Historically, the Fast & Furious franchise has revolved around two star drivers – Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) – but who’s the series’ third-best wheelman? Many characters have raced fiercely over the course of the franchise, either as part of la familia or as foes. With so much behind-the-wheel talent spread across the core eight films, the race for third place is a contentious one, to say the least.

In The Fast and the Furious, Dom was clearly the leader of the pack when it came to racing. Afterward, though, he and Brian dueled constantly over the title of best driver. A number of Fast & Furious characters have given them runs for their money, including Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Giselle Yashar (Gal Gadot), and Owen and Deckard Shaw (Luke Evans and Jason Statham). All of these characters showed intense skill in the driver’s seat, but none of them quite measure up to be the series’ bronze medal winner.

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That honor rightfully belongs to one man only – Han Lue (Sung Kang). Throughout his various appearances in the movies, Han has proven himself an incredibly talented and versatile driver in all manner of circumstances. He’s the only member of the family besides Dom and Brian to star in his own entry in the franchise, and Han’s impending return from the dead is a testament to the impact he’s made on the series’ fans. Still, reputation and appearances don’t win races – skills do. And Han’s got the complete package there.

 

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In a straight-up drag race between Han, Dom, Brian, and Roman in Fast Five, Han places third, right behind Brian and Dom. That alone is an impressive showing, but it’s not enough to prove he’s better than everyone else. Han’s case becomes more compelling, however, when taking into account that drag racing isn’t even his strongest skill. Han is, first and foremost, Fast & Furious‘s drifter – and he’s the single best drifter in the entire franchise. He’s never been shown in a proper circuit race with either Brian or Dom, but given his skills with a handbrake, he might even be better than them. Han is the only other driver in the series to be definitively the best at a core racing skill, and that counts for a lot.

What’s equally impressive is Han’s ability as a driving instructor. Yes, it may sound silly, but think about it. In an incredibly short matter of time in Tokyo Drift, Han took a teenage buster with little in the way of technical finesse and trained him up well enough to beat Tokyo’s Drift King. The ability to win is one thing, but the ability to relay that skill to another person and help them become exceptional is something else entirely. From the teaching abilities to the drifting skills, from the impressive placements to the effortless suave, Han deserves to be named the best driver in the Fast & Furious franchise after Dom and Brian.

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Rick Stevenson
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Rick Stevenson is a writer, editor and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. He’s written on TV, film and games for over six years, in addition to assorted stints in bookselling, carpentry, and TV production. Rick studied writing at the College of William & Mary and Oxford University, and can report with some authority that they are both old. He lives and dies for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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