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In the past, many F1 drivers have participated in the Indy500, a prestigious race that takes place at the popular Indianapolis Circuit in the US. The race is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, along with 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Monaco Grand Prix. While 13 F1 drivers have won the Indy500, only five of them have also clinched the F1 world championship in their racing careers.
Here is a list of five F1 world champions have have also won the famous Indy500.
List of 5 F1 world champions who also won the Indy500
#1 Jim Clark - 1965
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Jim Clark was the first F1 world champion to win the Indy500. Clark raced in the top formula series from 1960 to 1968, between which he won two titles in 1963 and 1965. In the 1965 season, when Clark raced for Team Lotus, he did not participate in the Monaco GP as his team decided to ditch the race and compete in the Indy500 instead, which Clark eventually won.
Clark was in the front row in the middle column at the 1965 IndyCar500 race and was the only British driver in the entire grid. He fought for the lead of the race with an American racing driver, A.J. Foyt, who later dropped out of the race on lap 115. This gave the Brit the chance to win his first and only Indy500 race. He became the second non-American driver to win the race, after Gaston Chevrolet in 1920.
#2 Graham Hill - 1966
Graham Hill is the only F1 driver who has won the Triple Crown of Motorsport. He won the Indy500, Monaco GP, and 24 Hours of Le Mans in his racing career. Hill won the Indy500 right a year after Clark, becoming the second F1 champion to do so.
In 1966, he raced in the Monaco GP on May 22 and instantly prepared for his debut in the Indy500. Hill was called to replace the late Walt Hansgen, who passed away in a crash, for the race in the US.
The F1 champion was fifth in the starting grid and was on the outside column of cars. At the start of the race, there was a massive crash that took out 11 out of 33 drivers. Further down the race, many others crashed out or retired from the race due to car issues.
While Jackie Stewart was dominating the second half of the race, his car suffered a dip in oil pressure which forced him to pit. This allowed Graham Hill to take the lead of the race for the final 10 laps to win the Indy500 on his debut.
#3 Mario Andretti - 1969
Mario Andretti became the third F1 champion to win the Indy500. He clinched his first and only title in 1978 with Team Lotus, several years after he won the prestigious race in the US. He had been competing in Indy500 since 1965 but managed to win one in 1969.
Andretti started the 1969 Indy500 from the front middle row. The majority of the race was led by A.J. Foyt. However, Foyt lost the lead to Lloyd Ruby due to a long pitstop. Ruby himself suffered a bad pitstop when he pulled out of the pits with the fueling hose still attached to his car. During this chaos, Mario Andretti got the opportunity to lead the race for 116 laps until the chequered flag.
Though Andretti participated in the race every year from 1969 until 1994, he was not able to win it ever again.
#4 Emerson Fittipaldi - 1989 & 1993
Emerson Fittipaldi became the third F1 world champion to win the Indy500 race. In his career, he won two world championships in 1972 and 1974, with Lotus and McLaren, respectively. During that time, he was fully committed to F1 and did not race in the iconic US race.
From 1984, he started racing in the Indy500, but struggled to finish in the top positions for a few years. In 1989, however, he managed to win the race with Patrick Racing.
Fittipaldi started the 1989 Indy500 from the front row on the outside column. He led for the majority of the race and had good battle with the likes of Michael Andretti, and Al Unser Jr. in the last stages of the race. Eventually, the Brazilian won his first Indy500 race. Later down the line, Emerson Fittipaldi won his second race at Indianapolis in 1993.
#5 Jacques Villeneuve - 1995
Most recently, Jacques Villeneuve is the last F1 champion to win the Indy500. The Canadian dominated the 1997 F1 season with Williams and won his only world championship by a large margin in points. He scored 81 points, while second-placed Heinz-Harald Frentzen only scored 42 points.
Prior to his championship run, he competed in the Indy500 race twice in 1994 and 1995. In his debut race at Indianapolis, he managed to finish second with the Forsythe/Green Racing team. The following year, however, he clinched the victory.
The 1995's Indy500 was plagued with controversy. At first he received a two-lap penalty for passing the pace car during a caution period early in the car. Luckily, the Canadian made up the deficit by the end of the race.
Later in the race, Scott Goodyear was given a stop-and-go penalty for passing the pace car. When Goodyear refused to serve the penalty, the race officials stopped counting him in the race, resulting in Jacques Villeneuve taking the official lead. Despite all the chaos, Villeneuve's win was officiated.
