formula 1. So it is fair to say that Britain is a great racing nation. Also in the 2023 season, no less than 3 British Formula 1 drivers are competing: Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Lando Norris. No other country will have more drivers in the coming season. With such a rich racing history, there have naturally been many British champions. Here is a list of the top 10.
Top 10 British Formula 1 drivers:
| Name | Number of GPs | 1st place | 2nd place | 3rd place | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Lewis Hamilton | 308 | 103 | 52 | 35 | 7x |
| 2. Jackie Stewart | 100 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 3x |
| 3. Jim Clark | 73 | 25 | 1 | 6 | 2x |
| 4. Graham Hill | 179 | 14 | 15 | 7 | 2x |
| 5. Stirling Moss | 67 | 16 | 5 | 2 | (4x 2nd) |
| 6. Nigel Mansell | 192 | 31 | 17 | 11 | 1x |
| 7. James Hunt | 93 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 1x |
| 8. Damon Hill | 122 | 22 | 15 | 5 | 1x |
| 9. Mike Hawthorn | 47 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 1x |
| 10. Jenson Button | 309 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 1x |
Hamilton holds the record for most championships in F1 along with Michael Schumacher. So it is also no surprise that he is number one among British Formula 1 drivers. Hamilton is regarded as one of the most complete drivers of all time. This combined with his aggressive driving style have led to him having a ridiculous 103 Grands Prix to his name. He holds this record alone.
Lewis Hamilton started in Formula 1 at McLaren. In his second season, he already managed to grab his first championship, at McLaren. From 2013 until now, the English Formula 1 driver has been racing for the Mercedes team. This proved to be a hit, as Hamilton achieved his greatest successes with this team. In 2014, 2015 and from 2017 to 2020, Hamilton became the No1, bringing his total to seven championships.
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The second British Formula 1 driver of all time is Sir Jackie Stewart. The Flying Scot stays ahead of the competition as he has three championships to his name. His F1 career started in 1965; incidentally, this was also the season in which he celebrated his first victory. Indeed, in the Italian Grand Prix, he crossed the finish line first.
Stewart became champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973. The latter also marked the end of Jackie Stewart’s Formula 1 career. But this was not the end of The Flying Scot in racing. In fact, he is also known as an F1 commentator and even had his own racing team for a while, together with his son. Stewart can look back on a fine career as a successful British F1 driver.
Number three on the list of best British Formula One drivers is Jim Clark. He was a versatile driver who was active in F1 between 1960 and 1968. In total, he drove 73 Grands Prix, in which he finished first 25 times. Compared to other drivers on the list, that may seem a bit few, but Clark drove at a time when the F1 season consisted of about 12 races. That is considerably less than now. Still, he managed to secure the world championship twice.
Jim Clark’s life, and with it his career, came to an abrupt end. In 1968, the first race was the South African Grand Prix, followed by a four-month break. In those days, it was common to continue racing in another category during said break. Clark did just that. As he was racing in Formula 2 at the Hockenheimring, his car went off the track and collided with trees. Our fine British pilot did not survive this accident…
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Like Jim Clark, the fourth British F1 driver has two world titles to his name. Graham Hill needed 179 Grands Prix and 14 victories for this. A fine result. What is remarkable about Hill’s career is that he won the Monaco Grand Prix no less than five times. This earned him the nickname ‘Mister Monaco’.
Graham Hill did not start out in racing right away as a British Formula 1 driver. The Briton started at the Lotus team as a mechanic. Slowly but steadily, he made his way up the ladder until he finally got behind the wheel. In 1969, he crashed during the US Grand Prix. In this accident, he broke both his legs. He went through a quick rehabilitation and managed to return to Formula 1. However, in his afterward career, Graham Hill was not able to regain the level he had before this accident.
Stirling Moss is a bit of the odd one out in the top ten. After all, he is the only British Formula 1 driver in the list who has not become a world champion. So why is he on this list? Moss has managed to finish second four times in a row. By many, therefore, he is considered the best F1 driver who never became world champion. That may not be the achievement to be most proud of, but it is a remarkable one.
Nevertheless, in 67 Grands Prix, Stirling Moss managed to take 16 victories. He did so for a number of teams, driving for Mercedes, Maserati and Lotus, among others. One of his greatest achievements was winning the Mille Miglia. A 1,000-mile non-stop tour in which drivers drive from Rome to Brescia and back again. Stirling Moss set the fastest time ever with his Mercedes.
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Our number six in the top 10 British Formula 1 drivers had an all-or-nothing way of racing. Indeed, Nigel Mansell has 31 Grand Prix wins to his name but crashed 32 times. A remarkable statistic. But one that made him a much-loved driver. When it comes to the number of Grands Prix won, Mansell is second behind Lewis Hamilton.
Nigel Mansell has had a total of four F1 teams: Lotus, Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. With the latter, he won the championship in 1992. That was a convincing win; as he had 52 points more than the runner-up. This was partly due to his good start. Indeed, Mansell managed to win his first five Grands Prix. These included the Mexican and Brazilian Grand Prix.
The seventh British F1 driver is James Hunt, active in Formula 1 between 1973 and 1979. He raced in a total of 93 Grand Prix and managed to win 10 of them. Hunt won for the first time at the GP of the Netherlands in 1975.
A year later, James Hunt became world champion in Formula 1. He was then part of the English McLaren team. Of the 16 races in that season, he managed to win six and crossed the finish line once in second place and once in third. Yet Hunt became best known for his colorful character. More than once he erupted in anger. All in all, he raced a fine record.
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For observant readers, this surname has already come up once in the top ten. Damon Hill is, in fact, the son of Graham, who is at number 4 on our list. So Damon ranks a lot lower than his father, but nevertheless deserves a place among the best British Formula 1 drivers.
One thing Damon and his father certainly had in common, they were both determined to achieve success. With this credo, he took on the Formula 1 world. In 1996, there was finally the icing on the cake. After a third and two second places, Hill became champion. He won a total of 22 Grands Prix. The last was in 1998 at the Belgian GP.
The second-to-last British driver in F1 is Mike Hawthorn. And speaking of colourful characters, Hawthorn has been at the forefront of this field. He loved partying as much as he loved racing and so was featured many a time in the British tabloids. In total, he drove 47 Grands Prix. Relatively few compared to the other drivers in the top ten. Hawthorn will probably forever be the first English Formula 1 driver to become world champion.
This was in 1958, when he drove for Ferrari’s team for the second time. Despite becoming champion, Hawthorn did not look back on that season with a good feeling. Indeed, in the German Grand Prix, he lost his teammate Peter Collins in a crash. Still, the flamboyant Mike Hawthorn deserves a place on this list.
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Last but certainly not least is Jenson Button. The 2000 Australian Grand Prix was his very first in Formula 1. Yet he had to wait another six years for his very first victory. That came in 2006 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Button raced in F1 for no less than 17 years. In this, he drove 309(!) Grands Prix, which still puts him fourth in the list of most races driven in Formula 1 today.
So Jenson Button should not be forgotten among the best British Formula 1 drivers. Certainly not after his world championship in the 2009 season. He then drove for the Brawn team, a fairly unknown name in the F1 world. That did not lessen Button’s celebration, by the way.
How do British F1 drivers compare with everyone else? In the top 20 drivers of all time, we list all the world stars.
Want to see one of the current British drivers in action? The 2023 programme is complete, so you can pick your favorite race. Go for the home race for the British at Silverstone or prefer the blazing Monza during the GP of Italy.