The Most Famous
RACING DRIVERS from New Zealand
This page contains a list of the greatest New Zealander Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 888 Racing Drivers, 10 of which were born in New Zealand. This makes New Zealand the birth place of the 19th most number of Racing Drivers behind South Africa and Canada.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary New Zealander Racing Drivers of all time. This list of famous New Zealander 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 New Zealander Racing Drivers.
1. Bruce McLaren (1937 - 1970)
With an HPI of 65.34, Bruce McLaren is the most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor. His name lives on in the McLaren team, which he founded, and is the second most successful in Formula One championship history, winning a total of 8 World Constructors' Championships and 12 World Drivers' Championships. McLaren cars dominated CanAm sports car racing with 56 wins, a considerable number of them with him behind the wheel, between 1967 and 1972 (and five constructors' championships), and have won three Indianapolis 500 races, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring.
2. Denny Hulme (1936 - 1992)
With an HPI of 61.15, Denny Hulme is the 2nd most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.
Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992) was a New Zealand racing driver who won the 1967 Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his final race in the 1974 US Grand Prix, he started 112 Grands Prix, resulting in eight victories and 33 podium finishes. He also finished third in the overall standing in 1968 and 1972. Hulme showed versatility by dominating the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) for Group 7 sports cars. As a member of the McLaren team that won five straight titles between 1967 and 1971, he won the individual Drivers' Championship twice and was runner-up on four other occasions. Following his Formula One tenure with Brabham, Hulme raced for McLaren in multiple formats—Formula One, Can-Am, and at the Indianapolis 500. Hulme retired from Formula One at the end of the 1974 season but continued to race Australian Touring Cars. Hulme was nicknamed 'The Bear', because of his "gruff nature" and "rugged features"; however, he was also "sensitive (...) unable to express his feelings, except in a racing car". During the early part of his career, Hulme preferred to race bare foot as he believed that it gave him a better feel of the throttle. This changed in 1960 when he started competing in the more highly regulated European championships. During his career, Hulme drove the most powerful cars of his era. He raced in F1, F2, Indycars, saloon/touring cars, CanAm and endurance races, all during the same season. After retiring from F1, he even drove in truck races. Hulme's death by heart attack, while driving a BMW M3 during the Bathurst 1000 in Australia, made him the seventh former Formula One champion to die, and the first to die of natural causes (versus three racing incidents, two incidents on public roads and one incident involving aircraft).
3. Chris Amon (1943 - 2016)
With an HPI of 57.00, Chris Amon is the 3rd most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Christopher Arthur Amon (; 20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. He was active in Formula One racing in the 1960s and 1970s, and is widely regarded as one of the best F1 drivers never to win a championship Grand Prix. His reputation for bad luck was such that fellow driver Mario Andretti once joked that "if he became an undertaker, people would stop dying". Former Ferrari Technical Director Mauro Forghieri stated that Amon was "by far the best test driver I have ever worked with. He had all the qualities to be a World Champion but bad luck just wouldn't let him be". Apart from driving, Chris Amon also ran his own Formula One team for a short period in 1974. Away from Formula One, Amon had some success in sports car racing, teaming with co-driver Bruce McLaren to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1966.
4. Graham McRae (1940 - 2021)
With an HPI of 52.54, Graham McRae is the 4th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Graham Peter McRae (5 March 1940 – 4 August 2021) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He achieved considerable success in Formula 5000 racing, winning the Tasman Series each year from 1971 to 1973, and also at the 1972 L&M Continental 5000 Championship in the United States. McRae's single outing in the Formula One World Championship was at the 1973 British Grand Prix on 14 July 1973, where he retired in the first lap. McRae also competed in the 1973 Indianapolis 500, finishing in 16th position and earning Rookie of the Year.
5. Howden Ganley (1941 - )
With an HPI of 48.43, Howden Ganley is the 5th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of 10 championship points (only the top 6 places scored points). He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.
6. John Nicholson (1941 - 2017)
With an HPI of 45.62, John Nicholson is the 6th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
John Nicholson (6 October 1941 – 19 September 2017) was a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974. He scored no championship points. Nicholson was the 1973 and 1974 British Formula Atlantic champion, using a Lyncar chassis and in his 'day job' was an engine-builder for McLaren. Nicholson also worked for Cosworth, Lotus and Embassy Hill, and he prepared a Saab engine for use in a Reynard Formula Three car. Following his Formula Atlantic success, Nicholson commissioned Martin Slater of Lyncar to build him a Formula One car, despite, by this time, having established his own engine building business, which meant he was unable to commit to a full grand prix season. His race entries, therefore, were mainly in non-championship races. He entered the British Grand Prix in 1974 and 1975 and qualified for the latter race. He was classified 17th, five laps behind, despite crashing in the heavy storm towards the end of the race. Nicholson subsequently planned a further and stronger attempt at Formula One with a privateer McLaren M23 but the purchase of the chassis fell through. He did continue in both Formula Two and Formula 5000 in 1976 before racing in his native New Zealand in January 1977. After retiring from racing, Nicholson turned his sporting attention to powerboat racing as well as continuing with his business interests. He died in 2017 at the age of 75.
7. Brendon Hartley (1989 - )
With an HPI of 38.20, Brendon Hartley is the 7th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.
Brendon Morris Hartley (born 10 November 1989) is a New Zealand professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota Gazoo Racing. He won the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship, alongside his teammates Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard, and also went on to win the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship alongside Bernhard and Earl Bamber. He won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans with Bamber and Bernhard, the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, and the 2022 24 Hours of Le Mans with Buemi and Ryō Hirakawa. He formerly competed in Formula One for Scuderia Toro Rosso, making his debut at the 2017 United States Grand Prix.
8. Mike Thackwell (1961 - )
With an HPI of 37.73, Mike Thackwell is the 8th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Michael Christopher Thackwell (born 30 March 1961) is a former racing driver from New Zealand, who participated in a number of prominent racing categories, including Formula 1. The sixth youngest driver ever to qualify for a Grand Prix, he participated in five of them, making his first start on 28 September 1980 at the Canadian Grand Prix. He scored no championship points. He had previously attempted unsuccessfully to qualify for the Dutch Grand Prix which was held on 31 August 1980. Thackwell has been described as a "teenage sensation", a "maverick" and as "something of a cult hero". Outside Formula One, he competed successfully in Formula Three, Formula Two, Formula 3000 and sports cars, amongst other categories. In 1984, Thackwell won the European Formula Two Championship. He was runner up in that championship in 1983, and in its successor, the International Formula 3000 Championship, in 1985. In each case, he was driving a works Ralt. Also in 1986, he won the Pau Grand Prix, again in a works Ralt. Later in the year, he combined with Henri Pescarolo to win the 1000km Nürburgring sports car race, in a Sauber C8.
9. Tony Shelly (1937 - 1998)
With an HPI of 36.45, Tony Shelly is the 9th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Anthony Lionel Shelly (2 February 1937 – 4 October 1998) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He competed in Formula One in 1962, participating in 3 World Championship Grands Prix, and several non-Championship races. He scored no World Championship points. He also owned a BMW dealership called Shelly Motors in Honolulu. The business had previously belonged to Shelly's father and had been sold on his death. Shelly subsequently re-acquired the business and became an American citizen in 1975. He divided his time between a home in Honolulu and one in New Zealand, where he died.
10. Mitch Evans (1994 - )
With an HPI of 21.73, Mitch Evans is the 10th most famous New Zealander Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently (since 2016) drives for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Series for four years, achieving 14th place in 2013, fourth in 2014, fifth in 2015, and 12th in 2016. He previously won the 2010 and 2011 Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand and was runner up in the 2010 Australian Drivers' Championship despite missing three races. When he won the New Zealand Grand Prix in February 2011, it is believed he became the youngest driver to win an international Grand Prix at 16 years old.He won his first Formula E race in the 2019 Rome ePrix.
Pantheon has 10 people classified as racing drivers born between 1936 and 1994. Of these 10, 4 (40.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living racing drivers include Howden Ganley, Brendon Hartley, and Mike Thackwell. The most famous deceased racing drivers include Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, and Chris Amon.
Living Racing Drivers
Go to all Rankings
Howden Ganley
1941 - Present
HPI: 48.43
Brendon Hartley
1989 - Present
HPI: 38.20
Mike Thackwell
1961 - Present
HPI: 37.73
Mitch Evans
1994 - Present
HPI: 21.73
Deceased Racing Drivers
Go to all RankingsBruce McLaren
1937 - 1970
HPI: 65.34
Denny Hulme
1936 - 1992
HPI: 61.15
Chris Amon
1943 - 2016
HPI: 57.00
Graham McRae
1940 - 2021
HPI: 52.54
John Nicholson
1941 - 2017
HPI: 45.62
Tony Shelly
1937 - 1998
HPI: 36.45
Which Racing Drivers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Racing Drivers since 1700.
