The 9 best F1 moustaches

Dishonourable mention: Daniel Ricciardo 2014 US

Before I kick off the best ‘tache attempts in F1, I need to just get a dishonourable mention out of the way. Similar to his current form, Danny Ricciardo’s attempt is not great. During the 2014 US GP, the Australian adopted a brave cowboy moustache as some sort of tribute to the Texas locals. I’m sorry to say it, but it didn’t quite cut the mustard. It lacked a certain level of substance and falls short of the list. Sorry Daniel. You’ll have plenty of time to work on it next year.

9. Sebastian Vettel

Kicking off the proper list is everyone’s favourite second driver, Vettel. In his Ferrari days Sebastian grew a strong ‘80s drug dealer ‘tache and we’re not sure why, but it just worked.

He’s been quite experimental with his hair over the years, but this one was a winner.

8. Fernando Alonso

Alonso at Ferrari should have been a match made in heaven, but despite some incredible efforts, he never managed to bring home the F1 title. One thing he did bring home was the award for the ‘most dastardly moustache the grid has ever seen’. There is a hint of beard here which does hold Fernando back a little from appearing higher up the list.

7. Valtteri Bottas

In at number seven is Valtteri with his proper Scandinavian broom. Everyone tuning into the 2020 Emilia Romagna GP would have immediately experienced weak knees as they laid their eyes upon Bottas’ face bush. Not only was it a treat for the eyes, but a treat for the heart as it was to raise awareness for the Movemeber movement. Bravo Valtteri.

6. Jo Siffert

The son of a dairy farmer, Jo Siffert must have grown up with a constant milk moustache. As he grew up and moved away from the family home, it seems his top lip felt very lonely, so he grew this devilish top lip toupée.

5. Clay Regazzoni

Clay dabbled on and off with his incredibly bushy moustache over the years, but I think we can all agree, that moustache was a winner. It’s a very ‘70s style ‘tache but that only adds to the legend.

4. Keke Rosberg

Look at it. Soak it in. Keke Rosberg was not only the inspiration for the Bottas ‘tache, he is also one of the coolest drivers to have ever lived. Is that because of his facial hair? Hard to say. He also benefits from consistently driving beautiful looking cars, but we can’t look past that ‘tache.

3. Graham Hill

There’s no question about it, Graham Hill is right up there with the coolest drivers to ever enter the sport. Despite not passing his driving test until the age of 24, he’s the only man to ever win the Triple Crown of Motorsport. However, that pales in comparison to his achievements in the upper lip category. His strong resemblance to Wacky Racer’s Dick Dastardly and ability to walk into the James Bond villain role cements his moustache in the hall of fame.

2. Harald Ertl

Number two!? A lot of the moustache aficionados out there may be wondering how Ertl isn’t in the top spot, but let me explain. Quite clearly, Ertl’s facial hair is of biblical proportions. The reason he hasn’t taken the highly sought-number one spot is that he’s combined the curly moustache with an equally strong beard. That isn’t in the spirit of this list. The other reason is that the number one spot was always taken…

1. Nigel Mansell

Am I being biased because I got to meet my hero at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard? Well, maybe. However, I’d argue that the thick bristles of Il Leone’s top lip are and will forever remain the greatest moustache F1, nay, the world has ever seen. He also had the foresight to store two spare ‘taches above his eyes just in case of an emergency.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.