(car accelerating)
(upbeat exciting music) - [Nolan] 10 teams, 20 drivers, billions of dollars at stake. For 70 years the world
has watched Formula One to see who will be the best of
the best, the world champion. The driver whose name and nationality will go down in history. Drivers from 40 countries
have raced in Formula One, but over half of the champions
come from just four countries and they might not be the
first four that come to mind. So which ones are they? Why do these countries make champions? And how does a country
with a population the size of South Carolina, have one of the greatest championship records in international motor sports? Well, you gotta stick around to find out, this is Wheelhouse. (upbeat rhythmic music) Formula One is a truly
international series. Since it began in 1950,
there have been teams from 26 countries, races
held in 33 countries and 767 drivers from
40 different countries. But among all those drivers, there have only been 33 world champions. So where do champions come from? Do most champions just come from the countries that
produce the most drivers? Well, let's look there first. (drumming) Roughly 65% of all F1 drivers come from just four countries; Italy, the US, France and the United Kingdom. It's not much of a mystery
why those four countries have produced so many F1 competitors. Take Italy. It's the home of Ferrari,
a team which has never missed a Formula One season and has won the Constructor's Championship a record 15 times. It's the home of legendary F1 circuits like Monza, Imola and Mugello. Nearly 100 F1 drivers have been Italian. So how many Italian champions are there? Just two. And there hasn't been an
Italian champion since 1953. "Wait a minute", I hear
you F1 fans crying. What about the 1978 world
champion, Mario Andretti? He was Italian. He was, but sometimes the record book doesn't tell the whole story. So we've gotta dig a little deeper. Andretti was born in Italy,
but raced as an American. So what does that mean? How did Andretti end up racing
with the stars and stripes? Nationality in formula
one is whatever's listed on a driver's FIA super license. That's the most elite license in racing and at any given time, there
are less than a hundred drivers in the world who could
even qualify for it. Andretti became a US citizen in 1964 and dual citizens like Andretti can choose which country they represent. Because Andretti spent most
of his career in the USA, he continued racing as an American when he got his super license. Sorry Italy. Now, before you wear yourself
out, chanting USA, USA, I have some bad news. Out of the 158 American
F1 drivers only two became world champions. But again, the record book,
doesn't tell the whole story, you've gotta dig into the history. From 1950 to 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was a Formula One championship event, but 122 of the Americans who raced at Indy during those years, never entered another F1 championship race. Once you know that,
America's F1 record starts to look pretty good actually. Just 36 Americans have actually competed for the championship. That means we've got one
champion for every 18 drivers, a ratio that's not far off from some of the top
countries for champions. Not too shabby, especially considering that France, home of Le Mans and the FIA has had 71 drivers, but
just one world champion. All right, so now you can
chant a little if you want. Sorry France. So far, we know that
three of the top countries for Formula One drivers,
Italy, the USA and France, have produced just five
world champions between them. So where do these champions come from? Well, the top spot for both drivers and champions goes to the United Kingdom. Over 70 seasons of Formula One, there have been 164 British drivers and among the 33 world
champions, 10 of them were Brits. The top spot for champions
isn't even a contest. Second place is a fight for the scraps. A three-way tie between the countries with just three champions each. One of the most successful countries is the size of New Mexico but with the climate of Alaska. It's not an obvious choice
for champion country if you ask me, but they
really make it work. But before we find out
which country that is, let's see why British drivers have been so successful in Formula One. (double music beat) Much like the Italians, the British have been massively involved in Formula One from the start. There has never been a season
without a British team, a British driver, or a British Grand Prix. British F1 teams have won the
Constructor Championship twice as many times as the second place Italy. McLaren has participated
in every F1 season since 1966, a streak second
only to Italy's Ferrari. (car engines roaring) Three of the 2020 F1 teams were British in McLaren, Williams and Racing Point. More than any other country and in fact, Racing Point is gonna be even
more British this season, rebranding themselves as
the Aston Martin F1 team. Looking forward to seeing how Seb does. What makes the UK in many
ways the home of Formula One, isn't just about the British teams. Other countries teams
like Austria's Red Bull and America's Haas, maintain
facilities in the UK. Hell, France's Renault F1 cars are designed and built in England. The all conquering Mercedes team has been based just north of London since their return to F1 in 2010. Basically Great Britain is to Formula One what North Carolina is to NASCAR. Ferrari might wanna argue, but the story of Formula One is dominated by the British. And we haven't even talked
about the drivers yet. The list of British F1 champions
includes legendary drivers like Nigel Mansell, James Hunt, Jenson Button and Jackie Stewart. British champions have
taken home the title a combined 20 times. Seven of those titles belong to the most successful current driver, Lewis Hamilton, and his
career isn't even over yet. His career's far from over, I hope. At this point though, with
such a commanding lead, another British championship
is almost irrelevant but like the USA, the record book doesn't tell the whole story
of Great Britain's F1 success because you can't tell the
story of Lewis Hamilton without talking about Germany. Hamilton won his first
championship in 2008 driving a McLaren, but that car had a German engine from Mercedes. With his second championship in 2012, he was now driving for Mercedes and interrupted the four
year championship streak of German driver, Sebastian Vettel. Hamilton's next six
championships were with Mercedes, the team that has won the
Constructors Championship every year since 2014, and the only year Hamilton
didn't win the championship, it went to his Mercedes
teammate, German, Nico Rosberg. Hamilton's seventh world
championship in 2020 tied the record of yet another
German, Michael Schumacher, who still holds the record for most consecutive
championships with five in a row. Although perhaps only until next year. That's three German
champions, which puts Germany in that three-way tie for second place. So why has Germany produced F1 champions? Well, if the story of
Formula One is dominated by the British, the story of the car is dominated by Germany. After all, it was the German Carl Benz who invented the automobile in 1885. Along with Mercedes, Germany is the home of Audi, BMW and Porsche. It's where you'll find the Autobahn and the Nürburgring, where
the first German Grand Prix was held in Formula One. It's no surprise then, that
when Mercedes showed up to their first Formula One season in 1954 they were firing on all
cylinders, taking home the Constructors Championship
two years in a row. Admittedly, Mercedes did have
a bit of a slump after that, not winning it again until
nearly 60 years later in 2014, but they've won it every year since then. The success of the German
drivers has been similar to that of Mercedes, a bit of
a late start, but boy was it something once they got going. There have been 52 German
drivers, but no champions until Michael Schumacher in 1994. The title has come home
to Germany 12 times since Schumacher's first championship, more than any other
country in the same period. Schumacher went on to win
a total of seven titles. Sebastian Vettel got
four from 2010 to 2014 and he's still racing, so you never know. We'll see what happens. The third German champion, Nico Rosberg is the only driver to take a championship away from Hamilton,
which is no small feat. Once more though, the record book isn't giving us the whole story. Like Mario Andretti, Rosberg
is also a dual citizen. If his FIA super license
listed his other nationality, the top countries for F1 champions would be completely different. Germany wouldn't be second anymore. They'd be tied for fourth. And that mystery country,
the happiest country in the world, would be all
by itself in second place. But before we reveal the
home of Nico Rosberg's dad and possibly the most successful country in international racing, let's take a look at the other country with
three formula one champions. It's a country that
couldn't be more different from Germany and that's Brazil. (upbeat fast music) Brazil doesn't have an
Autobahn or a Nürburgring. They don't have Germany's
massive car industry connection to automotive history or
high-performance car culture. But Brazil has the strongest
connection to Formula One of any country outside of Europe. And that's partly because
Brazilians love sports. Soccer is practically a second religion, but also because they love to cheer for Brazilian heroes and see
them shine on the world stage. Motor sports in Brazil
may not be as accessible as it is in other countries, but all it takes is one rising star and the whole of Brazil
is gonna lift them up. Brazil's obsession with
Formula One got started when future champion Emerson Fittipaldi scored the first ever Grand Prix victory for a Brazilian in 1970. That began a 47 year streak of 32 Brazilian drivers in Formula One. In 1972, the year Fittipaldi
won his first championship, the inaugural Brazilian
Grand Prix was held and it has been a part
of every F1 season since, except 2020, when it was
one of the many races that was sadly canceled due to COVID. I really did miss Interlagos. That race has long been an important event on the F1 calendar, but in
Brazil, Formula One is more about national heroes than
their home Grand Prix. And one of their biggest Brazilian heroes of all time is Ayrton Senna. Senna was mentored by
Fittipaldi and is absolutely one of the biggest legends in Formula One. Along with his three championships, he holds numerous records,
including winning the most prestigious Grand Prix of all,
Monaco, five years in a row. During his life Senna
achieved near godlike status among the people of Brazil
and following his tragic death at 1994's Grand Prix of
Imola, Brazilian interest in Formula One waned. When there are other successful drivers that interest returns, but F1 has yet to achieve the same popularity it had during the Senna years,
unsurprisingly really. Many Brazilians believe there can never be a greater driver and for
them Formula One ended with Senna's death. With their passion for
sport, sense of community and love of international competition, it makes sense that
Brazil is on this list. The UK and Germany also make sense because of their close associations
with Formula One and enthusiasm for everything automotive. But the last country in this
video is probably better known for bands with names like
Ensiferum, Omnium Gatherum, Insomnium, all kinds of
ums, not race car drivers. For this last one, we've gotta dig into the geography, culture
and people to understand why (drum roll) Finland makes racing champions. Some of you might struggle
to find Finland on a map. I know I do. So here's how I remember. Finland is the bulbous
Scandinavian nation that hangs out behind Europe's dangler,
that's Norway and Sweden. And just like the geography suggests, the Finns have a lot of balls. What I'm crudely calling
balls, the Finns call "sisu". They'll tell you there's
no perfect translation for this uniquely Finnish kind of courage. F1 champion Mika Häkkinen said that sisu is what gives Finns the
courage to break late, get on throttle early and carve every apex as close as possible. But sisu also means not
letting emotions take control. It's maintaining focus
and rational perseverance when the odds are against you. It makes sense that sisu would
be an asset in Formula One. Most drivers in an F1 season
will I never win a race but they're still expected
to give it their all. Maybe sisu prepares
Finnish drivers to succeed even when the odds are,
they're destined to lose. The thing is, Finnish
drivers seem to lose less than any other country in Formula One. Sure, they've only got
three world champions but there have only been nine Finns in the whole history of F1. That's insane, quite frankly. No other country even comes close to that rate of success. So is it all just sisu? Well, another F1 champion
Kimi Räikkönen says that all Finns excel at
driving, because quote, "The roads and long winters, you really have to be a good
driver to survive in Finland. It is always slippery and bumpy." Many Finnish roads are gravel and even the paved ones spend a bunch of the year covered in ice. To get an ordinary driver's license, Finns have to take a test
on a slippery road course which is basically a wet skid pad, and to pass they have to
know how to power slide. This is awesome. Finns even set up elaborate
ice circuits on frozen lakes each winter, where
anyone can bring any car and take a spin, so to speak. For Finns it seems, driving
at the limit, is just driving. Finns will also tell you
that driving fast is just in their blood and maybe they're right. The first ever F1 champion Keke Rosberg was the father of German
F1 champion, Nico Rosberg. Nico even had a Finnish racing license, switching to a German
license just two years before his debut in F1. If Nico hadn't switched, Finland would have four
champions and would be all alone in that number two spot. So Finnish racing success
is built on harsh winters, sisu and maybe even a little genetics. Brazil makes F1 champions because they wanna beat the world in sport and often do. Germany because they're possibly the most car obsessed country in the world and the UK, because they're the spiritual and oftentimes actual home of Formula One. The UK is currently secure in their number one spot for F1 champions. But second place is still a race. If Valtteri Bottas manages to move out from Hamilton's shadow this season, Finland would finally
get its fourth champion and be all by itself behind the UK. But for 2021 German, Mick Schumacher, Michael Schumacher's son, will be racing at Formula One as well. Brazil's current best hope is
Emerson Fittipaldi's grandson, Pietro, a reserve driver
with Haas and you know what, it would be great to see
a Brazilian driver return to the Formula One grid. I'm sure Brazil would also agree. These kinds of battles are one of the greatest parts of
Formula One's 70 year run. Even if Hamilton wins
it all again this year which he probably will,
there's always next year. And there's always an international lineup of potential future heroes. We just need to hurry up and
get an American on the grid. So when Hamilton retires, Mercedes call me. I've got a 2100 I rating. That's actually pretty bad. Thank you for watching Wheelhouse. I love, love, love doing F1 stuff on here. So if you wanna see more,
let me know in the comments. We got a spicy one coming up for ya, I think you'll like it. Follow Donut Media on all
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