Who is the most successful Australian F1 driver of all time?
Australia in its motorsports history has prodcued some fine F1 drivers.
Follow Us
Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo
F1 has been around since the 1950s and, over the years, has seen some great drivers step foot into the sport. The pinnacle of motor racing has got a rich history, and it has mostly been down to the F1 drivers that have dared to plunge into the sport since its inception. F1 is a cut-throat competition and is not for the faint-hearted.
The drivers take their cars for a spin during racing events at high speeds and produce electrifying action that gets edged into the hearts of the fans for several years. With a new season comes fresh action and a mix of pros and a crop of young F1 drivers. Over the years, the sport has seen many great drivers from different corners of the world. Australia is one of the powerhouses when it comes to Motorsports, and it has produced some F1 legends.
The country is well-renowned for producing some special crop of F1 drivers that have mesmerized the fans with their fearless highspeed racing. Australia has been blessed in this way, and some of it has been down to the culture that the country supports. Australia has always found itself as one of the leading names in front of several supports, and F1 is no exception. Let’s delve in and find out who are the most successful drivers that have come from Australia.
Discover: Why did Porsche leave F1?
List of Top 5 Australian F1 Drivers
5. Tim Schenken
Tim Schenken raced in Formula 1 between 1970 and 1974, during which, he took part in 34 Grand Prix events and managed to score points on three occasions. Moreover, during one of his points finishes, he was also able to land a podium at the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, where he became only the second Australian F1 driver to land his car on the podium. While Tim Schenken did not have a long F1 career, he still had the fortune of racing for some of the legendary brands in the sport. On his debut, he drove for Brabham and, in 1974, had the opportunity to drive for the Lotus F1 team.
4. Mark Webber
Mark Webber made his F1 debut for the Minardi team at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix and was also able to score a brilliant P5 finish. That moment kickstarted his F1 career on the right note, and by the time he called it a day in the sport in 2013, he had participated in a whopping 217 races, during which he was able to score 42 podiums with 9 Grand Prix wins.
He was a prolific racing driver who was extremely popular, especially among Australian F1 fans. Webber, during his career, made his trade for teams like Minardi, Jaguar, Williams, and the mighty Red Bull F1 team. His last outing came at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix, and by then, he had amassed a total of 1075.5 points in the sport.
3. Daniel Ricciardo
The next man on the list is probably one of the most liked F1 drivers all across the globe. Daniel Ricciardo is popularly known as the honey badger in F1 and has a serious record in the sport. The above-mentioned drivers are all retired, but Daniel is still quite young and is active in the sport. So far in his career, he has taken part in 232 Grand Prix events and has scored 8 wins and 32 podium finishes. Moreover, in the process of doing so, he has amassed a total of 1311 career points.
His first F1 entry came in 2011 for HTR racing, and since then, he has participated in the sport for teams like Toro Rosso(AlphaTauri), Red Bull, Renault, and, the Woking-based McLaren F1 team. While his latest spell with the papaya-colored team was one to forget, he is still active in the driver market and could return to the grid in the upcoming years of the sport. However, it would be tough taking into account the young crop drivers that knock on F1 doors before the start of a new F1 season.
2. Alan Jones
With three drivers down, the penultimate man on the list of most successful Australian F1 drivers is the 1980 F1 World Champion, Alan Jones. He first took part in F1 in 1975 and, on an on-and-off basis, kept racing in the sport until 1986. Whenever he used to go out on a racing track, he was a menace to the rest of the drivers. During his illustrious career, Jones took part in a total of 117 races and was able to score 12 wins and 24 podium finishes for the several teams he drove for. He made his trade for teams like Hesketh, Hill, Surtees, Shadow, Williams, Arrows, and Haas Lola. He was considered a versatile racing driver who was able to keep a steady head during tough race situations that left several drivers of his era completely stumped.
1. Jack Brabham
After going through the top 4 Australian F1 drivers, finally, it’s the turn of Sir Jack Brabham, who is the most successful Australian driver in F1’s long history. He is by far ahead of the rest of the other Australian drivers. Moreover, his record speaks for itself; he started racing in F1 in 1955 and was able to prolong his career until 1970.
During his long career, he took part in a total of 128 races and was able to score 32 podiums and 14 Grand Prix wins with 253 points. However, the record which sets him in a class of his own among the Australian F1 drivers is his 3 F1 World Championships. No other Australian driver to date has been able to match the heroics of Jack Brabham at the pinnacle of motor racing. His first entry came at the 1955 British Grand Prix, and his last F1 outing was in 1970 at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Larb more:
Stay Updated!
Rishabh Negi
(3244 Articles Published)