Formula 1 again clashes with the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend as the Canadian Grand Prix takes centre stage for the 10 teams and 20 drivers.
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is one of the favoured venues on the calendar, often providing an exciting race with danger lurking for anyone who makes an error and the event will no doubt be another fantastic spectacle again this weekend.
But the scheduling again stops any F1 driver who may fancy a crack at Le Mans – one part of motorsport’s Triple Crown along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 – from doing so.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has recently tested GT3 machinery at the Nurburgring Nordschleife under a pseudonym and has expressed an interest in taking part at Le Mans, though F1 would be prioritised for as long as he remains in the championship, while a number of drivers attended the race during a week off racing in 2024.
But there was still a clash last year between an F1 race and the pre-Le Mans week testing days – the French endurance classic taking place over 10 days – first practice this year coming on the Sunday before. That would have prevented any participation last term.
The ability to compete in both F1 and Le Mans was a much easier task back in the 1950s and 1960s, with much shorter racing schedules around the world meaning that there were no clashes and that actually drivers would seek a drive in the 24-hour race to ensure bills could be paid.
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But in a modern world where sponsorships are tighter and ensure certain drivers can’t race for certain manufacturers or brands and the fact that schedules are tighter, the wonder of seeing the best of the best up against each other at Le Mans has been lost somewhat.
Another complication is that some teams will have reserve drivers competing in Le Mans. Take Aston Martin: Lance Stroll withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix due to wrist discomfort and should he be unable to race in Canada, Felipe Drugovich would be forced to choose between F1 and Le Mans – where he is slated to drive for Cadillac.
His precedence is for F1 so that’s positive for Aston Martin, but that does then leave his Le Mans commitment on the back foot, having to find a replacement in the week of the event.
Fernando Alonso dovetailed his F1 commitments with McLaren in 2018 with a World Endurance Championship campaign in a Toyota, winning Le Mans at his first attempt whilst a full-time F1 driver. Before him, Nico Hulkenberg made a one-off appearance for Porsche while driving for Force India in 2014 and won with Porsche, proving a stab in the dark can be successful.
The clash this year means no such chance could be taken and strangely, the IndyCar brigade that usually arrives in the French town can’t either because of scheduling conflicts for them – something its drivers have been vocal about.
F1’s 2026 calendar has now been revealed and given the dates for the races at Monaco and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in June, any crossover has again been discouraged.
Curiously, the Canadian Grand Prix for next term has been lined up to go head-to-head with the Indy 500. That makes no sense and seems doomed to fail at the ratings, given the North American market’s keen interest in the ‘Greatest Spectacle in Racing’.
It would be great if the scheduling worked with each other to ensure that drivers who want to have a crack at the Triple Crown events are able to. It brings great interest across all three series whenever stars crossover. Alonso and Hulkenberg’s entries took a non-WEC audience to Le Mans while IndyCar’s stars continuously help ratings both sides of the Atlantic.
For the 500, again a new audience demographic watched on as Alonso attempted to finish the Triple Crown but it also helped F1’s stock in the United States.
Perhaps we will eventually see any scheduling conflicts eradicated but for now, it seems a distant dream.
