Every Formula 1 driver who won IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year title

Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of crossover between Formula 1 and America’s IndyCar series. Some drivers found success in one discipline but struggled in the other. Today, we’re looking at some of those drivers.

Specifically, we’re looking at all of the Formula 1 drivers who, at one point or another, secured an IndyCar Rookie of the Year title. And, for ease, we’ve divided this list into two sections: Drivers who started in F1 and then took ROTY honors in IndyCar, followed by drivers who secured their IndyCar ROTY and then entered Formula 1.

Formula 1 drivers who went on to take IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year honor

We’re starting off our list with a selection of Formula 1 drivers who would go on to race in America, securing IndyCar Rookie of the Year honors in the process.

1963: Jim Clark

Call him a trendsetter: While Jim Clark wasn’t the first Formula 1 driver to consider racing in America, he made quite the impression when he took victory at the 1963 Indianapolis 500, followed later that year by his first of two Formula 1 World Championships.

1982: Bobby Rahal

It would be just about two decades before another F1 driver turned to the American open-wheel scene. Ohio-born Bobby Rahal had two middling outings with the Wolf Racing F1 team in 1978, but the team signed James Hunt for its single car in 1979. Rahal competed in Formula Two, then headed back to American sports car racing before, in 1982, he secured IndyCar’s Rookie of the Year award having won two races in his first season.

1983: Teo Fabi

Teo Fabi had ascended the European ladder system to get a shot with Toleman during the 1982 season — but it wasn’t much of a success. In the 14 races he entered, Fabi failed to qualify for seven of them, wasn’t classified for one, and retired from the rest. He moved off to CART in 1983, where four wins earned him second overall in the championship while also taking rookie of the year. Fabi headed back to F1 between 1984 and 1987, with two third-place finishes accounting for his best performances.

1984: Roberto Guerrero

Columbian-American racer Roberto Guerrero debuted in Formula 1 in 1982 with Ensign Racing before moving to Theodore Racing in 1983 — but both teams struggled, and it was clear that Guerrero wasn’t going to find a competitive F1 ride the following year. Instead, he headed off to the CART IndyCar World Series, where a shocking second-place finish at the 1984 Indy 500 earned him Rookie of the Year.

1990: Eddie Cheever

Eddie Cheever’s 1978 debut season in Formula 1 wasn’t great back, but by 1981, he had moved up to Tyrrell and begun to score points. In 132 starts over about a decade of competition, Cheever took nine podiums and 70 total career points before heading off to the CART series. In his first season, 1990, he took two podium positions and finished within the top 10 in the Championship, also securing Rookie of the Year honors.

1992: Stefan Johansson

Stefan Johansson’s early Formula 1 career was a challenge; in his first three seasons, he only entered a few races and finished even fewer; but with Toleman, he proved at the end of 1984 he could be competitive. Though he never scored a win, he did take several podiums. After his final F1 season in 1991, he headed to CART, where he secured 1992’s Rookie of the Year honors.

1993: Nigel Mansell

Nigel Mansell’s swap to American open-wheel racing was a shock. Despite securing a World Drivers’ Championship in 1992, Mansell had gotten into a very public spat with his Williams team, and he was let go at the end of the season. So, Mansell headed off to CART for 1993, where he took five victories on his way to a title — a feat that certainly earned him the title Rookie of the Year.

1996: Alex Zanardi

Italian Alex Zanardi joined the Jordan team for the end of 1991 and continued dipping his toe into the sport the following year. In 1993, Zanardi scored his best-ever finish, a sixth-place in Brazil, to take home one Championship point. He put in another year in F1 before moving to CART in 1996, where his three victories gave him third overall in the championship and also earned him ROTY honors. He went on to take the CART title for the two subsequent years.

2005: Timo Glock

Timo Glock’s debut at the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix earned him two points with his seventh-place finish, but he rounded out the season with three straight 15th places. Because he was only filling in for Giorgio Pantano, Glock wasn’t able to find an F1 seat for 2005 and moved to the CART series for just one year, where he finished eighth overall in the championship with a best finish of second, which earned him the ROTY title. Glock headed back to F1 in 2008, where he remained until 2012.

2007: Robert Doornbos

Dutch racer Robert Doornbos’ actual start in sport was in tennis, but he quickly moved into motorsport, making his Formula 1 race debut at the 2005 German Grand Prix with Minardi. Those ties got him in the door at the Minardi ChampCar team, where two wins in 2007 earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

2016: Alexander Rossi

Alexander Rossi’s Formula 1 career with Manor was brief and uninspired — as one might imagine from a driver in a backmarker team. After being unable to secure a Formula 1 seat on 2016, Rossi headed to the U.S., where he secured Rookie of the Year honors by winning the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 in his very first go.

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IndyCar Rookies of the Year who went on to race in Formula 1

In the second half of this list, we’re looking at drivers who transformed their IndyCar Rookie of the Year honors into a Formula 1 drive.

1964: Mario Andretti

The iconic Mario Andretti moved from Italy to America, and in the latter country, he got his start in motorsport. In his first season of IndyCar racing, he took Rookie of the Year honors, then his first championship the following year. He began dabbling in the F1 scene in 1968 before taking on his first full season in 1975. Three years later, he won the F1 WDC as well.

1977: Danny Ongais

Hawaiian Danny Ongais got started in the American racing scene in 1968, but he didn’t join IndyCar full-time until 1977, when a win in Michigan earned him rookie of the year honors. Later that year, he made his F1 debut with Interscope Racing. His six F1 entries padded out his otherwise full-time effort in IndyCar, but with very little luck.

1987: Fabrizio Barbazza

Italian racer Fabrizio Barbazza took on the CART series in 1987; his third-place finish in the Indy 500 was enough to secure him Rookie of the Year honors — but not a CART seat for 1988. He competed in 1989 and 1992, before heading off to Formula 1 in 1991 and 1993. His best finishes were a pair of sixth places in 1993.

1994: Jacques Villeneuve

Jaques Villeneuve, son of the iconic Gilles, got his start in the American open-wheel world, and a victory in his rookie season at Road America made him 1994’s rookie of the year. He took the title the subsequent season before earning his shot at Formula 1 in 1996. In his first season, Villeneuve won four races to finish second in the Championship, then became World Champion the following year.

1999: Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya has raced just about everything, and in his CART debut with Ganassi in 1999, the Colombian was a star. Seven wins in 20 races was enough for both a title and rookie of the year honors. He won the 2000 Indy 500, and by 2001, he had headed off to try his hand at Formula 1 with BMW Williams. In his first season, he took a victory in Italy.

2003: Sébastien Bourdais

Despite being born in Le Mans, France and pursuing the European ladder system, Sébastien Bourdais headed off to Champ Car to continue his racing career in 2003. The Newman-Haas racer took three wins that year to finish fourth in the championship and become rookie of the year. He won the subsequent four Champ Car titles before having a shot with Toro Rosso in the 2008 and 2009 Formula 1 seasons.  He was dropped halfway through 2009, to be replaced by Sebastian Vettel.

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