Formula One drivers from New Zealand
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There have been nine Formula One drivers from New Zealand, with four of them having started two or fewer races. The late 1950s to mid-1970s is viewed as the "golden age" for New Zealand in the sport and saw Denny Hulme crowned as
World Drivers' Championship Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...
in 1967. New Zealand drivers were absent from Formula One events from 1984 (when Mike Thackwell last raced) to 2017 (when Brendon Hartley made his debut in the
2017 United States Grand Prix The 2017 United States Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 2017, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States as the seventeenth round of th ...
).


Former drivers

Nine drivers from New Zealand have raced in Formula One. The late 1950s to mid-1970s is seen as the "golden age" for the country's participation in the sport and saw their only real racing successes. It was during that era that seven of the drivers competed. In 1970 British driver
Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...
said "In terms of its population, New Zealand's contribution to the top echelons of motorsport far outweighs that of any other country." However, the lack of any competing driver since 1984 means that it has been a long time since the country made such contributions. Bruce McLaren drove for
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from 1958 until the end of 1965, winning three races for the team. He had his most successful season in 1960 when he finished second in the Drivers' Championship to teammate Jack Brabham, having stood on the podium six times out of the eight races. In 1964 he formed his own team,
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
, in partnership with Teddy Mayer. The outfit has since become one of the most successful Formula One teams in the sport's history, though its 1966 debut did not immediately make that seem likely. Bruce kept racing with his own team, winning the
1968 Belgian Grand Prix The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on 9 June 1968. It was race 4 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 28 ...
and finishing an overall fifth in the championship. Though further wins eluded him he was able to produce a consistent season in 1969 and ended the year third in the title race. McLaren was killed while testing one of his cars at Goodwood. Denny Hulme established himself as a racing driver in Europe with the help of Bruce McLaren. Hulme became a mechanic for Brabham in order to help fund his career and was rewarded with a drive in 1965. He impressed enough to be retained for the following season and finished on the podium at all four of the races he completed. He doubled that tally in 1967, finishing on the podium eight times including two race wins. That year he won the championship title ahead of Jack Brabham. For the 1968 season Hulme moved to McLaren where he would stay for the remainder of his career. He finished third overall and would do so again in 1972. Hulme won six races for McLaren before retiring from Formula One at the end of 1974. Hulme holds the distinction of being the world champion with the fewest pole positions, only qualifying in first position once. Chris Amon drove for 13 different teams during a career that spanned 14 seasons. He made his debut for Lola at the
1963 Monaco Grand Prix The 1963 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 26 May 1963. It was race 1 of 10 in both the 1963 World Championship of Drivers and the 1963 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 100-lap race was won b ...
but his career only really took off in 1967 when he drove for Ferrari. In that year he stood on the third step of the podium four times and he eventually finished the year in fifth place in the championship. He went one better the following year and went on to win a race with March in 1970, though the
BRDC International Trophy The International Trophy is a prize awarded annually by the British Racing Drivers' Club to the winner of a motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England. For many years it formed the premier non-championship Formula One event in Britain, al ...
was not included in the official championship. He secured other podium finishes for March and Matra but, after 96 starts and 11 podium finishes, Amon retired in 1976 without a race win. Howden Ganley made his debut with BRM after racing in Formula 5000. In both 1971 and 1972 he finished six of the eleven races, including fourth places in each year. He moved to
Iso–Marlboro Frank Williams Racing Cars was a British Formula One team and constructor. Early years Frank Williams had been a motor-racing enthusiast since a young age, and after a career in saloon cars and Formula Three, backed by Williams's shrewd i ...
for the 1973 season but the uncompetitive car meant that he was unable to finish above sixth. He drove for March for two races in 1974 and then twice failed to qualify in a Maki. He retired from Formula One and later went on to form the Tiga racing car manufacturer alongside Tim Schenken. Mike Thackwell, at the time of his first race in 1980, was the youngest driver to ever take part in a Grand Prix. He was entered for three races that year but only started the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix and was unable to see the chequered flag. After several years in other racing disciplines he made a brief comeback in 1984 but did not finish a race.
Tony Shelly Anthony Lionel Shelly (2 February 1937 – 4 October 1998) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He competed in Formula One in , participating in 3 World Championship Grands Prix, and several non-Championship races. He scored no World Champi ...
entered three races with Lotus in 1962. He only started one Grand Prix and did not make it to the end of the race.
Graham McRae Graham McRae (5 March 1940 – 4 August 2021) was a racing driver from New Zealand. He achieved considerable success in Formula 5000 racing, winning the Tasman Series each year from 1971 to 1973, and also the 1972 L&M Continental 5000 Champio ...
started the
1973 British Grand Prix The 1973 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1973. It was race 9 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula ...
, his only race in Formula One, but his
Iso–Marlboro Frank Williams Racing Cars was a British Formula One team and constructor. Early years Frank Williams had been a motor-racing enthusiast since a young age, and after a career in saloon cars and Formula Three, backed by Williams's shrewd i ...
failed before he finished the first lap. John Nicholson was entered for the
1974 British Grand Prix The 1974 British Grand Prix (formally the John Player Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 20 July 1974. It was race 10 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 International Cup for Formul ...
but did not start. The following year he again entered the British Grand Prix, eventually finishing in 17th place. He did not go on to compete in any other races. Brendon Hartley was the most recent New Zealander in Formula One as of the 2018 season. He made his debut at the
2017 United States Grand Prix The 2017 United States Grand Prix (formally known as the 2017 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 2017, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, United States as the seventeenth round of th ...
for Scuderia Toro Rosso, substituting for Pierre Gasly. He remained the Toro Rosso driver for the rest of the 2017 season and then drove for the team in the 2018 season as well.


Timeline


See also

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List of Formula One Grand Prix winners Formula One (F1) is the highest class of open-wheeled motor racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participan ...


References

{{Formula One nationalities *