The news this morning that 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson Button is set to join 2005/ 2006 F1 Champ Fernando Alonso on the grid for the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours means that the great race is set to see a pair of F1 World Champions starting for the first time since 1997.
Back then it was Mario Andretti and Nelson Piquet who went head-to-head for the second time in succession at La Sarthe, neither though would add to the tally of wins from the F1 Champions’ Roll of Honour (though Andretti took a class win in 1995).
Since then only four other singleton Le Mans starts have been seen from F1 World Champions, Andretti again in 2000 with Panoz, Jacques Villeneuve’s two attempts with Peugeot in 2007/8 (finishing second in the second year) and an ill-fated effort from Nigel Mansell in 2010.
And you would have to go back to the 1960s to find the previous ‘double’. Tn fact there were two previous F1 Champions on the Le Mans grid every year from 1963-67 – and three in 1965. Graham Hill and Phil Hill each year from 1963-1966 with John Surtees added in 1965, Surtees and Phil Hill in 1967.
The only other time that multiple World Champions appeared at Le Mans together was back in 1953, this the first ‘Treble’ with Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Guiseppe Farina all competing together (the pic below of Ascari’s Ferrari 340MM).
Alonso and Button will become the 20th and 21st F1 World Champions to have started Le Mans, or if you prefer, the 14th and 15th to have started the race as a past F1 World Champion (Michael Schumacher, Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Jochen Rindt, Denny Hulme and Mike Hawthorn all raced at Le Mans before winning their first F1 Championships).
Between the previous 19 a total of 71 starts at Le Mans have been scored, 30 with the drivers having won an F1 World Championship.
Two men have starts in double figures, Graham Hill with 10, though only half came after his first F1 Championship win in 1962. He is though one of four overall winners in the total, taking the victory in 1972 alongside Henri Pescarolo in the Matra to complete the fabled ‘Triple Crown of a win at the Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours.
Phil Hill tops the Le Mans start total in this company with 14, six of which came after his 1961 F1 Championship-winning season. And Hill is the only multiple Le Mans winner in the list too – three overall victories, 1958, 1961, and as reigning F1 World Champion, in 1962!
Those three wins from Phil Hill and the solo win from Graham Hill are the only four by drivers as F1 World Champions. Jochen Rindt’s win in 1964 came well before his F1 World Championship win while Mike Hawthorn’s Le Mans win in 1955 happening before his championship-winning Grand Prix year in 1958.
No two World Champions have (yet!) shared a car at Le Mans, though 1953 did see 1950 World Champion share a Ferrari with yet-to-become champ Mike Hawthorn and 1965 saw the Rover BRM (above) shared between Graham Hill and yet to be Champ Jackie Stewart.
Pictures courtesy of Jeremy Jackson (top McLaren), Dominique Gasnerie (Ascari’s Ferrari) and Russ Smith (bottom two shots)
