Motorsport fans have been lucky enough to see great drivers like Nigel Mansell, Jim Clark, and Fernando Alonso compete in both Formula 1 and IndyCar – but not every great driver has competed in both.
Today, we’re thumbing through the history books to highlight the five IndyCar drivers we would have loved to see participate in Formula 1 back in their day.
A. J. Foyt
It you look at a list of F1 drivers, you’ll technically see A. J. Foyt’s name on it — but only because he competed in the Indianapolis 500 when it was regarded part of the Formula 1 Championship. He never competed in any other Grand Prix, and that’s what I’m counting here.
Foyt is known for his outspoken, brazen style, and he’s secured victory at several events like the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and more.
Foyt probably would have performed well in a Formula 1 machine, but his sheer presence in a more buttoned-up paddock would have generated endless stories for the ages.
Rick Mears
To say that Rick Mears is speedy around an oval circuit would be an understatement; he owns the record for the most pole positions at the Indianapolis 500 (six) and is one of just four men to have won the race four times.
We actually were close to a Mears F1 debut; the American racer was offered two tests in a Brabham Bt49, when he set lap times faster than then-driver Nelson Piquet. Piquet even urged Bernie Ecclestone hire Mears to the F1 outfit — but Mears declined. He felt like he could have competed well in F1, but he wasn’t ready to go to Europe, and he wasn’t done competing on ovals.
His determination to stick it out in American open-wheel racing made him a legend, but it would have been wonderful to have seen what Mears could have done in Europe.
Al Unser, Sr.
The renowned Unser family has produced several talents, but Al Unser Sr. was surely one of them. His only F1-adjacent outing came in the 1971 Questor Grand Prix, where American F5000 cars battled against European F1 machines. However, his talent in all kinds of American open-wheel racing was beyond dispute; along with Mears, Al Unser Sr. is just one of four individuals to have won the Indy 500 four times.
Dario Franchitti
Scotland’s Dario Franchitti only went as near to Formula 1 as a test under the wheel of a McLaren MP4/10B in 1995. He instead showed off his vast skillset in American open-wheel racing, where he won four titles and three Indy 500s.
Yes, Franchitti was great on ovals, but he also had a massive amount of talent on road courses and certainly would have made a mark in the Formula 1 world if he’d been given an opportunity to test out his skillset there. Even though he’s retired, Franchitti nonetheless remains a vital part of the IndyCar series, offering mentorship to rookie drivers competing for Chip Ganassi.
Louis Meyer
Alright, well — Louis Meyer never would have officially been able to race in Formula 1, given his four-wheeled career mostly took place between World Wars I and II. However, I still wish we’d have been able to see Louis Meyer participating in Grand Prix racing — the prototype for Formula 1 — back when he was in his peak.
In his very first Indy 500 back in 1928, Louis Meyer clinched victory after starting 13th on the grid. He was the first driver to earn three wins at the hallowed track, and he also introduced the practice of drinking milk in victory circle.
He took many AAA National Championships; even though racing was mostly held on ovals in the U.S. at the time, it would have been wonderful to have been able to see what he could do on, say, a Nürburgring or a Spa-Francorchamps.