Formula 1 is not a sport that typically favors tall athletes. For aerodynamic reasons, shorter drivers are often preferred by engineers.
Taller drivers sit higher in the cockpit, which can disrupt airflow.
The minimum weight for an F1 driver is 82 kilograms. Drivers who do not meet this weight must add ballast to their car, helping to level the playing field.
Taller drivers need to adjust their training to reach the minimum weight, as any extra weight can slow them down on the track.
Hans-Joachim Stuck is the tallest F1 driver ever
Hans-Joachim Stuck is recognized as the tallest F1 driver at 6ft 4in. He competed 74 times between 1974 and 1979, racing alongside notable drivers like John Watson and Ronnie Peterson.
Stuck did not win a race and retired from nearly two-thirds of the Grands Prix he entered due to the reliability issues of that era.
Notably, he retired while leading the 1977 US GP at Watkins Glen, giving the win to James Hunt. However, he did achieve podium finishes in his home country and in Austria that year, despite the challenges his height posed.
Stuck’s father, also named Hans, made a few appearances in early F1 races. His sons, Johannes and Ferdinand, became racing drivers as well.
Who are the tallest drivers on the 2026 Formula 1 grid?
Oliver Bearman from Haas is the tallest driver on the current F1 grid at 6ft 2in, just inches shorter than Stuck.
Esteban Ocon, George Russell from Mercedes, and Alex Albon from Williams are tied for second place at 6ft 1in. Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto from Audi are the only other drivers over 6ft.
In comparison to other sports, Newcastle United defender and Nottingham Forest forward Lorenzo Lucca are the tallest Premier League footballers at 6ft 7in.
In the NBA, there are only three players under 6ft. The shortest, Yuki Kawamura of the Chicago Bulls at 5ft 8in, is still taller than five F1 drivers.