There have been sixteen Formula One drivers from Austria including two winners of the World Drivers' Championship. Three Austrian drivers were killed while competing in the sport; only the United Kingdom has lost more racers' lives in the sport. Several others were seriously injured in competition, with some having career ending accidents.
Two Austrian drivers won the World Drivers' Championship. Niki Lauda won for Ferrari in 1975 and 1977, coming second in the season in between. He won again with McLaren in 1984 by just half a point from team mate Alain Prost.[1]Jochen Rindt, won the title in 1970, and is the only posthumous championship winner having died in a crash during a practice session for the Italian Grand Prix.[2]
Gerhard Berger is the only other Austrian driver to win a race in Formula One. He achieved ten victories in 210 races.[3] He started more Grands Prix than any other Austrian driver and is one of a small number of Formula One racers to compete in more than 200 events.[4]
Former drivers
Notable former drivers
Niki Lauda took out bank loans secured by his life insurance policy to pay for his first Formula One race seat with March in 1971. He secured a drive with BRM for 1973 but his debts continued to grow. Team mate Clay Regazzoni moved to Ferrari for the next season and convinced Enzo Ferrari to buy Lauda out of his contract with BRM. His career took off and he was victorious twice in 1974 on his way to fourth in the drivers' championship. Five wins in 1975 helped him to claim his first drivers' title, and he looked likely to retain it the following year until a near-fatal crash at Nürburgring sidelined him. Despite first-degree burns to his head and hands, the loss of half an ear, and several broken bones, Lauda returned after just six weeks and missed only two races.[1][5]Jackie Stewart described it as the most courageous comeback in the history of sport.[5] In 1977, Lauda finished on the podium in 10 of the 14 races he started, winning the title for a second time. He left Ferrari for Brabham and won two races in 1978, but only finished seven of the 16 races. The next year proved to be a particular low point and Lauda only managed to finish two races, leading to his retirement from the sport. His absence was only short-lived however and he returned as a driver for McLaren in 1982. He raced with the team for four years, winning five races and a third drivers' title in 1984 before retiring again – and this time permanently – at the end of 1985.[1]
Jochen Rindt in the 1965 Cooper-Climax
Jochen Rindt was born in Germany during World War II. His parents were killed in a bombing raid and he was taken by his grandparents to live in Austria. His Formula One breakthrough came with a one-off drive for Brabham at the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix. He impressed enough to secure a seat with Cooper for the 1965 season and though the car was uncompetitive he managed to secure three podium finishes in 1966. He joined Brabham in 1968 but fared worse when the unreliable car only finished two of twelve races. Abandoning the team for Lotus, Rindt won his first race in 1969, and dominated in 1970 when he was given the Lotus 72, winning four races consecutively. That year, two friends of Rindt, Bruce McLaren and Piers Courage, died while testing and racing respectively. He told his wife that he would retire from the sport if he became world champion, though he never managed to fulfil his promise. While taking part in a practice session for the 1970 Italian Grand Prix, the front right brakeshaft on Rindt's car failed, sending him into the barriers and killing him. Lotus withdrew from the race and brought in Emerson Fittipaldi to fill the vacant seat at the final grand prix in the United States. Fittipaldi won the race, helping to maintain Rindt's lead in the championship. Rindt was crowned as the only posthumous world champion in the history of Formula One.[2]
Gerhard Berger driving a Ferrari in 1995
Gerhard Berger competed in Formula One between 1984 and 1997, driving for several teams including McLaren and Ferrari. He started with ATS before securing a full-time drive with Arrows for the 1985 season. He had looked unlikely to compete that year after breaking his neck in a road accident, but finished the season with three points. In 1986, he drove for Benetton and won his first race in Mexico. Berger's first stint with Ferrari began in 1987, winning four races over the next three years. 1989 proved to be a terrible year with only three finishes from 15 and so Berger moved to McLaren to partner Ayrton Senna. During his three years with the team, he secured 18 podiums including three wins. He rejoined Ferrari in 1993 but found their performance to be relatively poor, finishing with only one podium. He managed to win one race in 1994 and finished third in the drivers' championship. Berger then spent two more years with Benetton, winning at the 1997 German Grand Prix before retiring as a driver. He went on to become a team manager with BMW and later Toro Rosso.[3]
Berger's career was promoted by Helmut Marko, a fellow Austrian who had himself raced in Formula One.[6] Marko started a total of nine grands prix with McLaren and BRM with a best result of sixth.[7] His racing career was ended at the 1972 French Grand Prix when a stone was launched from the wheel of a car he was following, piercing his visor and blinding him in one eye. He later became an advisor to the Red Bull F1 team led by Austrian Dietrich Mateschitz.[6][7]
Alexander Wurz is the fourth and most recent podium scorer, having achieved a third place in 2007. He signed as a test driver for Benetton in 1997 and stood in for an ill Gerhard Berger for three races. When both Berger and Alesi left at the end of the year, Wurz was given a full racing seat, remaining with the team until he was dropped at the end of the 2000 season. He moved to McLaren, once again being a test driver and later their stand-in. Main driver Juan Pablo Montoya was injured playing tennis in 2005 and was temporarily replaced first by Pedro de la Rosa and then by Wurz for one race each. Wurz finished fourth but was later promoted to third after the exclusion of the BAR racers. At the end of the year he moved to take up the same role with Williams before being promoted to a main driver in 2007. He was outclassed by team mate Nico Rosberg, securing one podium and a total of 13 points, retiring before the last race of the season.[8][9]
Roland Ratzenberger started in Formula One with Simtek in 1994.[10] He was qualifying for the third race of the season at Imola when a front wing failure caused by a previous off-track excursion threw him off the circuit at over 300kmh. He hit the wall with such an impact that his neck was broken. His death was overshadowed by Ayrton Senna's fatal accident the following day, however when the Brazilian's overalls were removed an Austrian flag was found tucked in his sleeve. It is speculated that he would have waved the flag in tribute to Ratzenberger at the end of the race.[11]
Karl Wendlinger was fortunate not to lose his life at the following race. Driving for Sauber in a practice session for the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, Wendlinger lost control coming out of the tunnel and crashed heavily into the barrier. He was in a medically induced coma for two weeks and needed months of rehabilitation. He returned to the team in 1995 but was dropped when it was felt that he could no longer perform as well as had been hoped.[12][13]
Helmuth Koinigg was only driving in his second Formula One race when he crashed and died during the 1974 United States Grand Prix. The suspension on his Surtees failed and pitched him into the Armco. Though the collision speed was relatively low, the poorly installed barrier buckled and decapitated Koinigg, instantly killing him.[14][15]
Christian Klien, the most recent Austrian F1 driver
Christian Klien is the most recent competitor having taken part in the 2010 season as a driver with HRT, driving in three races while Sakon Yamamoto was ill. Klien had raced with Jaguar in 2004, staying with the team when they were bought by Red Bull until he was dropped just before the end of the 2006 season.[16]
Other former drivers
The following Austrian drivers were entered for at least one Formula One race:
Harald Ertl, who started 19 races across five seasons with Hesketh, Ensign, and ATS. His Formula One career began in 1975 and his best finish was 7th in 1976. He did not race in 1979 and failed to start the one race he entered in 1980.[17]
Hans Binder, who started 13 races between 1976 and 1978.[18]
Patrick Friesacher, who raced with Minardi in 2005 until being dropped after eleven races.[19]
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from 1971 to 1979 and from 1982 to 1985. Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the time of his retirement—held the record for most podium finishes (54); he remains the only driver to have won a World Drivers' Championship with both Ferrari and McLaren, and won 25 Grands Prix across 13 seasons.
Gerhard Berger is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1997. Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Benetton Formula Limited., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from 1986 to 2001. The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores. In 2000, the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2002, the team became Renault. The Benetton Formula team was chaired by Alessandro Benetton from 1988 to 1998.
The 1974 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Mosport Park on 22 September 1974. It was race 14 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The 1974 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 6, 1974, at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York. It was race 15 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 38th season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1984 Formula One World Championship for Manufacturers, both of which commenced on 25 March and ended on 21 October after sixteen races.
The 1974 Formula One season was the 28th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1974 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, contested concurrently over a fifteen-race series which commenced on 13 January and ended on 6 October. The season also included three non-championship races.
The 1970 Formula One season was the 24th season of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 21st World Championship of Drivers, the 13th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and three non-championship races open to Formula One cars. The World Championship was contested over thirteen races between 7 March and 25 October.
Alexander Georg "Alex" Wurz is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from 1997 until 2007, and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
There have been 54 Formula One drivers from Germany including three world champions. Michael Schumacher holds many records in F1 including the most world championship titles and the most consecutive titles. In 2008 Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever driver to win a race and, in 2010, became the youngest world championship winner. In 2016, Nico Rosberg became the third driver from Germany to win the F1 World Drivers' Championship. 1970 champion Jochen Rindt was born in Germany, but chose to race under the Austrian flag. Nico Hülkenberg is currently the only active German race driver in Formula One.
There have been nine Formula One drivers from Finland who have taken part in races since the championship began in 1950. Three drivers have won the World Drivers' Championship, with Keke Rosberg being the first in 1982. Mika Häkkinen won it in 1998 and retained it in 1999, becoming the first - and so far only - Finnish double world champion. Kimi Räikkönen is the most recent Finnish champion having won the title in 2007. Finland is considered to have an unusually high amount of successful Formula One drivers for a country of its relatively small size.
There have been 18 Formula One drivers from Australia, 15 of which have taken part in at least one race since the championship began in 1950, and 3 failed to qualify. Two drivers who represented Australia have won the World Drivers' Championship: Jack Brabham, who won it three times, and Alan Jones, the most recent Australian world champion won once. One driver is currently active in the sport.
There have been 74 Formula One drivers from France, the most successful of them being Alain Prost, who won the World Drivers' Championship four times.
There have been fifteen Formula One drivers from Spain, the most successful of them being Fernando Alonso who won the World Drivers' Championship twice. Alonso is the only Spanish champion and one of only two Spanish drivers to win a Grand Prix, the other being Carlos Sainz Jr. Two other Spanish drivers have achieved a podium with Pedro de la Rosa and Alfonso de Portago having taken one apiece.
There have been 15 Formula One drivers from Canada, four of whom have scored points. Gilles Villeneuve, rated amongst the greatest drivers of all time, died while qualifying for his 68th race. His son, Jacques Villeneuve won the World Drivers' Championship in 1997. Canadian drivers were absent from Formula One from his departure in 2006 until the arrival of Lance Stroll in 2017.
There have been ten Formula One drivers from New Zealand, with four of them having started two or fewer races. The late 1950s to mid-1970s is viewed as the "golden age" for New Zealand in the sport and saw Denny Hulme crowned as World Drivers' Championship in 1967. New Zealand drivers were absent from Formula One events from 1984 to 2017.
There have been 98 Formula One drivers from Italy including two World Drivers' Champions. Giuseppe "Nino" Farina was the first ever World Champion and Alberto Ascari was the first double World Champion. All three championships came in the early 1950s and very few Italian drivers have come close since Ascari's 1953 victory. In 1989 and again for the following two years there were 13 drivers from Italy. Antonio Giovinazzi was the last Italian driver, having competed in F1 in 2017 and from 2019 to 2021. Andrea Kimi Antonelli is contracted to join Mercedes in 2025. Prior to Giovinazzi, there were five consecutive seasons without an Italian driver, with 2012 marking the first season an Italian driver did not enter a Formula One race weekend and the first season since 1969 that an Italian driver did not start a race.
There have been 25 Formula One drivers from South Africa, with 17 of them having started at least one Grand Prix, and only 4 of them having started more than four races. Jody Scheckter is by far the most prolific and successful South African driver, being the only one to have won a race. During his nine-year career Scheckter won 10 races and the 1979 World Drivers' Championship. There has not been a driver from South Africa in Formula One since 1980.
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 having won 12 races, and only Eddie Cheever has started more Grands Prix. Logan Sargeant is the most recent American, having competed in 2023 and 2024.
The Grand Prix racing history of Scuderia Ferrari dates back to 1947. The team is the most successful team in the history of Formula One racing, having contested every World Championship season since 1950, winning 15 Drivers' Championships and 16 Constructors' Championships.
↑ Up until 1990, not all points scored by a driver contributed to their final World Championship tally (see list of points scoring systems for more information). Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
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