Drivers

Reference documentation for the drivers.csv table

The drivers.csv table contains biographical information about all Formula 1 drivers who have participated in the championship.

Schema

Field	Type	Description
driverId	integer	Unique identifier for each driver
driverRef	string	Short reference name for the driver (URL-friendly)
number	integer	Permanent race number (introduced in 2014)
code	string	Three-letter driver code (e.g., HAM, VER, LEC)
forename	string	Driver’s first name
surname	string	Driver’s last name
dob	date	Driver’s date of birth (YYYY-MM-DD format)
nationality	string	Driver’s nationality
url	string	Wikipedia URL for the driver

The number and code fields contain \N for drivers who raced before these systems were introduced. Permanent numbers were introduced in 2014, and three-letter codes in 1996.

Sample Data

driverId	driverRef	number	code	forename	surname	dob	nationality
1	hamilton	44	HAM	Lewis	Hamilton	1985-01-07	British
2	heidfeld	\N	HEI	Nick	Heidfeld	1977-05-10	German
3	rosberg	6	ROS	Nico	Rosberg	1985-06-27	German
4	alonso	14	ALO	Fernando	Alonso	1981-07-29	Spanish

Relationships

Referenced by:

• results.driverId → drivers.driverId
• qualifying.driverId → drivers.driverId
• sprint_results.driverId → drivers.driverId
• driver_standings.driverId → drivers.driverId
• lap_times.driverId → drivers.driverId
• pit_stops.driverId → drivers.driverId

Dataset Statistics

• Total Records: 865 drivers
• Date Range: 1950 - Present
• Active Drivers: Varies by season

Example Queries

Find drivers by nationality

import pandas as pd

drivers = pd.read_csv('drivers.csv')
british_drivers = drivers[drivers['nationality'] == 'British']
print(british_drivers[['forename', 'surname', 'dob']])

Calculate driver ages

from datetime import datetime

drivers['dob'] = pd.to_datetime(drivers['dob'])
drivers['age'] = (datetime.now() - drivers['dob']).dt.days // 365
print(drivers[['forename', 'surname', 'age']].head())

Find drivers with permanent numbers

modern_drivers = drivers[drivers['number'] != '\\N']
print(modern_drivers[['forename', 'surname', 'number', 'code']])

Search for specific driver

verstappen = drivers[drivers['surname'] == 'Verstappen']
print(verstappen)

Get youngest and oldest drivers

drivers['dob'] = pd.to_datetime(drivers['dob'])
youngest = drivers.nlargest(1, 'dob')
oldest = drivers.nsmallest(1, 'dob')
print(f"Youngest: {youngest['forename'].iloc[0]} {youngest['surname'].iloc[0]}")
print(f"Oldest: {oldest['forename'].iloc[0]} {oldest['surname'].iloc[0]}")

Notes

• \N in the dataset represents null values (data not available)
• Permanent driver numbers (e.g., 44 for Hamilton) were introduced in 2014
• Three-letter codes were introduced in 1996
• Some drivers have competed under different nationalities during their career
• Date of birth is crucial for age-related statistics and historical analysis