14 drivers from different eras who raced each other in F1

When rookie Arvid Lindblad joins the F1 grid in 2026, the 18-year-old will find himself going up against some veterans of the sport – with the most experienced being Fernando Alonso, who, at 44, is 26 years Lindblad’s senior.

The age gap, whilst significant, does not mark the first time that two drivers from different eras have raced together in Formula 1; indeed, there have been several occasions over the years where some illustrious names have competed against new kids on the block – who, in numerous instances, later became successes themselves.

Let’s take a look through the history books at just some of those contrasting pairings from days gone by…

Fernando Alonso and Jos Verstappen

Given that his lengthy career in F1 has so far seen him start 425 Grands Prix – more than any other driver – there are many names from different generations that Fernando Alonso has raced against.

Perhaps one of the most interesting examples, though, is the fact that the early days of his time in the sport saw him share the grid with Jos Verstappen – the father of one of his current competitors, Max Verstappen.

When Alonso made his debut for Minardi in 2001, Verstappen Senior was in his seventh campaign in Formula 1 and second with the Arrows team, having previously raced for Benetton, Simtek, Footwork, Tyrrell and Stewart since his maiden outing in 1994.

Both Alonso and Verstappen found themselves off the grid in 2002, before making their returns in 2003 with Renault and Minardi respectively. It would prove to be the start of big things for future two-time World Champion Alonso, who scored his first victory that season in Hungary, while it marked Verstappen’s final campaign in F1 – 12 years before his son’s debut.

Kimi Raikkonen and Jean Alesi

Alonso was not the only rookie of note to arrive in 2001, with a certain Kimi Raikkonen also lining up on the grid for the first time after earning a seat with the Sauber team.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, Jean Alesi was entering into his 13th F1 campaign as he prepared for a second season with the Prost outfit – and hoping for better after finishing 2000 with no points.

The team’s car proved more competitive in 2001 and brought Alesi three points finishes, before the Frenchman switched to Jordan for the final five races. Raikkonen, meanwhile, was catching the eye with some impressive performances during his maiden season.

At the finale in Japan, the two drivers’ paths crossed – quite literally – when both crashed out on the opening lap. With Alesi having opted to retire, it marked a lowkey ending to the one-time race winner’s career – but it was just the start for Raikkonen, who would go on to join McLaren in 2002.

Michael Schumacher and Nelson Piquet

In another instance of a star of the future embarking on their debut just as a famed name entered their last run, Michael Schumacher’s memorable arrival into Formula 1 saw him subsequently become team mate to Nelson Piquet during the latter’s final races.

After an extensive career in the sport that had started back in 1978 – and had delivered three World Championships during the 1980s – Piquet was driving for Benetton in 1991 when a rookie by the name of Schumacher was drafted in at Jordan to replace Bertrand Gachot for the Belgian Grand Prix.

While Schumacher’s race lasted just a few metres due to a clutch issue on the Jordan 191, his strong form through the weekend was enough for Benetton to sign him up with immediate effect, the German taking the place of Roberto Moreno who in turn moved to Jordan.

Going up against Piquet did not seem to faze Schumacher, who outqualified the Brazilian at four of their five weekends together. Piquet decided to retire at the close of the campaign, while the rest is history for Schumacher, who became one of the sport’s all-time greats with a record seven World Championships to his name.

Nico Hulkenberg and Rubens Barrichello

Like Schumacher, Nico Hulkenberg had the benchmark of an experienced driver from Brazil to set himself against during his early days in F1, with the German partnering Rubens Barrichello at Williams in 2010.

Off the back of winning the F2 championship (then known as GP2) on his debut in 2009, a then 22-year-old Hulkenberg made the step up to Formula 1 in the year that followed. He went on to score points on seven occasions, including at Interlagos where he memorably scored his first – and to date only – pole position.

This was ultimately not enough to beat his highly experienced team mate, however, as Barrichello – in his 18th campaign in Formula 1 – scored just over double the amount of points achieved by the rookie.

While Barrichello remained with the team into 2011 for what would prove to be his last season in F1, Hulkenberg did not keep his seat and joined Force India as a reserve driver. But the man later known for his ‘Hulkenback’ era would go on to become a veteran of the sport himself, with the 38-year-old about to start his 13th full-time campaign in Formula 1.

Eddie Irvine and Ayrton Senna

There have been plenty of notable driver debuts over the course of F1’s history – but Eddie Irvine’s first race in 1993 remains particularly infamous after he sparked the fury of three-time World Champion Ayrton Senna.

Irvine made his maiden appearance for the Jordan team at the penultimate round of the 1993 season in Japan, finishing the event in a respectable P6. Senna, meanwhile, claimed what would prove to be the second to last of his 41 wins.

Despite his victory, Senna was furious about an earlier incident involving Irvine. When the race leader came to lap the Northern Irishman – who was in a close battle with Damon Hill – Irvine subsequently unlapped himself to continue the fight, leading to Senna heading to the Jordan hospitality after the Grand Prix to confront the rookie.

That heated discussion resulted in the Brazilian throwing a punch at Irvine, landing the McLaren driver a suspended two-race ban. The pair ultimately did not share the track for long, with Senna tragically losing his life at Imola in 1994, but their off-track clash has etched itself into F1 lore.

Lewis Hamilton and Ralf Schumacher

Like the aforementioned Alonso and Hulkenberg, Lewis Hamilton is now one of the most experienced drivers currently on the grid. Unlike his veteran competitors, though, Hamilton did not have the opportunity to race alongside Michael Schumacher during his debut campaign, with the German having retired at the end of 2006.

Hamilton did, however, share the grid with another Schumacher – that being Michael’s brother, Ralf – when he arrived in Formula 1 with McLaren in 2007, a campaign that would prove to be the last for the younger Schumacher.

An unforgettable championship battle unfolded during the season, one in which Hamilton – who scored six pole positions and four wins – and team mate Alonso each just missed out on the title by one point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen.

While Hamilton’s rookie year had been an incredibly impressive one, the campaign did not go so well for Schumacher. In his 11th season – and third with Toyota – the experienced driver ended the championship down in 16th place. Though it marked the end of the German’s F1 career, it was incidentally not the last time that Hamilton raced a Schumacher, with Michael returning between 2010 and 2012 while his son Mick also competed in 2021 and 2022.

Graham Hill and Juan Manuel Fangio

In terms of iconic World Champions from the sport’s past, Juan Manuel Fangio and Graham Hill are definitely two names on that list – and while the latter’s extensive stint in F1 would see him race right through until 1975, his debut season actually coincided with the last of Fangio’s comparatively short career.

After finishing second to Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina in the first-ever Formula 1 championship in 1950, Fangio took the title in 1951 and went on to collect four more during the decade, a record that was not surpassed until Michael Schumacher became World Champion for a sixth time in 2003.

His illustrious run came to an end in 1958, where he competed in two Grands Prix before retiring from the sport. The last of those appearances came at the Circuit de Reims-Gueux in France, an event that marked the only occasion where he raced alongside the rookie Hill.

Fangio took fourth place, while Hill – making just his fourth start in a Formula 1 championship race – retired due to an issue with his Lotus. Greater things were to come for the Briton, however, who went on to take 14 victories, 13 pole positions and two World Championships across his career, while he and son Damon remain one of only two father-son pairings to both win titles.