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The Most Famous

RACING DRIVERS from Switzerland

This page contains a list of the greatest Swiss Racing Drivers. The pantheon dataset contains 888 Racing Drivers, 27 of which were born in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland the birth place of the 10th most number of Racing Drivers behind Japan and Argentina.

Top 10

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

1. Clay Regazzoni (1939 - 2006)

With an HPI of 65.24, Clay Regazzoni is the most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages on wikipedia.

Gianclaudio Giuseppe "Clay" Regazzoni (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaŋˈklaudjo dʒuˈzɛppe reɡatˈtsoːni]; 5 September 1939 – 15 December 2006) was a Swiss racing driver. He competed in Formula One races from 1970 to 1980, winning five Grands Prix. His first win was the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his debut season, driving for Ferrari. He remained with the Italian team until 1972. After a single season with BRM, Regazzoni returned to Ferrari for a further three years, 1974 to 1976. After finally leaving Ferrari at the end of 1976, Regazzoni joined the Ensign and Shadow teams, before moving to Williams in 1979, where he took the British team's first ever Grand Prix victory, the 1979 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. He was replaced by Carlos Reutemann at Williams for 1980 and moved back to Ensign. Following an accident at the 1980 United States Grand Prix West he was left paralyzed from the waist down, ending his career in Formula One. Regazzoni did not stop racing, however; he competed in the Paris-Dakar rally and Sebring 12 hours using a hand-controlled car during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1996, Regazzoni became a commentator for Italian TV. He was known as a hard-charging racer; Jody Scheckter stated that if "he'd been a cowboy he'd have been the one in the black hat." Regazzoni died in a car accident in Italy on 15 December 2006.

2. Jo Siffert (1936 - 1971)

With an HPI of 57.56, Jo Siffert is the 2nd most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Joseph Siffert (French: [ʒo sifɛʁ]; 7 July 1936 – 24 October 1971) was a Swiss racing driver. Affectionately known as "Seppi" to his family and friends, Siffert was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, the son of a dairy owner. He initially made his name in racing on two wheels, winning the Swiss 350 cc motorcycle championship in 1959, before switching to four wheels with a Formula Junior Stanguellini. Siffert graduated to Formula One as a privateer in 1962, with a four-cylinder Lotus-Climax. He later moved to Swiss team Scuderia Filipinetti, and in 1964 joined Rob Walker's private British Rob Walker Racing Team. Early successes included victories in the non-Championship 1964 and 1965 Mediterranean Grands Prix, both times beating Jim Clark by a very narrow margin. He won two races in Formula One for the Rob Walker Racing Team and BRM. He died at the 1971 World Championship Victory Race, having his car roll over after a crash caused by a mechanical failure and being caught under the burning vehicle. Siffert was married twice and to his second wife Simone during the height of his career in the late 1960s and at the time of his death. They had two children together, Véronique and Philippe.

3. Silvio Moser (1941 - 1974)

With an HPI of 51.55, Silvio Moser is the 3rd most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Silvio Moser (24 April 1941 – 26 May 1974) was a racing driver from Switzerland.

4. Luigi Taveri (1929 - 2018)

With an HPI of 50.96, Luigi Taveri is the 4th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Luigi Taveri (19 September 1929 – 1 March 2018) was a Swiss professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1954 to 1966. Taveri is notable for being a three-time 125cc road racing world champion. Although he specialised in the smaller engined machines, Taveri is the only competitor to have scored points in six Grand Prix classes: 50cc, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, 500cc and Sidecars. In 2016, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.

5. Romain Grosjean (1986 - )

With an HPI of 50.47, Romain Grosjean is the 5th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (French: [ʁɔmɛ̃ ɡʁoʒɑ̃]; born 17 April 1986) is a French and Swiss professional racing driver, competing under the French flag. He currently drives in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet for Juncos Hollinger Racing team. Grosjean previously spent nine full-time seasons in Formula One for a variety of teams, picking up 10 podiums, all with Lotus. He dominated the 2005 French Formula Renault championship at his first attempt and joined the Renault young driver programme. He was the 2007 Formula 3 Euro Series drivers' champion. In 2008, he became the inaugural GP2 Asia Series champion and came fourth in his first year in GP2. In 2009 he made his Formula One debut for Renault at the European Grand Prix and came fourth again in GP2 despite missing the final eight races. After being dropped by Renault, he returned to junior formulae, winning the 2010 Auto GP championship at the first attempt and winning the 2011 GP2 Asia Series and GP2 Series becoming the first – and as of 2021, only – two-time GP2 Asia champion and the only driver to hold both the GP2 Asia series and main GP2 series titles simultaneously. Due to the Asia and Main GP2 series being discontinued, this will likely remain true for the foreseeable future. In 2012, Grosjean returned to Formula One with the Lotus F1 Team, alongside Kimi Räikkönen. He took his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix and took his first fastest lap in the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. He became the first driver since 1994 to receive a race ban after causing a multi-car pile-up, at the 2012 Belgian Grand Prix. In 2013 he remained with Lotus, taking six podiums. He drove for Lotus again alongside Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado in the 2014 and 2015 seasons and achieved a podium finish at the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix before moving to Haas from 2016 to 2020. In what would be his final Formula One race, Grosjean survived a dramatic crash during the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix when his car separated in two and caught fire after penetrating a metal guardrail on the first lap. Grosjean sustained minor burns and credited the halo with saving his life. After the 2020 Formula One season, Grosjean moved to the IndyCar Series. He obtained his first pole position and podium in his third race, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.

6. Marc Surer (1951 - )

With an HPI of 50.46, Marc Surer is the 6th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Marc Surer (born 18 September 1951 in Arisdorf) is a former racing driver from Switzerland currently working as TV commentator and racing school instructor. He participated in 88 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 9 September 1979. He scored a total of 17 championship points.

7. Mick Schumacher (1999 - )

With an HPI of 45.44, Mick Schumacher is the 7th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Mick Schumacher (German pronunciation: [ˈmɪk ˈʃuːmaxɐ]; born 22 March 1999) is a Swiss-born German racing driver who is the reserve driver for the Mercedes AMG Formula One Team and McLaren, set to compete in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship with Alpine in the Hypercar category. Schumacher, raised in Gland, Switzerland, began his career in karting in 2008, progressing to the German ADAC Formula 4 by 2015. He initially used the pseudonym 'Mick Betsch' to avoid the spotlight due to the fame of his father, Michael Schumacher. After winning the 2018 FIA F3 European Championship, he progressed to Formula 2 in 2019, and won the 2020 Formula 2 Championship, with Prema Racing. His progression into Formula One saw him join the Ferrari Driver Academy in 2019, testing for Ferrari and Alfa Romeo before making his practice debut in the 2020 season. Schumacher competed in Formula One for Haas F1 Team in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. In 2023, he took on a new role as a reserve driver for both Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and McLaren F1 Team. Mick Schumacher joined Alpine's World Endurance Hypercar team for the 2024 season. He is the son of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, nephew of Ralf Schumacher and cousin of David Schumacher, all racing drivers.

8. Heinz Schiller (1930 - 2007)

With an HPI of 44.39, Heinz Schiller is the 8th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Heinz Schiller (Frauenfeld, Switzerland, January 25, 1930 – Montana, Switzerland, March 26, 2007), was a racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on August 5, 1962. He retired from the race, scoring no championship points. Schiller was a speedboat champion in his native Switzerland before turning to sports car racing, finding success during the mid-1950s. He then switched to single seater cars, starting in hillclimbing before moving up to circuit racing. He first appeared in Formula One at the beginning of 1962 with Ecurie Nationale Suisse, driving their three-year-old Porsche in the Brussels Grand Prix, where he finished 8th on aggregate after the three heats. He subsequently drove the same car at the 1962 Pau Grand Prix, coming home 9th. Under the Ecurie Filipinetti banner but still driving the same Porsche, Schiller failed to qualify at the Naples Grand Prix, largely because only 10 cars were permitted to take the start. He was entered by Ecurie Maarsbergen for the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix but was withdrawn, before finishing 7th in the Grosser Preis der Solitude for Ecurie Filipinetti. He then switched to a Lotus 24 for his single World Championship event, the 1962 German Grand Prix which ended with oil pressure problems, as did his attempt at the Mediterranean Grand Prix, now back in the Porsche. Schiller made one appearance in Formula One in 1963, finishing 3rd at Pau but five laps down, again in the old Porsche, before returning to sports cars. He finished 10th at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans with Gerhard Koch.

9. Jo Vonlanthen (1942 - )

With an HPI of 44.37, Jo Vonlanthen is the 9th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Joseph Vonlanthen (born 31 May 1942, in St. Ursen) is a former racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix, on 17 August 1975, driving a Williams. He retired with engine failure, scoring no championship points. Vonlanthen started in Formula Vee, before progressing to Formula Three, where he won the Swiss Formula 3 Championship. He found things a little tougher in Formula Two, but managed to secure a seat with Frank Williams for the non-championship Swiss Grand Prix in 1975, where he finished 14th. He also made a World Championship start in the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. Vonlanthen can be considered lucky to have started this race, as he was only allowed to start when Wilson Fittipaldi suffered an injury in practice which prevented him from taking his place on the grid. He subsequently returned to Formula 2 before disappearing from the sport's higher levels.

10. Loris Kessel (1950 - 2010)

With an HPI of 44.34, Loris Kessel is the 10th most famous Swiss Racing Driver. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Loris Kessel (1 April 1950 – 15 May 2010) was a racing driver from Switzerland.

People

Pantheon has 27 people classified as racing drivers born between 1908 and 1999. Of these 27, 15 (55.56%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living racing drivers include Romain Grosjean, Marc Surer, and Mick Schumacher. The most famous deceased racing drivers include Clay Regazzoni, Jo Siffert, and Silvio Moser. As of April 2022, 4 new racing drivers have been added to Pantheon including Alain Menu, Edoardo Mortara, and Dominique Aegerter.