Formula One drivers from Italy

There have been 98 Formula One drivers from Italy including two World Drivers' Champions. Giuseppe "Nino" Farina won the first ever World Drivers' Championship and Alberto Ascari was the first double world champion. All three championships came in the early 1950s and very few Italian drivers have come close since Ascari's 1953 victory. Four of the most experienced Grand Prix drivers in history come from Italy. In 1989 and again for the following two years there were 13 drivers from Italy making it the most represented country ever in a season.

The drivers' title has been won three times for Italy by two drivers both in Italian cars. Giuseppe "Nino" Farina won the inaugural championship in 1950 and Alberto Ascari won back-to-back titles in 1952 and 1953.Mario Andretti won the 1978 title driving for the United States though he was born and raised in Italy.

A total of 15 different Italian drivers have won a race in Formula One, the most recent being Giancarlo Fisichella with Renault at the 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix. Only six drivers from Italy have won more than a single race, Ascari being the most successful with 13 victories.

Antonio Giovinazzi drove for Sauber at the 2017 Australian Grand Prix.

Antonio Giovinazzi
2017 season position: 16th

Giuseppe "Nino" Farina won the very first World Championship race and title in 1950 in an Alfa Romeo. He won half of the six races that year, more than he would win in the remainder of his career in Formula One. Team mate Juan Manuel Fangio took the title in 1951 with Farina only managing to finish fourth in the championship, but he came much closer with Ferrari the following year. However, he was again beaten by a team mate as Alberto Ascari took the 1952 title. His final race victory came in 1953 and he finished third in the title race but would later suffer a career-threatening crash. In 1954 Farina was driving in a sports car race alongside his F1 career. At the start of a race in Monza his car was engulfed in flames and he suffered serious burns that would mean he turned to amphetamines and morphine to cope with the pain. He returned to Formula One for four races in 1955 and, despite finishing on the podium at all three of the ones he started, he felt unable to continue.

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