These Are The Most Handsome Formula 1 Drivers Of The Past, Ranked

I like Jo Bonnier largely because he looks like a time traveler from 1992 who decided he belonged in the motorsport scene of the 1960s but wanted to keep his beard. Bonnier’s family is so wealthy that they have their own Wikipedia page, but rather than go on to utilize his ability to speak six languages to further the Bonnier publishing business, he decided to use it to race instead — his first vehicle of choice being a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Bonnier raced in F1 between 1956 and 1971, scoring just one win. He also tried his hand at Le Mans 13 times and failed to finish 12 of them — but when he did finish, it was in second place overall alongside Graham Hill in a Ferrari 330P. Bonnier was killed during the 1974 running of the race.

Keke Rosberg is one of those drivers who is conditionally handsome, and that condition is that he sports a mustache. In this scenario, he’s quite the fine-looking fella.

Roberg competed in F1 between 1978 and 1986, taking five wins and one World Drivers’ Championship, which came in 1982. More modern motorsport fans are probably more familiar with his son Nico, who retired after matching his dad’s WDC record.

Jim Clark’s appeal comes from the fact that this shy sheep farmer always seemed a bit awkward around his fellow racers, something that makes him as endearing as he is tragic. The two-time World Drivers’ Champion and 1965 Indy 500 winner was a versatile legend behind the wheel, and his career promised to be a long one filled with success in multiple motorsport disciplines. Sadly, he was killed in a Formula 2 crash at Hockenheim when he was just 32 years old.

I have many mixed feelings about Ayrton Senna. I know he’s a “legend” and an “icon” of the sport, but I also tend to find myself fundamentally disagreeing with the three-time Champion’s approach to racing. I’m not particularly sure how anyone can actually, truly believe that they’re endowed with a God-given right to succeed in their chosen discipline, but I do admittedly agree that he had talent. Talent, and a nice face — a great combination.

Despite the fact that Peter Revson was born to one of the founders of the Revlon cosmetics company, the American racer became something of a black sheep in his family when he decided to pursue motorsport after sampling a smattering of classes at Columbia University, Cornell University, and the University of Hawaii. Revson had about $12,000 — or $100,000 today, adjusted for inflation — when he decided to pursue his Formula 1 dream by moving to the United Kingdom.

Revson took two wins in a career that started in 1964, fell apart, and then ran again from 1971 to his death in 1974. He was killed during a test session before the 1974 South African Grand Prix. Interestingly, Revson was replaced by racer Tom Pryce, who would be killed at the very same Grand Prix three years later.

Is Dan Gurney the most conventional choice for a list of handsome drivers? Perhaps not. However, I have to admit that there’s something particularly appealing about a hot rodder who decided to try his hand at some of the most elite forms of motorsport in the world.

Gurney only won four F1 races, but that doesn’t tell the whole story, which includes a long period where Gurney opted to develop his own American F1 team rather than race for someone else. He is also one of the few drivers to win a race in a car he designed for a team he ran.

Didier Pironi was part of the tragic Ferrari lineup in 1982. He took three whole race wins during his F1 career, but the baby-faced driver is perhaps best known for his rivalry with teammate Gilles Villeneuve (which was covered beautifully in a Sky Sports documentary earlier this year). Pironi’s softer features don’t seem to be those of a villain, but in the Villeneuve v. Pironi battle, that’s what he became: The man who broke team orders to take victory at San Marino, so enraging Villeneuve that the French-Canadian racer drove himself to death in qualifying for the following race.

The end to Pironi’s story was just as tragic. After suffering an F1 career-ending crash, he turned to powerboat racing, a sport in which he was killed in 1987.

I try not to give the British credit for anything, but Peter Collins may have been one of the finest-looking racing exports from the United Kingdom. After being expelled from school, the conventionally handsome Collins took up work in his father’s garage before he started dabbling in motorsport.

Collins was one of the early F1 competitors, racing between 1952 and 1958. He was, unfortunately, one of the many Ferrari drivers who was killed during that era; his death during the 1958 German Grand Prix almost perfectly echoed that of Luigi Musso, who was killed at the French Grand Prix earlier that year.

Ah, Eugenio Castellotti. This handsome Italian driver was reputedly a hit with the ladies, and he became engaged to ballerina and actress Delia Scala in 1957 — which was Castellotti’s third year of Formula 1 competition. While he never won a race, Castellotti was largely considered the second coming of Alberto Ascari, so hopes for him were high.

Sadly, Castellotti was killed during a private Ferrari test session in 1957.

Masten Gregory, also known as the “Kansas City Flash,” stole my heart because he, too, cannot race without a thick pair of glasses helping him see. Gregory maintained his youthful looks despite racing in one of the most dangerous eras in motorsport history, and he funded his career with money from his family’s insurance company empire. He never won a Formula 1 race in his 46 starts, but he was able to find a massively successful career in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall once, and twice in class.

I like Jacky Ickx for a lot of reasons. He’s one of the most successful racers of all time, with six wins at Le Mans under his belt, even if he scored a mere eight wins in F1. He also kind of seemed like an asshole, which is something I admire deeply, especially now that he has an Instagram page where he’s turned out to be one of the greatest grandpa figures motorsport could have ever asked for.

If you know anything about me as a person, you know this was inevitable. My fascination with the horribly handsome François Cevert was one of the primary reasons I’m even writing about race cars today. Was I mystified by his beautiful blue eyes and swath of curly 1970s hair? Absolutely. Did I become enthralled in the ins and outs of F1 history as a result? Yes indeed.

Cevert won a single race in his brief F1 career, the 1971 United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. He was killed at the same event just two years later, spurring his Tyrrell teammate Jackie Stewart to retire from the dangerous sport.