The Most Famous

RACING DRIVERS from Spain

This page contains a list of the greatest Spanish Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,080 Racing Drivers, 50 of which were born in Spain. This makes Spain the birth place of the 6th most number of Racing Drivers behind France, and Germany.

Top 10

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

1. Carlos Sainz (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 62.87, Carlos Sainz is the most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Carlos Sainz Cenamor (born 12 April 1962) is a Spanish rally driver. He won the World Rally Championship drivers' title with Toyota in 1990 and 1992, and finished runner-up four times. Constructors' world champions to have benefited from Sainz are Subaru (1995), Toyota (1999) and Citroën (2003, 2004 and 2005). In the 2018 season, he was one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total. He received the Princess of Asturias Sports Award in 2020. Sainz founded the Acciona | Sainz XE Team to join Extreme E and competed in the first two seasons alongside Laia Sanz. Nicknamed El Matador, Sainz previously held the WRC record for most career starts until Finnish co-driver Miikka Anttila broke the record. He was also the first non-Nordic driver to win the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland. He came close to repeating the feat at the Swedish Rally, finishing second four times and third twice. Alongside his WRC successes, he has won the Dakar Rally (2010, 2018, 2020, 2024), the Race of Champions (1997) and the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (1990). His co-drivers were Antonio Boto, Luis Moya, Marc Martí, and Lucas Cruz.

2. Fernando Alonso (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 62.51, Fernando Alonso is the 2nd most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 102 different languages.

Fernando Alonso Díaz (Spanish pronunciation: [feɾˈnando aˈlonso ˈði.aθ] ; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, and has won 32 Grands Prix across 21 seasons. In endurance racing, Alonso won the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship and is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota, and remains the only driver to have won both the World Drivers' Championship and the World Endurance/Sportscar Championship; he also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019 with WTR. Born in Oviedo, Asturias to a working-class family, Alonso began kart racing aged three and achieved success in local, national, and world championships. He progressed to junior formulae aged 17, winning the Euro Open by Nissan in 1999 and was fourth in the International Formula 3000 Championship of 2000. He debuted in Formula One with Minardi in 2001 before joining Renault as a test driver for 2002. Promoted to a race seat in 2003, Alonso won two drivers' championships in 2005 and 2006, becoming the youngest pole-sitter, youngest race winner, youngest world champion, and youngest two-time champion in the sport's history at the time. After finishing just one point behind eventual champion Kimi Räikkönen with McLaren in 2007, he returned to Renault for 2008 and 2009 and won two races in the former year for fifth overall. Alonso drove for Ferrari from 2010 to 2014, finishing runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in 2010, 2012, and 2013 with the title battles in 2010 and 2012 going down to the last race of the season. A second stint with McLaren (this time with Honda engines) from 2015 to 2018 resulted in no further success. Alonso retired from Formula One at the end of 2018, but would return to the sport in 2021 with the newly organized Alpine F1 Team. At the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, Alonso scored his first podium in seven years. At the 2022 Singapore Grand Prix, he broke the record for most starts in Formula One. Alonso moved to Aston Martin for the 2023 season, where he saw great success at the beginning of the season, with six podium finishes in the first eight races. At the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Alonso scored his 100th podium by finishing third, becoming one of six drivers in the series' history to achieve that feat. As of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, Alonso has achieved 32 race wins, 22 pole positions, 26 fastest laps and 106 podiums in Formula One. Alonso won the 2001 Race of Champions Nations Cup with the rally driver Jesús Puras and the motorcyclist Rubén Xaus for Team Spain and thrice entered the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, 2019 and 2020. He has been awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, the Premios Nacionales del Deporte Sportsman of the Year Award and the Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit and has twice been inducted into the FIA Hall of Fame. Alonso runs an esports and junior racing team and is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

3. Ángel Nieto (1947 - 2017)

With an HPI of 56.87, Ángel Nieto is the 3rd most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix victories in a racing career that spanned twenty-three years from 1964 to 1986, mainly engaged in 50cc, 80cc and 125cc respectively. His total of 90 Grand Prix victories ranks him third only to the 122 by Giacomo Agostini, and the 115 for Valentino Rossi. In 2011, Nieto was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

4. Pedro de la Rosa (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 52.05, Pedro de la Rosa is the 4th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo ðe la ˈrosa]; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former racing driver, motorsport executive and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between 1999 and 2012. In Japanese motorsport, de la Rosa won the Formula Nippon Championship and the All-Japan GT Championship, both in 1997. Born and raised in Barcelona, de la Rosa began his career in radio-controlled racing, winning several national and continental titles before moving into karting aged 17. He participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming one of 79 drivers to score a point in his first race. He has scored a total of 35 championship points, which includes a podium finish at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in Japan open-wheel racing history, won the Japanese Super Formula Championship (formerly Formula Nippon Championship) and the Super GT (formerly JGTC) in 1997. Upon retiring from motor racing, de la Rosa became a commentator and pundit for La Sexta, Telecinco, Movistar and DAZN. He founded Drivex in 2005, and served as technical and sporting director of Techeetah in Formula E during the 2018–19 season, winning the Formula E Teams' Championship. He has also been an ambassador for Aston Martin since 2022.

5. Emilio de Villota (b. 1946)

With an HPI of 51.45, Emilio de Villota is the 5th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Emilio de Villota Ruíz (born 26 July 1946) is a former racing driver from Spain, born in Madrid. He entered 15 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix between 1976 and 1982, qualifying twice. He entered most Spanish Grand Prix between 1976 and 1982 and became a major force in the short-lived Aurora AFX Formula One Championship for F1 cars, winning the title in 1980.

6. Marc Márquez (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 51.41, Marc Márquez is the 6th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo team . He previously raced for Honda's factory team from his MotoGP debut in 2013 until 2023. Born in Cervera, Catalonia, Spain, he is nicknamed the 'Ant of Cervera' worldwide (due to his height of 5' 7" (1.68m), and 'el tro de Cervera' in his hometown, meaning the 'Thunder of Cervera'. He is one of four riders to have won world championship titles in three different categories, after Mike Hailwood, Phil Read and Valentino Rossi, and is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with eight Grand Prix World Championships to his name, six of which are in the premier class. Márquez became the third Spaniard after Àlex Crivillé and Jorge Lorenzo to win the premier class title, and is the most successful Spanish rider in MotoGP to date with 62 wins, most recently the 2024 Australian Grand Prix. In 2013 he became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his first season, and the youngest to win the title overall, at 20 years and 266 days of age. Márquez is often considered one of the greatest innovators of modern MotoGP racing, due to his comparatively exaggerated cornering technique of leaning so far over the bike, that he seems to be "in constant danger of sliding out". He is the older brother of 2014 Moto3 world champion and 2019 Moto2 world champion Álex Márquez. Márquez won the 2010 125cc World Championship, the 2012 Moto2 World Championship, and the 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 MotoGP World Championships. He became the first rider since Kenny Roberts in 1978 to win the premier class title in his rookie season, and the youngest to secure the title overall. In 2014 he defended his title, winning the championship with three rounds to spare, during which he won ten consecutive races. Márquez equalled the all-time Grand Prix record for pole positions at the age of 23 in 2016. Márquez secured the 2016 title with three rounds to spare at Motegi and sealed the title at Valencia in the final round of 2017. He then went on to win the 2018 title with three races to spare and became the third highest all time Grand Prix winner. He secured the 2019 title with four races to spare at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, marking his 8th World Championship and 6th in the Premier Class. Márquez missed almost all of the compressed and delayed 2020 season (he completed 26 laps of the first race, before falling) as well as the start of the 2021 season because of a broken right arm sustained in the 2020 season opener. After returning in the 2021 season, he won three races in Germany, Austin, Misano, and had a further 2nd place in Aragon, but due to him missing the opening two, and the last two races of the season, only finished 7th overall.

7. Alex Soler-Roig (b. 1931)

With an HPI of 51.31, Alex Soler-Roig is the 7th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Àlex Soler-Roig i Janer (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈaləks suˈle ˈrɔtʃ]; born 29 October 1932) is a former racing driver from Barcelona, Spain. He participated in 10 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 April 1970, and scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

8. Dani Pedrosa (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 49.34, Dani Pedrosa is the 8th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Daniel Pedrosa Ramal (born 29 September 1985) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2018 season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a three-time World Champion being the 125cc world champion in 2003, 250cc world champion in 2004, the youngest ever to win it and repeated it in 2005. Pedrosa is a test and development rider for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. In 2021, he returned to race for KTM as a wildcard rider in Austria at the Styrian Grand Prix, followed by two outings in 2023, resulting in placing 6th and 7th at Jerez and two 4th places at Misano. Pedrosa is best known for his time with the Repsol Honda Team in the MotoGP class finishing championship runner-up in 2007, 2010 and 2012 and is one of the most successful modern MotoGP riders with 31 MotoGP victories and 112 podiums. In 2019, the former Curva Dry Sac, a corner at the Spanish Circuito de Jerez, was renamed Curva Dani Pedrosa (English: Dani Pedrosa Corner) in his honour. He has been described as the best MotoGP rider to have never won a MotoGP World Championship. Pedrosa also competed in Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe in 2022, driving for FFF Racing Team.

9. Paco Godia (1921 - 1990)

With an HPI of 49.23, Paco Godia is the 9th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Francisco Godia Sales (21 March 1921 – 28 November 1990), better known as Paco Godia, was a Spanish racing driver. He drove intermittently in Formula One between 1951 and 1958, participating in 14 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races. He was the first Spaniard ever to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix.

10. Jorge Lorenzo (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 48.30, Jorge Lorenzo is the 10th most famous Spanish Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxoɾxe loˈɾenθo ɣeˈreɾo]; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (2010, 2012 and 2015) and two 250cc World Championships (2006 and 2007). After winning the 2006 and 2007 250 cc World Championships, Lorenzo moved to MotoGP in 2008 with the factory Yamaha team. In his first season, he won rookie of the year honours after finishing 4th place in the championship, including a win at Portugal. The nine seasons he spent with Yamaha from 2008 to 2016 proved to be very successful, as he won the championship on three occasions in 2010, 2012 and 2015, finishing as championship runner-up in 2009, 2011 and 2013. His win tally of eight in the 2013 MotoGP season remains the most by any rider in the premier class in a single season not to win the title, as he finished just four points behind Marc Marquez in the final standings. Lorenzo moved to the Ducati factory team in 2017. He struggled at Ducati in his first season, getting only three podiums, and finished 7th in the championship in 2017, while his teammate and former 250cc rival Andrea Dovizioso fought for the championship until the final round in Valencia. In the subsequent season in 2018, Lorenzo regained form with three victories in Mugello, Catalunya and Austria and a further 2nd place in Brno. A move to Repsol Honda in 2019 proved to be ill-fated, and Lorenzo retired at the end of the season. With 47 premier class wins, Lorenzo is 5th in the all-time list of premier class race winners. In 2022, Lorenzo was inducted into the MotoGP Hall of Fame as an official Legend by the FIM. Despite his retirement from riding, Lorenzo remains active in motorsports, competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Italia in 2022 and 2023 with Team Q8 Hi Perform, the Porsche Supercup and the Italian GT Championship with Lazarus Corse, in addition to performing color commentary at select MotoGP races.

People

Pantheon has 51 people classified as Spanish racing drivers born between 1903 and 1998. Of these 51, 42 (82.35%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Spanish racing drivers include Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, and Pedro de la Rosa. The most famous deceased Spanish racing drivers include Ángel Nieto, Paco Godia, and Antonio Creus. As of April 2024, 1 new Spanish racing drivers have been added to Pantheon including Jorge Martín.