Formula 1 drivers sometimes focus solely on GP racing, but several current drivers have competed across other categories.
Fernando Alonso – IndyCar, WEC
Alonso famously missed the 2017 Monaco GP to contest the Indianapolis 500, making the Fast Nine and qualifying fifth, leading multiple stints before an engine failure ended his challenge. He raced in the World Endurance Championship’s 2018/19 Super Season for Toyota, winning the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours and the WEC title with Kazuki Nakajima and Sébastien Buemi. During his two-year F1 hiatus he returned to the Indy 500 in 2019 and 2020, won the Daytona 24 Hours, and even attempted the Dakar Rally before returning to F1 with Alpine in 2021.
Nico Hülkenberg – Le Mans
By 2015 Hülkenberg was a standout midfield F1 driver. Porsche added a third car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and enlisted Hülkenberg, who also raced the 6 Hours of Spa. Co-driving the No. 19 Porsche with Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber, he completed 395 laps to win Le Mans, giving Porsche its first victory there since 1998.
Lance Stroll – Daytona 24 Hours
Stroll debuted at the Daytona 24 Hours in 2016 before his title-winning F3 season and returned in 2018 after his rookie F1 year. Driving for the Jackie Chan DCR JOTA entry alongside Dani Juncadella, Felix Rosenqvist and Robin Frijns, the car qualified sixth but suffered issues in the race and finished outside the top 10. Stroll has not returned to Daytona since.
Valtteri Bottas – Arctic Rally
Bottas tried rallying late in his Mercedes tenure, contesting three editions of the Arctic Lapland Rally in Finland with a Citroën DS3 WRC. He scored top-10 finishes, a stage win on debut, and at Paul Ricard won five of nine stages to take overall victory by around 50 seconds. More recently he’s taken up gravel cycling events, including the UCI Gravel World Championship in 2024.
Alex Albon – DTM
While not an active F1 driver at the time, Albon stayed race-fit as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver by competing in DTM with AF Corse, driving a Ferrari 488 alongside Liam Lawson. He contested all but the final round, won at the Nürburgring and finished sixth in the standings before returning to F1 with Williams in 2022.
Max Verstappen – GT3
Verstappen has long shown an affinity for GT3 racing, running his own team and testing at the Nürburgring under the alias “Franz Hermann.” He entered an NLS round to secure a permit and raced the ninth round in a Ferrari 296 GT3 for Emil Frey Racing with Chris Lulham; Verstappen opened a big lead and Lulham converted it to victory. Verstappen is also set to contest the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May 2026 between the Miami and Canadian Grands Prix.