Every American Driver in Formula 1 History

Rusty Gorelick Published: Apr 04 2025 18:23

Until the documentary series 'Drive to Survive' arrived on screens, Formula 1 racing flew under the radar in the United States, but the sport had a surprisingly long history of Americans even before its popularity exploded stateside.

Here, we'll take you through the history of American drivers in Formula 1, from race winners in the 1950s to a Drivers' Champion to the present day.

Harry Schell

Starts: 56
Seasons: 11
Wins: 0

The earliest American Formula 1 driver to compete in races outside of the US, Harry Schell began his F1 career in 1950, the competition's inaugural season.

His first drive was in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, the second-ever F1 race in history. Driving the No. 8 car for Cooper, Schell finished 20th in that race with no time posted, finishing second-to-last among the drivers to finish the race.

Schell's best-ever finish in the Drivers' Standings was sixth place out of 21 drivers in 1958. He finished second in the Dutch Grand Prix that season, his best finish in an F1 race.

Masten Gregory

Starts: 38
Seasons: 8
Wins: 0

Masten Gregory, nicknamed "The Kansas City Flash," raced for seven teams over eight seasons in Formula 1 from 1957 to 1965.

Gregory didn't win any races in his career, but he secured a sixth-place finish in the 1957 season, finishing one spot ahead of compatriot Harry Schell.

Gregory finished on the podium with a third-place finish in the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix, one of three podium finishes in his F1 career.

Phil Hill

Starts: 47
Seasons: 8
Wins: 3

Phil Hill was the first American to win an F1 race outside of the Indianapolis 500, which was part of the F1 season in its early days but didn't see many of the sport's top drivers compete.

His 1960 Italian Grand Prix win was the first Grand Prix win by an American driver in 40 years.

Hill also became the first American to win a Drivers' Championship, but he did so in tragic fashion. In a title-clinching 1961 Italian GP win, his first-place teammate Wolfgang von Trips had a fatal crash, and Hill's win saw him take the season's championship.

The 1962 season was his final in F1, with his teammate's fatal accident helping Hill realize that he was no longer willing to risk his life on the track.

Dan Gurney

Starts: 86
Seasons: 12
Wins: 4

New York native Dan Gurney was another American who competed in F1 in the competition's first decade. His career began with the 1959 France Grand Prix, where he drove a Ferrari, qualified in 12th, and did not finish the race due to a radiator issue.

His F1 career got better after that, as he won four races, finished on the podium 19 times, and earned three pole positions.

Gurney's first win was in the same race he made his debut at, the French Grand Prix, just three years later and on a different track while driving a Porsche. He beat second-placed Tony Maggs by over a lap, and fellow American Richie Ginther also finished on the podium.

In the Drivers' Championship standings, Gurney finished fourth twice - in 1961 and 1965 - and he raced in F1 until 1970. The last of his wins was at the 1967 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, and he finished ahead of racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart.

Richie Ginther

Starts: 52
Seasons: 7
Wins: 1

Richie Ginther, born in Los Angeles, had his interest in racing sparked in part by Phil Hill, who was friends with Ginther's older brother. Ginther made his F1 debut with Ferrari at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix, but he had to wait five years for his first win.

After leaving Ferrari, Ginther joined Britain-based team BRM, where he stayed for three seasons before joining Honda.

Ginther qualified in third at the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, but the then-Honda driver was able to gain two positions in the race and bring home his first win, beating compatriot Dan Gurney by just 2.89 seconds.

The next season, Ginther was in a major incident at the Italian Grand Prix which led to a broken collarbone, and he only raced three more times in F1 after that.

Peter Revson

Starts: 30
Seasons: 5
Wins: 2

Peter Revson raced in five F1 seasons over 10 years, racing for BRM, Lotus, Tyrrell, McLaren and Shadow throughout his career. His best-ever finishes in the Drivers' Standings were both with McLaren, when he finished fifth in both 1972 and 1973.

The New York City native's first F1 win came nine years after his debut, at the 1973 British Grand Prix, and his last was five races later at the Canadian Grand Prix.

Revson raced against the likes of James Hunt, Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi throughout his career.

Mario Andretti

Starts: 128
Seasons: 14
Wins: 12

The second and most recent American winner of the Drivers' Championship, Mario Andretti is a true motorsport legend. The Italy-born, Pennsylvania-raised driver raced for Lotus, STP, Ferrari, Parnelli, Alfa Romeo and Williams in his 14 F1 seasons.

Andretti made his F1 debut at the age of 28, in the 1968 United States Grand Prix, which was his only F1 race of that season. The first time he competed in more than 10 races in an F1 season was in 1975, when he raced for Parnelli.

In 1978, Andretti raced for Lotus and won six of 16 races, which was good enough to beat legends of the sport including Lauda, Fittipaldi and Gilles Villeneuve to the championship.

After his Drivers' Championship-winning season, Andretti was never able to crack the top 10 in the F1 standings again in his career. A two-race run with Ferrari in 1982 was his last act in F1.

Bret Lunger

Starts: 34
Seasons: 4
Wins: 0

Bret Lunger, a Delaware native, raced four seasons in F1 for Hesketh, Surtees, March, McLaren and Ensign.

He did not win any races, and his final career F1 race entry was in the 1978 United States Grand Prix, where he finished 24th out of 27. His best result was a seventh-place finish at the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder - a race won by Mario Andretti - but Lunger made his way into the top 10 despite having the slowest qualifying time of drivers who entered the race.

Eddie Cheever

Starts: 132
Seasons: 11
Wins: 0

Phoenix, Arizona-born Eddie Cheever had a long F1 career after growing up in Rome.

He made his F1 debut at age 20 with Theodore and also raced in a Hesketh that season, but he spent most of the 1978 and '79 seasons in Formula 2.

Cheever's F1 career began in earnest in 1980, and he earned promotions from Osella to Tyrrell to Ligier in three consecutive seasons.

In 1983, he raced alongside Alain Prost for Renault, and Cheever had four podium finishes, but the fact the team couldn't win the Constructors' or Drivers' Championship meant both Cheever and Prost were replaced after that season.

That seventh-place finish was Cheever's highest ever in F1, but he still managed six more seasons at that level before calling it a career.

Scott Speed

Starts: 28
Seasons: 2
Wins: 0

Scott Speed, from Manteca, California, was the first American to race in F1's modern era. He raced two seasons with Toro Rosso, Red Bull's B-team.

Speed never earned a point in his Formula 1 career, and he finished 20th in both seasons in the competition. He was teammates with Vitantonio Liuzzi in both seasons, and he was replaced by future Drivers' Championship winner Sebastian Vettel after 10 races in 2007.

Logan Sargeant

Starts: 36
Seasons: 2
Wins: 0

The most recent competitor on this list, Logan Sargeant spent two seasons with Williams in 2023 and 2024. The Florida native finished second in the 2022 F2 standings, but he couldn't bring that success to the highest level.

Sargeant made his F1 debut in the first race of the 2023 season, Bahrain, and finished a promising 12th. But things took a downturn after that, as he finished 16th, didn't finish, and finished 16th again before a 20th-place finish at his home race, the Miami Grand Prix.

The lone American on the grid had four retirements that year, including two in a row in Japan and a blistering-hot Qatar. He bounced back right after the Qatar disappointment with the only points finish of his career, a 10th-place effort at the United States Grand Prix, getting help from grid penalties to drivers ahead of him.

In 2024, things didn't get much better, leading Williams to replace him after the 15th race of the season. His best finish in 2024 was 11th place at the British Grand Prix, but nine bottom-five finishes, one withdrawal, and two retirements were not enough to keep him in the seat long-term.