Tom Belsø
Tom Belsø was the first Formula One driver from Denmark. Born in 1942 in the Danish neighborhood of Søborg near Copenhagen, Belsø began racing in touring cars. In 1969, he became the Scandinavian Touring Car Champion. Then, in 1972, the Dane became a Formula Two driver. His best result came at the Albi Grand Prix, where he finished in fourth place. In 1973, Belsø qualified for the Swedish Grand Prix but, unfortunately, he couldn’t start due to his sponsorship money not arriving. He attempted to qualify four more times in 1974 and was successful twice. However, in the South Africa race, Belsø’s clutch failed on the first lap. Meanwhile, in the Swedish race, he managed to finish his only complete Grand Prix, coming in eighth place.
Jan Magnussen
While Jan Magnussen’s Formula One career was rather underwhelming, he began his career in Formula Three to great acclaim, so he certainly deserves a place on this list of Denmark’s finest. Magnussen was born in 1973 in the Danish island-city of Roskilde. Just over two decades later, he was dominating the Formula Three championship. In the 1994 tournament, Magnussen won fourteen of his eighteen events, breaking Ayrton Senna’s Formula Three record. In April of the same year, the Dane won the British Formula Three championship at Donington Park. He went on to have wins at Brands Hatch, Thruxton, and Silverstone.
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Jason Watt
Born in Frederiksberg in 1970, Jason Watt is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most admired drivers Denmark has ever produced. He enjoyed a successful career in karting before he moved into Formula Ford in 1992. In 1993, he graduated up to the British Formula Vauxhall Lotus Winter Series and managed to win the championship. He went on to win the Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival and the British Formula Ford championship the following year. And in 1995, he became winner of the Formula Opel Euroseries. By 1997, Watt had reached the Formula 3000 championship, where he had consistently good performances and was regarded as one of the best up-and-coming talents. From 1997 to 1998, Watt drove for David Sears’ Super Nova Racing, under the banner of Den Blå Avis, and he won both years. In 1999, Watt was promoted to the main Super Nova Racing team. His career came to a halt later in 1999 when a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. However, he has since gone on to continue racing successfully in touring car tournaments, driving specially modified cars. In 2002, Watt won the Danish Touring Car Championship.
Tom Kristensen
When Tom Kristensen was born in the Danish town of Hobro in 1967, no one could have predicted that he would go on to be considered the greatest racing driver to have ever raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He has the record for the most wins at the event, with nine wins; six of which were consecutive. Amongst his many other accomplishments, Kristensen holds the record for the most wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, totaling six. In 2014, the Queen of Denmark appointed Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog to Kristensen. And in 2018, he was inducted into the Danish Sports Hall of Fame.