24h Le Mans
Among the rookies set to take the start at their very first 24 Hours of Le Mans on 16 June figure three of the most popular, charismatic and outstanding: Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button and Juan Pablo Montoya. The drivers have led exceptional careers, often crossing paths particularly in Formula 1.
While the nature of the 24 Hours of Le Mans fills debuting drivers with a healthy mix of excitement and humbleness, the term rookie is still paradoxical for a trio of this caliber, especially as demonstrated in Formula 1.
- They boast 54 Formula 1 wins: 32 for Fernando Alonso, 15 for Jenson Button and 7 for Juan Pablo Montoya.
- Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya started in F1 the same year, as Jenson Button was already in his second season. Also, Alonso and Button debuted in Formula 1 at the same age (20).
- These days, Fernando Alonso is the only active full-time F1 driver, a discipline Montoya and Button left in 2006 and at the end of 2016, respectively (Button participated one last time in the Grand Prix of Monaco in 2017).
- Juan Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso won their first F1 victories during their first and second seasons, respectively, but Button had to wait until 2006 to reach the top step on the podium for the first time (his seventh season and 113th Grand Prix).
- Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button clinched their first F1 wins at the same circuit: the Hungaroring, at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003 and 2006, respectively.
- All three have driven McLarens during different stages of their F1 careers: Montoya in 2005 and 2006, Fernando Alonso in 2007 and since 2015, Jenson Button from 2010 to 2016. Alonso and Button were teammates in 2015 and 2016, and Button replaced Alonso at the 2017 Grand Prix of Monaco as the latter took the start at the Indianapolis 500 the same day.
- With 306 starts, Jenson Button is one of the few drivers with more than 300 Grand Prix to his credit, behind Rubens Barrichello (323) and Michael Schumacher (307). This year, Fernando Alonso will likely become the fourth at the Canadian Grand Prix on 12 June...just one week before his first 24 Hours of Le Mans. If he pursues his career in Formula 1 beyond 2018, as early as next year he may even beat the participations record set by Barrichello given the current pace of the F1 calendar, with more than 20 races per season.
PHOTO: Four years after serving as the first active driver starter at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (pictured here), will Fernando Alonso become the first F1 World Champion to win the race for his first participation? The verdict on Sunday 17 June at 3:00 p.m.
