These F1 drivers who shined at Le Mans

It is not rare to come across Formula 1 drivers at Le Mans during the 24 Hours race. Once again this year, on June 11th and 12th, there will be no less than 10 of them: Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota), Sebastien Buemi (Toyota), Brendon Hartley (Toyota), Felipe Nasr (LMP2 Penske), Robert Kubica (LMP2 Prema Orlen Team), Sébastien Bourdais (LMP2 Vector Sport), Esteban Gutierrez (LMP2 Inter Europol Competition), Pietro Fittipaldi (LMP2 Inter Europol Competition), Jack Aitken (LMP2 Algarve Pro Racing), and Giancarlo Fisichella (LMGTE AM Iron Lynx – Ferrari). Not to mention Kevin Magnussen as the Reserve Car.

But long before them, dozens of drivers who had passed through single-seater racing competed on the Circuit of the 24 Hours. Some had more success than others. We can notably mention Phil Hill (1961 world champion and triple winner in Le Mans in 1958, 1961, and 1962), and Graham Hill, who is the only driver in history to have won the triple crown (Le Mans, Monaco, Indianapolis). However, the most victorious Formula 1 driver in Le Mans is none other than the Belgian Jacky Ickx, with six victories.

Read also: The Le Mans entry list

After several years where those who competed in the top category of motorsport abandoned endurance racing, we can see that some are now making a cameo appearance – whether in parallel or not – from Formula 1. In 2015, Nico Hülkenberg won the prestigious endurance race with Porsche. Three years later, it’s his Spanish teammate, Fernando Alonso, who tries his hand at driving for Toyota and wins the race, repeating the feat in 2019.

The list

Since 1950, out of 54 editions, at least one Formula 1 driver has won the race.

The drivers with * are the ones who are Formula 1 world champions.