There have been 5 Formula One drivers from

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Former drivers

Tom Belsø Tom Belsø (27 August 1942 – 12 January 2020) was a motor racing driver, credited as the first Formula One driver from Denmark. Early career Belsø started out in touring cars, where he won his debut race and went on to become Scandinavian To ...

became the first Danish Formula One driver when he was entered in the

1973 Swedish Grand Prix The 1973 Grand Prix of Sweden was a Formula One motor race held at the Scandinavian Raceway, Anderstorp on 17 June 1973. It was race 7 of 15 in both the 1973 World Championship of Drivers and the 1973 International Cup for Formula One Manufactu ...

, however only participated in practice before handing the car over to

Howden Ganley James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of 10 champions ...

. His race debut came at the

1974 South African Grand Prix The 1974 South African Grand Prix (formally the XX Lucky Strike Grand Prix of South Africa) was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on 30 March 1974. It was race 3 of 15 in both the 1974 World Championship of Drivers and the 1974 Interna ...

, where he ended up retiring on the first lap with clutch issues. He entered 3 further races, all in the season, with the only other start and sole finish coming in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

with 8th place. Two years later,

Jac Nellemann Jacob "Jac" NellemannSources disagree regarding the spelling of this person's surnameChicaneF1StatsF1 Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

for the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix. His failure to qualify ensured he was the only car entered not to start the race. He also entered the

1977 Swedish Grand Prix The 1977 Swedish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Scandinavian Raceway on 19 June 1977. It was the eighth race of the 1977 Formula One season. The 72-lap race was won by Frenchman Jacques Laffite, driving a Ligier-Matra. Thi ...

but was not present.

Jan Magnussen Jan Ellegaard Magnussen (born 4 July 1973) is a Danish professional racing driver and was a factory driver for General Motors until the end of the 2020 season. He has competed in Champ Car, Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), NASCAR, the FIA ...

, the father of Kevin Magnussen, made his debut in the

1995 Pacific Grand Prix The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix (formally the II Pacific Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 22 October 1995 at the TI Circuit, Aida, Japan. It was the fifteenth round of the 1995 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher ...

as a replacement for the ill

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...

, finishing 10th. Having raced in

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

in 1996, he was picked up by

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

's eponymous team for the 1997 season alongside

Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...

. He competed in 24 Grands Prix for the team, with his only point coming in his final race in Formula One, the

1998 Canadian Grand Prix The 1998 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 7 June 1998. The 69-lap race was the seventh round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was won by Michael Schumacher, however the race ...

. Since his retirement from Formula One, Magnussen has continued racing in other classes. Nicolas Kiesa 2005

Nicolas Kiesa Nicolas Kiesa (born 3 March 1978) is a Danish former racing driver of Italian descent. He participated in five Formula One Grands Prix in the 2003 season, scoring no championship points. Previously, he had won the 2003 Formula 3000 race at Monaco ...

made his debut at the

2003 German Grand Prix The 2003 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 3 August 2003 at the Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Germany. It was the twelfth race of the 2003 Formula One season and the sixty ...

in a

Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...

, following Justin Wilson's move to

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

. He competed in the final 5 races of the 2003 season, finishing all 5 but failing to score any points. He was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner for

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Kevin Magnussen Kevin Jan Magnussen (; born 5 October 1992) is a Danish racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for W Racing Team, WRT and the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, RLL as a factory driver f ...

became the first 2nd-generation Danish driver in Formula One when he debuted in the

2014 Australian Grand Prix The 2014 Australian Grand Prix (formally known as the 2014 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that was held on 16 March 2014 in Melbourne. The race was contested over 58 laps of the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit ...

for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

. The son of Jan hit the ground running with the highest-placed grid since

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and the highest finishing positions for a debutante since

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, starting fourth and finishing second – following the disqualification of

Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( , ; born 1 July 1989) is an Australian racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Ricciardo won eight Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Born and raised in Perth to Italian-Australi ...

. Magnussen however failed to continue this run of form and despite consistent points finishes throughout 2014 he found himself on the sidelines after McLaren announced their 2015 driver-line up of

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...

and

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...

. Despite this, Magnussen would be required to fill in for Alonso at the opening race of 2015, the , following the Spaniard's crash in testing – however he did not take the start as his engine failed on his way to the starting grid. For 2016 Magnussen returned to a full-time drive with

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

alongside debutant

Jolyon Palmer Jolyon Carlyle Palmer (born 20 January 1991) is a British former racing driver, broadcaster and journalist, who competed in Formula One from to . Since retiring from racing, Palmer has been a pundit for the BBC, Channel 4 and F1TV. Prior to ...

, where he finished in the points only twice, culminating in a move to Haas for where he stayed until the conclusion of the 2020 season, after which he moved to

sportscar racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing that uses sports cars with two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be either purpose-built Sports prototype, sports prototypes, which are the highest level in sports car racing; or grand to ...

. Magnussen rejoined Haas on a multi-year deal for the season. At the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix, Magnussen became the first Danish polesitter. Magnussen had left the team at the end of the 2024 season.

Timeline

References

{{Formula One nationalities