The F1 drivers who conquered Indy: Can Schumacher add his name?

The appeal of the Indianapolis 500 to drivers who have competed at the highest level of motor sport has never dimmed.

This month, Mick Schumacher becomes the latest Formula 1 graduate to take on the Brickyard, lining up in the No47 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as part of a full-season IndyCar programme.

His father and seven-time F1 world champion Michael, who won five United States Grands Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course but never raced the oval.

Now the son gets to write his own chapter there.

Schumacher is one of three first-timers in the 33-car field alongside Caio Collet, Dennis Hauger and Jacob Abel, and the name on the entry list has inevitably drawn attention.

He arrived at IMS having completed just one previous oval start, at Phoenix in March.

He sits last in the standings, his best lap at the Indianapolis 500 Open Test ranked 20th overall and he’s been at the bottom of the times in practice so far. He has been measured about expectations – this is a driver learning the craft of superspeedway racing in real time.

Whether he can add his name to the short list of Formula 1 drivers who have won here is another matter entirely. History suggests the challenge is huge.

He isn’t the only former Formula 1 driver in the field.

Romain Grosjean, a veteran of 179 starts in Formula 1, is back for another attempt at the race that has so far eluded him, this time with Dale Coyne Racing.

Between them, Schumacher and Grosjean represent a tradition as old as the world championship itself: the lure of May in Indianapolis proving irresistible to drivers who have known the very top of the sport.

A handful have not just started the race but won it. Here are the ones who conquered Indy.

F1 drivers with Indy 500 victories

F1 world champions who have won the Indy 500

Jim Clark

Having already won his first F1 title in 1963, Jim Clark was on his way to clinch his second crown in 1965 when he entered and won the Indianapolis 500 with Lotus.

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.

Graham Hill

Like Clark, Graham 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.

Emerson Fittipaldi

Unlike the previous two drivers, Emerson Fittipaldi had long retired from Formula 1 before he achieved success in the Indy 500.

Having won his two F1 titles in 1972 and 1974, he left F1 in 1980 before making a successful transition to American open-wheel racing.

Fittipaldi won the Indy 500 twice, in 1989 and 1993, and also claiming the CART IndyCar title in 1989.

Mario Andretti

After making his Formula 1 debut in 1968, Mario Andretti claimed the F1 title with Lotus in 1978, becoming the second American to achieve the feat.

Earlier, in 1969, he captured his only Indy 500 victory, overcoming adversity after crashing his primary car in practice and winning in a back-up machine.

Andretti remains the only driver to have won the F1 title, the Indy 500, and the Daytona 500.

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques 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.

F1 drivers who have won the Indy 500

Mark Donohue

Mark 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.

Danny Sullivan

Like Donohue, Danny 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.

Eddie Cheever

From 1978 to 1989, Eddie Cheever competed in 132 Formula 1 grands prix, the most starts by any American, earning nine podium finishes.

After his F1 career was over, Cheever transitioned to IndyCar racing, ultimately winning the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both a driver and team owner.

Juan Pablo Montoya

Montoya is one of the few drivers who achieved success in America, then moved into Formula 1, only to return to the US and earn more accolades.

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.

Alexander Rossi

Alexander 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 Marussia in 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.

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.

Takuma Sato

Japanese driver Takuma Sato made 90 grand prix starts with Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri before moving to American open-wheel racing.

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.

Marcus Ericsson

Another example of an F1 driver who found success in America, Marcus 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)

Nigel Mansell

Although Nigel 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.

Mansell immediately impressed, winning his debut race at Surfers Paradise, becoming the first rookie to win both pole and the race in his first IndyCar start.

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.

Sebastien Bourdais

After a brief and challenging stint in Formula 1 with Toro Rosso in 2008 and 2009, Sebastien 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.