Diego Maradona
Before Messi, Diego Maradona was Argentina’s defining football icon. His 1986 World Cup campaign remains one of the competition’s great individual performances, with five goals and four assists as he led Argentina to the title in Mexico.
Maradona captained his country to their second title that year, which was perhaps best known for his brace against England – the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal followed by a majestic solo effort just four minutes later.
He also crossed paths with F1, including at the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix, where he met with Schumacher and Niki Lauda. Elsewhere, in 2014, Maradona linked up with Fernando Alonso to play a charity football game.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane remains one of France’s greatest players, and his influence has even reached the F1 grid, with Pierre Gasly having cited him as the inspiration for racing with the number 10.
Zidane was central to France’s first World Cup win in 1998, scoring twice in the final against Brazil, before returning to the final in 2006, when France were beaten by Italy on penalties.
In F1, Zidane has been connected with Alpine. He took part in their car launch in 2023 and has attended several Monaco Grand Prix weekends. He was also part of the Sprint trophy presentation at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen took victory.
Mario Gotze
Mario Gotze will always be associated with one of Germany’s greatest football moments, having scored the winner against Argentina in extra time at the 2014 World Cup final.
Gotze visited the F1 paddock at the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, where he and members of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad – including Lukas Podolski and Mats Hummels – met Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and swapped shirts with the German driver.
Alessandro Del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero was part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad and played an important role late in the tournament, scoring in the semi-final against Germany before converting his penalty in the shoot-out victory over France.
Del Piero has been spotted at several Grands Prix, including in Monza. The former Juventus forward was on flag-waving duty as Leclerc delivered a Ferrari victory at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix.
Roberto Carlos
Known for his powerful free-kicks and attacking threat from left-back, Roberto Carlos was a key figure in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning team, having also helped his country reach the final in 1998.
Like Ronaldo, Carlos has been enjoying F1 since retirement, including at Grand Prix weekends where he crossed paths with Alonso (Brazil 2022) and Carlos Sainz (Miami 2025). He was in the paddock at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix alongside other football figures – including England’s Jude Bellingham.
Sergio Busquets
Sergio Busquets was a key part of the Spain side that won the country’s first World Cup in 2010, providing control and balance in midfield alongside players including Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Pedro.
Busquets has also made a few F1 appearances, including visits to the Miami International Autodrome and the 2026 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, watching Lewis Hamilton take his first Grand Prix win for Ferrari.
