Famous German F1 Drivers

With seven Formula One championship under his belt, Michael Schumacher is the most successful racer of Formula 1 and one of the greatest motor sports driver in the world. The retired German racer was the face of Ferrari for a decade and with his tremendous on track success also became one of best paid athletes in the sport’s history.

Widely considered one of the greatest drivers in Formula One history, Sebastian Vettel holds a number of records, including most podium finishes and most consecutive race wins. Sebastian has a unique habit of naming his cars as he feels it is important to share a close relationship with the cars that he drives.

Nico Hülkenberg initially worked as a forwarding agent at his father’s shipping company. He had started his racing career with go-karting at age 10 and grew up to race for Formula BMW, Formula Three, and GP2, among others. He scripted history by winning the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race in his first attempt.

The son of former Formula One world champion Keke Rosberg, Nico Rosberg followed in his father's footsteps to win the 2016 Formula One world championship. After announcing his retirement as a racing driver, Nico Rosberg became an eco-entrepreneur, helping with the construction of self-autonomous and electric vehicles. Rosberg has also worked with charities like Viva con Agua de Sankt Pauli.

Ralf Schumacher is a German former racing driver who first drove in Formula One with Jordan Grand Prix for the 1997 season. He is the younger brother of former Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher. He began karting at three and took to automobile racing as a young adult. He has since retired from motorsport and now mentors young drivers. 

Former German racing driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen is best known for ending up as the 1997 Formula One World Drivers' Championship runner-up. He is part of the elite club of 7 German drivers who have ever won the country a Grand Prix. He also had a 3-year racing stint at DTM.

Nick Heidfeld is a German professional racing driver known for scoring the most podium finishes without a Grand Prix win (13). He began racing karts as an 11-year-old and moved into the German Formula Ford series as a young man. He had a successful junior career and began his Formula One career in 2000. 

German racing driver Sophia Flörsch is also skilled in activities such as karting, wind surfing, and skiing. She now competes for Abt Sportsline and the Richard Mille Racing Team. In 2020, she received the Laureus Comeback of the Year award for surviving a deadly accident on track and a spinal surgery.

Hans-Joachim Stuck is a German racing driver. The son of legendary motor racing driver Hans Stuck, he was introduced to racing early on. He won his first 24 hours race at the age of 19 and proceeded to have a brilliant racing career. He has competed in Formula One and many other categories during his long career. 

Hans Heyer went down in history for a funny incident at his only attempt at Formula 1. He, apparently, wasn’t qualified to race at the 1977 German Grand Prix, for being too slow, but began the race anyway and was then disqualified. He was also known for his signature Tyrolean hat.

Born in a remote German village, Edgar Barth began racing bikes at age 16. He raced with BMW until the war made him part of East Germany. Though he raced for series such as Formula 2 Porsche, he best enjoyed hill-climb competitions. He died of cancer at age 48.

Born into a family of textile manufacturers, Kurt Adolff shunned his family business to enter Formula 2 races as a private participant instead. He had also served as a paratrooper during World War II. He came to be known for racing BMW-engined specials and later raced in a Ferrari 500, too.

German racer Erwin Bauer began making waves in the racing circuit after crossing age 40. He is best remembered for driving an outclassed Lotus during the 1954 1000km Nürburgring and reaching the 4th place. He tragically died after crashing his Ferrari at the 1958 Nürburgring, failing to realize that the race was over.

German racing driver Willi Heeks debuted in the World Championship Grand Prix in the year 1952 and also participated in the Grand Prix events of the following year. However, he did not score any championship points in either of the games. His best grid position was 9th in the 1952 games.