Five F1 drivers who have taken on extreme sporting challenges

Today marks the 46th edition of the London Marathon, one of the largest and most celebrated mass participation sporting events on the calendar. The race brings together people from all different walks of life to accomplish a common goal – completing the 42.2km (26.2mi) course.

Amongst the tens-of-thousands of elite runners, celebrities, and those raising money for thousands of charities – four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel will be pounding the streets of London alongside F1 journalist and Beyond The Grid podcast host Tom Clarkson.

The duo are raising money for the ‘Grand Prix Trust’, which provides support to F1’s trackside and factory-based personnel going through hardship, and the ‘Brain & Spine Foundation’, founded by former F1 medical chief Professor Sid Watkins to help those affected by neurological conditions.

However, Vettel is just the latest F1 star to take on an extreme sporting challenge like this. Here are five other F1 drivers who know a thing or two about pushing their physical limits beyond the cockpit...

Valtteri Bottas

If you’ve been following Valtteri Bottas on socials, then you’ll know the Cadillac driver is no stranger to an endurance challenge.

As part of his training, Bottas spends a lot of time clocking up the miles on his bike, often with his pro cyclist partner Tiffany Cromwell. But over the past couple of years, he’s been able to put that training to good use outside of the car – as he’s raced in some top-level cycling races, including competing for his home nation of Finland at the UCI Gravel Cycling World Championships in 2024. After almost six hours of intense cycling, Bottas crossed the line in a fantastic 134th place, and it looks like he loved every minute!

As if cycling for hours on end isn’t hard enough on its own, Bottas decided to take things a step (or giant leap!) further. In the two-week break between the 2024 Sao Paulo and Las Vegas races, whilst other drivers were keeping their fitness ticking over, the Finn completed an Ironman triathlon... without even leaving his villa.

Hopping out of bed in the early hours, he completed the 3.8km (2.4mi) swim in the villa’s pool, before heading onto a stationary bike for 180km (112mi), and finishing up with a marathon run on the treadmill. Per his Instagram video, Bottas completed the total 226km (140mi) in an impressive 10 hours and 57 minutes – talk about staying power!

His accomplishment understandably went viral and caught the attention of the professionals – Paris 2024 silver medallist and pro triathlete Taylor Spivey commented: “This is very impressive/psychotic”, and we couldn’t agree more! Whilst his sights are currently set on bringing Cadillac to the front of the grid, we’re sure an official Ironman race will be in Bottas’ future...

Jenson Button

If you thought Jenson Button's 2009 World Drivers’ Championship was his only great sporting feat, think again. The 46-year-old started triathlons to stay fit for F1 and over the past decade, has become one of the most impressive age-group triathletes on the planet. He has even won in the Men’s 35-39 category at IRONMAN 70.3 events and has had some epic podium finishes.

Button has been competing in triathlons since his racing days, founding his own charity event, the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon, which has raised tens of thousands of pounds over the years.

But the story that really captures the Button spirit? At IRONMAN 70.3 Oceanside in 2017 – covering a 2km (1.2mi) swim, 90km (56mi) bike ride and a half marathon run – Button finished third in his age group, only to be disqualified after the race for speeding in a go-slow safety zone on the bike leg. His reaction was that of a champion, obviously: “Ah well onto the next one!”.

And that is exactly what he did, as the next one wasn’t long after, and it went very well. Button won the Men’s 35-39 category at the IRONMAN 70.3 Santa Rosa, which qualified him to take part in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships later that year.

Whilst he admitted his triathlon days are now behind him, Button seems to be doing anything but slowing down! He still competes in road running races and even Hyrox – but is a marathon in his future?

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg's dedication to marginal gains during his F1 career is the stuff of legend – he famously gave up cycling mid-season in 2016 purely to shed leg muscle mass, reasoning that one kilogram of bodyweight saved him 0.04 seconds per lap. He credits that decision with helping him take pole position in Japan and, ultimately, going on to win the World Championship that season.

But he had some fun with triathlon training and racing during his earlier career. Rosberg had already competed at the ITU World Championship triathlon in Kitzbuhel in 2010, completing the 1.5km (0.9mi) swim, 40km (25mi) bike and 10km (6.2mi) run in an impressive time of 2:07:33. Much like Button, he has experienced a near disqualification scare too, but this time it was for removing his bike helmet too early at the end of the cycle leg. Phew!

With the helmet hung up after the 2016 season, those legs were free again – and Rosberg had unfinished business on the bike, so he could pedal away the miles to his hearts content yet again!

Mark Webber

Most F1 drivers spend their off-seasons recovering and heading on holidays. Mark Webber spent off-season organising a mammoth endurance adventure race across Tasmania. But then again – Webber isn’t like most F1 drivers!

From 2003, Webber set up and competed in the Mark Webber Challenge – a gruelling 10-day endurance event across Tasmania featuring the likes of trail running, kayaking, mountain biking and even abseiling. He created this unique challenge to raise money for children's cancer charities following the death of his grandfather and had raised well over AU$1.5m for these causes. But in true Webber style, he didn't just bankroll these events – he raced it himself each year.

In 2008, that commitment nearly ended his F1 career before it had properly peaked. During the mountain biking stage near Hobart, Webber collided head-on with a car. His reactions were fast enough to get his torso clear of the bullbars, but his trailing right leg didn't quite make it. His fibula was smashed, which required a five-hour operation and a titanium rod inserted into the bone.

He was passed fit to race at the opening Australian Grand Prix, but a noticeable limp showed he was still suffering the after-effects. Despite this, just five months later, he won his first ever F1 Grand Prix.

That titanium rod stayed in his leg for the rest of his career, and he didn’t let it stop him after retirement either. After leaving F1 in 2013, Webber competed in a number of lengthy mountain bike races too. His nickname ‘Aussie Grit’ doesn't quite cover it!

Alex Zanardi

Every entry on this list is impressive. But arguably none of them come close to Alex Zanardi... The Italian competed in F1 during the early 1990s before a devastating accident at a CART race in Germany in 2001 left him fighting for his life. Struck by another car travelling close to 320kph (200mph), both of Zanardi's legs had to be amputated. Doctors later told him he was, medically speaking, a dead man – but he survived.

What happened next is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in the history of sport. In 2007, Zanardi was invited to the pasta party at the New York City Marathon by his sponsor. He decided that if he was going, he should actually race – and finished an incredible fourth in the handcycle division after just four weeks of training. By 2011, he had won the New York City Marathon in the handcycle class at only his fourth attempt!

But that was just the beginning for Zanardi, who went on to win gold medals at the 2012 London Paralympics, competing on the same Brands Hatch circuit where he'd previously raced cars.

In 2018, at a triathlon in Cervia, Italy, Zanardi broke the Ironman world record for disabled athletes, completing the full course of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles of handcycling and a 26.2 mile wheelchair marathon in a time of 8:26:06, finishing a mind blowing fifth overall against a field of mainly able-bodied athletes.