Fernando Alonso urges more “top F1 drivers” to compete in other series.
2nd June 2026Since his highly watched debut at the 24 hours of Nürburgring two weeks ago, Max Verstappen has received an incredible amount of support and praise for introducing endurance racing to a whole new group of fans.
Feature image credit: Pirelli
With 3.7 million views, the race audience grew 45 times larger than standard endurance racing figures; a further example of how Formula One drivers can make a real impact on the success of motorsport as a whole.
Alonso comments on Verstappen’s heroic campaign
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso is certainly no stranger to competing outside of F1. The two-time world champion is also a double Le Mans winner, WEC champion, and Daytona winner, whilst also trying his hand at the Indy 500 and Dakar rally.
The Spaniard was full of praise for Verstappen’s endurance attempt and urged other F1 colleagues to test themselves in other categories.
“Formula One is just one percent of the whole motorsport environment.” he said.
“If top drivers in Formula One take part, they are opening the eyes of more fans into a new series. Formula One is the pinnacle, but also the other series are just as magic as F1 in a sense”
Verstappen was not the only driver to branch out into a different category this year, as Alonso’s Aston Martin teammate, Lance Stroll tried his hand at GT3 racing earlier in May.
F1 and Endurance Racing
The attraction of endurance racing has always been particularly appealing to F1 drivers over the years. Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg famously conquered Le Mans in 2015 at the first attempt, but has not ventured further outside of his main job. Other champions to compete in Le Mans include Jenson Button, Graham Hill, Nigel Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve.
Historically, F1 drivers have opted to give endurance racing a go after their Formula One careers have finished; however, drivers like Max, Nico and Fernando have proved that it is possible to race these events during their prime. This is not only helpful for drivers hoping to win at their first attempt but also extremely beneficial to other racing categories, who see fans of today’s stars follow them into this new world of racing.
Despite the ever-increasing size of Formula One’s race calendar making it harder for drivers to find time to compete mid-season, it appears that the hunger to dominate motorsport more broadly is growing amongst today’s grid.
Even reigning world champion, Lando Norris, has expressed a desire to get away from Formula One for a bit and give endurance racing another go, after partnering Fernando Alonso as a rookie in Daytona 2018.
It remains to be seen if others will follow in the footsteps of Alonso and Verstappen, although the signs are strong that we may see the pattern increase in the not too distant future.
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