From movie stars to sporting icons – 10 famous names who have driven F1 cars

Only 22 people on the planet can currently profess to be a full-time F1 driver, but several others are able to say that they have gotten behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car – including some well-known names from outside of the sport.

A host of famous faces have been handed the opportunity to drive such machinery over the years, ranging from athletes who have experienced success in other categories of motorsport through to Oscar-nominated actors.

We’ve been taking a look back at 10 of those stars who have racked up laps in an F1 car, and how well each of them they fared…

Brad Pitt

We begin with one of the most recent occasions where a famous name took the chance to pilot a Formula 1 car. Brad Pitt – a long-time motorsport fan – was given a taste of what it might be like to be an F1 driver when he played Sonny Hayes in F1 The Movie, a film that proved to be a huge global hit upon its release last year.

To prepare for his role, Pitt underwent training to drive the modified F2 cars that feature as the APXGP machines in the motion picture – but the actor took things a step further when he later drove McLaren’s 2023 Formula 1 challenger during a private day of testing at the Circuit of The Americas.

Pitt went on to speak about the experience on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast, admitting that he was “still on a high” afterwards as he recalled: “I got to hit 197mph this week. I really wanted to hit 200. You know, it hurts me a little bit – three miles per hour short on the straight. This was at Austin.

“I've just never experienced anything that's just, more feeling of presence in my life. You're so focused, but you're not white knuckling. You're just in this sublime groove. It is really extraordinary.”

Valentino Rossi

As Pitt would testify, driving a Formula 1 car is clearly a special experience – something that Valentino Rossi will know all too well, having gotten behind the wheel of the sport’s machinery not just once but on multiple occasions.

The MotoGP legend first tested for Ferrari at their Fiorano track back in 2004, with multiple World Champion Michael Schumacher watching on. “Of course, it took him a while to get used to it, but he was very impressive by the end of the day,” the German remarked.

Further tests took place in the years that followed, leading to speculation that a switch from two wheels to four might feasibly be on the cards for Rossi. It was a move that the nine-time motorcycling champion ultimately decided against, but his links to Formula 1 did not end there.

In 2019, Rossi and Lewis Hamilton participated in the ultimate ride swap, with Rossi driving Hamilton’s 2017 title-winning Mercedes W08 while Hamilton hopped onboard the Italian’s 2019 Yamaha MotoGP bike at Spain’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo.

Colin McRae

That machinery switch was not the only time that two names from different categories of motorsport have embarked on a swap, with late rallying legend Colin McRae having enjoyed a run in a Formula 1 car back in 1996.

Months on from becoming the 1995 World Rally Champion, McRae was given the chance to drive a Jordan F1 machine at Silverstone – an event that coincided with his 28th birthday. As part of the exchange, Jordan driver Martin Brundle would get behind the wheel of McRae's Subaru Impreza 555 rally car.

McRae described his experience in a Formula 1 challenger as “unbelievable”, admitting that, speed aside, “everything else couldn't be more unlike rallying”. The Scot completed 20 laps, with his best time being just over two seconds off Brundle’s – an achievement that Brundle conceded was “very impressive”.

As for the now-commentator, Brundle took McRae’s rally car for a drive and acknowledged that the skills required were also very different. McRae joined him as co-driver and praised Brundle for being “very quick”, joking later on that his effort had been “worryingly close to my time”.

Jeff Gordon

The theme of ride swaps continues with our next entry. Jeff Gordon achieved huge success during his extensive NASCAR career, the American claiming the fourth of his Cup Series championships in 2001.

Two years later, Gordon was given the opportunity to pilot an F1 car in a direct switch with Williams’ Juan Pablo Montoya at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, as part of a television feature.

Gordon’s performance caught the eye of many, with his best time being only around half a second away from Montoya’s during his laps behind the wheel – leading to what he would later describe as “serious” discussions about the possibility of a full-time switch to Formula 1.

Speaking to F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast in 2021, Gordon explained that there had also been talks with the BAR squad ahead of their maiden season some years earlier in 1999 – but the move never happened. On the other hand, Montoya’s try-out of Gordon’s car would prove prophetic, given that the Columbian later headed to NASCAR in 2006.

Tom Cruise

Brad Pitt is not the only Hollywood star to go from playing a racing driver to – albeit briefly – becoming one for real. Many years after starring as a stock car racer in the 1990 movie Days of Thunder, Tom Cruise was given the opportunity to pilot a Formula 1 machine in 2011.

The American is no stranger to speed, having become known for performing his own high-octane stunts in films such as the Mission Impossible series – but that likely paled in comparison to the 181mph he reached in a Red Bull F1 car around the Willow Springs circuit in California.

Cruise was instructed by 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard on the day, who was left impressed by just how quickly the actor gained pace across his laps – his top speed being only 4mph slower than Coulthard’s.

“I’ve no doubt if he really wanted to put some serious time into driving those types of cars, with a few days of proper running he could be running some really good times,” Coulthard remarked of Cruise’s performance afterwards.

Marc Marquez

There was another eye-catching motorsport crossover in 2018 when MotoGP champion Marc Marquez became the latest name to test his talent on four wheels, the Spaniard participating in an F1 test run with the then-named Toro Rosso squad.

With Formula 1 race winner Mark Webber on hand to advise – while Red Bull’s then-motorsport advisor Helmut Marko and three-time World Champion Niki Lauda watched on – Marquez drove a 2012-spec car at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. His fellow MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa also got behind the wheel later in the day.

Marquez hailed the experience as “unbelievable”, adding that it was an “absolute highlight of my career”. Webber, meanwhile, said that it was an “honour” to coach the Spanish rider and praised how quickly he had adapted to the car.

“It's impressive, because obviously Marc is at the top of his game on two wheels and to come to drive a Formula 1 car, the way we generate the lap time is just so different,” Webber explained.

Sebastien Loeb

With nine World Rally Championships under his belt, Sebastien Loeb is famed for being one of the most successful drivers in the category’s history – and it was in the midst of this incredible run that the Frenchman first tried his hand at Formula 1.

In December 2007, Loeb participated in a car swap with Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen as part of a promotional event, where he drove the Enstone-based outfit’s 2006 title-winning R26. The experience was one Loeb conceded had been a “dream come true”.

It would not be the last time that the French driver took a Formula 1 machine for a spin. One year later, Loeb returned to action in a Red Bull test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, driving the team’s RB4 car – and, out of 17 participants, ended the session an impressive eighth-fastest.

Loeb was subsequently linked with a possible F1 race appearance for Toro Rosso at the 2009 season finale in Abu Dhabi but was ultimately not granted a Super Licence – meaning that his focus remained on rallying, where he continued to rack up further victories and titles.

Guy Martin

Former motorcycle racer Guy Martin has become known for taking on various challenges since moving into television presenting – and this saw him participate in a particularly special F1-related feat in 2018.

In an episode of his series Speed with Guy Martin, the Briton spent several months working alongside the Williams Heritage team to restore the 1983 Williams FW08C, before getting to drive it at Silverstone.

To make things even more interesting, Martin would be going head-to-head with 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, who would be piloting the six-wheeled FW08B – a car that never raced due to an update in the regulations ahead of 1983, stipulating that cars would be limited to a maximum of four wheels.

Button perhaps unsurprisingly won the mini race, but Martin’s performance seemed to impress those watching on. Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok – who had helped the TV presenter through his training – said: “He was sensible, he built up the speed. He looked good out on track.”

Mick Doohan

The Doohan name has been no stranger to Formula 1 during recent years, with Jack Doohan racing for Alpine across the opening rounds of 2025 before going on to join Haas as a reserve driver ahead of the current campaign.

Jack’s father Mick Doohan, however, was better known for his success on two wheels, the Australian winning five consecutive 500cc World Championships during the 1990s. His foray into F1 would prove much briefer than his son’s, as the motorcycling legend took part in just one test for a sponsor in 1998.

Doohan got behind the wheel of a Williams machine at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya but spun the car on his first lap – a fate that he says similarly befell Finnish rally driver Tommi Makinen, who also drove the car during the event.

Reflecting back on the day to F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast in 2023, Doohan admitted that the error had infuriated the competitor in him, despite the fact that it was not a path he was interested in. “It was a great experience, but I had no intention of ever wanting to be a car racer,” he explained.

Carlos Sainz Snr

Speaking of Formula 1 drivers whose fathers have been titans in other areas of motorsport, Carlos Sainz Jnr chose to pursue F1 rather than following Carlos Sainz Snr into the world of rallying, an arena in which the latter achieved many triumphs including two World Rally Championships.

The elder Sainz has since been victorious in the Dakar Rally during more recent years, his last success there occurring in 2024 – a year that would prove very special for the Spaniard, as he was also given the opportunity to share an F1 track day with his son.

Sainz Snr put in several laps at the wheel of Ferrari’s 2022 challenger, the F1-75 – the car in which Sainz Jnr claimed his maiden F1 win at Silverstone. The father and son duo also did some runs in formation on track at the Fiorano circuit in Italy, a celebratory moment for the family before Sainz Jnr departed the Italian squad for Williams.

While it was Sainz Snr’s first experience of a Scuderia Formula 1 machine, the rallying icon had previously driven Fernando Alonso’s 2005 championship-winning Renault R25 during a promotional event in Barcelona back in 2006.