RACING DRIVERS from Portugal

Top 7

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Portuguese Racing Drivers of all time. This list of famous Portuguese Racing Drivers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

1. Mário de Araújo Cabral (1934 - 2020)

With an HPI of 57.11, Mário de Araújo Cabral is the most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Mário Manuel Veloso de Araújo Cabral (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmaɾiu vɨˈlozu ðɨ ɐɾɐˈuʒu kaˈβɾal]; 15 January 1934 – 17 August 2020), commonly known by the nickname "Nicha" Cabral ([ˈniʃɐ kaˈβɾaɫ]), was a racing driver from Portugal. He participated in five Formula One World Championship Grands Prix (four starts), debuting on 23 August 1959. He did not score any championship points. In 2009, at the age of 75, Cabral came out as bisexual.

2. Pedro Lamy (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 54.80, Pedro Lamy is the 2nd most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

José Pedro Mourão Nunes Lamy Viçoso, OIH, known as Pedro Lamy (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾu laˈmi]; born 20 March 1972), is a Portuguese former professional racing driver. He was the first Portuguese driver to score a point in a Formula One World Championship event, in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, for Minardi.

3. Tiago Monteiro (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 52.54, Tiago Monteiro is the 3rd most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [tiˈaɣu mõˈtɐjɾu]; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2005 to 2006, and World Touring Car from 2007 to 2022. Born and raised in Porto, Monteiro began his racing career in 1997, winning several races in the Porsche Carrera Cup France. He advanced to French Formula Three the following year, claiming runner-up in 2000—where he finished second in the Pau Grand Prix—and 2001. After full seasons in International F3000 and Champ Car, he finished runner-up to Heikki Kovalainen in the World Series by Nissan with Carlin. A former member of the RF1 Driver Programme, Monteiro signed for Jordan in 2005, debuting in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix alongside Narain Karthikeyan; in his rookie season, he became the first Portuguese driver to achieve a podium finish with third at the controversial United States Grand Prix. He retained his position at the re-branded Midland in 2006 with Christijan Albers, scoring zero points in the M16 with a season-best ninth in Hungary. Replaced by Adrian Sutil at Spyker, Monteiro departed Formula One with one podium and seven championship points. Monteiro joined SEAT in the World Touring Car Championship in 2007, remaining with them until 2012 as he claimed several victories across his 2008 and 2010 campaigns. He switched to Honda late that year, helping them win the World Manufacturers' Championship in 2013 and achieving his highest championship finish of third to José María López and Yvan Muller in 2016. He led the standings after 12 races in 2017 before serious injuries sustained in a testing crash ended his season. He returned full-time to the re-branded World Touring Car Cup in 2019, where he achieved victory in his home race. He contested the final three seasons of the series before its collapse at the end of 2022. During this period, he also won the Nürburgring 24 Hours in the TCR class in 2019 and 2020. Outside of motor racing, Monteiro owned GP2 and GP3 team Ocean Racing Technology from 2008 to 2012. He serves as the manager for António Félix da Costa, who won the Formula E World Championship in 2019–20, and his son Noah.

4. Pedro Chaves (b. 1965)

With an HPI of 49.52, Pedro Chaves is the 4th most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Pedro António Matos Chaves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾu ˈmatuʃ ˈʃavɨʃ]; born 27 February 1965) is a Portuguese racing driver. Chaves was the second Portuguese Formula Ford Champion, in 1986, starting an international career in 1987 in the British Formula Ford Championship. In 1990 he won the British F3000 Championship with the Madgwick Motorsport outfit, also racing in a few rounds of the FIA F3000 series. In 1991, he suffered a disastrous season in Formula One, failing to pre-qualify for 13 Grands Prix with an under-financed and uncompetitive Coloni. After failing to pre-qualify for the Portuguese Grand Prix, Chaves left the team, taking the remainder of his sponsorship money with him. At the end of that year Chaves had an agreement with Leyton House (which would be renamed to March F1) to compete in 1992, however the sponsorship money came too late, and Karl Wendlinger took the place. In 1992, Chaves returned to F3000, first with GJ Racing and later in the season moving to the more competitive Il Barone Rampante, with no results. Chaves then spent three years in the American Indy Lights series with Brian Stewart Racing, winning one race, in Vancouver in 1995. Chaves and Robbie Buhl were the only drivers to win that season other than Greg Moore, who won the rest of the events. In 1996, he moved to touring car racing and was second in the Spanish Touring Car Championship in a BMW, before racing a Porsche in the FIA GT Championship. Chaves moved to the Portuguese Rally Championship in 1998, winning the title in 1999 and 2000, with his co-driver Sérgio Paiva, in a works-supported Toyota Corolla WRC. In 2001, he took the Spanish GT Championship title, in a Saleen S7-R co-driven by Miguel Ramos. He has also gone back to drive in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship, for Graham Nash Motorsport. In 2005 and 2006, he returned to the Portuguese Rally Championship to drive a works Renault Clio S1600. Chaves has since retired from racing and in 2006 became driver coach to A1 Team Lebanon. In 2008 he took over managerial duties in A1 Team Portugal. He is also managing the career of his son David.

5. Miguel Oliveira (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 44.70, Miguel Oliveira is the 5th most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Miguel Ângelo Falcão de Oliveira (pronounced [miˈɣɛl ɔliˈvɐjɾɐ]; born 4 January 1995) is a Portuguese professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoGP World Championship for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, getting the step up from KTM Tech3, a satellite team, for whom he secured both the team's, and his, first and second win. He finished as runner-up in the 2018 Moto2 World Championship. He gained extensive experience in Moto3, having competed for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 team in 2012, the Mahindra Racing team in 2013 and 2014 and finishing runner-up with the Red Bull KTM Ajo team in 2015. At the 2015 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Oliveira achieved the first World Championship victory for a Portuguese rider. Oliveira's father, a former motorcycle racer, gave him a quad-bike when he was four years old. He started racing in the national championship at nine years old, in the Portuguese MiniGP Championship in 2004, winning the Young Promise of the Year award in Portugal. His first successes came in 2005 when he won the Portuguese MiniGP Championship and Metrakit World Festival in Spain. In 2006 he repeated his earlier success and in 2007 he won the Mediterranean PreGP 125 Trophy. In 2009 he was third in the Spanish championship, and in 2010 battled Maverick Viñales for the title, eventually finishing runner-up by two points and progressed to become the first full-time Portuguese rider to reach the world championship. Since then, he has become a race winner in all three classes.

6. António Félix da Costa (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 42.82, António Félix da Costa is the 6th most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portuguese professional racing driver for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion. He won the Macau Grand Prix invitational Formula Three race in 2012 and 2016, as well as the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in 2009. After progressing through various levels of the junior formulae motorsport ladder, Félix da Costa's breakthrough year came during the 2012 season. Having started the season driving for the Carlin team in the GP3 Series, Félix da Costa was selected to join the Red Bull Junior Team, replacing Formula Renault 3.5 Series driver Lewis Williamson, who had failed to score a point in the first three meetings of the season. Félix da Costa assumed Williamson's drive with the Arden Caterham team, where he ultimately won four of the final five races to be held in the campaign en route to fourth position in the final championship standings, just 23 points behind eventual champion Robin Frijns. Félix da Costa moved to the Arden Caterham team full-time for the 2013 season. Both Félix da Costa and Frijns received tests with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team for the Young Drivers' test in Abu Dhabi – Félix da Costa's second such appearance at the tests, after driving for Force India in 2010 – with Félix da Costa setting the pace on the second day. He completed the season with the first Portuguese victory in the Macau Grand Prix in 58 years, leading every racing lap of the meeting en route to victory.

7. Álvaro Parente (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 36.36, Álvaro Parente is the 7th most famous Portuguese Racing Driver.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Álvaro Maia Parente (born 4 October 1984) is a Portuguese professional racing driver.