Motorsport has been featured at the Olympic games twice since its inauguration in 1896, although it never made the official programme. Events included two to seven-seater categories in 1900 before a rally event was held in 1936.
There has been recent discussion about the inclusion of motorsport at future games and whether racing should be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. However, this has divided opinion of the current F1 grid with Lewis Hamilton saying: “I just don’t think it’s an Olympic game” and Max Verstappen adding: “I don’t think we belong at the Olympic stage. And that’s fine because we have our own championship, which I think is really well received.”
One driver who was for the addition was Charles Leclerc, who recently carried the 2024 Paris Olympic torch through Monaco. “It would be great to have motorsport at the Olympics," he said. "However, I think it's a bit more difficult to organise than other sports because we are all driving for different constructors with different cars in Formula 1. But it's definitely possible and I would love to represent Monaco.”
While F1 might not be in the Olympics, that’s not to say that there has never been an F1 driver who competed in the games.
Formula 1 drivers who have competed in the Olympics
Alex Zanardi - Hand Cycling
Paralympics entered: London 2012 and Rio 2016
F1 starts: 41
F1 years active: 1991-1994 and 1999
Alex Zanardi is the only Formula 1 driver to have won a medal at an Olympic games, taking five golds and two silvers.
The Italian’s F1 career began in 1991 after a dominant performance in the International Formula 3000 where he finished second in the championship to Christian Fittipaldi. He joined Jordan with just three races left of the season to replace Roberto Moreno, as the Brazilian was fired from the team. Zanardi also raced for Minardi and Lotus during his four-year run in F1, and scored a single championship point for his sixth place in the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix.
After leaving F1 at the end of 1994 he moved to CART and finished third during his first season, before taking two consecutive championship titles in 1997 and 1998. He briefly returned to Formula 1 after impressing Williams boss Frank Williams with his CART success, however, Zanardi returned to CART the following year after deciding to part ways with the team. During the 2001 American Memorial race, he was involved in a racing accident which resulted in him losing both of his legs.
Zanardi was given two prosthetics and was determined to make a comeback to motorsport. He competed in the Italian round of the 2003 European Touring Car Championship before fully returning to motorsport and the World Touring Car Championship in 2005.
He developed a passion for handcycling in 2007, winning eighteen medals in the world championships before representing Italy at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Paralympics.
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Games
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Medal
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Event
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London 2012
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Gold
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Men’s Road time trial
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Gold
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Men’s Road race
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Silver
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Mixed Road time relay
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Rio 2016
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Gold
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Men’s Road time trial
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-
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Gold
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Mixed Team relay
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Silver
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Mixed Road team relay
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Prince Bira - Sailing
Olympics entered: Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964 and Munich 1972
F1 starts: 19
F1 years active: 1950-1954
Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh - otherwise known as Prince Bira of Siam began racing in 1935 and joined the inaugural F1 championship in 1950. His career was fraught with retirements and the Thai driver only finished within the points a handful of times. He also competed in a number of non-championship F1 races, taking wins at the 1951 Richmond Trophy at Goodwood and the 1954 Grand Prix des Frontieres in Belgium.
Prince Bira also shared a passion for sailing and represented Thailand at four Olympic games, although he never won a medal.
Roberto Mieres - Sailing
Olympics entered: Rome 1960
F1 starts: 17
F1 years active: 1953-1955
Roberto Mieres dabbled in a number of sports including rowing, sailing, rugby and tennis, as well as trying his hand at motor racing. The Argentine was invited to Europe alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and Jose Froilan Gonzalez for a race at the Circuit des Nations in Geneva, where he finished fourth. Following the race he was invited by Gordini to replace Jean Behra at the 1953 Dutch GP, as well as further races in France and Italy.
The following year he joined Maserati, and took his best result of fourth place four times during his two years with the team though was only able to manage a best championship result of eighth place.
He returned to his passion for sailing in the late 1950s and represented Argentina at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Mieres competed alongside his fellow former F1 driver Prince Bira and finished in 17th place.
Alfonso de Portago - Two-man bobsleigh
Olympics entered: Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956
F1 starts: 5
F1 years active: 1956 and 1957
Alfonso de Portago had a keen interest in several sports including piloting, jockeying and more notably race car driving and bobsleds. He entered a handful of races for Ferrari between 1956 and 1957, finishing second at the 1956 British GP in Silverstone. During the same year, he represented Spain at the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in the two-man bobsleigh, where he finished in fourth place.
Despite not winning an Olympic medal, he took bronze in the two-man bobsleigh at the 1957 FIBT World Championships – an event for bobsleigh and skeleton events. He also had a keen interest in sports cars which he had begun racing in 1953, however just months after his bronze medal win in 1957 he was killed alongside his co-driver at the Mille Miglia after a tyre blew on their Ferrari.
Robin Widdows - Four-man bobsleigh
Olympics entered: Innsbruck 1964 and Grenoble 1968
F1 starts: 1
F1 years active: 1968
Robin Widdows had a brief Formula 1 career, making one start at the 1968 British GP with Cooper. The Brit didn’t finish the race though, after the car suffered ignition problems and he chose to return to Formula 2 and sports car racing. Despite nine years separating his and Said’s F1 entries, the pair competed against each other in the Four-man bobsleigh at the 1968 Grenoble Olympic games.
Widdows competed in two separate games with a best result of eighth place.
Bob Said - Four-man bobsleigh
Olympics entered: Grenoble 1968 and Sapporo 1972
F1 starts: 1
F1 years active: 1959
Bob Said’s racing career began in 1951 when he dropped out of Princeton University to participate in local races and hill climbs. He was the first American to win a European road race following World War II and later set the post-war speed record at the Daytona Beach and Road Course in 1954. Said was driving a Ferrari F1 car and reached an average speed of 170.538mph.
The New York native took a single start at both the 1959 United States GP and the 1959 Daytona 500 but retired from both races.
Said also competed in bobsled racing, participating in the 1968 Grenoble and 1972 Sapporo Olympic Games, with a highest finish of 10th place.
Ben Pon - Skeet shooting
Olympics entered: Munich 1972
F1 starts: 1
F1 years active: 1962
Ben Pon competed in just one grand prix: his home race at Zandvoort after being given a drive in the Porsche 787 for the Ecurie Maarsbergen privateer team, which was owned by his good friend Carel Godin de Beaufort. The Dutchman entered the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix but was thrown out of his car into shrubbery and he vowed never to race in single-seaters again, instead opting to enter sports car racing, where he won two Le Mans 24 Hours in 1961 and 1967 for Porsche System Engineering.
Pon retired from racing before trying his hand at clay pigeon shooting. He represented the Netherlands at the 1972 Olympics in Munich where he finished 31st.
Divina Galica - Downhill alpine skiing and speed skiing demonstration
Olympics entered: Innsbruck 1964 , Grenoble 1968, Sapporo 1972, Albertville 1992
F1 starts: 0 (3 entries)
F1 years active: 1976 and 1978
Divina Galica entered four Winter Olympic games, where she represented Great Britain, competing in downhill skiing and the slalom. She achieved a best result of seventh but claimed two podium finishes at World Cup events.
She was then invited to participate in a celebrity auto race where she developed a love of racing and began a second career alongside her skiing. Galica raced in Formula 2 before moving up into F1 but failed to qualify for her three entries into the championship. She did however enter the British Formula One – a motorsport championship based in the UK, which ran between 1978 and 1982 - and achieved one podium finish at the 1978 race in Zandvoort.
Alongside her F1 career, she raced in the Shellsport International Series where she finished fourth and sixth in the consecutive championships in 1976 and 1977. Following her racing career she returned to skiing, representing the UK at the 1992 Albertville games.
Formula 1 drivers who nearly competed at the Olympic games
A few Formula 1 drivers have nearly competed at the Olympic games but missed out on the opportunity to represent their countries. The most notable is Jackie Stewart, who was skilled in clay pigeon shooting. He won several skeet shooting champions at both a national and European level but missed out on representing Great Britain at the 1960 Olympics in Rome when he was beaten by Joseph Wheater and Brett Huthart.
The rejection worked in favour of motorsport though, when just five years later Stewart made his debut in F1. His nine-year career saw him take 27 wins and three championships, resulting in him being one of the most successful British Formula 1 drivers of all time behind Lewis Hamilton.
Marquese Antonio Brivio-Sforza represented Italy at the 1936 Winter Olympics, finishing 10th in the four-man bobsleigh and 12th in the two-man event. He had previously taken two wins at the Targa Florio in 1933 and 1935 and a Mille Miglia victory in 1936. Although he raced in the European championship with Ferrari, this preceded the official Formula 1 championship, meaning he does not officially make the list of F1 drivers to compete in the Olympics, as he did not race after 1950.
