Who Is The Tallest F1 Driver?

• Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon are the tallest Formula 1 drivers in 2025 at 1.86 meters, with George Russell just behind at 1.85 meters.
• Yuki Tsunoda is the shortest current driver at 1.59 meters, while the grid average sits just under 1.77 meters.
• The FIA sets cockpit size rules and a driver-plus-seat minimum weight, so height no longer creates an unfair advantage or disadvantage.

The tallest Formula 1 drivers in 2025 are Alex Albon and Esteban Ocon at 1.86 meters, with George Russell just behind at 1.85 meters. They stand several centimeters above the average driver height of 1.77 meters, which places them at the upper end of what modern cockpits are designed to accommodate.

Driver height has real consequences in Formula 1. Cars are engineered with tightly packaged cockpits, and taller drivers require more space for seat, pedal, and steering adjustments. Additional height often means additional weight, which affects ballast strategy and the overall balance of the car. Since 2019, the FIA has applied a minimum driver-plus-seat weight, ensuring that taller drivers are no longer forced to race under unhealthy weight limits to remain competitive.

George Russell has spoken openly about the difference the rule made: “I have a lot more energy, I feel better… The next step is to make the cockpit a standard size across all cars because there is still benefits if you are a smaller driver.” Mark Webber, who raced at 1.84 meters before the rule change, was blunt about the issue in 2013: “Everybody’s been asking me why I look so skinny… It’s a car performance advantage. The lighter drivers should be pushing as well… but they don’t.”

The FIA’s technical regulations also enforce minimum cockpit dimensions, defining entry volumes and internal clearances that must remain unobstructed. These rules ensure that even drivers at the tallest and shortest ends of the grid can enter, exit, and compete safely without car design compromising basic ergonomics.

With analysis from Crazy Time, let’s take a closer look at how the 2025 grid measures up.

2025 Formula 1 driver heights

For the 2025 season, the grid spans from the tallest drivers at 1.86 meters down to the shortest at 1.59 meters, a spread of more than 25 centimeters. The average sits just under 1.77 meters, placing most competitors close to the global male norm, yet even small differences can influence car setup.

Below is the full list of drivers, ordered from tallest to shortest, with each height given in both metric and imperial units for clarity.

Alex Albon – 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Esteban Ocon – 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
George Russell – 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Oliver Bearman – 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Nico Hülkenberg – 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Gabriel Bortoleto – 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Jack Doohan – 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Lance Stroll – 1.82 m (5 ft 11 in)
Max Verstappen – 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Charles Leclerc – 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Oscar Piastri – 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Carlos Sainz – 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Pierre Gasly – 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Lando Norris – 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Franco Colapinto – 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Lewis Hamilton – 1.74 m (5 ft 8 in)
Liam Lawson – 1.74 m (5 ft 8 in)
Andrea Kimi Antonelli – 1.72 m (5 ft 7 in)
Fernando Alonso – 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Isack Hadjar – 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Yuki Tsunoda – 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)

Average driver height in Formula 1

The average driver height in 2025 is just under 1.77 meters, which is close to the global male average. Lewis Hamilton, at 1.74 meters, sits almost exactly at this benchmark. This shows how most of the grid clusters around a narrow band, with only a handful of drivers more than five centimeters outside the average range.

Teams design cockpits to fit drivers who are broadly within this range, while FIA safety rules ensure that extremes are still accommodated. The average also reflects how both taller and shorter drivers have carved out careers, despite the engineering compromises involved.

The tallest F1 drivers in history

The modern record belongs to Justin Wilson, who stood 1.93 meters (6 feet 4 inches) when he raced in 2003 for Minardi and Jaguar. His height required custom cockpits and special steering layouts. Wilson admitted that fitting into the cars was a career-long battle but said: “There have always been people who have said that it is not going to happen… We’ve proved that bit wrong.”

Going further back, Hans-Joachim Stuck is widely regarded as the tallest driver in Formula 1 history at 1.94 meters. His size created significant packaging issues in the 1970s, when cockpits were even tighter than today. These outliers highlight how rare it is for drivers above 1.90 meters to compete at the highest level.

The shortest F1 drivers in history

Andrea Montermini, who raced in the 1990s, stood just 1.57 meters (5 feet 2 inches). Among modern competitors, Yuki Tsunoda at 1.59 meters is the shortest on the current grid. Smaller stature has historically offered advantages in terms of weight and ballast freedom, though regulations now neutralize much of that benefit.

Team height comparisons in 2025

The tallest pairing on the grid belongs to Haas, with Esteban Ocon at 1.86 meters and Oliver Bearman at 1.84 meters, averaging 1.85 meters between them. This makes them the only team where both drivers exceed 1.80 meters.

The shortest pairing is Red Bull, where Max Verstappen measures 1.81 meters but teammate Yuki Tsunoda is only 1.59 meters. This 22 centimeter gap creates the biggest contrast between teammates and pulls their average down to around 1.70 meters.

Ferrari has one of the most balanced lineups, with Charles Leclerc at 1.80 meters and Lewis Hamilton at 1.74 meters. Their similarity makes cockpit adjustments simpler and allows engineers to run both cars with minimal ergonomic compromise.

Is there a height limit for F1?

There is no official maximum or minimum height set by the FIA for Formula 1 drivers. The regulations only require that cars meet strict cockpit dimensions to guarantee safe entry, exit, and operation for drivers of different builds. These rules cover minimum cockpit length, width, and clearance around the driver’s head and steering wheel.

In practice, the design of Formula 1 cars makes extreme height a challenge. Taller drivers, particularly those above 1.90 meters, often struggle to fit into the narrow cockpits without major modifications. Justin Wilson at 1.93 meters and Hans-Joachim Stuck at 1.94 meters both needed special adaptations to race. At the other end, drivers under 1.60 meters such as Yuki Tsunoda and Andrea Montermini have shown that shorter stature does not prevent competition, provided safety and ergonomics are respected.

The current 2019 driver-plus-seat minimum weight rule ensures that height is no longer an unfair disadvantage. While packaging limits remain a consideration, there is no rule that prevents drivers of unusual height from racing, so long as they can safely fit within FIA-mandated cockpit standards.

Why height matters less than it once did

Before 2019, drivers were regularly instructed to reach extreme weight targets to keep the car below the minimum limit. This put taller drivers at a disadvantage. Jenson Button explained the penalty in 2014: “If a driver is over the weight by 5 kg, that is 0.2 sec a lap.” At a time when margins were razor thin, being taller meant carrying unavoidable laptime losses.

The 2019 rule change introduced a minimum weight of 80 kilograms for driver plus seat. This meant taller drivers no longer carried a disadvantage compared to lighter teammates. In 2025, the threshold rose again under a welfare banner, emphasizing that the series expects athletes to race strong rather than underfed.

Height has shaped Formula 1’s past and still defines its present, but the 2025 grid proves that drivers from 1.59 to 1.86 meters can all compete at the very highest level.