{"id":712678,"date":"2026-06-03T13:53:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/712678\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:53:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:53:27","slug":"top-10-italian-f1-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/712678\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Italian F1 drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/andrea-kimi-antonelli\/953410\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kimi Antonelli<\/a>\u2019s brilliant start to 2026 has raised the prospect of an Italian driver becoming world champion for the first time since 1953.<\/p>\n<p>Given Italy\u2019s rich history in the sport and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/team\/ferrari\/36466\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ferrari<\/a>\u2019s status as Formula 1\u2019s biggest team, it seems incredible that only two Italians have been world champion.<\/p>\n<p>Sixteen have won a world championship grand\u00a0prix, seven of them more than once, and we\u2019ve decided to select the best 10 Italian F1 drivers.<\/p>\n<p>For this list, we have considered each driver\u2019s level of success, their performance given the machinery at their disposal, longevity and how highly they were rated.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that Italy had more than its fair share of top drivers prior to the start of the world championship in 1950.\u00a0Pre-Second World War ace Tazio Nuvolari was the 1933 European champion (roughly equivalent to today\u2019s world championship) and is still regarded as one of the greatest of all time, while Achile Varzi, Luigi Fagioli and Luigi Villoresi were multiple winners.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>And finally, this list doesn\u2019t include Mario Andretti. Yes, he was born in Italy, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/f1\/news\/top-10-american-f1-drivers-ranked-andretti-hill-gurney-and-more\/9458778\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-custom-text=\"1\">it seemed much more appropriate to include him here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>10.\u00a0Alessandro Nannini<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f1-japanese-gp-1989-podium-winner-alessandro-nannini-benetton.jpg\" alt=\"Nannini's only F1 win was overshadowed by that clash between Senna and Prost\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Nannini&#8217;s only F1 win was overshadowed by that clash between Senna and Prost<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 76<br \/>Wins: 1<br \/>Poles: 0<br \/>Best championship: 6th (1989)<\/p>\n<p>As usual, 10th place is one of the trickiest spots to select.\u00a0Vittorio Brambilla, another one-time winner, was a strong contender, while there were some impressive non-victors, including Bruno Giacomelli, Ivan Capelli, Stefano Modena and Pierluigi Martini. But Nannini edges it, boosted by his performances alongside Nelson Piquet at Benetton in 1990.<\/p>\n<p>Despite appalling reliability from his\u00a0Minardi machinery across his first two F1 seasons, Nannini showed enough promise to get a foothold in F1 and earn a chance with better equipment. That came in 1988, when he joined Benetton.<\/p>\n<p>He immediately looked at home racing further forward. There was the odd mistake and reliability was still a problem, but\u00a0Nannini took a fine first podium in the wet at Silverstone despite a spin. He also put in charges after early problems at Hockenheim and Monza, for no reward, and added another podium at Jerez.<\/p>\n<p>Nannini and highly rated team-mate Thierry Boutsen were evenly matched on raw pace in 1988 and, with the Belgian heading to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/team\/williams\/36474\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Williams<\/a> and then Emanuele Pirro replacing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/johnny-herbert\/829168\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Johnny Herbert<\/a> during 1989, Alessandro effectively became team leader.<\/p>\n<p>His application was perhaps not as high as the benchmark drivers of the era and his performances were mixed, but there were still impressive moments. He was again third at the British GP and then came the infamous Japanese GP.<\/p>\n<p>Nannini started sixth and gained two places at the start. When the gearbox on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/gerhard-berger\/829210\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Gerhard Berger<\/a>\u2019s Ferrari failed, Nannini moved into third, meaning he was well-placed when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/team\/mclaren\/36473\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">McLaren<\/a> duo Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost clashed at the chicane. While Senna later caught and passed the Benetton, Nannini inherited victory when the Brazilian was controversially disqualified.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>Second place in the appallingly wet Australian GP secured Nannini a career-best sixth in the championship before Piquet arrived. The move revitalised the Brazilian\u2019s career and Piquet usually led the way but Nannini wasn\u2019t far behind.<\/p>\n<p>Going through non-stop,\u00a0Nannini put up a fine defence against Senna at the front of the 1990 German GP before finishing second, while he might have won the Hungarian GP had he not been unceremoniously removed in the closing stages by Senna.<\/p>\n<p>Nannini was third in Spain \u2013 his ninth podium in F1 \u2013 but it would be his last GP. A helicopter crash severed his right forearm and, while he would make a successful comeback in touring cars, his promising single-seater career had come to an end.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA talent which had at last blossomed forth to great, if tragically brief, effect,\u201d concluded\u00a0Autocourse when rating Nannini fifth at the end of 1990.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>9. Lorenzo\u00a0Bandini<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/lorenzo-bandini-ferrari-1512.jpg\" alt=\"A star in sportscars, Bandini's efforts in F1 were undone by bad fortune before his tragic death\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">A star in sportscars, Bandini&#8217;s efforts in F1 were undone by bad fortune before his tragic death<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 42<br \/>Wins: 1<br \/>Poles: 1<br \/>Best championship: 4th (1964)<\/p>\n<p>Bandini was becoming a stronger contender for victories when he was killed in a horrific accident while running second at the 1967 Monaco GP. Bandini had made his first world championship starts in a Scuderia Centro Sud Cooper and drove a BRM for the team in three races, but most of his F1 career was spent at Ferrari.<\/p>\n<p>He scored his first podium at the 1962 Monaco GP but didn\u2019t get a full season until 1964, driving alongside John\u00a0Surtees. Bandini assisted the Briton\u2019s successful title challenge, most notably moving aside at the Mexican GP finale, and won a race of attrition in Austria.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0sportscar star \u2013 Bandini had won Le Mans in 1963 and the Targa Florio in 1965 \u2013 he became Ferrari\u2019s F1 team leader when Surtees walked out following a rift with team manager Eugenio Dragoni after two 1966 GPs.<\/p>\n<p>At that point\u00a0Bandini had scored a second at Monaco (his third podium there) and a third at Spa and led the championship. He should have been a rival to Jack Brabham and Surtees (now at Cooper) but didn\u2019t have the luck.<\/p>\n<p>Bandini was comfortably ahead in the French GP when his throttle cable snapped. He grabbed an early lead in Italy, only to have fuel feed trouble, leaving the race to be won by team-mate Ludovico Scarfiotti (another candidate for this list), and was battling Brabham at the front of the US GP before his engine failed. All that, combined with Ferrari missing the British and Mexican GPs, left Bandini ninth in the standings.<\/p>\n<p>Bandini won the Daytona 24 Hours at the start of 1967 and then finished second in the non-championship Brands Hatch Race of Champions in March before making his first points-paying start of the F1 season at Monaco in May. He qualified second and was chasing leader Denny Hulme when he crashed at the chicane, Bandini later succumbing to his injuries from the ensuing fire.<\/p>\n<p>8.\u00a0Elio de Angelis<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/elio-de-angelis-lotus-91-just--1.jpg\" alt=\"Like Bandini, de Angelis had his F1 career cut short by a horrific accident\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Like Bandini, de Angelis had his F1 career cut short by a horrific accident<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 108<br \/>Wins: 2<br \/>Poles: 3<br \/>Best championship: 3rd (1984)<\/p>\n<p>De Angelis showed his potential during his rookie campaign with Shadow in 1979, culminating in a fine fourth at a wet United States GP.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s his time at Lotus for which\u00a0de Angelis is best remembered. He took his first podium at the 1980 Brazilian GP and generally had the better of team-mate Nigel Mansell, outscoring the future world champion in all but one of their four seasons together.<\/p>\n<p>De Angelis took his first win in dramatic style, holding of the charging Williams of Keke Rosberg by 0.05s in the 1982 Austrian GP after the faster turbocars had hit trouble.<\/p>\n<p>Lotus got Renault turbo power for 1983 and de Angelis took his first F1 pole at Brands Hatch. An appalling finishing record limited him to only one points finish, not representative of his performances, though Autocourse questioned his motivation.<\/p>\n<p>A consistent 1984 season amid unreliability for rivals helped\u00a0de Angelis to third in the championship, four podiums and a pole in Brazil among the highlights.<\/p>\n<p>When Senna replaced\u00a0Mansell at Lotus the atmosphere changed. De Angelis led the championship after four races in 1985, having inherited a fortunate second victory at Imola, but the young and intense Brazilian was already wresting control of the team.<\/p>\n<p>After 90 races with Lotus, de Angelis joined Brabham for 1986. He soon became a popular figure in the team but had yet to score a point in the difficult BT55 when he lost his life in a testing accident at Paul Ricard. He was 28.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>7.\u00a0Kimi Antonelli<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780494795_838_andrea-kimi-antonelli-mercedes.jpg\" alt=\"Antonelli sits seventh on this list, but how high can he climb?\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Antonelli sits seventh on this list, but how high can he climb?<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Guido De Bortoli \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 29<br \/>Wins: 4<br \/>Poles: 3<br \/>Best championship: 7th (2025), currently 1st in 2026<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not too bold a prediction to suggest that it won\u2019t be long before\u00a0Antonelli is higher up this list. If he keeps up his early 2026 form, he\u2019ll soon be second, with only the great Ascari ahead.<\/p>\n<p>A stellar junior\u00a0single-seater career and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/lewis-hamilton\/829181\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Lewis Hamilton<\/a>\u2019s decision to head to Ferrari launched Antonelli into F1 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/team\/mercedes\/36495\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Mercedes<\/a> at the age of 18. A combative rise from 16th to fourth in Australia was an impressive debut and pole for the sprint race in Miami also showed the raw material was there.<\/p>\n<p>The pressures of F1 and a mid-season Mercedes upgrade contributed to a dip, but\u00a0Antonelli recovered and finished the campaign with podiums in Brazil and Las Vegas. He was seventh in the final standings, three spots behind established star team-mate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/george-russell\/840489\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">George Russell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Mercedes has started the new rules era on top. What has been more unexpected is\u00a0Antonelli\u2019s consistently strong challenge to usurp Russell, one of the outstanding performers of 2025. If Antonelli can maintain his current level, F1 could be in for one of its best intra-team championship contests.<\/p>\n<p>Given his relatively short time in F1 so far, it\u2019s hard to justify pushing the popular\u00a0Antonelli further up our ranking. But he has the potential to be one of the sport\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jarno-trulli-renault.jpg\" alt=\"Trulli's talent deserved more success than his record reads\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Trulli&#8217;s talent deserved more success than his record reads<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 252<br \/>Wins: 1<br \/>Poles: 4<br \/>Best championship: 6th (2004)<\/p>\n<p>Forget the \u2018Trulli Train\u2019 nonsense that sometimes tarnished his career. That was usually because\u00a0Trulli, one of the best qualifiers of his era, had cars higher up the field than they deserved to be and he ended up defending from drivers who should have been ahead of him anyway. A more genuine weakness was a lack of improvisation, Trulli often looking for a perfect set-up that was difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n<p>After six races with\u00a0Minardi in 1997, Trulli was called up to drive for Prost following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/olivier-panis\/829184\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Olivier Panis<\/a>\u2019s Canadian GP accident. He sensationally led in Austria, but it would be a while before Trulli got his hands on consistent frontrunning machinery.<\/p>\n<p>The 1998 and 1999\u00a0Prosts were not competitive, though Trulli managed a fine second in the rain-hit European GP on a day many experienced drivers made errors. The Jordans of 2000-01 were at least points contenders and Trulli again showed flashes of class, including a brilliant second on the grid at the 2000 Monaco GP.<\/p>\n<p>His best chance came when he joined Renault for 2003, alongside rising star\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/fernando-alonso\/829156\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Fernando Alonso<\/a>. There were days when Alonso simply couldn\u2019t live with Trulli\u2019s qualifying pace but the Spaniard was usually better in the races, finishing ahead in the points and scooping the team\u2019s only win.<\/p>\n<p>Trulli started 2004 strongly and finally got his well-deserved first victory at the Monaco GP, taking pole and running ahead of Alonso before holding off <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/jenson-button\/829144\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Jenson Button<\/a>\u2019s late charge. But the relationship with team boss Flavio Briatore deteriorated and Trulli lost his drive before the end of the season, landing at Toyota.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>The Japanese giant never quite delivered on its potential. Sometimes qualifying on lighter fuel loads (at a time cars had to start with fuel loads from qualifying) put them higher on the grid than they deserved, bolstering Trulli\u2019s reputation as a driver better on Saturdays than Sundays.<\/p>\n<p>Trulli scored his 11th and final F1 podium in the 2009 Japanese GP before joining the minnow Lotus squad for two last, uncompetitive years of F1 racing. His talents deserved more.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f1-australian-gp-2005-podium-race-winner-giancarlo-fisichella-renault-f1-team-second-place.jpg\" alt=\"Good in bad cars but bad in good cars, Fisichella's time in F1 was a mixed bag\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Good in bad cars but bad in good cars, Fisichella&#8217;s time in F1 was a mixed bag<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 229<br \/>Wins: 3<br \/>Poles: 4<br \/>Best championship: 4th (2006)<\/p>\n<p>Famously good at driving bad cars,\u00a0Fisichella wasn\u2019t quite as impressive when he got into frontrunning machinery. But he was still an F1 stalwart for over a decade and picked up 19 podiums.<\/p>\n<p>After making eight starts for\u00a0Minardi in 1996, Fisichella got a proper rookie campaign with Jordan the following year, alongside fellow newbie Ralf Schumacher. The 197 was a good car and both made an impact, Fisichella finishing ahead in the standings after scoring two podiums.<\/p>\n<p>He joined Benetton for 1998, just as the team was on a downward slide. The next four seasons were largely spent with mediocre equipment, but\u00a0Fisichella\u2019s reputation remained intact. He took a first pole in Austria in 1998 and then outperformed highly rated team-mate Button in 2001, putting in one of the drives of the season to finish third in the Belgian GP.<\/p>\n<p>Fisichella continued his fine record against team-mates at Jordan in 2002-03. He finally got his first F1 win in bizarre circumstances in the 2003 Brazilian GP, a clever strategy getting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/f1\/news\/the-worst-f1-car-to-win-a-grand-prix-5109286\/5109286\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-custom-text=\"1\">his awful EJ13 ahead just before a red flag<\/a> \u2013 even though he didn\u2019t get the winner\u2019s trophy until two weeks later!<\/p>\n<p>After a year at\u00a0Sauber, Fisichella got his big chance at Renault for 2005. Things began well with victory in the Australian GP opener but thereafter the relentlessness of team-mate Alonso showed weaknesses in Fisichella\u2019s race pace and racecraft.<\/p>\n<p>He contributed to two constructors\u2019 crowns but there was only one more victory \u2013 at the 2006 Malaysian GP \u2013 and finishes of fifth and fourth in the drivers\u2019 championship were unimpressive when compared to\u00a0Alonso\u2019s title double.<\/p>\n<p>Renault slipped back in 2007,\u00a0Fisichella being outscored by new team-mate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/heikki-kovalainen\/841625\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Heikki Kovalainen<\/a>, and the 2008 Force India was uncompetitive. Things weren\u2019t much better in 2009, one of the closest F1 seasons in terms of pace spread across the teams, but there was time for one more great day.<\/p>\n<p>Fisichella took a surprise pole \u2013 his fourth \u2013 at Spa and led early on. He was unfortunate to be jumped at a restart by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/kimi-raikkonen\/829151\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kimi Raikkonen<\/a>\u2019s Ferrari, which featured a KERS system for extra power his Force India lacked. Fisichella still finished second and was called up by Ferrari but there were no more points finishes in his last F1 season before embarking on a successful career in GT racing.<\/p>\n<p>4. Michele\u00a0Alboreto<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/michele-alboreto-ferrari-156-8-1.jpg\" alt=\"1985 was Alboreto's closest chance at F1 immortality as he narrowly missed out on the title for Ferrari\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">1985 was Alboreto&#8217;s closest chance at F1 immortality as he narrowly missed out on the title for Ferrari<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 194<br \/>Wins: 5<br \/>Poles: 2<br \/>Best championship: 2nd (1985)<\/p>\n<p>Alboreto burst onto the F1 scene with Tyrrell in the early 1980s, scoring his first win at the 1982 finale and marking himself out as one to watch. His following campaign was less impressive, but he still took victory in Detroit and signed for Ferrari.<\/p>\n<p>Lining up against the mercurial Rene\u00a0Arnoux, Alboreto won in Belgium and finished fourth, ahead of the Frenchman, in the final standings. Arnoux left after just one race of 1985 and the smooth Alboreto became Alain Prost\u2019s closest challenger for the title.<\/p>\n<p>He was brilliant in Monaco, where he should have won, and took two victories, including his personal favourite at the\u00a0Nurburgring. After 10 rounds he had scored eight podiums and was tied with Prost at the top of the table. But Ferrari struggled to keep up with development and unreliability crept in, though Alboreto still finished as runner-up.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>He would never reach such peaks again. The 1986 Ferrari was poor and, by the time team managed a mini-revival in the second half of 1987, it was new team-mate Berger who grabbed the headline results.<\/p>\n<p>After finishing a distant fifth in the 1988 standings,\u00a0Alboreto was replaced by Mansell and returned to Tyrrell. Things started well and he took a podium \u2013 his 23rd and last \u2013 in Mexico before a sponsorship disagreement forced a mid-season switch to the uncompetitive Larrousse Lola.<\/p>\n<p>Thereafter,\u00a0Alboreto saw out his F1 years largely in poor machinery, aside from being a consistent points threat in the 1992 Footwork FA13. His final F1 season came with Minardi in 1994 but he then began a successful sportscar career that was cut short when he was killed testing for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/team\/audi\/49024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Audi<\/a> in 2001, aged 44.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0Riccardo Patrese<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/riccardo-patrese-arrows-a3-for-1.jpg\" alt=\"Patrese's longevity in F1 puts him high up on this list\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Patrese&#8217;s longevity in F1 puts him high up on this list<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 256<br \/>Wins: 6<br \/>Poles: 8<br \/>Best championship: 2nd (1992)<\/p>\n<p>For a time,\u00a0Patrese was the most experienced F1 driver in world championship history. Before him Jacques Laffite and Graham Hill shared the record on 176 starts\u00a0but Patrese took that up to 256 in 1993.<\/p>\n<p>But\u00a0Patrese was more than just a mileage merchant, scoring 37 podiums, shared across four different teams. His first came after pipping Ronnie Peterson by less than a tenth of a second at the 1978 Swedish GP, while his last came 15 years late in Hungary at the wheel of a Benetton.<\/p>\n<p>Regarded as something of a\u00a0wildman in his early days, Patrese was unfairly maligned by some for his part in the multi-car Monza 1978 crash that ultimately claimed Peterson\u2019s life. He\u2019d already shown flashes of potential, leading the 1978 South African GP in his first full season, and matured into one of the most-respected drivers on the grid.<\/p>\n<p>Rarely a match for\u00a0Brabham team-mate Piquet across 1982-83, Patrese nevertheless picked up his first two wins, including after spinning during the chaotic final stages of the 1982 Monaco GP.<\/p>\n<p>Finishes were scarce in the\u00a0uncompetitive Alfa Romeos of 1984-85, though he scored a third place in a race of attrition in Italy in the former year, and things were little better when he rejoined Brabham for 1986.<\/p>\n<p>He had to deal with the death of team-mate\u00a0de Angelis and the team\u2019s declining fortunes but found a home at Williams for 1988. Having got through the difficult Judd-engined season, Patrese was part of the growing challenge of the Williams-Renault combination.<\/p>\n<p>Although it was team-mate\u00a0Boutsen who scored two fine wins in 1989, Patrese was the more consistently impressive performer. He was third in the final table and Autocourse ranked him fourth at season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n<p>The following campaign was perhaps less stellar but did include victory in the San\u00a0Marino GP, going some way to making up for Patrese throwing away the lead while almost half a minute ahead at Imola seven years before.<\/p>\n<p>Patrese\u2019s 1991 season was probably his best. He outqualified team leader Mansell in the first seven races and took wins in Mexico and Portugal as Williams really started to challenge McLaren. Though it was Mansell that led the charge in the second half of the season, Patrese still finished third in the table and took a career-high third in Autocourse\u2019s analysis.<\/p>\n<p>The gizmo-laden FW14B was not to\u00a0Patrese\u2019s liking in 1992. Although he finished second in the championship, he was blown away by a dominant Mansell and scored a single victory to his team-mate\u2019s nine.<\/p>\n<p>Benetton snapped up\u00a0Patrese for 1993 but it became increasingly clear he was a spent force in the face of rising star team-mate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.autosport.com\/driver\/michael-schumacher\/829159\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Michael Schumacher<\/a>. He scored fewer than half the points of the German and bowed out of F1 at the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p>2. Giuseppe Farina<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/giuseppe-farina-with-his-winne-1.jpg\" alt=\"F1's first world champion, Farina's best years were perhaps pre-1950\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">F1&#8217;s first world champion, Farina&#8217;s best years were perhaps pre-1950<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 33<br \/>Wins: 5<br \/>Poles: 5<br \/>Best championship: 1st (1950)<\/p>\n<p>Farina was an established grand\u00a0prix driver before the world championship began and his best years were behind him when he became F1\u2019s first title winner, so he is hard to place here.<\/p>\n<p>Farina had been a rising star in the 1930s and won GPs, some for \u2018secondary\u2019\u00a0voiturette cars, before the Second World War broke out. He was one of the top-liners when racing resumed after hostilities ended and was one of the drivers Alfa Romeo called upon to drive its dominant 158, which had become eligible for the newly formed F1.<\/p>\n<p>Though team-mate Juan Manuel\u00a0Fangio had the better results across the 1950 season, in the six points-paying GPs Farina\u2019s better reliability gave him the crown.<\/p>\n<p>He slipped back in 1951 as\u00a0Fangio led the rearguard action against the Ferrari threat, and Farina was restricted to a win in the Belgian GP and fourth in the standings.<\/p>\n<p>With\u00a0Alfa Romeo withdrawing and the world championship being run for F2 machinery, Farina joined Ferrari for 1952. Utterly outclassed by team-mate Alberto Ascari, Farina took four second places on his way to runner-up spot in the standings.<\/p>\n<p>It was a similar story in 1953, only now\u00a0Fangio was back from injury to lead Maserati\u2019s attack and he duly slotted in between Ascari and Farina in the championship. Farina did win the German GP on the fearsome Nurburgring \u2013 only after poleman Ascari lost a wheel, though Farina still had to beat team-mate Mike Hawthorn and Fangio.<\/p>\n<p>Farina, whose career fizzled out over the next two seasons, could be a difficult character and had a dubious reputation in wheel-to-wheel combat in an era when clashes could be fatal. But he earns his place as one of the top drivers of the early days of F1.<\/p>\n<p>1. Alberto\u00a0Ascari<br \/>\n   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/alberto-ascari-ferrari-500-1.jpg\" alt=\"Ascari was the one driver to truly challenge Fangio in the 1950s but he was another to see his career cut short in a fatal crash\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Ascari was the one driver to truly challenge Fangio in the 1950s but he was another to see his career cut short in a fatal crash<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>Starts: 32<br \/>Wins: 13<br \/>Poles: 14<br \/>Best championship: 1st (1952-53)<\/p>\n<p>There was only ever going to be one person topping this list.\u00a0Ascari is not only Italy\u2019s only multiple world champion, he was the one driver who could truly challenge Fangio for the status of greatest driver in the world in the first half of the 1950s.<\/p>\n<p>Son of\u00a0pre-Second World War racer Antonio Ascari, Alberto was a rising star in the second half of the 1940s and marked himself out as one of the best with multiple F1 victories in 1949 for Ferrari. The return of Alfa Romeo meant Ascari had to play second fiddle in the first year of the world championship, but Ferrari was a rising force.<\/p>\n<p>After winning the 1951 German and Italian GPs, then taking a dominant pole in the Spanish finale,\u00a0Ascari was favourite for the title. But Ferrari\u2019s catastrophic switch to smaller wheels handed the crown to Alfa driver Fangio.<\/p>\n<p>Ascari and the Ferrari 500 were almost unbeatable during the championship\u2019s F2 era, the Milanese winning 11 of the 15 points-paying GPs and storming to two titles. Duels with Fangio were rare as the Argentinian missed most of 1952 due to an accident and then had inferior Maserati equipment.<\/p>\n<p>Ascari then switched to Lancia but delays with the D50 meant he only made sporadic outings during 1954. Pole and an early lead in the final round in Spain suggested that Ascari and Lancia could take the challenge to benchmark Fangio\u2019s Mercedes W196.<\/p>\n<p>A potentially great contest between the era\u2019s two finest drivers was prevented by\u00a0Ascari\u2019s death in a sportscar testing accident in May 1955.<\/p>\n<p>Read Also:<\/p>\n<p>Our series on the top 10 F1 drivers of each decade will continue next week with the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>   <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1780494807_174_alberto-ascari-ferrari-500-1.jpg\" alt=\"Will Antonelli dethrone Ascari as Italy's greatest ever F1 driver in the years to come?\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" loading=\"lazy\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"title\">Will Antonelli dethrone Ascari as Italy&#8217;s greatest ever F1 driver in the years to come?<\/p>\n<p class=\"photographer\">Photo by: Motorsport Images<\/p>\n<p>            We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-auto\">Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"#\" class=\"ms-link text-link font-bold\">Take our survey<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mt-1 text-body\">&#8211; The Autosport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kimi Antonelli\u2019s brilliant start to 2026 has raised the prospect of an Italian driver becoming world champion for&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[12295,64,63,813,806,805,803,804,85,346300],"class_list":["post-712678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-andrea-kimi-antonelli","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-formula-1","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports","tag-top-10-italian-f1-drivers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=712678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}