From Jim Clark's historic 1965 triumph to Marcus Ericsson's recent victory, a select group of Formula 1 stars have etched their names into Indianapolis 500 lore by conquering IndyCar's legendary race
Graham Hill is still the only winner of the Triple Crown
The Indy 500 bills itself as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing”, and there are plenty of F1 drivers who have been drawn to the hight-speed cut and thrust of the famous race, as well as the IndyCar championship.
While F1 success is no guarantee of glory on the other side of the Atlantic, several drivers have made the transition successfully, following a grand prix career with major victories in the US, including wins in the Indianapolis 500 and championship titles.
Below are the most notable F1 drivers who have “conquered” IndyCar, either by winning the Indy 500, claiming an IndyCar title, or both.
He remains the only driver to win both the Formula 1 world championship and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year.
Clark dominated the 1965 Indy 500 by leading 190 of the 200 laps, becoming the first non-American winner in nearly half a century and the first to win the race with a rear-engined car.
Like Clark, Hill had already secured his first F1 crown in 1962 before he won the Indy 500 four years later during his rookie appearance driving a Lola-Ford.
Hill’s victory at Indianapolis made him the first and so far only winner of the so-called Triple Crown by also winning the Monaco Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Villeneuve is the latest driver to have won both the F1 championship and the Indianapolis 500. Like Andretti, he first secured victory in the latter before taking the F1 crown later on.
The Canadian has the record for the biggest comeback to win at Indianapolis, recovering from being two laps down to take victory in 1995, when he also secured the IndyCar title.
Two years later, Villeneuve clinched the F1 championship with Williams.
Donohue achieved a lot of success in the US before he made his Formula 1 debut, winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1972 with Penske and setting a new race speed record that stood for 12 years.
He made 14 F1 grand prix starts between 1971 and 1975, scoring a podium finish in his first race, the Canadian Grand Prix.
Like Donohue, Sullivan enjoyed more success in America than in F1, where he made 15 starts with Tyrrell in the 1983 season.
Sullivan achieved a best result of fifth that year, his only season in grand prix racing.
After returning to America, Sullivan found great success in the CART IndyCar World Series, earning 17 victories-including the “spin and win” at the 1985 Indianapolis 500, where he recovered from a mid-race pirouette to claim victory over Mario Andretti.
Since its inaugural running in 1911, the Indianapolis 500 has crowned a legendary group of drivers. Here we look at the most successful and remarkable
By
Pablo Elizalde
The Colombian won the CART championship as a rookie in 1999 and the Indianapolis 500 in his first attempt in 2000.
Montoya then moved to Formula 1, where he won seven races for Williams and McLaren between 2001 and 2006.
After his F1 spell, he returned to the US, adding a second Indy 500 victory in 2015 and multiple IndyCar race wins to his record, as well as victories in NASCAR and IMSA.
Rossi is another American driver who transitioned from a brief Formula 1 career to achieve a lot success in the United States.
He only made five grand prix starts with Manor Marussiain 2015, scoring a 12th-place finish as his best result. Having failed to secure a full-time drive, Rossi went back to the US, turning his attention to IndyCar.
Rossi won the 100th running of the Indy 500
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The move paid off right away, and Rossi won the Indy 500 as a rookie in the 100th running of the event.
Rossi became the first American rookie to win the Indy 500 since 1928.
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By
Pablo Elizalde
While he achieved one podium in Formula 1, his move to American paid off handsomely, as he went on to win the Indy 500 twice, in 2017 and 2020.
His 2017 victory made him the first – and so far only – Asian driver to win at Indianapolis.
Another example of an F1 driver who found success in America, Ericsson had 97 GP starts with Caterham and Sauber/Alfa Romeo between 2014 and 2018.
He switched to IndyCar in 2019 and in 2022, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, he won the Indianapolis 500, becoming only the second Swede ever to claim victory in the iconic race after Kenny Brack.
F1 drivers who went on to win IndyCar titles
in addition to Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi
Although Mansell never managed to win the Indy 500 in his two attempts, the 1992 F1 world champion did achieve massive success in America after moving into IndyCar for 1993, joining Newman/Haas Racing.
Overcoming a serious crash early in the season and the steep learning curve of oval racing, Mansell’s won five races, capturing the 1993 CART IndyCar championship, making him the only driver in history to simultaneously hold the F1 and IndyCar titles.
After a brief and challenging stint in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso in 2008 and 2009, Bourdais reignited his career in American open-wheel racing.
Having already made his mark by dominating ChampCar with Newman/Haas, where he won four consecutive championships from 2004 to 2007, Bourdais returned to the US after F1 and continued to find success in the unified IndyCar Series.
He amassed a total of 37 victories across ChampCar and IndyCar, seventh on the all-time list.
