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The Most Famous

RACING DRIVERS from Netherlands

This page contains a list of the greatest Dutch Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 888 Racing Drivers, 19 of which were born in Netherlands. This makes Netherlands the birth place of the 15th most number of Racing Drivers behind Belgium and Sweden.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Dutch Racing Drivers of all time. This list of famous Dutch 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 Dutch Racing Drivers.

1. Jos Verstappen (1972 - )

With an HPI of 57.44, Jos Verstappen is the most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (pronounced [ˈjɔs vɛrˈstɑpə(n)]; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch retired racing driver who competed in Formula One for Benetton, Simtek, Footwork Arrows, Tyrrell, Stewart, and Minardi. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993. In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different teams during eight seasons. From 1994 through 2003, he scored two podium finishes in his career, the first Dutch F1 racer to do so. Since leaving F1, Verstappen won races in A1 Grand Prix and Le Mans Series LMP2 races, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans' 2008 LMP2 class. Verstappen has coached his son Max from an early age in karting, through to Max's successes as an F1 driver becoming the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Formula One Drivers' Champion. Jos has also served as a manager for Max.

2. Carel Godin de Beaufort (1934 - 1964)

With an HPI of 51.77, Carel Godin de Beaufort is the 2nd most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Jonkheer Karel Pieter Antoni Jan Hubertus "Carel" Godin de Beaufort (10 April 1934 – 2 August 1964) was a Dutch nobleman and motorsport driver. He competed in Formula One between 1957 and 1964.

3. Gijs van Lennep (1942 - )

With an HPI of 50.85, Gijs van Lennep is the 3rd most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Jonkheer Gijsbert van Lennep (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣɛisbɛrt vɑn ˈlɛnɛp]; born 16 March 1942, in Aerdenhout, North Holland) is a Dutch racing driver who competed in eight Formula One races. However, his main achievements were in sports car racing. He is a member of the untitled Dutch nobility.

4. Jan Lammers (1956 - )

With an HPI of 46.38, Jan Lammers is the 4th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Johannes Antonius "Jan" Lammers (born 2 June 1956) is a Netherlands racecar driver, most notable for winning the 1988 24 Hours of Le Mans world endurance race, for Silk Cut Jaguar/TWR; after four seasons in Formula One racing, from 1979 through 1982, for the F1 teams of Shadow, ATS, Ensign and Theodore, respectively. After a world-record setting ten-year hiatus, Lammers made a brief Formula One comeback, for two races, with team March in 1992. Aside from racing in these two of the highest leagues of global auto-sports, Lammers has raced in an exceptionally wide number of racing series and competitions, domestic and abroad, over four decades. Later in life, Lammers became a team owner as well, first setting up his own Formula Opel Lotus team, Vitaal Racing, winning the EFDA Opel Lotus Euroseries with Peter Kox in 1989, then creating the Racing for Holland outfit that raced in sportscars class in 2001-2007. Between 2005 and 2009, he was the seatholder of the Dutch A1 Grand Prix team. During his Racing for Holland days, Lammers combined racing and management duties to win the 2002 and 2003 FIA Sportscar Championship. One of the most versatile drivers in modern motor racing history, Lammers started in touring cars, to become the youngest Dutch champion in history in 1973 while repeating the act in 1976. He also raced in the European Renault 5 Turbo Cup, taking the 1983 and 1984 European titles. As a single-seater driver, his steps towards Formula One include securing the title in the 1978 European Formula 3 Championship. He remains the only Dutch driver to have done so. At the zenith of his career in Group C sports-prototypes, Lammers lifted the crown in the 1992 Japanese Sportscar Championship. Lammers has further raced in Formula Ford, Formula 2, IndyCar racing, International F3000, Japanese F3000, the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), BPR Global GT, FIA GT, the European Le Mans Series, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, the American Le Mans Series, Grand-Am, and the Dakar Rally. Guest appearances include the Grand Prix Masters for retired F1 drivers, the BMW M1 Procar Series, the Dutch Supercar Challenge, the Dubai 24 Hours and Gulf 12 Hours endurance races, the VW Scirocco R-Cup and the Dutch domestic Tulpenrallye. In recent years, Lammers was an important figurehead / ambassador for reviving the Dutch Formula One GP on the coastal dunes situated Zandvoort circuit, achieved since 2021.

5. Ben Pon (1936 - 2019)

With an HPI of 46.06, Ben Pon is the 5th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Bernardus Marinus "Ben" Pon (9 December 1936 – 30 September 2019) was a Dutch vintner and Olympian and motor racing driver. He competed in one Formula One race, the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix, but had a far longer career in sports car racing, before turning his back on the track to concentrate on the wine trade. He also represented the Netherlands in clay pigeon shooting at the 1972 Summer Olympics, finishing 31st in the skeet event.

6. Jan Flinterman (1919 - 1992)

With an HPI of 45.32, Jan Flinterman is the 6th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Johannes Leonardus "Jan" Flinterman (2 October 1919 – 26 December 1992) was a Dutch Royal Air Force pilot during World War II and a racing driver. Together with Dries van der Lof, he was the first driver from the Netherlands to compete in Formula One. Flinterman participated in one World Championship Grand Prix, the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix on 17 August 1952. When he had to retire his Maserati with a failure of the rear axle, he was able to take over the similar car of his team mate, Chico Landi. Flinterman finished the race in ninth place, scoring no championship points. Flinterman died in Leiden in December 1992.

7. Huub Rothengatter (1954 - )

With an HPI of 44.66, Huub Rothengatter is the 7th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Hubertus (Huub) Rothengatter (born 8 October 1954) is a former racing driver from the Netherlands. He participated in 30 Formula One (F1) Grands Prix, debuting on 17 June 1984. He scored no championship points. He drove for Spirit, Osella and Zakspeed, and his drives all either started or became available midseason. He tried to get Dutch sponsors in various ways, such as by putting a one-page advertisement in De Telegraaf newspaper. Reputedly, when Niki Lauda was asked about him, he referred to him as "rattengott" – literally "God of the rats".Rothengatter, unlike many fringe drivers who waited for phone calls from F1 teams that never came, attracted personal sponsorship which allowed him to 'buy' his place in the low-budget teams, bringing in much needed money to them and allowing him to drive F1 when he otherwise would most likely have missed out.Rothengatter later entered into sports management, as a manager for Dutch F1 driver Jos Verstappen.He is co-founder of EVBox.

8. Eppie Wietzes (1938 - 2020)

With an HPI of 44.64, Eppie Wietzes is the 8th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Egbert "Eppie" Wietzes (28 May 1938 – 10 June 2020) was a racing driver from Canada.

9. Michael Bleekemolen (1949 - )

With an HPI of 44.59, Michael Bleekemolen is the 9th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Michael Bleekemolen (born 2 October 1949 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands) is a racing driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, driving for the family-owned Team Bleekemolen in the No. 72 Ford Mustang in the EuroNASCAR 2 class. He previously raced for the RAM and ATS teams in Formula One. He graduated from Formula Vee and tried his hand at Formula One in 1977, where he failed to qualify at his home Grand Prix. Nevertheless, he returned the following year with ATS for four races, but qualified only once, at Watkins Glen. After Formula One, he returned to Formula 3 for another three years, winning two rounds of the European Championship and finishing second in the series to Alain Prost. From there he moved to one-make Renault racing, where he remains to this day. His sons Jeroen and Sebastiaan are also racers.

10. Dries van der Lof (1919 - 1990)

With an HPI of 44.30, Dries van der Lof is the 10th most famous Dutch Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Andre "Dries" van der Lof (23 August 1919 in Emmen – 24 May 1990 in Enschede) was a racing driver from the Netherlands. Van der Lof was an industrialist whose factory manufactured electric cable, and competed as an amateur in motorsport events. He participated in one World Championship Grand Prix, the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix on 17 August 1952, where together with Jan Flinterman he was the first driver from the Netherlands to compete in a Formula One World Championship race. Entering an HWM 52, he retired from the race after 70 laps and scored no championship points. He later bought a Maserati 250F and competed in historic racing until the 1980s.

People

Pantheon has 19 people classified as racing drivers born between 1919 and 1995. Of these 19, 14 (73.68%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living racing drivers include Jos Verstappen, Gijs van Lennep, and Jan Lammers. The most famous deceased racing drivers include Carel Godin de Beaufort, Ben Pon, and Jan Flinterman.