The youngest and oldest F1 drivers: every age record in Formula 1

Who is the youngest F1 driver?

Max Verstappen. He started the 2015 Australian Grand Prix for Toro Rosso aged 17 years and 166 days, younger than anyone else in the championship’s history. Two weeks later, in Malaysia, he scored his first points, still aged 17.

Here and below, age means full years and days on the day of the race, by the dates in our f1db database. For a title, it is the day of the race at which the title was decided. That is how all Gridlap records are counted. A polesitter’s age is sometimes counted on the day of qualifying, the day before the race, which makes it a day less. Every World Championship race counts, including the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960. The data runs to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September 2026.

The record for the youngest start came down in jumps:

Rodríguez started his first race from second on the grid. Thackwell is credited with a start, but the results show him with zero laps: his Tyrrell team-mate Jean-Pierre Jarier raced his car.

Since 2015 the closest to Verstappen have been Lance Stroll, at 18 years and 148 days in 2017, and Kimi Antonelli, at 18 years and 203 days in 2025. Under the 2026 rules, the record can only be broken through an exception: the Super Licence is issued from the age of 18, and to a 17-year-old only in exceptional cases. The details are in the article “How to become an F1 driver”.

Who is the youngest winner and champion?

The youngest race winner is also Verstappen. He won the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix aged 18 years and 228 days, in his very first race for Red Bull. It is also the youngest podium in history.

Before Alonso, Troy Ruttman had been the youngest winner for more than 50 years: he won the 1952 Indianapolis 500 aged 22 years and 80 days.

The youngest world champion is Sebastian Vettel. The 2010 title was decided at the last race, in Abu Dhabi, when he was 23 years and 134 days old. Next come Lewis Hamilton (23 years and 300 days, 2008), Fernando Alonso (24 years and 58 days, 2005) and Max Verstappen (24 years and 73 days, 2021).

All the youngest records

What pole and a Grand Slam are, and who else comes close in these lists, is covered in the article on pole position.

Who is the oldest F1 driver?

Louis Chiron of Monaco. He started the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix for Lancia aged 55 years and 292 days, and finished sixth. In 1958 Chiron entered the Monaco Grand Prix at 58 years and 288 days but failed to qualify; the championship has never had an older entrant.

Every age record in the table below was set in the 1950s.

Fagioli’s win comes with a caveat. In the 1950s drivers could swap cars during a race: at the 1951 French Grand Prix, Fagioli’s Alfa Romeo team-mate Juan Manuel Fangio took over his car and drove it to victory. The win was credited to both, and the points for it were shared. Without a shared car, the oldest podium also belongs to Fagioli: third place at Monza in 1950.

If you count only drivers who won on their own, the oldest winner is Nino Farina: he won the 1953 German Grand Prix aged 46 years and 276 days.

The oldest champion is Juan Manuel Fangio. His 1957 title was decided at the German Grand Prix, when he was 46 years and 41 days old. He is also second and third on this list, with his 1956 and 1955 titles, and fourth is Nino Farina, the 1950 champion at 43. From 1969 to 2025 the oldest champion was Nigel Mansell: in 1992 he was 39 years and 8 days old.

Who is the oldest driver on the 2026 grid?

Fernando Alonso, born on 29 July 1981. At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September 2026 he was 45 years and 59 days old. The youngest driver of the 2026 season is Arvid Lindblad, born on 8 August 2007.

Since the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Alonso has been older than anyone who started a championship race after 1975. Before him, the oldest in that period was Michael Schumacher: at his last race, in Brazil in 2012, he was 43 years and 327 days old.

The last driver to start a race at an older age than Alonso’s on 26 September 2026 was Graham Hill: in Brazil in January 1975 he was 45 years and 345 days old.

How the age of drivers and champions has changed

Drivers have become noticeably younger. Those who made their debut in the 1950s were 34.5 on average at their first Grand Prix start, while the debutants of 2020–2025 averaged 22.2. In the first championship race the oldest driver was 53 and the youngest 29; there is more on that in the article on the first race.

Champions have become younger too: in the 1950s their average age on the day of the title was 39.5, and in 2020–2025 it was 27.4.

The rules have changed too: since 2016 the Super Licence has been issued only to drivers aged 18 or over.