The drivers with different hats
Each season, most drivers dedicate themselves to achieving the best performances in their category. Speed races (F1, Indycar...), endurance races (Le Mans, 24 Hours of Daytona...), rallies (Dakar...). Each discipline requires specific training. Race strategies are also very different, and they must be continuously worked on to achieve the best results. The preparation required is very demanding, both in intensity and regularity. One must also be psychologically very focused on their goal. However, some drivers have, in their careers, raced at the highest level in multiple categories or even in multiple motorsports.
On the current Formula 1 grid, there are several eclectic drivers: Fernando Alonso (Indycar, Endurance), Kimi Räikkönen (Rally), Brandon Hartley (Endurance), Nico Hülkenberg (Endurance), Lance Stroll (Endurance), Esteban Ocon (DTM)… Most of these drivers have participated in multiple categories within the same season. In such cases, drivers usually allow themselves only one or two races in a different discipline.
In the 2000s, drivers specialized in only one category and allowed themselves little creativity. But for the past few years, a good number of them have been competing in multiple categories or changing categories. Proof of this is that about half of the drivers participating in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans have raced in other categories, like Scott Dixon (Ford Chip Ganassi Racing) or Nicolas Prost (TVR Rebellion), who compete in IndyCar and Formula E, respectively. It’s also worth noting that the three winners of the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans (Alonso-Nakajima-Buemi) have raced in F1.
This phenomenon is especially widespread in the United States. IndyCar and NASCAR share numerous drivers (Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr, Danica Patrick…). To conclude her career, Danica Patrick started in two famous 500-mile races: the Daytona 500 (NASCAR) and the Indy 500 (IndyCar). She dubbed this duo the Danica Double. Regularly, teams like Chip Ganassi Racing and Penske field drivers in both categories.
This practice is not new, far from it. Many other drivers say they are tempted by other horizons, such as Lewis Hamilton who says he is interested in the challenge of the Daytona 500.
Some drivers have even competed in other motorsports such as Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Mike Hailwood who successfully raced in motorcycles. The Englishman John Surtees was even a four-time world motorcycle champion in 1956, 58, 59, and 60, then became F1 champion in 1964 driving a Ferrari. Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve raced in offshore powerboat racing and snowmobile racing, respectively.
The most famous of these eclectic drivers is undoubtedly Jacky Ickx, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Paris-Dakar, was twice F1 World Championship runner-up, and was even Belgium’s motorcycle trial champion. Unfortunately, he did not win the triple crown, which represents the Holy Grail for these multi-disciplinary drivers.
This consists of winning the Indianapolis 500 in IndyCar, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in WEC, and the Monaco Grand Prix in F1. The only driver to date who has achieved this feat is the British Graham Hill (Indianapolis 1966, Le Mans 1972, and Monaco five times).
Currently, only two active drivers meet two of the three conditions required to achieve this feat. Juan Pablo Montoya, who is missing Le Mans, and Fernando Alonso, who failed at the 2017 Indy 500. Both drivers hope to realize their ambition.
The profile of the eclectic driver believed to have disappeared for fifteen years is making a strong comeback. Whether with parallel careers or for career changes towards the end of their careers, many drivers have raced, are racing, or will race with varying degrees of success in several high-level categories.
