Top 5 Brazilian F1 Drivers of all Time

Formula One and Brazil have a relationship which goes way back. The Brazilian Grand Prix has been a regular fixture on the Formula One calendar since 1973.

No Brazilian driver participated in the championship during the 2018 season and unless there is a switch mid-season, it looks like none will be racing in a Formula One car for 2019 either. Before that, however, the streak for a Brazilian to be on the grid was running for 49 long years.

Drivers from the South American country have collected eight world championship trophies amongst themselves, and are behind only those from the United Kingdom and Germany. Most of these racers are household names and inspirations for F1 aspirants all over the globe.

While there may soon be more drivers stepping foot into the sport from the land of carnivals, for now, let us celebrate the ones who have made the country proud with their feats on the track.

Here is a list of some of the best Formula One drivers that Brazil has produced over the years:

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#5 Rubens Barrichello

In 2000, Rubens won his first race in Germany, after starting 18th on the grid.

Rubens Barrichello enjoyed a lengthy career in Formula One; he still holds the record for the most number of race starts, amounting to 322. He spent the initial seven years racing for Jordan and Stewart, where his performances secured him a Ferrari seat.

It was during his five years with the Prancing Horse team that Barrichello was truly able to showcase what he was capable of and finished runners-up in two F1 seasons. Despite being a consistent driver, Barrichello was often required to play the role of second fiddle for the team which already had an established world championship, Michael Schumacher, driving for them.

In 2000, Rubens experienced the euphoria of a race victory for the first time in Germany, which he did after starting 18th on the grid. A former Mercedes employee ran onto the track as a form of protest, but the incident cannot take away from the skill the Ferrari driver displayed to win.

He then went on to grab ten more Grand Prix victories, two of which came while he was driving for Brawn GP in 2009. While his teammate, Jenson Button, secured the world championship for himself that year, Rubens was instrumental in Brawn winning the constructors’ title.

#4 Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa won eleven Grands Prix in his career and was a fan favourite.

Felipe Massa came as close to winning a driver’s title as one can. During the 2008 Formula One season, Massa was involved in a closely fought battle with Lewis Hamilton for the championship trophy. In Brazil, the last race of the season, Felipe did enough to hold on to victory while his title rival was stuck in sixth place till the last lap.

Lewis overtook Timo Glock at the last corner on the ultimate lap of the race to clinch the world championship title by a single point. The triumphant celebrations soon turned to sour frustration in the Ferrari camp, snatching a maiden title from Massa.

Felipe’s fifteen-year-long stint in the sport was marred by a crash in 2009. A suspension spring hit his head during the second part of Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, leading to a collision with the tyre barrier. He was unable to compete in the remaining races of the season but effectively made a comeback the year after that.

The former Ferrari driver won eleven races during his career and was a fan favourite. When he finally decided to retire, everyone came out in full force to say goodbye, even though they had to do it twice.

#3 Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi (left) became a double world champion in 1974

Emerson Fittipaldi first began racing in Formula One as the third Lotus driver alongside Jochen Rindt and John Miles in 1970. After Jochen’s untimely and tragic death at Monza, Emerson secured the constructor’s trophy for the team by winning the United States Grand Prix.

The race concluded with Jochen being awarded the drivers' title and Emerson making the seat at Lotus his own for the upcoming season.

In 1972, Emerson then emerged as the youngest ever Formula One world champion after he secured victories in five races out of the twelve held that year. While he began the next year by winning at Argentina, Brazil and Spain, his championship hopes unravelled in the latter half of the season.

A move to McLaren in 1974 came at the right time for the Brazilian, who notched up three wins to secure himself another driver’s title. His brother, Wilson Fittipaldi, decided to form his own racing team and Emerson was soon recruited as the driver. The endeavour did not prove as fruitions as initially hoped for by the brothers and Emerson later moved on to CART and Indianapolis 500.

#2 Nelson Piquet

Nelson Piquet accumulated 23 race wins which paved the way for him to become a triple world champion

Nelson Piquet accumulated 23 race wins which paved the way for him to become a triple world champion during the time he raced in Formula One. Nelson had a knack for getting what he set his mind to.

He tried his hand at tennis and later went to the university upon his parents’ insistence, but it was F1 where he finally settled in and made a name for himself.

1980-81 saw the emergence of a new Brazilian driver with a hunger to be the best in the sport. The Brabham BT49 proved a suitable car for Nelson, who ended 1980 in second place behind Alan Jones and 1981 as world champion.

1982, meanwhile, was challenging for Piquet, but his solo victory of the year in Canada spoke highly of him. He had to drive with his feet bearing temperatures ranging up to 100 degrees.

After the tumultuous year, he came back stronger in 1983 to clinch another world championship trophy. His third came in 1987 for Williams and he is now ranked as one of the best to have ever tried his hand at racing.

#1 Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna is known as one of the best drivers in Formula One

The jury is still out on whether Ayrton Senna is the greatest Formula One driver of all time, but he sure does come close to staking a claim on the title. There are five drivers who have won more driver’s titles than Senna’s three, but for the duration of his ten plus years that he was a part of the sport, he was a force to reckon with.

In 1993, he put on one of the best feats of overtaking in Europe when he climbed up from fifth to first in a single lap, better known as the “lap of gods”. His wet weather performances consistently put him in contention for the race win even when victory looked otherwise impossible.

His tenacity and grit were next to none, and he showed that at every opportunity possible. In 1991, when a long-awaited home Grand Prix win was within sight, Senna suffered a gearbox issue, leaving him stranded in sixth gear. He carried on leading the race, but he was so exhausted by the time the chequered flag was waved that he had to be carried out of the car due to exhaustion.

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