Fernando Alonso and Brendon Hartley are two-time world champions, Alonso in Formula One (2005 and 2006) and Hartley in endurance (2015 and 2017). Hartley added his name to the Le Mans roll of honour a year before Alonso, winning with Porsche in 2017, while Alonso triumphed with Toyota in last year’s race. Both men also competed in Formula One in the past year, Alonso with McLaren and Hartley with Toro Rosso.

Combining campaigns in two disciplines is a marathon undertaking. Hartley contested a race every week in October and November 2017: Petit Le Mans plus the last three rounds of the World Endurance Championship and the last four Formula One Grand Prix of the season. In 2018, Alonso took part in 27 races: five rounds of the World Endurance Championship Super Season, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the whole Formula One season (21 Grand Prix).

Alonso takes endurance by storm - He already had star status, but with four wins in eight races, the Spaniard has proved he can turn his hand to a new discipline. Having triumphed in the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season, Spa-Francorchamps, he conquered the 24 Hours of Le Mans at his first attempt, something none of the other Formula One champions who also won Le Mans had managed to do. Barely six weeks after winning the 24 Hours of Daytona, Alonso has just celebrated another WEC victory at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, setting a new track record to boot. Not content to have made his mark on some of the most emblematic venues in endurance, Alonso has his heart set on becoming a true motorsport legend. In May, he will be attempting to beat the competition at the 103rd Indianapolis 500, and lay claim to the coveted Triple Crown. June brings the opportunity to win a third World Championship title and a second Le Mans 24 Hours on the trot.

Brendon Hartley, two podiums in one weekend - In five years on the endurance scene, Hartley has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, two World Endurance Championship titles and eleven races plus a victory in the European Le Mans Series and the 2017 Petit Le Mans. Last year, he tried his hand at Formula One racing, just as Alonso retired from the discipline. Last weekend, the New Zealander was among eleven drivers who took part in two races at Sebring, the 1000 Miles on the Friday, followed by the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 12 hours of Sebring on the Saturday. Two races, two podiums. Third in the 1000 Miles at the wheel of the BR Engineering BR1-AER with Russian team SMP Racing on Friday, he reiterated the performance in the 12 Hours of Sebring in a Cadillac prototype. Not yet 30 and already an overflowing trophy cabinet, Hartley has a bright future in motorsport.

Photos - Fernando Alonso won the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota teammates Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima. A year earlier, Brendon Hartley triumphed for Porsche with Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard.