The Oldest F1 Drivers Ever

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At the end of the 2021 season, Kimi Räikkönen retired at the age of 42, leaving Fernando Alonso, at 40, as the oldest driver on the grid, who made his F1 debut alongside the Finn in 2001.

Over time, the sporting careers of F1 drivers, and of sportsmen in general, have been lengthening. If during the first decades of Formula 1 history drivers had sporting careers of 10 years at the most, nowadays that figure is easily reached by many drivers, who even spend up to almost 20 years racing.

It would be reasonable to think that current drivers with such long sporting careers as Räikkönen or Alonso would break all longevity records, but this is not really the case. Despite racing for so many years, today\’s F1 drivers make their debuts very young, so it is very difficult for them to continue racing beyond the age of 40.

In contrast, during the first decades of F1, the drivers who competed in the category were very old, as it was a sport that required a great economic investment. That said, let\’s see who are the oldest drivers to start a Formula 1 race.

1. Louis Chiron

Age: 55 years, 292 days

Race: 1955 Monaco GP

Place: 6th

Active seasons in F1: 1950-51, 1953, 1955-56, 1958

Louis Chiron is the oldest driver to start a Formula 1 race. The Monegasque was born in 1899, and entered a few F1 races between 1950 and 1958, although the last one he started was the 1955 Monaco GP, with Scuderia Lancia, in which he finished sixth.

Chiron began competing after World War I, having previously made a living as a private erotic dancer for wealthy women, who sometimes acted as scouts for drivers who did not come from wealthy families. 

Chiron is considered one of the best drivers between the two World Wars, racing for great brands such as Bugatti, Lancia, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz and taking part in prestigious races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 500 Miles of Indianapolis.

During those years he achieved some victories in some Grand Prix, something he could not achieve in Formula 1, whose best result was a third place in the 1951 Monaco GP. However, Chiron is the only Monegasque driver to win the Monaco GP (1931, before F1 existed) and the Monte Carlo Rally (1954). As a curious fact, the sports car Bugatti Chiron takes its name from him.

2. Philippe Étancelin

Age: 55 years, 191 days

Race: 1952 French GP

Place: 8th

Active seasons in F1: 1950-52

Philippe Étancelin was a French racing driver who, like Chiron, began his racing career during the 1920s and 1930s. Born in 1896, Étancelin was a merchant and became a racing enthusiast after buying a racing car to celebrate the birth of his second child.

The Frenchman began to participate in races and championships from 1926 in local races and hillclimbs, and later in the European Drivers\’ Championship and official Grand Prix. Étancelin achieved numerous Grand Prix victories during the 1930s. His greatest victory was at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1934.

After World War II, Étancelin participated in the first Formula 1 championship in 1950, when he was 53 years old, being the oldest of all participants. The Frenchman participated until the 1952 French GP, where he finished eighth, aged 55 years and 191 days.

Étancelin never scored a podium in Formula 1, but his fifth-place finishes in the 1950 Italian and French GPs made him the oldest driver to score points in the championship, a record that still stands today (at that time only the first five drivers in each race scored points).

3. Arthur Legat

Age: 54 years, 232 days

Race: 1953 Belgian GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1952-53

Arthur Legat was born in 1898 in Haine Saint Paul, Belgium, and like many other drivers of his generation, began racing after the First World War. Legat won the Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay in 1931 and 1932 with a Bugatti.

The Belgian only competed in two races in the Formula 1 Championship, the 1952 and 1953 Belgian Grand Prix, which were held at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

In 1952, he participated with a private Veritas Meteor, finishing thirteenth, five laps behind the winner, Alberto Ascari. In 1953 he participated again with the same Veritas and qualified nineteenth, but in the race, he retired when his car\’s transmission broke.

Legat also took part in five non-scoring Grand Prix, achieving a best position of fifth in the Grand Prix des Frontières in 1954.

4. Luigi Fagioli

Age: 53 years, 22 days

Race: 1951 French GP

Place: 1st

Active seasons in F1: 1950-51

Luigi Fagioli was an Italian racing driver who was born in 1898, and as a child was fascinated by the relatively new invention of the automobile, and by early car racing, beginning his racing career in the 1920s in hillclimbing and sports car races before entering Grand Prix racing in 1926.

Fagioli showed a natural ability at the wheel and was a very confident driver, with a great character on and off the track, although he was sometimes described as reckless after having had several major race crashes.

During the 1930s, Fagioli drove for important brands such as Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, and Auto Union, achieving 4 podiums, and 1 victory in the 1951 Monaco GP. The Italian participated in the first season of Formula 1 in 1950, finishing the championship third after achieving 5 podiums.

In 1951 he only participated in the French GP, which he won, and at 53 years and 22 days old he still holds the record for the oldest driver to win a Formula 1 GP. Fagioli is considered one of the best drivers of his generation, sometimes beating great legends of his time such as Ascari or Fangio. The Italian died in 1952 as a result of injuries sustained after a training session in Monaco.

5. Adolf Brudes

Age: 52 years, 293 days

Race: 1952 German GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1952

Adolf Brudes was a German racing driver who was born in 1899 and was a member of the German nobility. Brudes owned a BMW and Auto Union dealership and soon took up racing. He first participated in motorcycle racing in 1919 and from 1928 in car races, initially in hillclimbs.

In the interwar period, Brudes won numerous races in Germany. After World War II, he had to give up his business, and for a while he was a mechanic until he soon returned to racing.

In Formula 1, the German entered only one race of the championship, the 1952 German GP, with a Vertias RS with BMW engine, retiring after 5 laps due to engine problems. Apart from that GP, Brudes also participated in some non-scoring F1 races.

Brudes continued to race until 1968 in hillclimbs with an impressive 49-year racing career, probably the longest in history.

6. Hans Stuck

Age: 52 years, 260 days

Race: 1953 Italian GP

Place: 14th

Active seasons in F1: 1951-53

Hans Stuck was a German driver born in 1900. Stuck began his sporting career in hillclimbing, which was very successful, as he won three European Mountain Championships in the 1920s and 1930s, earning the nickname \”Bergkönig\” or \”King of the Mountains\”.

Stuck also participated in circuit races, especially from 1933, when he took Ferdinand Porsche and Auto Union to collaborate with Hitler\’s plans for German motor racing, due to his relationship with the dictator. His racing career with Auto Union was very successful, winning several Grand Prix and being runner-up in the European Championship in 1936.

After World War II, Stuck entered a few Formula 1 races between 1951 and 1953, finishing only in the 1953 Italian GP with a 14th position, at the age of 52 years and 260 days.

Stuck continued racing in hillclimbing until 1960 when he was German Hillclimb Champion for the last time. Stuck is the father of fellow racing driver Hans-Joachim Stuck, who raced in F1 between 1974 and 1979, taking 2 podiums.

7. Bill Aston

Age: 52 years, 127 days

Race: 1952 German GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1952

Bill Aston was a British racing driver born in 1900 who began his racing career as a test pilot and motorcycle racer before switching to four-wheel racing. Aston participated in Formula Three and Formula Two.

In 1951, he was leading a heat race at Chimay, driving a 1,100 cc Cooper, but his car broke down on the last lap. That same year, he set the 500 cc world speed record at Montlhéry in the streamlined Cooper, equipped with a J.A.P. V-engine.

Aston entered three Formula 1 races in 1952 with his Aston Butterworth team, which he founded with Archie Butterworth. The Aston NB 41 was a very fast car, but very unreliable. Of the three Grands Prix he entered, he was only able to start the German GP, in which he retired on the second lap.

Aston continued to race and participate in championships until shortly before his death when he was in his 60s.

8. Clemente Biondetti

Age: 52 years, 16 days

Race: 1950 Italian GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1950

Clemente Biondetti was an Italian racing driver born in 1898 into a working-class family. He was a very versatile driver who raced in numerous competitions, such as motorcycles, circuit races and endurance races, which is where he achieved the greatest successes of his sporting career.

Biondetti raced in the 1930s in the European Championship, with great brands such as Maserati, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo, achieving a third place in the 1931 French GP as his best result. In circuit racing, he was an average driver, but in endurance, he was one of the best.

The Italian won 4 times the Mille Miglia, a tough sports car endurance race of approximately 1,000 miles, being the driver with the most victories. Biondetti also won twice the Targa Florio, a race held in the mountains of Sicily, near Palermo.

Biondetti started only one Formula 1 championship race, the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, in which he entered a self-built Ferrari-Jaguar hybrid car but had to retire due to engine problems.

9. Louis Rosier

Age: 50 years, 274 days

Race: 1956 German GP

Place: 5th

Active seasons in F1: 1950-56

Louis Rosier was a French racing driver born in 1905, and was a perfectionist in all areas of life, whether it was racing, selling cars, fighting the Nazis in the French Resistance, helping to plan a racetrack or designing cars.

Like many other drivers of that generation, Rosier started out racing simple, inexpensive motorcycles. He was not slow, but eventually, he was nicknamed \”Le Sage,\” or the prudent one. Before risking his life in racing, he tried to earn it, first with a workshop of his own in which he worked primarily with Renault and Talbot brands, and then with a transport company in Clermont-Ferand.

With that base already established, he finally dedicated himself to racing in the 1930s, where he began to stand out in some national races. After the Second World War, he definitively consolidated his position, achieving some victories, always with Talbot, in Formula 2 and in some Grand Prix races against the great drivers of the time, without ever having the best car. In 1950 he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

Rosier was a fast and versatile driver, calm, neat in each line and above all, he always sought to maintain a constant and steady pace. In F1, he competed from 1950 to 1956, with his own team, which led him efficiently, being one of the best private teams and achieving 2 podiums in the category.

Rosier died in 1956 after an accident on the Montlhéry track and was never able to see the completion of the Circuit de Charade, later called Circuit Louis Rosier, a project in which he was heavily involved.

10. Rudolf Schoeller

Age: 50 years, 98 days

Race: 1952 German GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1952

Rudolf Schoeller was a Swiss driver born in 1912, who only participated in F1 in the 1952 German GP, held at the Nürburbring, aged 50 years and 98 days. Schoeller participated with a Ferrari 212 and retired from the race with shock absorber problems.

Unlike many drivers on this list, Schoeller was not a professional driver, but was a member of the Écurie Espadon or Scuderia Espadon. The Écurie Espadon was composed of a group of Swiss amateur gentleman racers.

At first, they used French cars, usually Gordinis, and later they started to use Ferraris and other Italian cars, and so the team started to use the Italian word \”Scuderia\”, instead of the French Écurie. The team leader was the Swiss Rudi Fischer, a successful restaurant owner, and consisted of 6 drivers, including Fischer and Schoeller.

Écurie Espadon competed in Formula 1 between 1950 and 1953, and Fisher achieved two podium finishes in the 1952 championship as the team\’s best results.

11. Felice Bonetto

Age: 50 years, 96 days

Race: 1952 German GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1950-53

Felice Bonetto was an Italian driver born in 1903, who began his racing career in 1920 in motorcycling, before switching to four wheels in the 1930s. His impulsive character, his enormous courage, and his fame earned him the nickname Il Pirata (The Pirate).

Bonetto participated in a wide variety of competitions, from circuit races, winning numerous Grand Prix after World War II, to endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mille Miglia, being runner-up in both.

Bonetto drove with a calm and elegant countenance and a relaxed posture, always with a pipe or a mouthpiece between his teeth, which contrasted with his impulsive driving, prone to accidents and mechanical breakdowns. In Formula 1, Il Pirata competed in 15 Grand Prix between 1950 and 1953, taking one podium with Alfa Romeo and another with Maserati.

Bonetto died in 1953 after an accident in the Carrera Panamericana, a notoriously dangerous and difficult public road rally in Mexico that took place over 6 days across the country.

12. Ernst Klodwig

Age: 50 years, 71 days

Race: 1953 German GP

Place: 15th

Active seasons in F1: 1952-53

Unlike many drivers on this list, Ernst Klodwig\’s racing career was not very long or successful. Klodwig was from East German and was born in 1903 when it was still the German Empire.

Klodwig participated in some national races before World War II, achieving some success, but never entered a higher-level Grand Prix or championship. In Formula 1 he participated privately with BMW cars in the 1952 and 1953 German Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring.

In 1952, Klodwig finished twelfth, while in 1953 he finished fifteenth. Shortly after that race in 1953, Klodwig retired and defected to West Germany, where he lived until he died in 1973.

13. Piero Taruffi

Age: 49 years, 325 days

Race: 1956 Italian GP

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1950-1956

Piero Taruffi was an Italian driver born in 1906 and known for his wisdom both behind the wheel and off the track. The Italian was a doctor in engineering and knew how to combine his driving skills with his renowned wisdom.

Taruffi started racing motorcycles in the 1930s and later began racing cars. The Italian always felt an enormous passion for the Mille Miglia, in which he competed on several occasions and which he won in 1957, the last year it was held.

Taruffi competed in 18 Formula 1 Grand Prix between 1950 and 1956, with great brands such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Maserati. Piero achieved a total of 4 podiums and 1 victory, in the 1952 Swiss GP. The 1952 season was his best year in the category, in which he finished third in the championship. His last race was the 1956 Italian GP, when he was 49 years and 325 days old.

Taruffi also captured his wisdom off the track, and in 1957 published a book called The Technique of Motor Racing.

14. Chet Miller

Age: 49 years, 316 days

Race: 1952 Indy 500

Place: Ret

Active seasons in F1: 1950-53

Chet Miller represents a curious phenomenon that occurred during the first decades of Formula 1. The American, born in 1902 in Indianapolis, dedicated his sporting career mainly to the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

In Formula 1, he only entered this event from 1950 to 1953. At that time, the Indy 500 was already a prestigious competition, which scored points for the Formula 1 championship. Many American drivers only competed in American races, as in the case of Miller, but by participating in the Indy 500, they automatically entered and scored points for Formula 1.

That is why during the 50s and 60s there were many F1 drivers from the USA, but who actually only participated in the Indy 500, and not in the rest of the races of the F1 season. Miller entered the Indy 500 from 1930 to 1953 (not counting the war years), achieving a third position as best result, in 1938.

In the 4 editions in which he participated that counted for the F1 championship, Miller was only able to start the 1951 and 1952 editions. Miller entered the 1953 edition but was killed in a crash in the south turn of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

15. Yves Giraud-Cabantous

Age: 48 years, 340 days

Race: 1953 Italian GP

Place: 15th

Active seasons in F1: 1950-53

Yves Giraud-Cabantous was a French gentleman driver born in 1904. He was also a promoter, technician, and constructor. Giraud-Cabantous was very fond of mechanics, and prior to racing, he was an aviator. During his first years in racing, during the 1920s, he established a great friendship with Philippe Étancelin and Louis Rosier.

During the interwar period, the Frenchman participated in a wide variety of races: circuit races, hillclimbing, and endurance races, achieving great results and winning some Grand Prix. Giraud-Cabantous, being also a technician, had a great knowledge of the cars he drove.

In Formula 1, he participated in 13 races between 1950 and 1953 with Talbot-Lago and HWM cars. The Frenchman achieved a fourth place as best result in the 1950 British GP, the first race in the history of the category, and also scored in the 1951 Belgian GP.

His last race was in the 1953 Italian GP, in which, at the age of 48 years and 340 days, he could only finish fifteenth.

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Editorial credit: Raffaele Conti 88 / Shutterstock.com

Conclusion

Much has changed from the first decades of Formula 1 to the present day. Nowadays, drivers debut in the category at a very young age and expand their sporting careers for more than 10 years.

In the old days, drivers were generally much older, making their F1 debuts at the age at which many drivers retire today, so the first generation of drivers holds all the records for longevity.

References

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