The Most Famous
RACING DRIVERS from Canada
This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,080 Racing Drivers, 11 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 18th most number of Racing Drivers behind Austria, and South Africa.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Canadian Racing Drivers of all time. This list of famous Canadian Racing Drivers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Canadian Racing Drivers.
1. Gilles Villeneuve (1950 - 1982)
With an HPI of 65.72, Gilles Villeneuve is the most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (French pronunciation: [ʒil vil.nœv]; 18 January 1950 – 8 May 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1977 to 1982. Villeneuve was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1979 with Ferrari, and won six Grands Prix across six seasons. A racing enthusiast from an early age, Villeneuve started his career in snowmobile racing across his native province of Quebec. He soon progressed to open-wheel racing, winning the regional Formula Ford championship in 1973 before graduating to Formula Atlantic, where he won two Canadian Championships in 1976 and 1977, and the American Championship in 1976. Villeneuve made his Formula One debut with McLaren at the 1977 British Grand Prix, impressing Enzo Ferrari, who signed him with Ferrari for 1978. He made an early debut for the team at the Canadian Grand Prix after the departure of World Champion Niki Lauda, and was involved in a collision with Ronnie Peterson which killed two bystanders at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix. Despite struggles with Michelin's radial tyres the following year, Villeneuve took his maiden podium in Austria before winning his home Grand Prix in Canada. He won several races in 1979 despite poor reliability, ultimately finishing the championship as runner-up to teammate Jody Scheckter by four points. Villeneuve earned widespread acclaim for his performances, including his duel with René Arnoux at the French Grand Prix. After a winless season for Ferrari with the 312T5 in 1980, Villeneuve took back-to-back wins at the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix in 1981, earning further acclaim for his defensive tactics at the latter. During qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, Villeneuve died as the result of a collision with Jochen Mass. He achieved six wins, two pole positions, eight fastest laps and 13 podiums in Formula One. At the time of his death, Villeneuve was extremely popular with fans and has since become an iconic figure in the history of the sport. The Circuit Île Notre-Dame in Montreal was renamed the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve upon his death, home of the Canadian Grand Prix since his 1978 victory. His son, Jacques, won the World Drivers' Championship in 1997, becoming the first Canadian Formula One World Champion. Alongside Jacques, Villeneuve is an inductee of the Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame and Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
2. Jacques Villeneuve (b. 1971)
With an HPI of 57.26, Jacques Villeneuve is the 2nd most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages.
Jacques Villeneuve (French: [ʒɑk vilnœv]; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1996 to 2006. Villeneuve won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1997 with Williams, and won 11 Grands Prix across 11 seasons. In American open-wheel racing, Villeneuve won the Championship Auto Racing Teams title and the Indianapolis 500 in 1995 with Team Green. Born in Quebec and raised in Monaco, Villeneuve is the son of former Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve and the nephew of racing driver Jacques-Joseph. Aged 17, he began racing under an Andorran license in Italy, progressing to Italian Formula Three a year later. He then moved to the higher-tier Toyota Atlantic Championship, participating in one race during the 1992 season and finishing third overall in the 1993 championship. He began competing in Championship Auto Racing Teams with the Forsythe/Green Racing team in the 1994 season, finishing sixth in the Drivers' Championship with one victory and earning Rookie of the Year and Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honours. In the following year with the renamed Team Green, Villeneuve won four races (including the Indianapolis 500) and the Drivers' Championship. Villeneuve moved to Williams in Formula One for the 1996 season, claiming four Grand Prix victories, and becoming the first rookie runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship (WDC) after a season-long duel with teammate Damon Hill. His main title challenge for the following season came from Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, and Villeneuve beat the latter following a controversial collision at the season-ending European Grand Prix, becoming the first Canadian World Drivers' Champion, achieving seven Grand Prix victories. He finished fifth in the 1998 season achieving two podiums and helped Williams finish third in the World Constructors' Championship behind Ferrari and McLaren. After an unsuccessful 1999 with British American Racing (BAR), Villeneuve finished seventh in the WDC in both 2000 and 2001 with BAR, achieving two podiums in 2001, outscoring his teammates Ricardo Zonta and Olivier Panis. Villeneuve raced in Formula One from 2002 to 2006, driving for BAR, Renault, Sauber, and BMW Sauber, but he did not achieve any further success. Villeneuve left Formula One mid-way through the 2006 season and began competing in various forms of motor racing such as sports car racing, NASCAR, and touring car racing. Though not as successful in these forms of racing, he won the 2008 1000 km of Spa driving for Peugeot. Villeneuve was appointed Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1998. He was voted the winner of both the Lou Marsh Trophy and the Lionel Conacher Award in each of 1995 and 1997. Villeneuve is an inductee of the Canadian Motor Sports Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, and the FIA Hall of Fame.
3. Bill Brack (b. 1935)
With an HPI of 49.74, Bill Brack is the 3rd most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
William Brack (born 26 December 1935) is a Canadian former racing driver. Brack raced in Formula One and the Atlantic Championship. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Brack originally became involved in auto racing in the early 1960s, in the form of ice-racing Minis (using a company car) in Huntsville, Ontario. He went on to purchase Gordon Brown's own racing Mini (Gord Brown being another Mini racer as well as dealer of British cars at Glendale Suburban Motors in Brampton.) Brack subsequently became a Formula One driver who raced for the Lotus and BRM teams. After Formula One he was successful in Atlantic Championship in the mid-1970s, having won the Canadian Formula Atlantic Championships in three successive years (1973, 1974, 1975) before retiring from racing to open a Daimler Chrysler dealership (Downtown Chrysler) near the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. He is not related to the Swedish race car driver Kenny Bräck.
4. Jacques Villeneuve (b. 1953)
With an HPI of 48.41, Jacques Villeneuve is the 4th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Jacques-Joseph Villeneuve (born November 4, 1953) is a Canadian racing driver. He is the younger brother of the late Gilles Villeneuve, and uncle to Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One World Champion. He is sometimes called "Uncle Jacques" ("L'oncle Jacques" in French) to differentiate him from his nephew, and is also known by the nickname "Jacquo". Villeneuve had a varied motorsport career, taking in Formula Atlantic, CART, Can-Am, snowmobile racing and Formula One, and remains a revered figure in Canadian motorsport circles. Villeneuve was the first three-time winner of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby.
5. Lance Stroll (b. 1998)
With an HPI of 42.01, Lance Stroll is the 5th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.
Lance Strulovitch (born 29 October 1998), commonly known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Aston Martin. Born and raised in Montreal, Stroll is the son of billionaire businessman Lawrence Stroll, owner of the Aston Martin F1 Team. Stroll began competitive kart racing aged 10, winning several regional and national titles. A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2015, Stroll graduated to junior formulae in 2014, winning his first title at the Italian F4 Championship that year with Prema. He then won the Toyota Racing Series in 2015 with M2, and the FIA Formula 3 European Championship in 2016 with Prema. Following his record-breaking successes in Formula 3, Stroll signed for Williams in 2017 to partner Felipe Massa, making his Formula One debut at the Australian Grand Prix aged 18. He scored his maiden podium in Azerbaijan that year, becoming the second-youngest driver to score a podium finish and the youngest to do so during their rookie season. After two seasons at Williams, Stroll signed for Racing Point—having recently been acquired by his father—in 2019. Stroll achieved his maiden pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix, with podium finishes at the Italian and Sakhir Grands Prix that season. Stroll remained at the re-branded Aston Martin in 2021, partnering Sebastian Vettel for two seasons and Fernando Alonso since 2023. As of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, Stroll has achieved one pole position and three podiums in Formula One. Stroll is set to remain at Aston Martin until at least the end of the 2026 season. Outside of Formula One, Stroll competed in two editions of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2016 and 2018.
6. George Eaton (b. 1945)
With an HPI of 39.93, George Eaton is the 6th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
George Ross Eaton (born 12 November 1945) is a Canadian former racing driver who is a member of the prominent Eaton family.
7. Allen Berg (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 38.83, Allen Berg is the 7th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Allen Bernard Berg (born August 1, 1961) is a Canadian former racing driver who raced for the Osella team in Formula One.
8. Nicholas Latifi (b. 1995)
With an HPI of 38.56, Nicholas Latifi is the 8th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.
Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 2020 to 2022. Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Latifi is the son of Iranian-Canadian billionaire businessman Michael Latifi. Graduating from karting to junior formulae in 2012, Latifi made his racing debut in the Italian Formula 3 Championship. He achieved his highest Formula Three finish at the 2013 British Formula 3 Championship, finishing fifth with Carlin. Making his GP2 Series debut in 2014, Latifi achieved a full-time drive for DAMS in 2016. After four full seasons in GP2—now known as the FIA Formula 2 Championship—Latifi finished as runner-up to Nyck de Vries in 2019. Latifi served as a test driver for Renault from 2016 to 2017, and as a reserve driver for Force India—later known as Racing Point—in 2018. A member of the Williams Driver Academy in 2019, Latifi signed for Williams in 2020 to partner George Russell, making his Formula One debut at the Austrian Grand Prix where he finished 11th. After Williams failed to score points in 2020 with the FW43, Latifi scored his maiden points finish at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix, repeating this feat in Belgium. Retaining his seat for 2022, Latifi finished ninth at the Japanese Grand Prix. Latifi was replaced by Logan Sargeant at the conclusion of the season, marking the end of his Formula One career.
9. Alex Tagliani (b. 1973)
With an HPI of 37.51, Alex Tagliani is the 9th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Alexandre Tagliani (; born October 18, 1973), nicknamed "Tag", is a Canadian professional racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Canada Series, driving the No. 18 Chevrolet Camaro for 22 Racing. Tagliani has competed in a variety of disciplines including open-wheel, stock car, and sports car racing. He has raced in the Atlantic Championship, Champ Car, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Pinty's Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series.
10. Greg Moore (1975 - 1999)
With an HPI of 34.76, Greg Moore is the 10th most famous Canadian Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Gregory William Moore (April 22, 1975 – October 31, 1999) was a Canadian professional race car driver who competed in the Indy Lights and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series from 1993 to 1999. He began competitive karting at the age of ten and achieved early success, before progressing to open-wheel car racing in the Canadian Formula Ford Championship in 1991. Moore won the 1992 USAC FF2000 Western Division Championship and the 1995 Indy Lights Championship. He began competing in CART with Forsythe Racing in 1996, finishing ninth in the drivers' championship and was second to Alex Zanardi in the Rookie of the Year standings. The following year, Moore claimed the first two victories of his career to finish seventh in the points' standings. He improved on his performance to place fifth overall with a further two wins in 1998. In 1999, he took another win as his form lowered and fell to tenth. At the season-ending Marlboro 500 at California Speedway, Moore was killed in a violent airborne collision with a concrete barrier on the race's tenth lap. He was the second driver to be killed in CART competition in 1999 after Gonzalo Rodríguez three races earlier at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It was scheduled to be Moore's final race for Forsythe Racing before moving to Team Penske in 2000. Overall Moore competed in 72 CART races, winning five and achieving 17 podium finishes. He was a popular figure known as an oval track specialist. Moore's car number 99 was retired from the list of those available to drivers competing in CART and its support series as a mark of respect. Since his death, the Greg Moore Foundation was established in his honour to continue his legacy through charitable causes. Three establishments in British Columbia have been named after the driver. Moore was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.
People
Pantheon has 12 people classified as Canadian racing drivers born between 1935 and 1998. Of these 12, 10 (83.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Canadian racing drivers include Jacques Villeneuve, Bill Brack, and Jacques Villeneuve. The most famous deceased Canadian racing drivers include Gilles Villeneuve, and Greg Moore. As of April 2024, 1 new Canadian racing drivers have been added to Pantheon including Greg Moore.
Living Canadian Racing Drivers
Go to all Rankings
Jacques Villeneuve
1971 - Present
HPI: 57.26
Bill Brack
1935 - Present
HPI: 49.74
Jacques Villeneuve
1953 - Present
HPI: 48.41
Lance Stroll
1998 - Present
HPI: 42.01
George Eaton
1945 - Present
HPI: 39.93
Allen Berg
1961 - Present
HPI: 38.83
Nicholas Latifi
1995 - Present
HPI: 38.56
Alex Tagliani
1973 - Present
HPI: 37.51
Robert Wickens
1989 - Present
HPI: 23.81
James Hinchcliffe
1986 - Present
HPI: 22.26
