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From record-breakers to underdog winners – 8 drivers who enjoyed success after leaving F1
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The 2025 F1 season will see numerous driver switches across the grid, with only two out of 10 teams running an unchanged line-up this year. Amongst those left without a seat when the music stopped was Kevin Magnussen, and the Dane is now set to embark on a path away from Formula 1 after signing with BMW Motorsport as a works driver.
Joining the line-up that will get behind the wheel of the M Hybrid V8, the former Haas racer will compete in the 2025 World Endurance Championship as well as undertaking three rounds of the IMSA SportsCar Championship.
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Magnussen will be hoping for success in his next chapter, something that many drivers have gone on to experience in other categories after leaving the world of F1. We’ve been taking a look back at just a few of the familiar faces who have made a name for themselves elsewhere in motorsport…
Magnussen's next career move will see him compete in categories away from F1
Antonio Giovinazzi
It was back in 2022 that Magnussen made his surprise return to Formula 1, having spent a year away from the category following his first exit from Haas – but while he was making his comeback, one driver to lose their spot on the grid was Antonio Giovinazzi.
The Italian’s three-year stint with Alfa Romeo – during which his best result was a P5 finish – came to an end after the 2021 campaign, leading to him becoming a reserve driver for Ferrari during the following year.
A season in Formula E did not yield success, but a move to the World Endurance Championship in 2023 proved more prosperous, with Giovinazzi taking an emotional win in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Ferrari AF Corse team mates Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado – marking Ferrari’s return to the top step after 58 years.
Giovinazzi is one of several drivers who never tasted victory in Formula 1 but did so at Le Mans, with others to achieve this including Martin Brundle, Alexander Wurz and Andre Lotterer.
Giovinazzi helped Ferrari to a long-awaited return to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Jacky Ickx
That aforementioned list of former F1 drivers to triumph in the 24 Hours of Le Mans includes several multiple winners; Derek Bell became one of the event’s most decorated victors by triumphing on five occasions, a feat matched by Emanuele Pierro some years later.
But it is Jacky Ickx who holds one of the strongest records at Le Mans. During an F1 career spanning 114 Grands Prix between 1967 and 1979, the Belgian racer took eight victories and a total of 25 podiums.
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Ickx had already racked up four Le Mans wins whilst still active in Formula 1 but added a further two to his tally in 1981 and 1982, making him the second most successful driver at the event behind nine-time winner Tom Kristensen.
As well as this, Ickx experienced success in the World Sportscar Championship in his post-F1 life, winning the title in 1982 and 1983.
Ickx experienced great success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as being an eight-time F1 race winner
Stoffel Vandoorne
While Ickx was one of F1’s most successful Belgian drivers – being one of only two to win a race – the most recent to arrive into the sport was Stoffel Vandoorne, who made his full-time debut with McLaren in 2017 off the back of an impressive junior career.
As the Woking outfit faced a trying time with an uncompetitive car, Vandoorne struggled to showcase his talents and found himself without a seat on the grid after the 2018 campaign.
The former GP2 champion then turned his attentions to Formula E where, in his second season, he finished second in the championship for the Mercedes-Benz EQ team – before going on to win the title in the 2021-22 season.
It marked a moment of redemption for Vandoorne after the disappointment of his brief stint in Formula 1, though the Belgian has retained links with the paddock by continuing to serve as a test and reserve driver for the Aston Martin team.
Vandoorne won the Formula E championship in the 2021-22 season
Jean-Eric Vergne
Vandoorne is not the only former F1 driver to win the Formula E championship, with others to do so including Nelson Piquet Jr, Lucas di Grassi and Pascal Wehrlein. But only one name to date has taken the crown on more than one occasion.
Jean-Eric Vergne competed in F1 for the then-named Toro Rosso team between 2012 and 2014, having progressed through the ranks as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team. But when his time in the sport came to an end, the Frenchman made the switch to Formula E.
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After going without a win during his first two seasons, Vergne took a debut victory at the 2016-17 season finale in Montreal. This kickstarted a strong run of form that saw him seal the championship in the campaign that followed with the Techeetah team.
Vergne then repeated the feat by clinching the title again in the 2018-19 season, adding his name to the history books in the process as the only driver to claim multiple championships in the category as well as holding the highest number of pole positions with his tally of 17.
Vergne remains the only two-time Formula E champion to date
Sebastien Buemi
While Vergne is the holder of those records, the title of Formula E’s most winningest driver goes to Sebastien Buemi, the 2015-16 champion being another former F1 racer who has gone on to experience success in more than one category in the years since.
Like Vergne, Buemi made his debut for the Toro Rosso outfit, making the step up to Formula 1 in 2009. But after three seasons with the team – during which he suffered an infamous incident that saw both front wheels fly off his car at the 2010 Chinese Grand Prix – the Swiss driver exited at the end of 2011.
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As well as embarking on an extensive Formula E career, in 2014 Buemi kicked off what would prove to be an impressive record in the World Endurance Championship by winning the first of his four titles to date, an accolade he shares with fellow ex-F1 driver Brendon Hartley.
The 36-year-old is also a four-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota, with three consecutive victories between 2018 and 2020 where his team mates have included Hartley, Kazuki Nakajima – another name to enjoy success post-Formula 1 – and a certain Fernando Alonso. On top of that, Buemi continues to act as a reserve driver for the Red Bull F1 team.
Buemi has claimed four wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including his 2018 victory alongside Alonso and Nakajima
Marcus Ericsson
Formula E and WEC have both proven popular destinations for drivers after F1 – but when Marcus Ericsson left the grid at the end of 2018, the Swede turned his attentions stateside as he made the move to IndyCar.
Ericsson had arrived into Formula 1 with the Caterham team back in 2014 before joining Sauber in the following season. And despite scoring six points finishes to enjoy his strongest campaign so far in 2018, the Swedish driver was outperformed by rookie team mate Charles Leclerc and found himself without a seat for 2019.
As such, a move to IndyCar followed and Ericsson went on to claim his first victories for the Chip Ganassi Racing outfit in 2021. It was in 2022, however, that he went even better by winning the famous Indianapolis 500.
Ericsson came impressively close to repeating this feat one year later, but a last-lap pass for the lead by Josef Newgarden meant that he had to settle for second. Nonetheless, the 34-year-old remains one of a select number of F1 drivers to win the Indy 500, with others including Eddie Cheever and Alexander Rossi.
Ericsson became one of a select number of former F1 drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 in 2022
Emerson Fittipaldi
That elite list becomes even smaller when narrowed down to those who scored multiple Indianapolis 500 victories – but Emerson Fittipaldi is one of the few to achieve this, the Brazilian having managed to match his F1 success in the category.
After making his Formula 1 debut in 1970, Fittipaldi claimed the first of his 14 wins in the sport that season before going on to win the world championship in the 1972 and 1974 campaigns.
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In the years that followed his final season in 1980, the racer from Sao Paulo participated in IndyCar and triumphed in the 1989 Indy 500 – a year in which he also won the championship – while a second victory in the famous race came in 1993.
While few ex-F1 drivers have won the Indianapolis 500 more than once in their post-Formula 1 careers, a man to also achieve this was Takuma Sato, who became the first Japanese victor in 2017 before winning for a second time in 2020.
After leaving Formula 1 with two world championships and 14 wins, Fittipaldi went on to enjoy success in IndyCar
Jan Magnussen
Should Kevin Magnussen want any further evidence of successful post-F1 careers ahead of his next chapter, he need look no further than his own father for inspiration.
Jan Magnussen had a brief stint in Formula 1, having secured a seat with Stewart Grand Prix in 1997 before ultimately being replaced midway through the 1998 season by Jos Verstappen. But the Dane went on to notch up an impressive record in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, having participated in the event in every year since 1999.
He claimed a debut victory in the GTS class for Corvette Racing in 2004, before triumphing in the GT1 category in 2005, 2006 and 2009. And while his 2021 entry in the LMP2 class ended in a P17 finish, it perhaps marked an extra special occasion given that son Kevin acted as one of Magnussen Senior’s team mates.
As well as this, Jan Magnussen has taken victories in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
Jan Magnussen has taken numerous victories in categories outside of F1, including four wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
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