Canada has been responsible for producing some of the best Formula 1 drivers to ever get behind the wheel.
While Formula 1 racing has been dominated by competitors from all over the world, The Great North can stake its claim as one of the countries some of the best call home. This list ranks five of the top Canadian drivers to have competed in F1. Keep reading to find out who they are.
1. Gilles Villeneuve
Gilles Villeneuve is considered to be the best driver to have represented Canada in Formula 1. He captivated an entire generation of fans with his remarkable car control and his unwillingness to give up on the track.
Who knows how things may have turned out on that fatal day in 1982 when he died in horrifying accident during qualifying for the Belgium Grand Prix at Zolder.
Gilles was by far the best Canadian driver in Formula 1
Gilles spent six years in Formula 1 and was a driver who won six grands prix for Ferrari. He developed a love for cars and racing at an early age and began his professional career as a snowmobile racer in his native Quebec.
He received an offer to join the McLaren team in the 1977 British Grand Prix after moving to single-seaters and winning the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic Championships the year before. He then ended up at Ferrari for the 1978 season and drove for the Italian outfit until his untimely death in 1982.
Villeneuve managed to pile six grand prix wins into a relatively short career and was also runner-up to teammate Jody Scheckter who won the 1979 F1 World Championship.
2. Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve would follow in his father’s footsteps, taking up racing as well. He remains the only Canadian to win the FIA Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship.
Jacques began racing as an 18-year-old in the Italian Formula Three Championship and moved up to the Toyota Atlantic Championship to complete one race before a switch to Championship Auto Racing (CART) in 1994 and then moving into Formula 1 in 1996. He went on to win seven Grand Prix and became the first and only Canadian so far to win the Drivers’ title.
Jacques is still the only Candian to have won the world title
He was made Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 1998 and voted as the winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy and Lionel Conacher Award in 1995 and 1997. Jacques has also been inducted into the Canadian Motor Sports Hall Of Fame, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and the FIA Hall of Fame.
3. Lance Stroll
The son of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, Lance Stroll has been driving for Aston Martin in 2021. He drove for Williams and Racing Point prior to that. Stroll was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2015.
He won the Italian Formula 4 Championship in 2014 and was the Toyota Racing Series champion the following year. He followed that up with a FIA European Formula 3 championship in 2016 and earned his first podium finish – third place – at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017 as the second-youngest driver to finish an Formula 1 race on the podium and the youngest outright to achieve such a feat during his rookie campaign.
He got his first pole position at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix. There is still lots to come from the 25-year-old speed enthusiast and Canadian sports betting sites will keep offering fans a chance to attract some earnings on most of his races.
Let’s see what he does next.
4. Peter Ryan
Peter Ryan was a budding downhill skier before injuries forced him to switch to racing. He won the Canadian Grand Prix for sportscars at Mosport in 1961 and the performance earned him a spot in the US Grand Prix as he impressed Colin Chapman.
He would qualify at 13 and finish ninth.
Chapman then offered him a Lotus deal which saw him take off to Europe the following year. He ended up being loaned to Ian Walker Racing as the factory team was full. Ryan was clearly full of potential and could have gone on to achieve a whole lot. But his career was cut short at the age of 22 after tragedy struck when he ended up in a high-speed crash while battling for a lead in the Coupe Internationale des Juniors Formula Junior race at Reims in July, 1962.
Ryan was the first Canadian to ever take part in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.
5. George Eaton
Toronto-born George Eaton came from a prominent Canadian family and served as the president of his family business, the Eaton’s department store chain, for 10 years. George would also gain popularity as a Can-Am, Formula 1, and Formula A driver.
He raced in the Can-Am Series in 1968, 1969, and 1970 and was the top Canadian in the 1969 championship. George took part in the Canadian Formula A Series in 1969, as well as the Continental Series, which he also raced in 1971 before retiring in 1972.
He switched focus on the family business after retiring but the chain experienced a steady decline and eventually filed for bankruptcy before closing down in 1999.
