Most racing drivers start out with the intention of getting to Formula 1, but for many their time on the grand prix grid is just the precursor to greater success elsewhere in motorsport.
Some even become so well-known for their triumphs in sportscars, touring cars or beyond that it’s easy to forget their F1 exploits even happened – especially if their time in the field was shortlived, or hampered by uncompetitive machinery.
Here are just a few of the many sometime F1 drivers now more famous for something else – you can see all these drivers in action and many more with Duke Video’s Formula 1 1970-2009 DVD boxset collection.
Compiled by Lewis Duncan, Kyran Gibbons, Piotr Magdziarz and Craig Woollard
NELSON PIQUET JR
The young Brazilian arrived in the F1 paddock with sky-high expectations of matching his three-time champion father.
But he left after fewer than two seasons following the infamous scandal around his deliberate crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
He went on to find redemption in NASCAR and rallycross, and eventually became the inaugural Formula E champion.
STEPHANE SARRAZIN
Arguably the most interesting one-race wonder in F1 history, his solo GP appearance for Minardi at Interlagos in 1999 was notable only for the massive crash that ended it.
But that was followed by a diverse and colourful career including a works Subaru World Rally stint, 17 Le Mans 24 Hours starts and racing in FE.
BERND SCHNEIDER
In his F1 days with Zakspeed and Footwork, qualifying for a race was an achievement.
That changed when Schneider joined Mercedes and became a five-time DTM champion, winning International Touring Car and FIA GT titles with the firm too before going on to an ambassadorial role.
SCOTT SPEED
Three consecutive Global Rallycross titles between 2015 and ’17 are now Speed’s crowning achievements – which is a long way from the career he looked set to have when he became F1’s first American racer in 13 years in 2006.
Dropped by Toro Rosso mid-way through 2007, he returned to America and competed in NASCAR before failing to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in 2011. Much greater success awaited him in Andretti Autosport’s works Volkswagen Beetle rallycross car.
F1 box sets and much more – the Duke Video collection
GABRIELE TARQUINI
Tin-top stalwart Tarquini has become the most impressive ‘over 50’ in motorsport, adding to his incredible record of touring car titles with this year’s WTCR crown.
But the Italian’s F1 record was very different – he ‘participated’ in 78 grands prix weekends but failed to qualify on 40 of those occasions.
JEAN-LOUIS SCHLESSER
Schlesser’s ‘contribution’ to F1 was to deny McLaren a clean sweep of 1988 GP victories by colliding with Ayrton Senna while being lapped at Monza, during a one-off stand-in appearance with Williams when Nigel Mansell was unwell.
That does no justice to his non-F1 career, which is headlined by five titles in cross-country rallying and a World Sportscar crown.
ALEX ZANARDI
Two brief and fruitless F1 stints are odd footnotes in Zanardi’s astonishing career.
A single point with the faded Lotus team in F1 was little indication of the heroics he would achieve first when igniting the CART Champ Car scene from 1996-98 and then as a gold-medal winning paralympian and World Touring Car race-winner following the 2001 crash in which he lost his legs.
HANS-JOACHIM STUCK
Though Stuck was twice an F1 podium-finisher in his time in grand prix racing in the 1970s, his stint there was spectacularly overshadowed by his achievements in sportscars and touring cars.
A DTM title, two Le Mans 24 Hours wins and a World Sportscar Championship showed what the towering German was really capable of.
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS
He may not have had the most fruitful F1 career with one and a half seasons under his belt before being dropped by Toro Rosso, but elsewhere Bourdais has been hugely successful.
He erupted onto the Champ Car scene in 2003, before winning the series four years in succession. After his F1 stint he eased his way back into a very different IndyCar, and nowadays is still one of the series’ most exciting competitors. He is a handy sportscar driver as well – winning his class at Le Mans with Ford and overall at the Daytona 24 Hours.
YANNICK DALMAS
Dalmas tasted massive success at Le Mans – winning four times with four different manufacturers and eight different team-mates in the 1990s.
His F1 career was much less glittering, as he raced for the lowly Larrousse and AGS teams for little reward.
EMANUELE PIRRO
Having scored points on just one occasion during his two and a half seasons in F1, Pirro’s mark on motorsport was instead made in sportscars – where he claimed a total of five overall Le Mans 24 Hours victories and seven in class.
Italian championship titles in karting and touring cars add to his non-F1 resume.
From backmarkers to legends, all the stories of four decades of F1 can be enjoyed on Duke Video’s 1970-2009 F1 boxset collection – available now