The 14 ex-F1 drivers to watch at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2025

Former F1 drivers Romain Grosjean (pictured) and Daniil Kvyat will share a Lamborghini at the 2025 Rolex 24.
Formula 1 may represent the pinnacle of open-wheel racing, but it’s far from the only kind of motorsport for highly talented drivers. Consider, for example, the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
This weekend, 14 former Formula 1 drivers will hit the track at Daytona International Speedway in hopes of contributing to victory in an even that lasts for one full day. Whether it’s your first time or your 20th time tuning in, this handy guide will help you keep track of your former Formula 1 favorites.
All the ex-F1 drivers competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona
Felipe Nasr
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 7 Porsche 963
- Teammates: Nick Tandy, Laurens Vanthoor
Felipe Nasr’s F1 career consisted of 39 starts for Sauber in 2015 and 2016, netting him a total of 29 points. His post-F1 endurance racing career has been far more promising, consisting of three IMSA championships. Last year, Nasr and his Porsche teammates won the Rolex 24, and they’re favorites heading into this weekend.
Will Stevens
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R
- Teammates: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Brendon Hartley
In 2014 and 2015, Will Stevens made 18 F1 starts — one for Caterham and the rest for Manor. When Manor folded at the end of 2015, Stevens found himself without an F1 seat and instead headed to endurance racing. He’s a two-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2022 WEC LMP2 champion. Heading into the Rolex 24, Stevens is making a swap to Cadillac after two years with the Porsche hypercar program.
Brendon Hartley
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 10 Cadillac V-Series.R
- Teammates: Ricky Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque, Will Stevens
As a Toro Rosso driver, Brendon Hartley has 25 F1 starts to his name, but his open-wheel career never quite panned out as expected. His endurance racing career, though, has been exceptional; Hartley has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times and has taken four WEC championships. After successful outings with Porsche and Toyota, Hartley is also making a swap to Cadillac for 2024.
Kevin Magnussen
- Class: GTP
- Car:?No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8
- Teammates: Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello
Danish Kevin Magnussen is one of the more experienced F1 drivers on this list, with 185 starts and 202 points to his name during a career spent with McLaren, Renault, and Haas. He contest the full 2021 IMSA season while out of an F1 drive, and in 2025, he’ll join BMW for a full year of racing.
Jack Aitken
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R
- Teammates: Earl Bamber, Frederik Vesti, Felipe Drugovich
Jack Aitken’s Formula 1 career lasted exactly one race. At the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton tested positive for COVID-19, which prompted an unexpected promotion to the top team for Williams’ George Russell; Aitken was called in to take Russell’s spot. He finished 16th but was unable to find any open seats for the future, which has prompted a move to sports car racing that has earned him wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring and in a handful of European Le Mans Series events.
Kamui Kobayashi
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 40 Cadillac V-Series.R
- Teammates: Jordan Taylor, Louis Deletraz
In F1, Kamui Kobayashi made 75 starts between 2009 and 2014 with Toyota, BMW Sauber, and Caterham, but he’s since established himself as a master of the endurance race. As a Toyota driver, he took two WEC championships and a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With Cadillac, he’s twice won the Rolex 24. He’s back with Cadillac this year hoping to make it three overall wins.
Romain Grosjean
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 63 Lamborghini SC63
- Teammates: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Daniil Kvyat
Romain Grosjean’s 179-start F1 career came to an end in 2020 after he was involved in a fiery wreck during the Bahrain Grand Prix. Like a phoenix, the driver rose from the ashes and moved to IndyCar, with a more recent pivot to endurance racing courtesy of Lamborghini. This will be the outfit’s first attempt at the Rolex in the GTP class.
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Daniil Kvyat
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 63 Lamborghini SC63
- Teammates: Mirko Bortolotti, Edoardo Mortara, Romain Grosjean
Joining Grosjean at Lamborghini is Daniil Kvyat, whose tumultuous Formula 1 career saw him make 110 starts for Red Bull, Toro Rosso, and AlphaTauri. Unfortunately, the Russian was no match for Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, and he too departed the sport after 2020. He kicked off his endurance career in 2023 in the LMP2 class before making the move to Lamborghini’s hypercar program in 2024.
Gianmaria Bruni
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 85 Porsche 963
- Teammates: Tijmen van der Helm, Bryce Aron, Pascal Wehrlein
With 18 F1 starts under his belt courtesy of Minardi, Gianmaria Bruni’s career in the open-wheel series lasted exactly one year. Like many others, he too moved to endurance racing, taking three class wins at Le Mans. He made the move up to the GTP class in mid-2023 and will continue on with Porsche at the top level of the sport.
Pascal Wehrlein
- Class: GTP
- Car: No. 85 Porsche 963
- Teammates: Tijmen van der Helm, Bryce Aron, Gianmaria Bruni
Bruni’s teammate Pascal Wehrlein also had experience in F1, his career lasting for 39 starts between Manor and Sauber in 2016 and 2017. Now, Wehrlein is reigning Formula E champion, and he’ll be making his endurance racing debut at the Rolex 24.
Sebastien Bourdais
- Class: LMP2
- Car: No. 8 Tower Motorsports ORECA 07
- Teammates: John Farano, Sebastian Alvarez, Job Van Uitert
Sebastien Bourdais was a four-time Champ Car champion before he joined F1 as a Toro Rosso driver between 2008 and 2009; the swap to the pinnacle of open-wheel racing didn’t suit his style, and he returned to IndyCar. He’s always had a passion for endurance racing, taking class victories at Le Mans an overall wins at Sebring, Daytona, and more. This year, he’s competing in the LMP2 class.
Paul di Resta
- Class: LMP2
- Car: No. 22 United Autosports ORECA 07
- Teammates: Daniel Goldburg, James Allen, Rasmus Lindh
Paul di Resta made 59 F1 starts for Force India and Williams between 2011 and 2017, but he’s since moved on to sports car racing. He’s a former Asian Le Mans Series champion in the LMP2 category and won in his class at Le Mans in 2020.
Pietro Fittipaldi
- Class: LMP2
- Car: No. 73 Pratt Miller Motorsports ORECA 07
- Teammates: James Roe, Callum Ilott, Chris Cumming
Pietro Fittipaldi has just two starts in Formula 1, substituting for an injured Romain Grosjean at Haas for the final two races of the 2020 season. Since then, he’s moved on to IndyCar and sports car racing, with his best result being a class win at Monza during the 2023 WEC season.
Felipe Massa
- Class: LMP2
- Car: No. 75 Riley ORECA 07
- Teammates: Gar Robinson, Felipe Fraga, Josh Burdon
Crowning out our list is Felipe Massa, who made 269 Formula 1 starts between 2002 and 2017. After coming tantalizingly close to a championship in 2008, Massa’s form struggled, and when he retired from F1, he moved down to the Stock Car Pro Series in Brazil. Last year, he made his debut at the Rolex 24 in a Riley LMP2, where he finished third in class.
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