Who is the best auto driver in the world?

There is no single, universally accepted “best” auto driver; greatness depends on discipline and criteria. If you’re asking who is currently performing at the highest level, many observers point to Max Verstappen in Formula 1 for his sustained dominance since 2022. Historically, the debate typically centers on legends such as Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, and, beyond F1, Sébastien Loeb in rally and Tom Kristensen in endurance racing.

How to define “best” in auto racing

Motor sport is not one homogeneous arena. Formula 1, IndyCar, NASCAR, rallying, and endurance racing demand different skills, with unequal machinery and varying competitive structures. That makes “best” a moving target: a driver’s superiority in one series may not translate directly to another, and era-to-era comparisons are even trickier.

The following points outline common criteria experts use to judge all-time and current greatness across disciplines.

• Peak performance: How dominant a driver is in their prime against elite competition.
• Sustained excellence: Longevity at or near the top over multiple seasons or rule changes.
• Versatility: Success across different series (single-seaters, stock cars, rally, endurance).
• Championships and wins: Titles, victory totals, and records within their category.
• Context and era adjustment: Strength of competition, reliability variance, and equipment disparity.
• Clutch moments: Delivery under pressure—championship deciders, wet races, late stints, or night runs.

Taken together, these facets provide a more complete picture than any single statistic, helping separate great drivers from generational outliers.

The leading active driver right now

Based on recent form at the highest level of single-seater racing, Max Verstappen is the standout active driver. He became a three-time Formula 1 world champion (2021–2023) and, through 2024, continued to win at a historic rate, breaking single-season records and stringing together dominant stretches. While equipment matters in F1, his qualifying edge, tire management, and race-craft under varying conditions have been consistently decisive.

Formula 1 context

Lewis Hamilton remains the sport’s statistical benchmark—he owns the all-time F1 records for wins, poles, and podiums, and he ended a lengthy win drought with a marquee victory in 2024, underscoring enduring class. Michael Schumacher’s seven titles and transformative influence still loom large. Juan Manuel Fangio’s astonishing win rate and five titles in the 1950s, and Ayrton Senna’s qualifying brilliance and wet-weather mastery, round out the canonical F1 pantheon. In today’s grid, Verstappen’s sustained dominance, adaptability, and low-error weekends place him at the head of the active pack.

IndyCar and NASCAR context

In IndyCar, all-rounders like Scott Dixon (a model of consistency over two decades) and Alex Palou (a recent multi-time champion) headline the field, while Josef Newgarden’s back-to-back Indianapolis 500 triumphs in 2023 and 2024 underline elite oval execution. In NASCAR, the historical “greatest” debate often highlights Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson (each with seven Cup titles). For modern versatility across disciplines, Kyle Larson stands out, racing—and winning—on dirt and asphalt and even attempting the Indy 500 alongside his NASCAR program.

Rally and endurance benchmarks

In rallying, Sébastien Loeb’s nine World Rally Championship titles set the gold standard, with Sébastien Ogier’s eight titles close behind and Kalle Rovanperä redefining the age curve as a prodigy with multiple championships before 24. In endurance racing, Tom Kristensen’s nine Le Mans victories remain unmatched; in the hypercar era, star lineups for Ferrari, Toyota, and Porsche have restored factory heavyweight battles, with Ferrari returning to winning ways at Le Mans in 2023 and again in 2024.

All-time greats commonly cited by experts

The following names recur most often in expert polls, historical analyses, and data-led models when discussing the all-time best across major disciplines. This is not a definitive ranking, but a representative shortlist.

• Juan Manuel Fangio — F1 titan with five titles and an extraordinary win rate in the 1950s.
• Jim Clark — F1 and Indy success; peerless car control before his career was cut short.
• Ayrton Senna — F1 icon known for qualifying speed and wet-weather mastery.
• Michael Schumacher — Seven F1 titles; redefined professionalism and team-building.
• Lewis Hamilton — Record F1 wins, poles, and podiums; seven titles across eras.
• Max Verstappen — Modern F1 dominator with record-setting seasons since 2022.
• Mario Andretti — The benchmark for versatility: F1 world title, Indy 500, Daytona 500.
• A. J. Foyt — US legend across Indy, stock cars, sports cars; four-time Indy 500 winner.
• Sébastien Loeb — WRC’s most decorated, nine titles across a decade of supremacy.
• Sébastien Ogier — Eight WRC titles; relentless adaptability and rally IQ.
• Tom Kristensen — “Mr. Le Mans” with nine overall victories at the 24 Hours.

These figures exemplify different versions of “best”: some for peak dominance, others for longevity or versatility across radically different machinery.

Verdict

If the question is about current form at the apex of single-seater racing, Max Verstappen is the clear pick. If the question is all-time and cross-disciplinary, there is no singular answer. For records and sustained F1 excellence, Hamilton and Schumacher lead the case; for peak F1 dominance in a shorter, riskier era, Fangio; for artistry and qualifying genius, Senna; for cross-series versatility, Andretti (and in modern times Larson); for rally and endurance, Loeb and Kristensen set the benchmarks. The “best” ultimately depends on which of these dimensions you value most.

Summary

No driver owns an uncontested claim to “best in the world.” Today, Verstappen is the sport’s pace-setter in F1; historically, Hamilton, Schumacher, Fangio, and Senna define different facets of greatness, while Loeb and Kristensen are unrivaled in rally and Le Mans. The answer rests on discipline, era, and the balance you strike between peak performance, longevity, and versatility.

Who’s the best F1 driver in the world right now?

Lewis Hamilton (UK): Currently the man to beat, 6 world championships under his belt, considered to be amongst (if not the) greatest of all time, known for his incredible consistency.

Who is the king of car racing?

Richard Petty
Richard Petty, known as “The King” of NASCAR, is a legendary figure in American motorsports with a record-setting career that includes 200 NASCAR Cup Series wins and seven championships.

Who is the best car driver in the world?

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher OMRI
Wins	91
Podiums	155
Career points	1566
Pole positions	68

Who is considered the best driver of all time?

Juan Manuel Fangio is found to be the greatest driver of all time. Team effects are shown to be more important than driver effects (and increasingly so over time), although their importance may be reduced in wet weather and on street tracks.