Steve Small

Grand Prix Drivers at the Indianapolis 500 Steve Small

From the early pioneers at the race's beginnings through to the high-watermark of the 1960s when the Formula 1 invasion of Brabham, Gurney Clark, Hill and Stewart transformed the race from a largely United States event to capture a worldwide audience. Their success was a two-way street and Indy car drivers were tempted to compete in Formula 1 with the likes of Mario Andretti, Bobby Unser and Mark Donohue. After the first wave in the sixties their were more famous names tempted to the IMS, such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. Juan Pablo Monyoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Zanardi and Sebastian Bourdais found success in Indy cars to forge careers in F1, whilst most recently Alexander Rossi went from F1 backmarker the the 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner as a rookie, and in 2017, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso took up the challenge of the Speedway watched online by more than two million viewers on his private test. In all the lure of Indianapolis provided a challenge which brought triumph, heartache and sadly, on occasion, tragedy to those who took part. Grand Prix Drivers at the Indianapolis 500 tells the story of them all.
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