The first official car races date back to the end of the 19th century. With a century-long history of the sport, many individuals grew to be legends. Formula 1, rallying, NASCAR, and more, each have their own greats. So, we thought it would be interesting to make a list of top 10 sports car racing drivers ever. Feel free to take a look.
10 Dale Earnhardt Senior
A NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt was a professional driver who’s won the Winston Cup Series seven times in 14 years. He was the Winston Cup rookie of the year in 1979 and is an inductee of several motorsports halls of fame. He died tragically during the Daytona 500 race in 2001.
9 Colin McRae
When you talk about the best rally drivers of all time, you have to mention Colin McRae. He won The World Rally Championship in 1995. He also won other 25 events, as well as reaching the podium for a total of 42 times. He died in a helicopter crash, being only 39 years old.
8 Sebastien Loeb
Sebastien Loeb is a French rally driver who also participated in racing and rallycross. He won The World Rally Championship nine times, the last one being in 2012. He also won the gold medal for France in the rallycross category featured on the 18th annual X Games.
7 Alain Prost
Alain Prost is a retired Formula 1 driver who won the WDC four times. He also had other 51 wins and 106 podium achievements. He was a long time record holder for total F1 wins, being surpassed by Michael Schumacher in 2001, and is currently number four on the list.
6 Jim Clark
One of the biggest “what ifs” in the Formula 1 history certainly must be a British driver Jim Clark. He won two world championships, although many argue that he would have won more if it wasn’t for his tragic death in 1968.
5 Sebastian Vettel
Although he is still an active driver with only 11 years on the pro circuit, Sebastian Vettel is one of the all-time Formula 1 greats. He won four consecutive WDCs from 2010 to 2013. He surpassed Alain Prost for total wins in 2018 with the victory on Belgian Grand Prix.
4 Lewis Hamilton
The only F1 driver who can endanger Michael Schumacher records is Lewis Hamilton. This British race driver is only 33 years old, yet he has four world championship titles, and 69 total wins.
3 Juan Manuel Fangio
One of the pioneers of F1 racing was an Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio. Nicknamed “El Maestro,” Fangio can be considered the most dominant race driver in the early years of Formula 1. His debut was in 1950 when he was already 39 years old. Fangio was a world champion five times, winning four consecutive titles from 1954 to 1957.
2 Ayrton Senna
The Brazilian, who was one of the most promising drivers of his generation, won three WDCs and had 41 total wins. He died tragically during the San Marino Grand Prix.
1 Michael Schumacher
The undisputed heavyweight champion of all race car drivers must be Michael Schumacher. He is the current record holder for both Formula 1 wins (91) and WDCs (7). Schumacher also participated at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans. After a traumatic brain injury he had in 2013, Schumacher has not been seen in public.
