Behind the helmets that exceed 300 kilometers per hour, F1 drivers hide passions that have little to do with motorsport. While some obsess over cycling or soccer, others lean toward music, video games or even gastronomy.
Bottas and his passion for gravel
The Cadillac driver found a second obsession in gravel cycling. He discovered it as a complement to his training, and it ended up becoming a true passion for him. He has achieved several podiums in competitions like SBT Gravel and the Belgium Waffle Ride and even finished among the top finishers at the 2024 Gravel World Championship. "When I'm not in the car, I like to challenge myself on the bike. The feeling of competition is very similar," the driver confessed.
Charles Leclerc and the piano
Far from the noise of the engines, the Monegasque Ferrari driver finds peace in the keys of a piano as his second passion. Leclerc studied music as a child and never abandoned the habit. On several occasions, he has shared videos on social media playing classical pieces or versions of popular songs, showing a completely different side to the one known as a driver.
Lando Norris and video games and racing simulators
The McLaren driver turned video games into more than a hobby. Norris is passionate about sim racing, spending hours on platforms like iRacing when he's at home. He doesn't take it just as recreation but as a vital part of his training. "When you're in a game, there's no risk, but you gain skills that you can later transfer to the real car," he explained.
Fernando Alonso and road cycling
The two-time Spanish champion is obsessed with cycling, he not only trains on the bike to stay fit but has also participated in endurance cycling events and follows major competitions closely. On several occasions, he has organized rides with other drivers to tackle demanding routes. For him, cycling is a physical complement and also a space to share with colleagues outside the F1 environment.
Pierre Gasly and soccer
The Alpine driver had to choose between karting and soccer when he was a kid. He played as a winger and was even called up to the French national team academy, but one weekend he arrived late to a match because of a race, and the coach demoted him to the second team. "That's when I decided to quit soccer. My love for racing was greater," he once said. The Alpine driver is an avid PSG fan, wears the number 10 on his car as a tribute to Zinedine Zidane and even bought shares in a French third division club.
Yuki Tsunoda and video games
The Japanese Red Bull Racing driver is passionate about esports, although he admits he's not as good as he'd like, at the Tokyo Game Show, he participated in an Apex Legends event after not playing for three years and admitted he was pretty bad because he faced professional streamers who overwhelmed him.
George Russell and gastronomy
The Mercedes driver showed off his talent in the kitchen at the Mexican Grand Prix, where alongside Alex Albon he put on an apron and prepared pastor tacos and grilled meat for the media. The duo opened an improvised taqueria at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, and Russell gave it an even more Mexican touch by putting on a lucha libre mask while cooking.
Max Verstappen and simulators as a life project
The four-time world champion took his love for sim racing to the next level. He not only trains on the simulator but also created his own GT3 team under the name Verstappen.com Racing, with the idea of giving opportunities to young drivers coming from the world of esports. "The days are very long, but it's worth it. I don't want a test driver doing the work in the simulator because everyone has their own style," Max once said.
These passions show that F1 drivers, between one race and the next, find in music, sports, games or cooking the balance they need to perform at their best when they put on the helmet.