Portuguese drivers in Formula 1: the full list

Gareth J. Hargreaves • August 15, 2026 09:17

The unexpected return of Formula 1 to Portugal in 2020-prompted by a virus that turned the world upside down-sparked a wave of nostalgia. After all, the country had not hosted a Grand Prix since 1996, so it did not take long for the conversation to shift to Portuguese drivers in Formula 1 over the years.

Across 70 years of Formula 1-the first official championship season took place in 1950-there have been only nine Portuguese drivers who, in one way or another, were linked to the “big circus”. If we count only those who actually started races and/or competed in championship seasons, that figure drops to just four…

That quartet provides the perfect starting point for this round-up of Portuguese drivers in Formula 1 (in the list below: Tiago Monteiro, Pedro Lamy, Pedro Matos Chaves and “Nicha” Cabral).

Tiago Monteiro

Tiago Monteiro was the most recent Portuguese driver to take part in a full Formula 1 campaign, completing two entire seasons in 2005 and 2006-after already driving F1 single-seaters in 2004 as a Minardi test driver. Among Portuguese drivers in Formula 1, he would also end up as the most successful.

He remains the only one to have stood on the podium, thanks to a third-place finish at the 2005 United States Grand Prix with Jordan. There is no question about the Portuguese driver’s ability, but the result came under unusual circumstances: the leading teams chose not to race in the United States due to safety concerns linked to Michelin tyres. Even so, Monteiro scored again that year, taking eighth at the Belgian Grand Prix and finishing the season with seven points.

In 2006 the team was renamed Midland, and his best result was ninth at the Hungarian Grand Prix, without adding any points.

After leaving Formula 1, Monteiro moved on to the WTCC with SEAT and later Honda, while also racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Following a heavy crash in 2017 while leading the WTCC standings, he only returned to the track in 2018-before returning to winning ways in 2019, achieving that success in Portugal.

Pedro Lamy

Pedro Lamy reached Formula 1 in 1993 with Lotus, appearing in the final four Grands Prix of that season as a stand-in for Alex Zanardi while he recovered from an accident. He did not score, but Lotus signed the Portuguese driver to contest the full 1994 championship. However, after four races, Lamy suffered a serious crash during a test session at Silverstone, which ended his season and led to a lengthy recovery.

He made his Formula 1 return in 1995 with Minardi for the second half of the campaign, replacing Pierluigi Martini. Even in an uncompetitive car, Lamy ended the season on a high by securing sixth at the Australian Grand Prix at the Adelaide circuit-an outcome that earned him his first (and only) point in Formula 1. He came back again in 1996, still with Minardi, but the car’s lack of pace never allowed him to aim higher.

Once his Formula 1 stint was over, Lamy built a highly successful career in FIA GT, becoming GT2 champion in 1998 in a Dodge Viper. In the Le Mans Series he won the GTS class in 2004 with a Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello; the GT1 title in 2005 with an Aston Martin DBR9; and the LMP1 crown in 2006 with a Peugeot 908 HDI. In 2017 he was again crowned champion in the WEC, in LMGTE-AM, with an Aston Martin Vantage GTE. And it is also worth remembering he has won the 24 Hours of Nürburgring five times.

Pedro Matos Chaves

Porto-born Pedro Matos Chaves spent just one season in Formula 1, in 1991, after winning the British Formula 3000 championship in 1990. Like Lamy, Matos Chaves was ultimately held back by the stark lack of competitiveness of Coloni’s car. After 13 races and 13 attempts to qualify for a Grand Prix without managing to start a single one, he left the team and returned to Formula 3000.

Now retired from racing, he was also a two-time Portuguese rally champion with Toyota.

Mário de Araújo Cabral

Better known as “Nicha” Cabral, the Portuguese driver (who has recently passed away) made his Formula 1 debut in 1959 at the Monsanto circuit-yes, Formula 1 races were held in Lisbon’s “lung”. He finished 10th in a chaotic race in which he caused an accident involving Jack Brabham. He was the first Portuguese driver to take part in a Formula 1 World Championship event.

Cabral went on to enter four more Grands Prix-one in 1960 (Portugal), two in 1963 (Germany and Italy) and one in 1964 (Italy)-although he did not reach the finish in any of them. After Formula 1, “Nicha” Cabral raced in Formula 3 where, in 1965, he suffered a serious accident; he nevertheless continued competing through to 1974 in sports car events, despite also making two further appearances in Formula 2.

Portuguese drivers who almost reached Formula 1

There were additional Portuguese drivers involved with Formula 1, even if that did not translate into Grand Prix starts. Beginning with the most recent, current Formula E champion António Félix da Costa tested several Formula 1 single-seaters-Force India in 2010 and Red Bull in 2013-which even earned him a role as Red Bull reserve driver at various Grands Prix.

As a reward for winning the World Series by Renault (single-seaters fitted with a 3.5 l V8) in 2007, Álvaro Parente was given the chance to test a Renault Formula 1 car in early 2008. In 2010 he came close to joining the Virgin Racing team, but it did not happen. He went on to compete in GP2 and GT championships, enjoying multiple successes.

Filipe Albuquerque took an official test with Toro Rosso in 2007, after driving Red Bull single-seaters at demonstration events. It did not open the door to Formula 1, but his career would be marked by numerous achievements, including victory this year (2020) at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category, a class in which he was champion in 2019-2020; he was also champion in the European Le Mans Series (2020).

Going further back, we find Casimiro de Oliveira, brother of the well-known filmmaker and racing driver Manoel de Oliveira. He was the first Portuguese driver to have driven a Formula 1 car, in 1953, during a private test. It was a Ferrari F2, a single-seater that dominated the sport’s early years. He was also the first Portuguese driver entered for a Grand Prix: Portugal (Boavista) in 1958-one year before “Nicha” Cabral-with a Maserati 250F. He did not end up racing, as the event marked his return after three years away, and he chose not to take the risk.

Finally, there is Fritz d’Orey, or Frederico d’Orey. Yes, he was a Brazilian driver, but he is included here on a “technicality”: he held dual nationality (Brazilian and Portuguese), as the son of Portuguese emigrants. He started three Grands Prix in 1959, driving a Maserati 250F and a Tec-Mez (Maserati engine), with 10th as his best result.