🇬🇧 John Miles

John Miles was a British racing driver who competed in Formula 1 for two seasons, 1969 to 1970, accumulating 13 starts for Team Lotus. His rating of 6,716 places him among elite professionals; this is the level of drivers who secure full-time seats at the top level and race competitively against world champions, even if they do not regularly beat them. Miles scored championship points once, a fifth-place finish in the 1970 South African Grand Prix, and averaged a finishing position of P7.5 across his classified races. He was the official Team Lotus test driver and made his debut in the experimental Lotus 63 four-wheel-drive car.[1]

Miles raced in fields dominated by the era's strongest drivers. His head-to-head record against his most frequent rivals was consistently losing; he finished behind Jackie Stewart, a three-time world champion, in three of their four meetings, and behind 1970 champion Jochen Rindt in three of four. Against other elite drivers he showed occasional flashes: he beat Stewart, François Cevert, Ronnie Peterson and Pedro Rodríguez each at least once. However, these isolated results were exceptions to a broader pattern of outpacing that reflected his position as a talented but not yet competitive grand prix driver. His two seasons in Formula 1 concluded in 1970, and he did not establish a regular career at the top level.[2]