Who is the best driver of all time?

The honest answer: there isn’t a single, universally accepted “best driver of all time.” In Formula 1, the most accomplished by career records is Lewis Hamilton, while debates often include Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Ayrton Senna, and—on recent form—Max Verstappen. Across other disciplines, Sébastien Loeb (WRC), A.J. Foyt or Scott Dixon (IndyCar), Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR), and Tom Kristensen (endurance) anchor their fields. The choice depends on what you value: peak dominance, longevity, adaptability, or cross-discipline versatility.

How to define “best”: the criteria that actually matter

Before naming names, it’s crucial to define what “best” means in motorsport, because different eras and disciplines reward different strengths. These are the common yardsticks experts use.

• Championships and wins: Total titles, race wins, and podiums within a major series.
• Peak dominance: Season-over-season metrics such as win rate, streaks, pole positions, and points share in a single year.
• Era strength and depth: The quality of competition and technological/regulatory complexity of the period.
• Adaptability: Performance across regulation changes, different teams, and varied conditions (street, road, oval; wet, dry).
• Longevity and consistency: Sustaining elite performance across many seasons.
• Versatility: Success across multiple top categories (e.g., F1, IndyCar, WRC, endurance, NASCAR).
• Sportsmanship and impact: Cultural influence, technical feedback, leadership, and legacy.

Every candidate shines on some of these measures and trails on others; that’s why reasonable people disagree—and why context is everything.

Formula 1: the central cast of the debate

F1 is often the default frame for this question. Here are the leading candidates and the cases most often made for them.

• Lewis Hamilton — Holds the all-time F1 records for race wins and pole positions and is tied for the most world titles (seven). He won in multiple regulatory eras (refueling, hybrid V6s, ground-effect return), against different teammates, and for different team peaks, with sustained wheel-to-wheel excellence and consistency. His career longevity has few precedents.
• Michael Schumacher — Seven world championships, including five straight with Ferrari (2000–2004). He helped rebuild a team into a dynasty, set the template for total professionalism, and held most major records for years. Peak ruthlessness and relentless speed defined his era.
• Juan Manuel Fangio — Five titles in the 1950s with four different teams and the highest career win percentage among champions (nearly half his starts). His Nürburgring 1957 comeback remains a benchmark for racecraft and race management under brutal conditions.
• Ayrton Senna — The sport’s defining qualifying phenom and a wet-weather master. Three titles, legendary duels with Alain Prost, and a cultural impact that extends far beyond statistics. Revered for feel, commitment, and a fearless edge.
• Max Verstappen — The modern reference for peak single-season dominance: records for most wins in a season and the longest winning streak (2023). Exceptional tire and pace management within the current era’s strategic complexity; his career sample is still building, but his peak is already historic.
• Alain Prost — Four titles and a master of racecraft, strategy, and points optimization. Less flamboyant than Senna, but his methodical approach delivered elite consistency against stacked grids.
• Jim Clark — Two titles in a short career, with a towering win rate for his era and cross-disciplinary success, including victory at the 1965 Indy 500. Considered a natural talent of rare purity.
• Niki Lauda — Three titles, remarkable technical feedback, and a legendary comeback from a near-fatal 1976 crash. He shaped teams as much as he won for them.

If you prize career breadth and records, Hamilton is the modern benchmark; if you prize peak rate and adaptability to primitive machinery, Fangio tops the list; for era-dominating campaigns and team transformation, Schumacher is unrivaled; for artistry and aura, Senna; for unprecedented peak seasons, Verstappen. The “best” depends on which attributes you elevate.

Beyond F1: best by discipline

World Rally Championship (WRC)

Rallying tests car control, pace notes, and adaptability to constantly changing surfaces and conditions—skills distinct from circuit racing.

• Sébastien Loeb — Nine consecutive WRC titles and a record haul of rally wins. His ability to dominate on tarmac, gravel, and snow across evolving technical eras sets the standard.
• Sébastien Ogier — Eight titles and wins with multiple teams, underscoring adaptability. His part-time campaigns have still yielded victories against full-time rivals.
• Colin McRae — Not the most decorated, but emblematic of rally’s daring and charisma; an influence far beyond his statistics.

On résumé and breadth of dominance, Loeb is widely considered the greatest rally driver of all time; Ogier is the most credible challenger on titles and versatility.

IndyCar and American open-wheel

Open-wheel racing in North America blends road, street, and oval skill sets and values sustained excellence across formats and traffic-heavy racing.

• A.J. Foyt — A pillar of American racing: multiple national championships, four Indianapolis 500 wins, and success across disciplines.
• Scott Dixon — Seven IndyCar titles across two decades, with elite consistency and fuel/tire management in the modern era’s parity-heavy fields.
• Mario Andretti — The sport’s most versatile icon: F1 world champion, Indy 500 winner, Daytona 500 winner, and a serial victor in open-wheel and sports cars.
• Rick Mears — Four-time Indy 500 winner and an oval maestro with surgical precision.

Historically, many default to Foyt; on modern metrics and longevity against deep fields, Dixon has an equally strong claim. For sheer versatility across codes, Andretti stands apart.

NASCAR (Cup Series)

Stock-car greatness balances titles, week-to-week consistency across track types, and mastering traffic and restarts.

• Richard Petty — Seven Cup titles and 200 race wins, the bedrock of NASCAR’s statistical mountain.
• Dale Earnhardt — Seven titles, an intimidator’s racecraft, and relentless superspeedway prowess.
• Jimmie Johnson — Seven titles in the modern playoff era, including an unmatched five straight (2006–2010), across a period of high parity.

Petty and Earnhardt are foundational, but many modern analysts consider Johnson the most complete across contemporary formats and competition depth.

Endurance and sports cars

Endurance rewards strategic intelligence, pace consistency, and mechanical sympathy over sprints of 6, 12, and 24 hours.

• Tom Kristensen — The “Mr. Le Mans” of endurance racing, with a record nine Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
• Jacky Ickx — Six Le Mans wins and a renaissance man of sports cars and single-seaters.
• Fernando Alonso — Two Le Mans wins and multiple World Endurance titles in addition to his F1 success, showcasing elite adaptability.

On Le Mans and WEC legacy, Kristensen is the clear reference; Ickx set the earlier template for cross-category excellence.

If you want one name, here’s the fairest way to choose

Because disciplines and eras differ so sharply, the most credible single-name answer depends on your frame. For an F1-centric view emphasizing career accomplishment across multiple eras, Lewis Hamilton is the best-supported pick; for peak dominance adjusted for era difficulty and machinery variance, Juan Manuel Fangio has the strongest claim; for single-season supremacy in the modern age, Max Verstappen is already on a historic tier. If your lens is “greatest across multiple top codes,” Mario Andretti’s versatility is unmatched; by category, Sébastien Loeb (WRC), Scott Dixon or A.J. Foyt (IndyCar), Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR), and Tom Kristensen (endurance) are the accepted standards.

Notes on data and comparability

Any all-time list is only as good as its context. Here are the caveats analysts keep in mind.

• Record context: Many records reflect era differences in calendar length, reliability, and team dominance.
• Sample size: Some legends (Clark, Senna) had careers truncated, skewing totals but not peak indicators.
• Parity and regulations: Spec changes, tire wars, budget caps, and hybrid eras alter competitive baselines.
• Data status: Achievements and records referenced are current through late 2024; ongoing seasons can shift counts but rarely the historical pecking order.

These factors don’t settle arguments, but they help ensure we compare like with like, or at least know when we aren’t.

Summary

There is no single, uncontested “best driver of all time.” In F1, Hamilton is the most accomplished, Schumacher the era-transformer, Fangio the peak-rate outlier, Senna the icon, and Verstappen the modern peak. Across motorsport, Loeb (rally), Dixon or Foyt (IndyCar), Johnson (NASCAR), and Kristensen (endurance) are discipline-defining. Your answer should reflect what you value most: sustained records, peak brilliance, or cross-discipline mastery.

Who is the best driver of all time golf player?

Of course, Rory McIlroy already deserves strong consideration for that title, as well. He’s arguably been the best driver of the ball in the world for nearly 20 years in a row. If his career ended today, he’d go down as the best driver of the golf ball in the modern era and perhaps the best driver of all time.

Who is the greatest racing driver in history?

Perhaps the best there has ever been, Ayrton Senna is a giant of motor racing, which is why he’s our best for both the 80’s and 90’s. The brilliant Brazilian was crowned Formula One King on 3 occasions, 1988, 1990 and 1991. Racking up 41 race wins and 65 pole positions in the process.

Who is driver number 1?

Max Verstappen has used number 1 since 2022, following his titles in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.

What is the greatest driver ever made?

The Doc’s top-5 drivers of all time

1. TaylorMade M2.
2. Titleist 907D2.
3. Ping G410.
4. Nike Vapor Fly. We don’t think any of us fully appreciated Nike golf clubs until it was too late.
5. Callaway Big Bertha Titanium 454. The original Big Bertha was the first titanium headed golf club – and it took the world by storm!