With there being no Formula One action last weekend, all motorsport eyes turned to the Le Mans 24 Hour race, and nine drivers in the top ten are or have been Formula One drivers.
Nico Hulkenberg - 1st (Earl Bamber, Nick Tandy) Force India driver
Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg won the race along with Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy, but there were a whole host of names Formula One fans would be synonymous with present at one of the world’s most famous races. Hulkenberg also became the first driver to be a current Formula One driver to win at Le Mans since Johnny Herbert’s famous win in 1991.
Mark Webber - 2nd (Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley) Red Bull legend
The one perhaps most F1 fans would recognise instantly is Mark Webber. The Australian famously played understudy to Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull for years, missing out on the title narrowly in 2010. He was Hulkenberg’s team mate as Porsche ended Audi’s long standing dominance of the sport. He left Formula One in 2013 and moved to sports car racing with Porsche, finishing ninth in last season’s World Endurance Championship.
Andre Lotterer - 3rd (Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer) One time Caterham starter
The next driver perhaps isn’t known for Formula One, but he won Le Mans three times with the most recent being in 2014. German driver André Lotterer was drafted in for last season’s Belgian Grand Prix, replacing Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham. His race however didn’t last as long as he wanted as the car retired on lap one with a mechanical failure. Having been a test driver for Jaguar in 2002. Lotterer finished third in Sunday’s race.
Lucas Di Grassi - 4th (Loic Duval, Oliver Jarvis) former Virgin Racing driver
Next is another driver not particularly well known on the Formula One grid, as he only completed one season. Lucas di Grassi raced for Virgin Racing in 2010, but never set the world alight, with retirements and nothing higher than a 17th place finish. He now competes in Formula E and the WEC. As it stands he’s currently 2nd in Formula E heading into the final round of races. He was formerly a test driver for Honda and Renault before his big break with Virgin.
Alex Wurz - 6th (Stephane Sarrazin, Mike Conway) Adored Austrian. Stephane Sarrazin - One time F1 driver
In sixth came a duo of former F1 drivers, with one time Grand Prix starter Stéphane Sarrazin being partnered by well-liked Austrian Alex Wurz. Sarrazin replaced Luca Badoer at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix for Minardi, but retired on lap 31 when he crashed. Wurz however started 69 races in a stagnated ten year career in Formula One. He raced for Benetton, McLaren and Williams with the Austrian grabbing a podium for each team.
Anthony Davidson - 8th (Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima) Unlucky Brit. Sebastien Buemi - Swiss Red Bull junior star. Kazuki Nakajima - former Williams man
2014 WEC champions Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi were joined by yet another former F1 driver in Kazuki Nakajima but could only manage eighth for Toyota. Davidson made 24 starts, but never made it to the top. In 2012 he broke his back in a harrowing incident at Le Mans, however thankfully he made a full recovery and won last season’s WEC with Buemi. He raced for Toro Rosso for three seasons, making 55 starts. While Nakajima was perhaps more famous for his crashes and his incidents than his racing talent. Son of Satoru Nakajima, Kazuki raced for Williams from 2007-2009, making 36 starts.
Other notable former Formula One stars at Le Mans this weekend included; Karun Chandhok (13th) Nick Heidfeld (23rd), Gianmaria Bruni, Giancarlo Fisichella (both 25th), Pedro Lamy (DNF), Max Chilton (DNF), Tiago Monteiro (DSQ) and Jan Magnussen (DNS).
With so many former Formula One drivers at the World’s most famous race, what has stopped drivers in modern day F1 following Hulkenberg’s lead?