Every Dutch Formula 1 driver ranked

The Dutch love their racing - as anyone who's had to queue to leave Zandvoort or Assen after a big event can attest. And in Max Verstappen, they currently have the driver that seems best placed to break the Lewis Hamilton/Sebastian Vettel grip on the Formula 1 world championship.

As of 2020, they'll have a grand prix in their country again too.

Yet despite the Netherlands producing scores of talented karters, only 15 Dutchmen have ever raced in an F1 world championship grand prix. There are no prizes for guessing who gets the top spot in this list of the greatest Dutch F1 racers, but if you're able to name all 15 without having to check Motorsport Stats, you've reached legendary status in motorsport knowledge.

15 Jan Flinterman

A member of the Dutch Air Force who flew Spitfires for the RAF in the Second World War, Flinterman was a Formula 3 racer who was invited to take part in the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix to raise local interest.

He qualified his Escuderia Bandeirantes Maserati A6GCM in 15th - 15.3 seconds off pole - and lasted just seven laps before a broken differential caused his retirement. After that he took over the sister car of Chico Landi, which he brought home in ninth place, seven laps behind race winner Alberto Ascari.

Following his one-off appearance he returned to the world of aviation, and became the commanding officer of his country's fighter pilot school.

14 Dries van der Lof

Along with Flinterman, amateur racer van der Lof was invited to take part in the inaugural Dutch GP to ensure there was some local presence and drum up interest in the race.

A wealthy industrialist, he was more used to competing in local sportscar races and rallies, but despite this he qualified his HWM-Alta 12.9s off pole (and around three seconds behind his team-mates) in 14th. Although there were multiple pitstops in the race to fix a faulty magneto, he made it to the finish, albeit unclassified.

During his life he assembled an impressive collection of classic competition cars, which he would regularly race in historic meetings.

13 Michael Bleekemolen

In five attempts - one in a RAM March, the others in an ATS - Bleekemolen made the F1 field just once: for the 1978 US GP at Watkins Glen. That day he was two seconds a lap slower than team-mate Keke Rosberg in qualifying, but had that gap down to 1.5s in the race, although neither car made the finish.

Post-F1 he returned to the junior formulas and was a race-winner in European F3 as he finished (a very distant) runner-up to Alain Prost in the 1979 standings.

His sons Sebastiaan and Jeroen both raced and Michael drove alongside them for Team Bleekemolen in the Porsche Supercup in the mid-2000s.

12 Boy Hayje

After a lightning progression from Dutch Formula Ford 1600 champion to campaigning a March 731 in Formula 5000, Hayje made his F1 debut in the 1976 Dutch GP in an F&S Properties Penske.

He did a reasonable job to qualify 21st (1.95s off pole), but a broken halfshaft ended his race. He switched to a RAM March for 1977, but only made the field twice in six appearances and he never qualified higher than 21st and retired from both races.

After leaving F1 he stepped back to F2 and the Aurora F1 series before winding up racing in the States in IMSA.

11 Ben Pon

Pon did but a single grand prix - the 1962 Dutch event - in which he raced a Porsche 787 that he rolled into a ball on lap two. Following this incident he vowed he would never race a single-seater again, which was a shame as he proved to be a handy sportscar and touring car racer during the 1960s, winning his class at Le Mans, and scoring outright podiums in the World Sportscar Championship.

After hanging up his helmet, Pon represented the Netherlands in the 1972 Olympics as part of its skeet shooting team. He also set up a successful wine business in California, the Bernardus Winery.

10 Roelof Wunderink

A double Dutch FF1600 champion, Wunderink used HB Bewaking backing to take him through F3 and F5000 and into an F1 ride with Ensign for 1975.

Given the quality of equipment and lack of a team-mate, it's hard to accurately assess his performances, but he managed to make the field just three times in his six appearances, and wasn't classified in any of them.

His career hit a setback when he suffered serious facial injuries in an F5000 Chevron testing accident at Zandvoort, and although he did briefly return to racing, the crash appeared to have left him disillusioned and he quit motorsport for good at the end of 1975.

9 Huub Rothengatter

A race winner in F2 with Toleman, Rothengatter had to deal with a series of back-of-the-grid cars in an F1 career that spanned three seasons and 30 races, and a grand total of zero points.

He made his debut mid-way through 1984 as the replacement for Mauro Baldi at under-funded Spirit. Another part-season followed in '85 with Osella, where he claimed a career-best 20th on the grid in South Africa and a distant seventh on the road in Australia (he was four laps down).

He partnered Jonathan Palmer at Zakspeed for most of 1986 but was comprehensively outpaced by the Brit.

8 Carel Godin de Beaufort

Dutch nobility and enthusiastic amateur, he was also the first of his countrymen to score a point in F1.

A Porsche loyalist, who persevered with his patriotically painted bright orange 718 well beyond its competitive lifespan, he was in the points on four occasions in official grands prix but was a podium finisher in non-championship events such as Syracuse.

He was also a class-winner at Le Mans, in a Porsche of course, but was killed in practice for the 1964 German GP when his car suddenly veered off the road, throwing de Beaufort from his seat and leaving him with severe head injuries.

7 Gijs van Lennep

Best remembered for his two Le Mans wins, van Lennep was an accomplished sportscar and touring car racer, who enjoyed modest success in F1.

He made his debut in the 1971 Dutch GP in a privateer Surtees and finished eighth, five laps down. He returned to F1 in '73 driving Frank Williams' ISO-Marlboro and scored a point in his home grand prix - although he had been some way off team-mate Howden Ganley's pace in qualifying.

He had a couple more outings for the team in 1974 before making a handful of appearances for Ensign in '75, scoring another point in Germany. He retired the following year after accompanying Jacky Ickx to Le Mans glory.

6 Jan Lammers

Lammers' F1 career revolves around one qualifying lap that put him fourth on the grid for the tiny ATS team at the 1980 Long Beach GP. That the car broke on the opening lap only helps to compound its legend.

Although highly rated following his stellar F3 exploits, he'd been comprehensively outperformed by Elio de Angelis at Shadow in 1979, and overshadowed by Marc Surer at the beginning of 1980 (Surer wasn't at Long Beach after breaking his legs in South Africa).

The cars he subsequently drove for Ensign, ATS (again) and Theodore didn't really give him a chance to shine, while his improbable return for March after a decade away didn't prove anything.

He was bloody rapid in a sportscar, though.

5 Giedo van der Garde

A season alongside Charles Pic in an uncompetitive Caterham didn't give van der Garde much opportunity to shine, while who knows how things might have panned out had his 2015 Sauber contract been worth the paper it was written on.

Van der Garde was a star of the karting scene, which led to him becoming part of Renault's Driver Development programme. He never quite delivered in F3 but was a comfortable Formula Renault 3.5 champion in 2008.

He's been a handy sportscar racer at LMP2 level since the F1 dream died.

4 Robert Doornbos

Robert Doornbos was second best to Christijan Albers when paired at Minardi, but did a solid job when he was drafted into Red Bull's line-up as a replacement for Christian Klien for the final three races of 2006.

Outqualifying team regular David Coulthard on his debut in China was a great achievement, but would also be the pinnacle of his F1 career. He would be a leading light in the dying embers of Champ Car, finishing third in the 2007 standings, and was a frontrunner in Superleague Formula for AC Milan.

Now works as an analyst for Dutch TV station Ziggo Sports.

3 Christijan Albers

Albers' success in German F3 led to him becoming a works Mercedes driver in the DTM, where he was a title contender in 2003 and '04, which brought about his F1 stint with Minardi in '05.

He took his chance at the infamous US GP to claim fifth place and four unlikely points, and generally had the beating of his team-mates. He matched up evenly with Tiago Monteiro at Midland in 2006, but struggled to get on terms with Adrian Sutil as the team morphed into Spyker in '07.

Made an unlikely F1 return as the team principal of the beleaguered Caterham team in 2014 prior to its collapse at the end of the season.

2 Jos Verstappen

Much hyped after a stellar maiden test for Arrows at Estoril during which he eclipsed the best time set by the team's regular drivers at the preceding grand prix, but despite flashes of brilliance Jos Verstappen never quite managed to live up to those expectations.

Thrust into the limelight alongside Michael Schumacher at Benetton when first-choice driver JJ Lehto was injured, he bagged a brace of podiums in the most competitive car he drove, but seldom matched his world-championship-winning team-mate's pace.

Spent the following nine seasons flitting between midfield and tailend teams, often outperforming his team-mates and occasionally troubling the scorers.

1 Max Verstappen

The first Dutchman to stand at the top of an F1 podium is a genuine superstar and surely a world champion in the making.

A world-beater in karting, Max Verstappen starred in F3 leading to a bidding war for his services that Red Bull won. He instantly showed a ruthlessly aggressive approach to overtaking, stunning qualifying speed and in 2018 added the ability to manage a race to put himself on pole position to be the heir apparent when Lewis Hamilton calls time on his career.

Head and shoulders above the rest in the roll call of Dutch F1 racers and potentially destined to joined the all-time list of worldwide greats.