Motor Sport readers have voted in their thousands and we can now reveal the five motor racing figureheads you have chosen to enter our Hall of Fame. This year’s shortlist brought a tough test for voters, with every nominee excelling in their respective fields, all with achievements that most racers can only dream of. As usual, we were looking for more than just race victories and championships – and once again our readers have assiduously opted for individuals whose mark goes beyond results sheets. These are people who have shaped their sport as icons of their generation. Here are the 2021 Hall of Fame inductees…
Formula 1
Kimi Räikkönen
Formula 1’s most prolific driver, with a record number of starts. He won the 2007 world title
It’s a sign of the affection in which Kimi Räikkönen is held that rival nominee Jenson Button encouraged his Twitter followers to vote for the Iceman. He convincingly won the Formula 1 category ahead of Button and Nico Rosberg.
Räikkönen retired after his record-setting 349th grand prix start at Abu Dhabi, the 2007 world champion still displaying flashes of the brilliance that earned him an F1 drive in 2001 after competing in just 23 car races.
But it’s his attitude to racing that connects him with other Hall of Fame legends. He was there simply for the thrill of racing. In a Motor Sport podcast recorded ahead of his final race, he said that he would have continued karting if he hadn’t found the funding for a single-seat career. And he’d probably have been just as happy.
Legends
Michèle Mouton
Blazed a trail for female rally drivers and now plays a major role at the FIA
Bin the self-help book: the career of Michèle Mouton is all you need to study for an example of how far natural talent and self-determination can get you. When her love of speed — nurtured with country-road drives in her father’s Porsche 911 — combined with rallying, the magic was clear.
She rapidly won several French and European women’s rally titles in the mid-1970s, but realised that she’d only be truly tested competing at the top level. Amid suspicion that her performances could only be down to a souped-up engine, Mouton made a name for herself in WRC. She was signed by Audi for its Quattro season in 1981 and can count herself unlucky to have missed out on the 1982 title.
She remains the only woman to have won a WRC round, with four victories in total.
Le Mans
Allan McNish
Three-time Le Mans winner, whose influence now stretches into Audi team management
Three Le Mans wins, three American Le Mans titles and the 2013 World Endurance Championship all point to an exceptional driver.
After being voted by Motor Sport readers into the Hall of Fame as our next ‘Le Mans Legend’, Allan McNish looks back on a glittering career
By
James Elson
But it took moments to recognise his talent once you saw him in action: muscling his whispering diesel Audi R18 through lines of traffic at Le Mans with pace, aggression and caution in perfect balance.
His benchmark career was recognised by Hall of Fame voters, with almost two-thirds picking McNish in the Le Mans category, above David Brabham and Emanuele Pirro.
“I’m so proud to be recognised by the readers, because they’re very, very knowledgeable,” said the endurance racer-turned Formula E team boss. “They understand their stuff – they definitely know a Capello from a Kristensen from a McNish!”
US Racing
Scott Dixon
Six-time IndyCar champion and 2008 Indy 500 winner – and still going strong
Boasting longevity along with outright speed, Scott Dixon, now 41, has maintained an incredible level of competitiveness. He became CART’s youngest winner at 20 years old and, two years later, in 2003, claimed his first championship with Chip Ganassi Racing. It was the beginning of a hugely successful partnership.
An impressive 2008 included six wins, as well as a maiden Indianapolis 500 victory, on the way to a second championship. From then, the New Zealander’s IndyCar consistency has been unrivalled, finishing in the top three every year bar one up to 2018.
With his single victory in 2021, only AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti have a higher tally than his 51 wins. Nominees Hélio Castroneves and Jimmie Johnson will have to wait in line behind one of US racing’s all-time greats.
Engineers
Charlie Whiting
Formula 1’s race director from 1997 until his death in 2019 was a pillar of the sport
Firm, fair and respected: if Charlie Whiting had never been born, he would still exist in the imagination as the quintessential F1 race director.
He was chief mechanic at Brabham during Bernie Ecclestone’s reign and grew into his role, becoming FIA technical delegate and then, from 1997, race director. His presence was felt from paddock to the gantry, a watching eye cast over all competitors. Footage of briefings show good-natured exchanges between race director and driver, although Whiting was never shy in setting firm boundaries.
This season has only highlighted the void that Whiting left following his death just ahead of the 2019 season. His legacy lives on: Whiting helped spearhead improvements in safety with the introduction of the survival cell and most recently the Halo device.
View every racing legend in the Motor Sport Hall of Fame
