Mark Webber is on his way out of Formula One at the end of the year. But he already has his next career move lined up with a switch to Porsche’s World Endurance Championship team.
However some ex-drivers have had rather more unconventional post-F1 career choices. Here are a few more unusual ideas for when the current crop of drivers hang up their helmets.
Sell cars
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio’s relationship with Mercedes-Benz, who he won two of his five world championships with, continued long after his racing career.
Fangio opened a Mercedes dealership in his home town of Balcarce, and in 1974 he was appointed the President of Mercedes-Benz Argentina.
He wasn’t the only driver to sell cars for a living after F1. Tony Brooks, a rival of Fangio’s who won six Grands Prix, bought and ran his own Ford garage next to the former Brooklands circuit near London.
Sell planes
Thierry Boutsen
Three-times Grand Prix winner Thierry Boutsen?óÔé¼Ôäós association with expensive machinery did not end when he retired from Formula One in 1993. The wealthy Belgian driver had owned and sold airplanes throughout his racing career, and in 1997 he and his wife formed their own company, Boutsen Aviation.
The Monaco-based group has since sold more than 250 planes – including helicopters to corporate jets – with total sales now exceeding $1 billion .
Of course, having extensive contacts in the moneyed F1 paddock did Boutsen?óÔé¼Ôäós business no harm. The company?óÔé¼Ôäós clientele includes the likes of Mika Hakkinen, Keke Rosberg and Heinz Harald Frentzen.
Another famous example of a driver getting involved in aviation after his F1 career is Niki Lauda, who ran his own airline Lauda Air which has recently been rebranded as Austrian myHoliday.
Sell pasta
Paolo Barilla
Former Minardi driver Paolo Barilla had the perfect safety net when his racing career faltered. He became the vice president of his family’s lucrative pasta company Barilla Group, one of the world’s biggest.
It was largely because of his family’s pasta money that Barilla had been able to make it to F1 in he first place. He made his debut for Minardi at Suzuka in 1989, and was appointed full-time driver for the following season.
But after failing to qualify for several races in 1990, and being completely outshone by his teammate Pierluigi Martini, Barilla was dropped for the final two races of the campaign, and retreated to the familiar world of pasta.
Yet he was more than just a pay driver – Barilla had enjoyed much greater success in sports cars, with victory in the 1985 Le Mans 24 Hours the highlight of his racing career. The Barilla company later sponsored Alessandro Zanardi.
Run a sat nav company
Nelson Piquet
Three-times world champion Nelson Piquet may be a divisive figure but he certainly has the Midas touch, enjoying business success to match his on-track achievements.
Since retiring from F1 in 1991 (and recovering from a major IndyCar crash in 1992) Piquet’s biggest success has been Autotrac, a company which produces sat nav and monitoring systems for Brazilian freight trucks. Founded in 1994, it has expanded hugely over the years, and Piquet retains a shareholding in the company.
In addition to this and other business interests, Piquet has managed the racing career of his son, for whom he formed the racing team Piquet Sports. More recently, he starred alongside his former nemesis Nigel Mansell in Ford adverts in Brazil.
Preach the gospel
Alex Ribeiro
Alex Dias Ribeiro’s F1 career was something of a damp squib. He only qualified for half of the 20 races he entered in the late seventies and failed to score a point. A deeply religious man, Ribeiro raced with the slogan “Salva Cristo” (Jesus Saves) daubed across his overalls and sometimes his car.
His evangalising mission moved up a gear after his racing career ended. An encounter with an albino frog while digging a well on his farm (I’m not making this up!) prompted Ribeiro to join the Athletes of Christ, a Brazilian organisation dedicated to promoting Christianity amongst athletes.
Drive the Medical Car
Alex Ribeiro (again)
Spreading the word of God alone was clearly not enough to keep Ribeiro busy, and he returned to F1 in 1999 for an eventful stint as the Medical Car driver.
It didn’t start well: During the Saturday morning safety exercise before practice at Monaco in 2000 Ribeiro smashed the Mercedes C55 AMG estate into the barriers at Tabac. He was unhurt, but FIA medical delegate Sid Watkins suffered three broken ribs. The car was written off.
Two years later Ribeiro’s Medical Car was involved in another crash at Interlagos, but this time he was blameless. He had parked his car at the Senna S after Enrique Bernoldi crashed during the pre-race warm-up. But no sooner had he opened the door than it was torn from its hinges by Nick Heidfeld’s out-of-control Sauber:
Fortunately Ribeiro escaped unscathed. You can probably guess who he thanked for this miraculous deliverance.
Become a politician
Carlos Reutemann
One of the most talented drivers never to win the world championship, Carlos Reutemann is sadly best remembered for his ignominious defeat in the 1981 title decider at Las Vegas. Two races into the following season he abruptly called time on his F1 career.
Regardless of his rather undignified exit, Reutemann’s racing exploits had made him a popular figure in his native Argentina, and he used this recognition to forge a career in Argentinian politics.
Reutemann was appointed governor of Santa Fe, Argentina’s third most populous province, for two four year terms in 1991 and 1999. There was even speculation that he might make a bid for the national presidency, though this never materialised.
Run a farm
Jody Scheckter
Having won the world championship in 1979, Jody Scheckter quit Grand Prix racing the following year, aged just 30.
But he has kept himself busy since then. His first venture was a weapons training system, which he bought shortly after his racing retirement and sold at a huge profit 12 years later.
He is now engaged in a more peaceful but no less successful pursuit. Scheckter bought and invested millions of pounds in Laverstoke Park Farm in southern England, from where he sells his own range of multi-award-winning organic produce.
Scheckter hasn’t completely cut all ties with his former career, though. An on-site garage contains several of the cars he drove during his F1 career, including his title-winning Ferrari 312T4.
Buy an energy drink company
Bertrand Gachot
Energy drink sponsorship is currently in vogue in Formula One so perhaps it won’t be long before another driver takes a leaf from Bertrand Gachot’s book and creates a brand of his own.
The Luxembourger, best known for his assault on a taxi driver in 1991 which opened up a place on the grid for Michael Schumacher, enjoyed little success in his F1 career. Gachot failed to qualify for almost half of the races he entered, and only managed to score five points.
After a two year stint in Japanese GT racing, Gachot began to focus on his business interests. One of his investments was in Hype, an energy drinks producer whose logos appeared on Williams’ cars in the late nineties. Gachot struck a deal to distribute Hype drinks in France, and it was such a success he bought the company outright in 2000.
Take over F1
Bernie Ecclestone
Stretching the definition of ‘F1 driver’ a little, Formula One overlord Bernie Ecclestone made an appearance at the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix.
At the time Ecclestone was in possession of a pair of Connaught B-series cars, one of which he drove during practice for the race. This may have just been a ruse to collect the start money for the entry, which Ecclestone later said he lost in one of Monaco’s casinos. He appeared on the track again at Silverstone later that year.
But his skills were clearly better employed as a team and driver manager. In 1974 he formed the Formula One Constructors Association and eventually took control of the sport’s lucrative television rights. Today he occupies a position of unparalled importance in the sport, and though recent events have put it in jeopardy it remains hard to imagine the sport without Ecclestone at its apex.
Over to you
Which drivers on the current grid do you think would be best suited to these jobs? And which other drivers do you recall having unusual post-F1 careers? Have your say in the comments.
F1 top tens
- Ranked: Sergio Perez’s 10 best drives in Formula 1
- Hamilton called his last race ‘one of his worst’ – but is it among his 10 poorest?
- Top ten fake and fictional racing drivers from gaming history
- The great go-slows: 10 times F1 drivers threw out the anchor – for different reasons
- F1’s 10 longest-running teams – and why most of them have been lost
Read more top tens
Images ?é?® Daimler, Williams/LAT, F1 Fanatic/Joris Meuffels, Red Bull/Getty
tomccoll
7th August 2013, 12:58
Niki Lauda’s two relatively successful airline ventures are surely worth a mention too…
Keith Collantine
7th August 2013, 13:05
@tomccoll There is a mention.
tomccoll
7th August 2013, 13:22
Missed that. As Mike mentioned – he was quite prolific!
Mike Dee
7th August 2013, 13:06
One of them is mentioned, but not quite correctly.
Lauda Air was sold to Austrian Airlines in 2000 and later used as a charter airline. It then became part of the Lufthansa Group when LH acquired Austrian 2009. Lauda Air seized to exist in 2013 when it was rebranded as “Austrian myHoliday”.
Niki Lauda also founded a second airline in 2003: FlyNiki. This is a relatively successful Low Cost Airline based in Vienna. Since 2011, FlyNiki has been part of the Air Berlin group.
I think Niki Lauda sometimes piloted planes of both Lauda Air and FlyNiki.
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 13:04
That’s absolutely bizarre!
Although on a side note (and I’m certainly not trying to promote prejudice here) what would actually be the point in trying to promote Christianity amongst athletes? I may be blind to an obvious benefit but I cannot possibly see how that would help somebody’s sporting career.
tattsbrah
8th August 2013, 7:29
I would personally say that the benefit lies much higher than just a sporting career, I’m personally a Christian, and I’d say that Ribeiro’s mission would be similar to any other mission, to share Jesus with people, because sporting stars need Jesus just as much as anyone else does, when viewed through a Christian’s perspective.
Dan Brown
8th August 2013, 13:26
Although not necessarily the place, I’m pretty sure no amount of praying can make you a winner. Hard work maybe.
Benjamin Tinker
8th August 2013, 8:54
I don’t think this is about their sporting careers. Being an ex-athlete myself, you cannot focus your mind and energy on anything else. It consumes you completely. To inject some spirituality into their lives cannot be a harmful thing at all. Especially when they do not have chance to study for themselves.
dragoll
8th August 2013, 9:28
@vettel1 You should watch the Senna documentary with that question in mind. If you have the extended version on the blue ray disc, you actually get a great insight into, not necessarily how much he put faith into god, but more around how he placed his entire fate at the hands of whatever god’s will was… In essence he pushed boundaries because he felt that he had a certain connection with god and because of that he could push beyond the limits.
HoHum
8th August 2013, 23:28
@dragoll, didn’t work though did it.
tattsbrah
9th August 2013, 2:21
I guess if it was God’s will for him to die, would Senna argue with that?
Max Jacobson
8th August 2013, 12:00
So really it is essentially an alternative method of “mental coaching” as I see it? Hence giving drivers and sportsmen an innate new confidence in their own ability @dragoll @xbarrettmatex?
The concept is quite alien to me is all as an atheist myself! I have an inclination as to why it may aid a Christian now though.
tattsbrah
8th August 2013, 22:45
@vettel1 To a degree, yes, I would say it does bring a newfound confidence in their abilities, as @dragoll noted, it let Senna push the boundaries because he had faith that God would let everything happen the way it would according to His will. I also think that they see it as an excellent chance to put the gospel on display to an extremely large amount of people, and part of Ribeiro’s mission would’ve been trying to ensure these athletes were out in the world showing the gospel for what it is.
Max Jacobson
8th August 2013, 23:02
Ah, so a clever advertising campaign for the gospel!
I only questioned it because I would personally think driver coaching would be a more successful means is all!
DuncF1
7th August 2013, 13:11
Become the Stig.
(although no one really believed it was Michael Schumacher?)
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 13:13
Especially because it became known that the Stig was Ben Collins @duncf1! ;)
DuncF1
7th August 2013, 13:16
True. Although they didn’t ‘unmask’ Ben Collins on the show, like they did with Schumacher! ;)
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 13:51
@duncf1 true, although that in itself would possibly imply that it wasn’t real! ;)
sam11333
7th August 2013, 17:42
Although the first Stig was Perry McCarthy, who was an ex F1 driver
DuncF1
7th August 2013, 13:19
Schumacher is the Stig… if only for one episode.
Traverse
7th August 2013, 14:34
I’m the Stig. You heard it here first!
celeste
7th August 2013, 15:00
@hellotraverse I knew it!!!!!!!! ;)
JackySteeg
7th August 2013, 17:05
Ah, you say that, but I reckon the current (real) Stig is a former F1 driver! You see, I’ve been working on a theory in my laboratory…
Last year, Top Gear had an unusually long absence, almost an entire year between series. Perhaps someone, specifically The Stig, was recovering from some sort of injury that he sustained after flipping his Toyota at Le Mans?
I think I’ve cracked it :) haha…
Blackmamba
7th August 2013, 18:18
Anthony Davidson should still be in F1. He is way better than some of the young pretenders buying their way into F1. No disrespect to Chilton, but ***?
Fer no.65
7th August 2013, 20:55
@jackysteeg I thought that too. Current Stig laps look a lot faster and precise. Ben Collins used to be a bit more out of shape everywhere, but this one keeps it planted and has produced some weirdly surprising laptimes (though it might be the car).
Also, another theory, is that they still run Ben Collins… that’d be a great cover. “We fired him, but we didn’t” :P
Jay Menon
8th August 2013, 0:56
Ben Collins is a Hollywood stunt driver now? No?
Whoever the Stig is…he is a bloody good driver. Just because he is that good, doesnt mean he has to be an ex F1 driver. There are plenty of non-F1 drivers who as good or better.
Just out of curiosity, I remember The Stig used to have a very different line into the first corner when compared to F1 drivers…is there a difference now?
grobe
7th August 2013, 21:12
hmm.. nice theory.. did you see in one of the most recent episodes.. they hinted at a recently retired F1 driver again..
Some Say………
Yappy
8th August 2013, 3:25
My guess is it is David Coulthard. He has been on Top Gear a numerous amount of times but has never been interviewed or done a lap. He also does not need publicity.
Jack
8th August 2013, 11:35
In the last TG episode when the Stig was driving a Range Rover around Donnington you could see he was shorter and a smaller build than Richard Hammond who was in the passenger seat. Two ex Super Aguri drivers spring to mind and he hasn’t crashed into anything yet so that would rule Sato out.
DominikWilde
9th August 2013, 1:25
The reason for the long gap was because Top Gear was touring (and because of budget).
The current Stig is Phil Keen.
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 13:12
The obvious natural progression – F1 driver to Vice President of a company that produces pasta!
Fantastic article @greg-morland!
Madi Murphy
7th August 2013, 13:15
I used to work on a horticulture magazine a few years ago, and we once ran a feature on Jody Scheckter’s farm. I was giddy with excitement about it, and absolutely gutted that I wasn’t the one who got to go and interview him. Particularly as no one else in my office seemed to know (or care) who he was. Heathens.
Solo
23rd October 2013, 20:12
You should have knocked heads to get the interview.
Magnificent Geoffrey
7th August 2013, 13:15
One of the best top tens yet! Great read, Greg!
First other one I can think of is Eddie Irvine becoming a property tycoon.
HoHum
8th August 2013, 1:15
If my memory serves me correctly, Jack Brabham had a Ford dealership and Nigel Mansell a Ferrari dealership.
xivizmath
7th August 2013, 13:18
How about Jacques Villeneuve becoming a singer? Or is it too terrifying to mention?
Cyclops_PL
7th August 2013, 13:27
It’s too terrifying to even think about.
Lucas Wilson
7th August 2013, 13:29
Don’t forget to mention shaving your head :-)
BJ
7th August 2013, 16:18
He looks kinda like Billy Corgan with his shaved head… At least that’s what I thought when I first saw him like that.
Prisoner Monkeys
7th August 2013, 14:11
Or it was until Jenson Button became an interpretive dancer for Santander.
Although judging by some of his expressions in that ad, JB knew just how bad it was going into it.
Skett
8th August 2013, 0:05
You do realise that was the whole point of the ad right?
BasCB
8th August 2013, 7:10
LOL
Maarten
7th August 2013, 13:27
Does he actually qualify as a singer? :o
Matthijs
8th August 2013, 12:47
No, he is way outside the 107% ;)
Lucas Wilson
7th August 2013, 13:28
A popular pursuit of F1 drivers after F1 is to ring the press and spout some drivel down the phone every day ;-D
Nick Jarvis
7th August 2013, 13:36
F1Fanatic really puts the official F1 website to shame.
Welington Leal jr
7th August 2013, 13:39
Notorius pay driver Pedro Diniz, was a playboy in Monaco, now runs a organic farm in Brazil.
[img]http://revistatrip.uol.com.br/_lib/common/imgCrop.php?params=trip-210-negras-0014-nova.jpg[/img]
http://revistatrip.uol.com.br/revista/210/paginas-negras/pedro-paulo-diniz.html
Nathan
7th August 2013, 13:42
Technical og management consultant, in medium/small technology businesses, or anything in technology and management.. Even if it sounds boring it should be spot on for former F1 drivers.
AmirAnuar
7th August 2013, 13:56
how about tv commentator there a lot of them doing it…
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 14:06
The article is about unconventional progressions in their careers – tv commentator on F1 is a very natural progression @amiranuar as is quite evident from the fact you’ve said “there’s a lot of them doing it”!
michel
7th August 2013, 14:02
http://www.grupponannini.it
Allessandro Nannini sells his own brand of roasted coffee beans and related pasticceria
https://www.racefans.net/f1-information/whos-who/whos-who-n/alessandro-nannini/
the coffee beans are excellent btw
James Brickles
7th August 2013, 14:31
It’s a shame he didn’t start his own brand of bread so he would have been able to call it Nannini’s Panini’s…
michel
7th August 2013, 14:44
he didn’t start it himself his father and sister ran it when he was still racing, his sister is a pretty famous singer in Italy
they are located in Sienna, a beautiful little city to visit and their patticceria store is just wonderful, if you like expresso coffee and great food italy is a wonderful place to be
sienna is not too far from firenze and from the mugello circuit, also not to far from bologna (ducati and lamborghini) and maranello (ferrari). lost of motor sport related things to do and see there.
xjr15jaaag
7th August 2013, 14:03
Didn’t Trulli run a vineyard?
andae23
7th August 2013, 14:21
A vineyard and a hotel, and I believe he also runs another business on the side.
celeste
7th August 2013, 14:31
on thar matter Webber has a put, isn´t he?
celeste
7th August 2013, 15:08
sorry a “pub”
andae23
7th August 2013, 15:38
@celeste He sure does:
http://www.you tube.com/watch?v=qeoc1vnKvPk (remove the space)
AlonsoWDC
7th August 2013, 17:57
His family has owned and operated that vineyard since the early part of the 20th century.
Blackmamba
7th August 2013, 18:29
Didn’t Nigel Mansell buy and run a golf and country club in Southern England at some point? How did that turn out?
Mouse_Nightshirt
8th August 2013, 1:16
He does indeed. I entered a competition to win a crate of it. Sadly, I didn’t win.
MazdaChris
8th August 2013, 12:23
Incidentally, if you’re a wine lover you could do a lot worse than sampling some of the products from the Trulli vineyard. Absolutely delicious.
andae23
7th August 2013, 14:10
Say what?
verstappen
7th August 2013, 16:12
You can’t make up reality!
Fer no.65
7th August 2013, 20:57
@andae23 hahah exactly my thoughts !
ajokay
8th August 2013, 12:10
Any excuse to pursue a life of delusion.
JCost
7th August 2013, 14:16
@keithcollantine in Portuguese “Salva Jesus” means “Save Jesus” :) The correct translation of “Jesus saves” is “Jesus salva”.
On jobs for retired drivers
Become a R&B singer…
celeste
7th August 2013, 14:30
hehehehe or any kind of Singer.. just ask Jackes Villeneuve for advice ;)
Matt Clark
7th August 2013, 15:41
I’m looking forward to hearing Lewis Hamilton’s album :P
celeste
7th August 2013, 16:40
Probably a Grammy winner!
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 17:38
@celeste the quality of the Grammys has really dropped hasn’t it? ;)
JCost
7th August 2013, 21:02
@celeste and he will perform at MTV Video Music Awards :)
celeste
7th August 2013, 22:42
@jcost Well since is been ages since MTv brodcaste music, now they only do Teen girls getting pregnant programs , it seem like a reasonable place to debut a song about an old woman wanting to get pregnant
runs for coverTraverse
7th August 2013, 18:26
I’ve actually heard his first song, It’s called I don’t date mingers. It’s a dig at Nicole, apparently. The first verse goes like this:
“Yo listen up people, listen mofo’s, yo eh yo, the name is Lewis Ham and they aint nobody faster, I zoom around the track like a runaway hamster, I could set the fastest time wid no fingers just my thumbs, ya can’t mess wid me coz I gots the biggest plums y’all! Note to self – don’t date no more mingers and that’s me y’all…peace.”
celeste
7th August 2013, 19:01
Eminem couldn´t have write something so profound… ;)
@vettel1 as long don´t as they don´t give one to the Bieber they are still fine
Max Jacobson
8th August 2013, 12:03
@celeste true enough, although personally I think the general quality of music has definitely been on a downward trend! And this is coming from someone who has grown up in the download age ;)
Blackmamba
7th August 2013, 18:10
I reckon Hamilton can become part of the next big double act with his pussycat doll.
Ike and Tina
Cher and Sonny
Nic and Lew
Or maybe Lew and Roscoe, I don’t know.
Traverse
7th August 2013, 14:37
It would be good if a former driver were to take over from Bernie when he chooses to grace us with is absence. I’d nominate Schumi (or Rubinho).
Traverse
7th August 2013, 14:38
Or Prost.
Bazza Spock
8th August 2013, 0:21
We keep getting told it’ll be a faceless committee after Bernie, but if it wasn’t I’d put my money on Christian Horner.
BasCB
8th August 2013, 7:15
what makes you think Horner has what it takes to run that job @bazza-spock.
He doesn’t even manage to be on top of his own management team (viz. Marko) and drivers. Does that qualify him to outfox the FIA, a double dozen of track managements, a dozen of teams, and juggle the governments and sponsors involved nicely to keep it going somehow.
andae23
7th August 2013, 14:58
To be honest the only thing I really want from CVC is that they let the FIA and the teams figure out what’s good for F1, and that CVC itself gets a more passive attitude. So the only thing they should focus on is commercial deals, and stop putting pressure on the FIA to produce ‘good’ racing.
So if I were to nominate anyone to take over from Bernie, it’s a bit irrelevant whether he/she is an F1 person or not. As long as he/she has the overview to make F1 into something sustainable, so that costs and profits are divided more fairly than they are now.
HoHum
8th August 2013, 1:23
Utopian dream, unfortunately.
timtoo
7th August 2013, 14:48
Jody Scheckter’s Laverstock Farm appeared on the rear wing of Brawn GP during Silverstone in 09. (Not the entire farm mind…. just the logo, unfortunately it was so small it was hard to spot!)
I was a big F1 fan when I was younger, and actually had a friend at my School who lived in one of the farm houses on Jody Scheckter’s property. I remember going over playing outside on some sort of ash mountain from some sort of leftover bonfire (we were trying to sledge down it!) and this old guy in some sort of 4×4 was happy to see us enjoying ourselves (must have been around 10), it was only after i was picked up and I said I saw the man who lives in the big house that my Dad told me he used to drive fast cars….. never knew it was him until a few years ago!
BasCB
8th August 2013, 7:16
Didn’t Webber have his birthday cake and stuff for the celebration come from Laverstock farm as well last year?
David not Coulthard
7th August 2013, 14:59
Great list, I loved it (seriously, I did)! Some other suggestions, though nowhere near as goo as yours:
Nino Farina: Dealer (Though with Alfa romeo, not Merc)
James hunt: Be Murray Walker’s partner
Alex Zanardi: Win an Olympic gold medal
Tiff Needell: Presenter of top Gear & 5th Gear
Jackie Stewart: Become president of the BRDC
Damon Hill: That + being in a band
sumedh
7th August 2013, 15:16
One of the best reads in this “Top 10” series! Great work Greg and Keith!!
A mention to Trulli – running a vineyard!
Chandok, DC, Jordan – becoming a commentator
And who says, you need to quit F1 to pursue alternate careers
Hamilton – occasional rapper and drummer
Vettel – appearing in music videos.
xjr15jaaag
7th August 2013, 16:12
and coulthard owns a hotel too
lubhz
7th August 2013, 15:21
Emerson Fittipaldi owns farms that produce orange juice in Brazil.
Mauricio Gugelmin is in forestry, growing and selling timber back home.
claudioff
7th August 2013, 16:01
Emerson Fittipaldi: He owns several citrus farms in his native Brazil (Fittipaldi Citrus). He broke the tradition of drinking milk after winning the Indy 500 on the occasion of his second victory. He drank orange juice instead of milk to promote his business, a highly critized decision.
Akshay
7th August 2013, 16:11
Excellent post ! quite enjoyed it :D . F1F is the best !
Alonso for Prime Minister of Spain :D ,
Lewis probably might do music , rap etc etc
Jenson might go the Broadcasting route or may even act ( He is the James Bond of F1 ;-) )
As for Seb , Nobody knows, @vettel1 ,any ideas ? A personalized car brand would be cool and would go with his mentality and also bring the $uccess .
Having a Farm ? Can’t imagine anyone doing that . Heikki ?
As for Kimi ,… wait I just remembered I got to take a dump ;) ( No Idea )
xjr15jaaag
7th August 2013, 16:19
Vettel: Talk show host
Jack
7th August 2013, 16:22
Vettel would be a good primary school teacher
funocsi
7th August 2013, 16:28
I’m not sure, what if a kid knows something better than him?
DavidS
8th August 2013, 12:49
He’ll be very good at teaching the number 1.
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 17:44
@hamilfan Kung Fu fighter perhaps? ;)
He’d perhaps make a good primary school teacher though by disciplining the Kinder with ze finger! ;)
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 17:52
He could do very well in the place of the teacher in the “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” music video!
PFF1
7th August 2013, 16:15
To get you started with your next top ten: Jobs before becoming a F1 driver.
Undertaker – Heinz Harald Frentzen (in his family’s funeral business)
Banker – Romain Grosjean (up until 2009)
Mouse_Nightshirt
8th August 2013, 1:17
Wasn’t Kobayashi a sushi chef at his parents’ restaurant?
Nick.UK
7th August 2013, 16:22
How is commentary/sporst journalist/pundit not on this list? After all, it’s what most of them appear to do.
Keith Collantine
7th August 2013, 16:27
@nick-uk Because it’s not “unconventional” or “unusual”.
funocsi
7th August 2013, 16:27
Mansell had a good one: shaving the moustache.
(I’m not sure if he made a living out of it though)
funocsi
7th August 2013, 16:34
I think Regazzoni’s work for disabled people is worth a mention.
Eddie
7th August 2013, 16:51
Hamilton might become a rapper :P
JackySteeg
7th August 2013, 16:54
I might be making this up, but for some reason I remember reading that Ricardo Rosset now owns a chain of sportswear shops in Brazil? I’m not sure if that’s right, I think I read it in one of those “Whatever happened to…?” articles that F1 Racing ran a couple of years ago…
Jack
7th August 2013, 17:23
Vettel – Primary School teacher
Hamilton – Bankrupt
Alonso – Cycling team/business
Rosberg – Men’s cosmetics
Button – TV presenter
Maldonado – Corrupt politician
And I imagine Max Chilton’s future is pretty secure whatever he ends up doing.
Max Jacobson
7th August 2013, 17:49
Hamilton will be busting the rhymes and Button will forever remain a presence in stupid adverts!
I’d like to add Grosjean with road safety campaigner, just for the irony. ;)
frogster
7th August 2013, 18:23
This should provide a couple of hours of good reading
http://www.oldracingcars.com/drivers/watn/
lubhz
8th August 2013, 13:35
Very comprehensive list, thanks!
Euro Brun
7th August 2013, 18:37
I bought a Piquet satnav, but for some reason it kept wanting me to drive into walls!
William Brierty
7th August 2013, 18:45
Some nice jobs there, if a little unconventional. However not all F1 drivers have been so lucky, as I shall now point out with my “Top Ten Worst Jobs For a Retired Formula One Driver”…
Jaime Alguersuari – Make some hideous music…and help Pirelli ruin F1.
Allan McNish – Be the weak link Audi’s #2 crew.
Giancarlo Fisichella – Struggle to such an extent with the poorly balanced Ferrari 458 GTE in the World Endurance Champion that he gets outperformed by Gianmaria Bruni. (For those that don’t know much about GT racing or the Ferrari 458, the road-car has very quick steering, which is lovely in a heavy road-car, but in a light-weight racing car it tends to upset the composure of the car, thus making it skittish, thus making it a rather poor GT car by Ferrari’s standards; although admittedly AF Corse did win the 2012 WEC GTE title with the 458)
Kamui Kobayashi – Help Ferrari in getting rid of remnant Ferrari F60s lying about the factory.
Johnny Herbert – Become a TV Broadcaster and spend your time on Sky F1 exhaustively outlining the blatantly obvious or making assumptions on absolutely diddly-squat.
Anthony Davidson – Despite having an excellent insight into racing in the modern era, get lumbered with exhaustively pointing out trivial details on onboard replays on the snore-fest that is the SkyPad…which you can also never see because of the glare on the screen.
Jean Alesi – Spend your time helping fat, middle-age dreamers with more money than sense to drive the Lotus T125 they’ve just bought.
Ralf Schumacher – Get lumbered with the task of “training up” Mercedes’ rookie DTM drivers of Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella after being discreetly elbowed from a DTM seat.
Juan Pablo Montoya – Sit in a car, turn left and wait for hundreds of laps until the “race” (I struggle to class NASCAR as motor-racing) is over.
Michael Schumacher – Bred horses with your horse mad wife…or drive an F1 car around the best track in the world at pedestrian speeds so a pitifully slow camera car can keep up.
foleyger
7th August 2013, 18:59
I see the skypad no prob. I wudn’t blame Alguersuari or Pirelli for the tyres. they were told to make tyres that wud mean multiple pitstops. I am not a big Schumi fan but that last line of yours is disrespectful
Alex Brown
7th August 2013, 22:22
What job do you have? Better than any of those?
Max Jacobson
8th August 2013, 12:10
Johnny is just not suited to the role of a tv presenter: I don’t really know how to say this respectfully so I’m just going to say it – he’s really not the brightest of people. At times his English is awful and as you’ve said you can hardly class his “insights” as insights!
Surely Kobayashi’s job is a very good one though @william-brierty‽ ;)
Force Maikel
7th August 2013, 19:53
@greg-morland I enjoyed reading your article however I have found a small mistake in the Bertrand Gachot section. He was born in Luxembourg but he was actually a Frenchman with a Belgian License. Weird because now most Belgians actually think he is Belgian.
From Wikipedia: Born in Luxembourg as the son of a French European Commission official, Gachot raced under more than one flag during his career. He initially competed with a Belgian FIA Super Licence, despite carrying a French passport. From the 1992 season onwards he changed to a French licence. In a 1991 interview, Gachot said that “I am not really one nationality. I feel very much a European, but today I have to accept that a united Europe is not yet a reality. Certainly from a legal point of view.” Gachot’s helmet design features the circle of yellow stars on a blue background from the flag of Europe.
For the rest this is an excellent read!
Traverse
7th August 2013, 23:01
Vettel – The best damn vet who ever lived!
Webber – A fearless fire fighter
Karun Chandhok – An Architect
Alonso – A dodgy politician
Hamilton – Will have his own show called ‘Judge Hamilton’
Barrichello – A doctor
Akshay
8th August 2013, 14:48
LOL. That Barrichello pic is creepy ;) .
schooner
8th August 2013, 0:38
As an eventual F1 retiree, Paul Di Resta has an interesting possibility for his future life. Maybe he could follow some of his family’s footsteps into the “adult entertainment” business.
BasCB
8th August 2013, 7:21
?
Traverse
9th August 2013, 3:45
@bascb
I think he’s referring to this: http://grandprix247.com/2011/04/08/di-resta-family-in-brothel-and-adult-biz/
BasCB
9th August 2013, 8:39
ah
Felipe_77F1
8th August 2013, 1:32
Hi. No mention of Alain Prost F1 team ? weird. To me that’s the most clear example of what a successful ex-f1 driver with money could do after leaving the sport. Not the most successful, McLaren would be the right example I guess.
Keith Collantine
8th August 2013, 7:45
Because it was an abject failure. You can hardly consider that a “top” job for an ex-F1 driver.
Stewart Grand Prix, on the other hand…
Max Jacobson
8th August 2013, 12:13
A bit of a rebrand since then but absolutely Stewart GP have been quite the success story!
Todfod
8th August 2013, 6:32
Well, we all know Lewis is going to become a singer. Maybe a Rapper. Most probably to win Nicole back
Todfod
8th August 2013, 6:55
Vettel will definitely pursue a career as a cricket umpire. His finger will be the reason for a lot of bad decisions.
Akshay
8th August 2013, 14:50
@todfod He will have a disagreement with the UDRS ; perhaps they will have to convince him on the walkie-talkie that his decision is wrong and the 5 days of a test match will be cut short by a day .
Traverse
9th August 2013, 3:48
Surely there are better uses for the finger of truth?
Starbuck
8th August 2013, 7:27
I’m pretty sure Damon Hill sold cars after his career, too.
Aish Heydrich
8th August 2013, 16:24
Nice article, but how about:
1. Write a book- D.C.
2. Host a TV show- Alex Yoong, Anthony Davidson, Karun Chandhok, Brundle (if he ever drove an F1 car)
3. Just be awesome and have loads of fans- Juan Pablo Montoya
Prieni
8th August 2013, 17:57
I believe that Derek Warwick got a Honda dealership in Southampton. It seems that this has ceased to exist, but there seems to be one on Jersey.
Tom Duval
16th October 2013, 19:57
errr…. what about Jarno Trulli. He owns a vineyard