Who's The Greatest Fictional Racing Driver Of All Time?
With the release of "F1 The Movie," there are a few new entries into the lengthy catalog of fictional racing drivers. Sonny Hayes, portrayed by Brad Pitt, is a '90s F1 never-was who became a van-dwelling racing wanderer. He's been given an unbelievable opportunity to return to the world championship 30 years later by his former teammate-turned-team owner Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem. Hayes is paired alongside rookie phenom Joshua Pierce, played by Damson Idris. I won't spoil the movie's plot for those who haven't seen it last weekend. We have another matter to attend to.
Who's the greatest fictional racing driver of all time? The portrayal of racing on the silver screen has spanned the breadth of competition, from the NASCAR Cup Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans to death racing in a dystopian United States and illegal street racing in Los Angeles. The accuracy of that racing has a lot of room for improvement, but it's typically far more exciting than anything you could switch to on your TV during a Sunday afternoon. The drivers are often depicted as treating their fellow competitors as cannon fodder as they make their way to the front.
My choice has to be Jean Girard from "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." The pretentious Frenchman, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, somehow won a Formula 1 world championship with perennial backmarker Minardi in the early 2000s. Seeking stiffer competition, Girard decided to join the in-universe team Dennit Racing with the self-expressed goal of defeating his new teammate Ricky Bobby. The leap from single-seaters to stock cars is a massive one that can overwhelm some of the sport's best stars. Dario Franchitti, a four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner, washed out of NASCAR after a single year. Girard takes to NASCAR like a fish to water, able to hold the lead of a Cup Series race while sipping a macchiato. With that level of sheer ability, the outcome of the movie's climax is irrelevant.
Leave your recommendations for the great fictional racing drivers of all time in the comments below. All contenders are welcome, except obviously, the characters from the "Cars" franchise. They're vehicles and not drivers, silly.
