F1’s Oldest Drivers and Grand Prix Winners

From Louis Chiron to Clemente Biondetti, discover the oldest drivers in F1 history who proved that age is no barrier to greatness — even in one of the world’s toughest sports.

Ben

By Ben Bush
Updated on July 30, 2025

Reviewed and checked by Lee Parker

Louis Chiron and Fernando Alonso
Throughout F1 History, a remarkable group of drivers have defied time, competing — and even winning — races deep into their fifth and sixth decades of life.

When Fernando Alonso signed a new deal with Aston Martin that would keep him racing into his mid-40s, it sparked a debate about his enduring talent and how long he could continue racing. In today’s physically punishing Formula 1, longevity like his is almost unheard of. Yet, Alonso is only the tip of the iceberg of age-defying F1 legends.

What To Know?

  • F1’s oldest race starter was Louis Chiron at nearly 56, while Luigi Fagioli is the oldest Grand Prix winner at 53.
  • Many 1950s-era drivers raced into their 50s, with notable success and endurance.
  • Fernando Alonso is redefining modern F1 longevity, echoing the legends of a bygone era.

Throughout F1 History, a remarkable group of drivers have defied time, competing — and even winning — races deep into their fifth and sixth decades of life. Their stories reveal how F1 once allowed, and sometimes even celebrated, drivers whose careers extended long past the physical prime demanded of today’s F1 drivers.

Formula One History Recommends

For the modern fan raised on the explosive reflexes of Max Verstappen, the relentless precision of Lewis Hamilton, or the meteoric rise of talents like Oscar Piastri, the idea of a 55-year-old muscling a race car through the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex might sound absurd. But this was once reality.

Let’s take a deep dive into the oldest drivers ever to start — and win — a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Oldest F1 Drivers to Start a Race

Louis Chiron Oldest Driver
Louis Chiron remains the oldest driver to have ever started a Formula 1 Grand Prix

1. Louis Chiron: 55 years, 292 days

Race: 1955 Monaco Grand Prix
Placed: 6th
Nationality: Monégasque

Louis Chiron remains the oldest driver to have ever started a Formula 1 Grand Prix. At 55 years, 292 days old, he took to the track at his home race in Monte Carlo and finished a respectable 6th — an astonishing feat considering the average modern F1 driver is in their early 20s.

Chiron had already enjoyed an illustrious pre-war career, including a podium in Monaco back in 1950. Despite his age, he was genuinely competitive, racking up 15 starts and 19 entries in his World Championship career. His name lives on in Bugatti’s hypercar, the Chiron — a fitting tribute to his legacy of speed.

Did You Know?

Chiron also holds the record for being the oldest driver to enter a race, taking part in practice for the 1958 Monaco GP at age 58.

Philippe Étancelin F1 Driver
At 55 years, 191 days old, Étancelin raced competitively at the 1952 French Grand Prix

2. Philippe Étancelin: 55 years, 191 days

Race: 1952 French Grand Prix
Placed: 8th
Nationality: French

A Grand Prix veteran before F1 was even formalised, Philippe Étancelin brought his experience to Talbot-Lago in the early 1950s. Despite limited machinery, he held his own, scoring three career points across 12 races. At 55 years, 191 days old, Étancelin raced competitively at the 1952 French Grand Prix and still managed to finish in the top ten.

He also embodied the romantic spirit of early motorsport — his wife, Suzanne, acted as his crew chief and travelled the world with him.

Full Race Report

3. Arthur Legat: 54 years, 232 days

Race: 1953 Belgian Grand Prix
Placed: Retired
Nationality: Belgian

Legat’s F1 stats may look meagre — just two Grand Prix starts and no points — but his racing pedigree was more than a brief stint in F1. A winner of the pre-war Grand Prix des Frontières at Chimay in both 1931 and 1932, Arthur Legat came from a time when races were equal parts danger and daring.

His retirement in the 1953 Belgian Grand Prix was due to transmission failure, not lack of pace — proving that, even at 54 years, 232 days old, he could still challenge younger competitors at his home track of Spa-Francorchamps.

Full Race Report

Luigi Fagioli F1 Driver
Luigi Fagioli, the oldest driver to start and win a race at 53 years, 22 days old

4. Luigi Fagioli: 53 years, 22 days

Race: 1951 French Grand Prix
Placed: 1st
Nationality: Italy

Luigi Fagioli is a double entry in F1’s record books — not only one of the oldest drivers to start a race at 53 years, 22 days old, but also the oldest to win one. At 53, he co-drove to victory with Juan Manuel Fangio for Alfa Romeo at the 1951 French Grand Prix.

Fagioli had a fierce reputation on track. His career was punctuated by brilliance and a fiery temper. His all-or-nothing approach earned him a loyal following and more than a few on-track incidents. He passed away just a year after his final race, a tragic end to one of F1’s most fascinating characters.

Full Race Report

Hans Stuck F1 Driver
Nicknamed “Bergkönig” or “King of the Mountains” Hans Stuck was know for his hillclimb driving

5. Hans Stuck: 52 years, 327 days

Race: 1953 Italian Grand Prix
Placed: Retired
Nationality: German

Nicknamed “Bergkönig” or “King of the Mountains” Hans Stuck was know for his hillclimb driving, Stuck’s story is wrapped in both racing and politics. After fighting in WWI at just 17, he later became close with Adolf Hitler—an association that shielded him from persecution due to his wife’s Jewish heritage. His F1 career was brief, but his legend lived on through his son, Hans-Joachim Stuck.

Hans Stuck was 52 years, 327 days old when he raced in the 1953 Italian Grand Prix.

Full Race Report

6. Bill Aston: 52 years, 285 days

Race: 1952 German Grand Prix
Placed: Retired
Nationality: British

A former test pilot and motorcycle racer, Bill Aston turned to F1 late in life with only three entries to his name. His car failed after just two laps, but his passion was evident—he continued racing well into his 60s and even ran a fruit farm alongside his engineering work.

Bill Aston was 52 years, 285 days old when he raced in the 1952 German Grand Prix.

Full Race Report

Adolf Brudes F1 Driver
Adolf Brudes began his racing career in the 1920s

7. Adolf Brudes: 52 years, 293 days

Race: 1952 German Grand Prix
Placed: Retired
Nationality: German

Adolf Brudes began his racing career in the 1920s and eventually ran a BMW and Auto Union dealership — a background that helped him engineer and maintain his own cars. His F1 debut came at the Nürburgring for the 1952 German Grand Prix, where engine issues forced him to retire after just five laps at 52 years, 293 days.

Despite only one F1 start, Brudes’ broader motorsport career included wins at events like the Grand Prix Polski and success in sportscar racing. A true racing lifer, his career spanned an incredible 49 years.

Full Race Report

Clemente Biondetti F1 Driver
Clemente Biondetti entered the 1950 Italian Grand Prix at 52 years, 111 days old in a privateer Ferrari–Jaguar crossbreed

8. Clemente Biondetti: 52 years, 111 days

Race: 1950 Italian Grand Prix
Placed: Retired
Nationality: Italian

A hybrid builder in spirit, Clemente Biondetti entered the 1950 Italian Grand Prix at 52 years, 111 days old in a privateer FerrariJaguar crossbreed. His engine gave out mid-race, but his passion for racing continued. He scored a podium in the 12 Hours of Pescara and died of cancer in 1955—becoming one of the first F1 drivers to pass of natural causes.

Full Race Report

Oldest Grand Prix Winners in F1 History

Winning in Formula 1 is hard. Winning in your 40s or 50s? That’s the stuff of motorsport myth. And yet, several drivers pulled it off — some in dominant cars, others through sheer cunning and experience.

Here’s a look at the all-time oldest winners.

1. Luigi Fagioli: 53 years, 22 days

Race: 1951 French Grand Prix
Team: Alfa Romeo

As noted earlier, Luigi Fagioli didn’t just start the 1951 French Grand Prix — he won it. Although he shared the car with Fangio (due to mechanical issues), his role in the win was vital, completing the first stint. At 53 years, 22 days old, he remains F1’s oldest race winner by a wide margin.

Full Race Report

1950 Italian Grand Prix Farina
Giuseppe Farina became the first-ever F1 World Champion at the 1950 Italian Grand Prix for Alfa Romeo.

2. Giuseppe “Nino” Farina: 46 years, 276 days

Race: 1953 German Grand Prix
Team: Ferrari

Giuseppe Farina, F1’s very first world champion showed he still had it in him with a clinical win at 46 years, 276 days old at the 1953 German Grand Prix, holding off Fangio and Mike Hawthorn. It was Farina’s fifth and final Grand Prix victory, closing out an era that he had helped define.

Full Race Report

Juan Manuel Fangio 1911-1995
Juan Manuel Fangio died on 17 July 1995. The five-time world champion was a legend of the sport.

3. Juan Manuel Fangio: 46 years, 41 days

Race: 1957 German Grand Prix
Team: Maserati

Juan Manuel Fangio is often considered the greatest driver of all time, Fangio’s 1957 German Grand Prix victory at 46 years, 41 days old is the stuff of legend. After a disastrous pit stop dropped him far behind the leaders, he drove arguably the most inspired race in F1 history, overtaking both Ferrari drivers with just a couple of laps to go.

Modern Context:

Fangio’s last win came when he was older than Alonso will be at the end of 2025. Imagine Max Verstappen or Charles Leclerc battling a 46-year-old Alonso in 2027. That’s the scale of the achievement.

4. Piero Taruffi: 45 years, 219 days

Race: 1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Team: Ferrari

Piero Taruffi was an engineer and a Renaissance man, known as “The Silver Fox.” He was a pioneer of racing technique, a motorcycle champion, and even a racecar designer. His win at 45 years, 219 days old in the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was a crowning moment of a richly varied career.

Full Race Report

Jack Brabham after winning the 1966 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort
Jack Brabham after winning the 1966 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort // Image: Eric Koch

5. Jack Brabham: 43 years, 339 days

Race: 1970 South African Grand Prix
Team: Brabham

Sir Jack Brabham’s last victory at 43 years, 339 days old at the 1970 South African Grand Prix came just shy of his 44th birthday, proving that excellence could endure even as the sport entered a new technological era. As both a driver and team owner, Brabham’s impact on F1 is massive, and his longevity was rivalled only by his mechanical intuition.

What Does Longevity Look Like in Modern F1?

Today’s Formula 1 is a different beast. Cockpits reach temperatures of 122°F (50°C), and G-forces push drivers to their physiological limits — sometimes as much as 6–7 Gs through corners. Reflexes, reaction time, and peak cardiovascular conditioning are paramount. These factors naturally favour youth.

In the 1950s, a mixture of mechanical sympathy, experience, and improvisation could keep an older driver in the game. Now, data, telemetry, and relentless physical training set a higher bar.

Fernando Alonso’s current success is a statistical outlier — and perhaps also a challenge to the modern perception of age in the sport. In an era of short F1 careers, Alonso stands as proof that skill can still age gracefully, if not dominate.

While the sport has evolved — perhaps beyond the reach of most 50-somethings — the stories of F1’s oldest drivers continue to wow. Who knows? If Alonso continues this way, we might one day add his name to this list.

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About The Author

Staff Writer

Ben Bush
Ben

Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.

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