There have been 25 Formula One drivers from Belgium, of whom Jacky Ickx and Thierry Boutsen were the most successful ones as the only Belgians to win races.[1][2] The most recent Belgian driver is Stoffel Vandoorne, who raced for McLaren in 2017 and 2018.[a]
 | |
| Drivers | 25 |
|---|---|
| Grands Prix | 433 |
| Entries | 558 |
| Starts | 476 |
| Best season finish | 2nd (1969, 1970) |
| Wins | 11 |
| Podiums | 45 |
| Pole positions | 14 |
| Fastest laps | 16 |
| Points | 387 |
| First entry | 1950 British Grand Prix |
| First win | 1968 French Grand Prix |
| Latest win | 1990 Hungarian Grand Prix |
| Latest entry | 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
| 2024 drivers | None |
| 2025 drivers | None |
Former drivers
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2019) |
In the early years of Formula One, Belgium was well represented with a highlight in 1953 when there were no less than seven Belgian drivers taking part in the championship.[2]
The first victory for a Belgian only occurred in 1968 when Jacky Ickx won the French Grand Prix.[3] Ickx went on to win eight races in total, reaching the podium 25 times and becoming the runner-up in both the 1969 and 1970 seasons.[4]
The only other driver to win a Grand Prix was Thierry Boutsen, who won three races during his two-year stint with Williams-Renault in 1989–1990 and managed to reach the podium 15 times.[3][5]
Besides Ickx and Boutsen, the only other Belgian drivers to reach the podium are Olivier Gendebien (who scored two podium finishes), Lucien Bianchi, Paul Frère and Willy Mairesse who each finished on the podium once.[6]
Bertrand Gachot, who was born in Luxembourg as the son of French-German parents carried a French passport but raced under a Belgian FIA Super Licence until 1991, from the 1992 Formula One season he changed to a French licence.[7]
Stoffel Vandoorne was the most recent Belgian driver to compete in Formula One, competing in 3 seasons between 2016 and 2018. While he did not have any podiums or wins, he still had an impressive 41 race starts and 26 overall points.[8]
Charles de Tornaco is the only Belgian driver to be killed during an official event, following a crash during the practice session for the 1953 Modena Grand Prix.[9]
All-time table
edit
| Driver | Active years | Championships | Wins | Podiums | Pole positions | Career points | Fastest laps | Entries | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacky Ickx | 1966–1979 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 13 | 181 | 14 | 122 | 116 |
| Thierry Boutsen | 1983–1993 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 132 | 1 | 164 | 163 |
| Olivier Gendebien | 1955–1956, 1958–1961 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 15 | 14 |
| Paul Frère | 1952–1956 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| Willy Mairesse | 1960–1963, 1965 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 12 |
| Lucien Bianchi | 1959–1963, 1965, 1968 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 19 | 17 |
| Stoffel Vandoorne | 2016–2018 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 42 | 41 |
| Bertrand Gachot [b] | 1989–1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 41 | 15 |
| André Pilette | 1951, 1953–1954, 1956, 1961, 1963–1964 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 9 |
| Eric van de Poele | 1991–1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 5 |
| Johnny Claes | 1950–1953, 1955 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 23 |
| Jérôme d'Ambrosio | 2011–2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 20 |
| Patrick Nève | 1976–1978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 10 |
| Jacques Swaters | 1951, 1953–1954 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 |
| Charles de Tornaco | 1952–1953 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Teddy Pilette | 1974, 1977 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Philippe Adams | 1994 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Georges Berger | 1953–1954 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Roger Laurent | 1952 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Arthur Legat | 1952–1953 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bernard de Dryver | 1977–1978 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| André Milhoux | 1956 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Christian Goethals | 1958 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Charles Van Acker | 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alain de Changy | 1959 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Source:[1] | |||||||||
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Lando Norris, Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen all have Belgian nationality, and are competing in 2023, but race under other nationalities - British, Canadian and Dutch respectively - as all three drivers hold dual nationality.
- ^ Competed under French racing license in 1992 and 1994–1995.[7] As this article is about Formula One drivers competing under a Belgian licence his stats from 1992 and 1994–1995 are not included in this article but are instead detailed in Formula One drivers from France.
References
edit- ^ a b "Belgium – Drivers". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b "Grands Prix started". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Belgium – Wins". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Jacky ICKX". StatsF1.com (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Thierry BOUTSEN". StatsF1.com (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Belgium – Podiums". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ a b Φωτσεινός, 'Αγγελος. "Bertrand Gachot: His imprisonment, the reason behind a famous debut". f1retro.gr. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Stoffel VANDOORNE • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ "1953 Non-World Championship Formula One Races". www.silhouet.com. Retrieved 13 November 2024.