Here Are The Most Successful F1 Drivers With 'Car' In Their Names

On Saturday, history was made when Carlos Sainz, Jr. became just the second Spanish driver to win and take pole position at a Formula 1 grand prix. But, did you know that he was also just the sixth driver with "car" in his name to claim the front spot on the grid?

After I gave up trying to remember the five other drivers to share this honor, I went through the list of all 771 drivers to have started an F1 race and found out that there are 31 current and former racers with "car" in their name.

And that list of 31 drivers includes some pretty big names. Remember Carrol Shelby? He entered three F1 grands prix. And then there's Carl Scarborough, who has the honor of being the only F1 driver with "car" in his name, twice.

But there are some drivers called Car who have risen above the rest and even managed to score an F1 point, or two. So, let's take a moment to celebrate the 16 points-scoring F1 drivers with "car" in their name.

Between 1956 and 1961, Giorgio Scarlatti raced for teams including Maserati and Cooper. The Italian driver claimed just one point through their career after a fifth place finish at the 1957 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Race Starts: 12

Points Scored: 1

Argentine driver Oscar Alfredo Gálvez (left) entered just one F1 race for the Maserati team in the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix. He finished fifth, which at the time earned him just two world championship points.

Race Starts: 1

Points Scored: 2

Piercarlo Ghinzani made his F1 debut at the 1981 Belgian Grand Prix for the Osella Squadra Corse team and finished in 13th place. He continued to drive for the team until the end of the decade and, after leaving the sport, set up a junior racing outfit called Team Ghinzani.

Race Starts: 74

Points Scored: 2

Brazilian racing driver Ricardo Zonta got his F1 start in 1999 as part of the BAR team. He scored his first championship point the following year with a sixth-place finish in the 2000 Australian Grand Prix.

Race Starts: 36

Points Scored: 3

While Max Verstappen might be the first Dutch F1 world champion, Carel Godin de Beaufort was the first racing driver from the Netherlands to score points in F1.

Having raced between 1957 and 1964, Godin de Beaufort picked up four points for their four sixth-place finishes in 1962 and 1963.

Race Starts: 28

Points Scored: 4

Mexican racer Ricardo Rodríguez drove for Ferrari for two seasons from 1961. He entered races in Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, claiming his best result at the 1962 Belgium Grand Prix, where he finished in fourth place.

Race Starts: 5

Points Scored: 4

American racer Duane Carter had two stints in F1. First, he raced between 1950 and 1955, then returned to the sport in 1959 and 1960. Carter raced in the sport when it counted the Indy 500 as a World Championship event, only entering this historic race at Indianapolis. His highest finish was 3rd place in 1953.

Race Starts: 8

Points Scored: 6.5

Carlos Menditeguy (right) was an argentine racing driver and polo player. His highest finish came at the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix, where he finished third and claimed his only F1 podium.

Race Starts: 10

Points Scored: 9

French racer Henri Pescarolo entered his first F1 race at the 1968 Canadian Grand prix. His best result came for the Equipe Matra Elf team in 1970, when he came third at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Race Starts: 57

Points Scored: 12

Italian driver Giancarlo Baghetti raced in F1 between 1961 and 1967. He won his first ever F1 race, at the 1961 French Grand Prix for the Federazione Italiana Scuderie Automobilistiche (FISA) team. This was a squad formed by a coalition of independent Italian team owners

Race Starts: 21

Points Scored: 14

Italian racer Ludovico Scarfiotti drove for teams such as Ferrari and Cooper between 1963 and 1968. He won his home race in 1966, which would be his single race win for his F1 career.

Race Starts: 10

Points Scored: 17

Brazilian racer Carlos Pace competed in F1 between 1972 and 1977. In those five years, he racked up six podiums across 72 race starts for teams such as Martini Racing and Team Surtees. In 1975, he had his best season and claimed his only win.

Race Starts: 72

Points Scored: 58

Alberto Ascari raced in F1 from the very beginning. He came fifth in the inaugural Formula 1 World Championship for Ferrari and would go on to win the world title in 1952 for the Italian team.

Across his 32 race starts, Ascari claimed 14 pole positions and 13 victories.

Race Starts: 32

Points Scored: 107 9⁄14

Another Italian driver with "car" in their name is three-time race winner, Giancarlo Fisichella. Having raced in the sport between 1996 and 2009, Fisichella drove for teams including Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari across his career.

Race Starts: 229

Points Scored: 275

Former governor of Santa Fe, Carlos Reutemann, lived a past life as a race driver before taking office. And, he was really rather good at it. The Argentine driver won 12 races during his 10-year F1 career, including wins for Ferrari and Williams.

Race Starts: 146

Points Scored: 298

The newest addition to this list is Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz jr, who won his first F1 point in Australia in 2015, where he finished ninth for Toro Rosso. Since then, Sainz has 12 podiums, including his first race win on Sunday at the 2022 British Grand Prix.

Race Starts: 150

Points Scored: 663.5