Ultimate Driver Index: Settling the “Best Racer” Debate Once and for All

Dylan Wilkerson Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

The Ultimate Driver Index

For those who spend their life on the track, motor racing is all about three things: power, precision and an unwavering commitment to be the absolute best in the world – in other words, the ultimate driver.

And for those competing in F1, IndyCar, and NASCAR, these factors separate the winners from the back markers. But what’s more difficult, however, is determining which drivers are truly the best of the best.

Thus, eager to assemble a clear-cut ranking of the ultimate drivers across the global auto-racing scene, the Vegas Insider team developed a four-pronged system to compare every competitor across a range of popular motorsports.

Between championships won, social media followers, estimated net worth, and total race victories, our comparison tool covers all the essential elements needed to determine which racing speed-fiends are worthy of pole position.

Be sure to check out our latest NASCAR odds!

Find out which drivers fared best below!

Top 10 Ultimate Driver Rankings

After hours of scouring race records, calculating total social media follower counts, and comparing eye-watering earnings, as well as evaluating total series title wins, here are the drivers we ranked as the best in racing:

10. Charles Leclerc – 16.08 Points

With eight race wins, 19.2m followers and an estimated $40.2m in the bank, the Monégasque Ferrari driver comes in at 10th in our Ultimate Driver Index – a respectable outcome for the only driver yet to hit double-digits for race victories, and only one of two individuals on our list not to win a championship.

9. Denny Hamlin – 17.10 Points

Edging into our 9th spot is NASCAR’s Denny Hamlin. Boasting 57 first place finishes and an impressive net yield of $65m, it’s only the 44-year-old’s lackluster social media follower count (296,000) and an empty trophy cabinet that prevent him from landing a more impressive score and place on our list.

8. Will Power – 17.93 Points

The first IndyCar driver to make the cut is Australia’s Will Power, of Team Penske fame. Championship triumphs in 2014 and 2022 herald Power as the inaugural title winner on our Ultimate Driver Index. However, with a modest 101,000 total followers, it appears the racing community does not wholly appreciate his efforts.

7. Joey Logano – 20.74 Points

NASCAR’s Joey Logano takes us out of the teen scores and into the twenties, as the three-time NASCAR Cup winner sits seventh from top spot with 20.74 points. Hailing from Connecticut, Logano’s 37 race wins have led him to consistent end-of-season titles – and he has an estimated $24m in his back pocket to show for those results.

Still, their followers remain on the lower end of the spectrum, at just 327,000 overall, hence a spot in the top 10 rather than the top 5.

6. Kyle Busch – 26.62 Points

Nevada’s very own Kyle Busch clinched NASCAR Cup glory in 2015 and 2019, with 10 race victories across both years. Career-wide analysis unveils 63 wins for Busch – who also stands as the second most-followed NASCAR driver on the Ultimate Driver Index. Even more impressive is the 40-year-old’s projected monetary earnings, as he presides over a pretty $80m.

5. Fernando Alonso – 33.68 Points

The impassioned Spaniard has enjoyed a long and winding F1 career, the epoch of which came during back-to-back Drivers’ Championship titles in 2005 and 2006 while driving for Renault. Alonso has attained victory on 32 occasions in his multi-decade racing career. Strikingly, his most recent P1 Grand Prix finish came in 2013. 

But despite such a longstanding disappointment, his $260m and 7.4m online followers are nothing to scoff at.

4. Scott Dixon – 37.34 Points

If this index were solely based on a championship-to-follower ratio, Scott Dixon’s rank would have been dragged into the mud. Dixon has amassed just 173,000 followers, with none of his six championships having a tangible impact on global interest in his online presence.

Truly, if the New Zealand national’s social media figures matched his numbers for race wins (59) and net worth ($36.5m), he’d likely enjoy a more impressive standing than fourth – though 4^th place is absolutely nothing to sniff at.

3. Max Verstappen – 50.29 Points

First to enter the podium on our Ultimate Driver Index is the Netherlands’ Max Verstappen; 65-time race winner, four-time F1 Drivers’ Champion and sim-racing aficionado. It is the Dutchman’s inclination for online racing, as well as tremendous on-track accomplishments, that have compelled 15 million people to follow his online profiles. And Verstappen’s not short of cash, either, valued at an estimated $200m.

2. Jimmie Johnson – 53.81 Points

One of racing’s household names sits second on our Ultimate Driver Index, as Jimmie Johnson’s seven NASCAR Cup titles and 83 race victories push the now part-time professional driver just one position behind the rank leader.

At 49, ‘Superman’ has accumulated 534,000 online fans and $160m - making him the richest driver competing in a US-based series on this list.

1. Lewis Hamilton – 100 Points

In true racing fashion, there was only ever going to be one winner. All 39 million fans believe it; his $450m net worth reflects it.

With more race wins than any other F1 driver (105), the joint highest number of Drivers’ Championship titles (7), and a solid argument that he should be the most successful individual within the sport if not for infamous controversy at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Lewis Hamilton is without a doubt the ultimate driver on our index.

The Unfortunate Back Markers of our Ultimate Driver Index 

Alex Palou and Josef Newgarden, both of IndyCar, sit 11th and 12th on our leaderboard – with social media and earnings shortcomings failing to overturn a cumulative championship total of five.

Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson round out the top 15. All three have a single NASCAR Cup title to their name, as well as 30+ race wins. But, once again, none of the trio has broken the 400,000-follower barrier online.

Next, former teammates at McLaren’s F1 team, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, sit in 16th and 17th on our index, with their internet-based prowess and titanic salary doing much of the heavy lifting here.

This also appears true for fellow F1 stars Oscar Piastri (21st), George Russell (22nd), and Pierre Gasly (23rd); each with at least 4.5 million followers and $16m in their wallets.

Then, in 18th, Chase Elliott sits alongside fellow NASCAR competitor Ryan Blaney (19th), and the pair represent the lowest-ranking drivers to have won a championship. Finally, rounding out the pack are more NASCAR drivers: William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Bubba Wallace, with followers, earnings, and race win differentials separating our final triad of back markers.

So, there you have it, the ultimate driver index! Did your favorite driver make the cut? Do you disagree without ranking? Maybe you’re thinking of putting your chips down on a new driver going forward?

Either way, if you want to stay up to date with all things motor sport, as well as the winning odds for every driver’s next race, then head over to Vegas Insider today for all your sporting news needs.

Methodology

Using desk research, we gathered the biggest names in F1, NASCAR and IndyCar, and analyzed each driver on the following metrics:

• Instagram Followers
• Net Worth
• Races Won
• Championships Won

Each driver was then given a normalized score (max. 100) based on how they performed in each of the metrics above. The higher the total score, the better the driver ranked in our Ultimate Driver Index.

All data correct as of July 18th, 2025

Dylan Wilkerson

Dylan Wilkerson has over 2 years of experience reporting and analyzing the sports betting industry for various sites. His portfolio includes work for SportsHandle and Action Network, in addition to VegasInsider. His favorite sports are the NFL, College Football, The PGA Tour, the LIV Tour, and Cricket. Dylan has a broad and deep understanding of various sports-related topics. More from Dylan Wilkerson