Formula 1 is the fastest motorsport on earth, and its drivers are the best in the world.
When they’re done with their F1 career many move on to other forms of motorsport, and IndyCar is a popular choice.
Below is a look at all the F1 drivers who’ve had success in IndyCar.
IndyCar before or after F1?
A lot of the drivers you’ll see listed below only raced in IndyCar after they’d finished their stint in F1.
But that’s not the case for all of them. Some, like the legendary American driver Mario Andretti, had success in US open wheel racing before moving to F1 (and then moving back to IndyCar).
And he’s not the only one. The Canadian racer Jacques Villeneuve did the same, as did the Colombian F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
F1 drivers who've won in IndyCar
Below is a list of all F1 drivers (who’ve started at least one Grand Prix) that have also won an IndyCar race (or a USAC / CART race).
The list doesn’t include drivers whose only F1 races were when the Indy 500 was part of the F1 calendar (e.g. AJ Foyt).
F1 data sourced from F1stats.
| Driver | F1 Starts | Best F1 Result | IndyCar wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Andretti |
128 |
1st (12 wins) |
52 (inc 3x Indy 500 wins) |
| Michael Andretti |
13 |
3rd |
42 |
| Sebastien Bourdais |
27 |
7th |
37 |
| Rodger Ward |
12 |
1st |
26 (inc 2x Indy 500 wins) |
| Bobby Rahal |
2 |
12th |
24 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Emerson Fittipaldi |
144 |
1st (14 wins) |
22 (inc 2x Indy 500 wins) |
| Danny Sullivan |
15 |
5th |
17 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Alex Zanardi |
41 |
6th |
15 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya |
94 |
7 |
15 (inc 2x Indy 500 wins) |
| Alexander Rossi |
5 |
20th |
8 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Justin Wilson |
16 |
8th |
7 |
| Dan Gurney |
86 |
1st (4 wins) |
7 |
| Takuma Sato |
90 |
3rd |
6 (inc. 2x Indy 500 wins) |
| Teo Fabi |
64 |
3rd |
5 |
| Nigel Mansell |
187 |
1st (31 wins) |
5 |
| Eddie Cheever |
132 |
2nd |
5 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Jacques Villeneuve |
163 |
11 |
5 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Marcus Ericsson |
97 |
8th |
4 (inc 1x Indy 500) |
| Mark Donohue |
14 |
3rd |
3 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Max Papis |
7 |
7th |
3 |
| Mark Blundell |
61 |
3rd |
3 |
| Jim Clark |
72 |
1st (25 wins) |
2 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
| Robert Doornbos |
11 |
12th |
2 |
| Roberto Guerrero |
21 |
8th |
2 |
| Graham Hill | 175 | 1st (14 wins) | 1 (inc 1x Indy 500 win) |
F1 drivers to win the Indianapolis 500
The Indy 500 is the most prestigious race to win in the IndyCar series, and is the holy grail of US Motorsport.
Only 14 F1 drivers have won the Indy 500:
- Mario Andretti (3x Indy 500 wins)
- Rodger Ward (2x Indy 500 wins)
- Takuma Sato (2x Indy 500 wins)
- Juan Pablo Montoya (2x Indy 500 wins)
- Emerson Fittipaldi (2x Indy 500 wins)
- Danny Sullivan (1x Indy 500 win)
- Bobby Rahal (1x Indy 500 win)
- Alexander Rossi (1x Indy 500 win)
- Eddie Cheever (1x Indy 500 win)
- Jacques Villeneuve (1x Indy 500 win)
- Marcus Ericsson (1x Indy 500 win)
- Mark Donohue (1x Indy 500 win)
- Jim Clark (1x Indy 500 win)
- Graham Hill (1x Indy 500 win)
F1 champions to win the Indy 500
Only 5 Formula 1 world champions have also won the Indy 500:
| Driver | F1 titles | F1 title dates | Indy 500 wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 2 | 1972, 1974 | 2 |
| Jim Clark | 2 | 1963, 1965 | 1 |
| Graham Hill | 2 | 1962, 1968 | 1 |
| Jacques Villeneuve | 1 | 1997 | 1 |
| Mario Andretti | 1 | 1978 | 3 |
Jim Clark and Graham Hill both won the Indy 500 when it featured on the Formula 1 calendar, as a joint race between the two series.
The other three F1 championship all won the Indianapolis 500 when it was it was a standalone event, not part of the F1 series.
F1 champions who were also IndyCar champions
Only 4 drivers have ever won both the Formula 1 World Championship and the IndyCar Championship:
| Driver | F1 titles | F1 title dates | Indycar Titles | IndyCar title dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson Fittipaldi | 2 | 1972, 1974 | 2 | 1989 |
| Mario Andretti | 1 | 1978 | 4 | 1965, 1966 1969, 1984 |
| Nigel Mansell | 1 | 1992 | 1 | 1993 |
| Jacques Villeneuve | 1 | 1997 | 1 | 1995 |
Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve both won IndyCar titles before their F1 championships.
Nigel Mansell is one of the Formula 1 drivers who adapted best to IndyCar. After his F1 championship win in 1992 he switched straight to IndyCar the following year when he couldn’t agree a contract in Formula One with Williams.
Unbelievably he won his debut race and took four more victories to claim the championship win in his rookie season.
Mario Andretti won the Indy 500 only once