Johnny Thomson is a racing driver from United States who last raced in Formula 1 for Lesovsky. Thomson has recorded 0 wins and 1 podium from 8 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,876 ranks Thomson 403th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1960-05-30 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | P5 | +111 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | ▸Formula 1 | Lesovsky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | P23 | +112 | 4,951 |
| 1959 | ▸Formula 1 | Lesovsky | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | P12 | +136 | 4,840 |
| 1958 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −54 | 4,704 |
| 1957 | ▸Formula 1 | Kuzma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | P23 | +50 | 4,758 |
| 1956 | ▸Formula 1 | Kuzma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P28 | −143 | 4,708 |
| 1955 | ▸Formula 1 | Kuzma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | P13 | +126 | 4,851 |
| 1954 | ▸Formula 1 | Nichels | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P27 | −54 | 4,725 |
| 1953 | ▸Formula 1 | Kurtis Kraft | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P20 | −21 | 4,779 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Jim Rathmann | 5,075 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 25% |
| 🇺🇸 Tony Bettenhausen | 4,934 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 75% |
| 🇺🇸 Duane Carter | 5,054 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Paul Russo | 4,921 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33% |
| 🇺🇸 Eddie Johnson | 4,920 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| 🇺🇸 Bob Veith | 4,900 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Gene Hartley | 4,824 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Johnny Boyd | 4,812 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 67% |
| 🇺🇸 Al Herman | 4,651 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
Johnny Thomson was an American single-seater driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1953 and 1960, accumulating eight starts for the Lesovsky team. He recorded one podium finish across that span, with an average finishing position of sixth in classified races. His Racer Rating of 4,876 places him in the upper tier of a strong professional field. Thomson's Formula 1 career ended in 1960 with a thirty-third place finish.[1]
Thomson's eight starts in the championship brought him into regular competition with several accomplished drivers of the era. He finished ahead of Jim Rathmann, a driver rated 5,075, on one occasion; he beat Duane Carter, rated 5,054, in three of their three shared races; and he finished ahead of Tony Bettenhausen, rated 4,934, in three of four encounters. Against Eddie Johnson he maintained a perfect three-for-three record. These results suggest Thomson was competitive against strong contemporaries, though his overall record against Rathmann showed him trailing more often than leading.[2]
Thomson earned his place in the grid on the strength of his success in North American open-wheel racing, where he had won championships in midgets and sprint cars and earned the pole position for the 1959 Indianapolis 500. His Formula 1 tenure proved brief relative to his domestic racing career, and he retired from top-level competition after 1960.