Ranking top 6 nationalities in F1 2021 season

This year F1 held a record 22 races in a single season across 21 countries. It is set to hold 23 races in the upcoming 2022 season, making F1 one of the most global sports in terms of fans, teams, race tracks as well as driver representation. Despite a grid of only 20 drivers (21 this season counting Robert Kubica's participation in two races for Alfa Romeo), the 2021 season saw a representation of drivers from 13 different countries.

---

Here are the top 6 nationalities of the 2021 F1 season:

#1 British

The 2021 F1 season saw three drivers representing Great Britain. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell are the three British drivers from the 2021 season. With nine consecutive podiums at Silverstone, home soil has been rather kind to Hamilton, who got remarkably close to taking a record-breaking eighth world championship win.

Russell will be joining Mercedes to partner Hamilton in the 2022 season so the German team will have a complete British teammate pairing for the upcoming season. The 23-year-old has had a great run with Williams. He played a monumental role in taking a step towards bringing the team closer back to the top and is finally set to demonstrate his real potential in a championship-winning car next year.

Lando Norris, who drives for the British F1 team McLaren, is one of the most exciting young talents in the sport today and is expected to be fighting for the title in the years to come. Various F1 greats such as Nigel Mansell, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, James Hunt, Jenson Button, and Damon Hill all represented Great Britain in F1.

#2 German

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Haas F1's Mick Schumacher were the two drivers representing Germany in 2021. Currently driving for Aston Martin, Vettel is considered to be one of the greatest drivers in the sport, having dominated for four consecutive years from 2010 to 2013 with Red Bull. The 34-year-old has a special bond with Mick Schumacher, son of his greatest inspiration and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. The 22-year-old completed his rookie year with Haas and had the full support of Vettel throughout the season.

Both Germans had a rather weak year, unfortunately. Schumacher was unable to score a single point for the American team whilst Vettel had a rather underwhelming season in his first year with Aston Martin, securing P12 in the drivers' standings ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll. Former F1 champion Nico Rosberg, the only driver to beat Lewis Hamilton as his teammate, also represented Germany.

#3 Finnish

Kimi Raikkonen, who drove his final F1 race at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this year, and Valtteri Bottas, who has parted ways with Mercedes after a five-year run, were the two drivers on the 2021 F1 grid who represent Finland.

Known as "The Iceman", Raikkonen was the last driver to win a championship with the legendary F1 team, Scuderia Ferrari, in 2007. Widely known for his dull humor and complete lack of expression or interest, his immense popularity among fans was self-evident when he was voted "Driver of the Day" in his final race despite having to retire the car during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 42-year-old, who drove for Alfa Romeo, will undoubtedly be missed by the F1 community.

Bottas will be taking his compatriot's seat in Alfa Romeo for the 2022 season alongside the first Chinese F1 driver Guanyu Zhou. Having driven alongside Lewis Hamilton for five seasons, the 32-year-old has played a substantial role in contributing to consecutive championship wins for Mercedes ever since he joined the team.

#4 Spanish

Spain is home to Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, who have both driven for Ferrari and McLaren at different points in their careers.

Alonso, who currently drives for Alpine, is the only Spanish driver to ever win the drivers' world championship title, let alone two. The 40-year-old is an absolute inspiration to Sainz, who replaced him at McLaren in 2019. In his first year with Alpine, Alonso seems to have found comfort with the team and had a decent season this year, the highlight being his podium at the Qatar Grand Prix in the second half of the season.

Carlos Sainz, currently racing for Ferrari alongside Charles Leclerc, has had the best year of his F1 career so far, with 4 podiums, and a strong P5 finish in the drivers' standings ahead of his team-mate and both McLaren drivers. Whether or not we will witness Sainz take the Spanish flag to the top once again is something we will only find out in the years to come, but the Spaniard's growing momentum with the Italian team definitely gives his fans some real hope.

#5 French

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon are the two Frenchmen from the 2021 driver line-up. Racing for Alpha Tauri and Alpine respectively, the two drivers have had an intense battle to take their team up to P5 in the constructors' standings. The position was eventually achieved by Alpine, who led by 13 points ahead of their rivals, even though Gasly finished ahead of both Alpines in the drivers' standings.

Both drivers have had a rather erratic season. While Gasly qualified extremely well throughout the year and had a particularly strong first half of the season, the highlight for Ocon was his spectacular maiden F1 win in Hungary. The two Frenchmen spent the season making the midfield battle exciting as the P5 position switched hands on multiple occasions.

#6 Canadian

Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Nicholas Latifi of Williams represent Canada. For the second year in a row, Latifi has not been able to race at his home Grand Prix due to COVID-19 restrictions which resulted in the cancelation of the Canadian Grand Prix in 2020 as well as 2021. Both drivers ended the season behind their respective teammates and are set to give it their all for the upcoming 2022 season.

The only Canadian driver to ever win an F1 championship is Jacques Villeneuve, who did so in 1997 with Williams in his very second stint as an F1 driver.