How four blasts from F1’s past are performing in IMSA SportsCar Championship

When drivers step back from Formula 1, their racing careers are usually far from over — and many of those racers left F1 to try their hand at endurance racing, instead.

This weekend, the IMSA SportsCar Championship paid a visit to Road America, where Porsche Penske Motorsport took a dominant and impressive victory. But did you know four of the drivers in the field this weekend also had Formula 1 experience?

Paul di Resta

Of all the drivers on this list, Paul di Resta’s three full seasons of Formula 1 makes him the most experienced. From 2011 through 2013, di Resta competed full-time for Sahara Force India, securing a best finish of fourth two times. He made a one-off return for Williams in 2017, but di Resta has focused on endurance racing since.

This year, di Resta is taking part in a partial season with United Autosport’s LMP2 program in IMSA, as well as a European Le Mans Series season with the same outfit and a full season of the FIA World Endurance Championship with Peugeot. A third place in Sebring remains his best result all season long, though the highlight of his career must certainly be a class win at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Sebastien Bourdais

Sebastien Bourdais had already established a career in American open-wheel racing when he joined the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 team for one full season in 2008, followed by a half-season in 2009. He secured two best finishes of seventh place but was ultimately replaced by Sebastian Vettel.

That said, Bourdais has been massively successful ever since in both American open-wheel racing, as well as in endurance racing. This year, Bourdais is competing with the No. 01 Cadillac prototype team, though the team has had very mixed results.

Their best finish was a win at Long Beach, and the team has also secured two second places, one third, one fifth, and one 10th. The Road America weekend was challenging, as Bourdais and teammate Renger van der Zande, as Bourdais spun the car just after taking over from van der Zande.

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Felipe Nasr

Felipe Nasr has had such ample success in sports car racing that many fans may have forgotten this Brazilian driver contested two seasons of Formula 1 with the Sauber team. In F1, Nasr’s best finish of fifth didn’t completely show his skillset — and since leaving F1, he’s found massive success in the prototype racing world.

This year, Nasr is competing with Porsche Penske Motorsport, taking wins at both the Rolex 24 and the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. With three third-place finishes and a second at Road America, Nasr’s worst finish of 2024 has been a fourth place in Detroit. Not too shabby at all.

Jack Aitken

Of all the racers on this list, Jack Aitken is perhaps the one with the least F1 experience. In fact, he’s only ever contested a single race: the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. During that event, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton contracted COVID-19 and was unable to race; Williams driver George Russell was bumped up to make his first start for Mercedes, meaning Williams reserve driver Jack Aitken had a shot behind the wheel. He finished 16th.

This year, he’s part of the No. 31 Whelen Cadillac Racing GPT team alongside the experienced Pipo Derani — and the results have been impressive. Aitken helped score three second-place finishes thus far this year, with a fourth place in Road America.

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