When two worlds collide: F1 meets the WRC

When game meets game. When drivers reach the pinnacle of their motorsporting discipline - that racing instinct and curiosity will always take over - the need for speed is a constant dopamine hit for drivers at the top of the sport.

Crossovers between rallying and racing have happened since the early days, with the likes of Graham Hill and Jim Clark dovetailing their grand prix exploits with appearances in rallies such as the Monte Carlo and RAC Rally in Britain. F1 drivers and Le Mans winners Robert Kubica, Derek Warwick, Derek Bell and Martin Brundle have all swapped pitlanes for pace notes with drives on the slippery and loose surfaces around the world. In fact, Kubica won the inaugural WRC2 category in 2013 - adding another string to his exceptional bow.

You normally associate Finland with rallying - with motorsport stars having rallying rooted in their core DNA. Valtteri Bottas has entered several rallies and tested cars from Toyota and M-Sport Ford in recent years. Heikki Kovalainen now successfully rallies in Japan, but his love affair started in 2004 when he beat nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb in a WRC car at the Race of Champions. This was backed-up by a test in Sébastien Loeb ’s Citroen C4 with Loeb going the other way to pilot the Renault F1 car in 2007. Kimi Raikkonen was perhaps the most prolific, with two years in the WRC top-flight with the 2007 F1 champ rallying in the 2010 and 2011 seasons, in between his two F1 stints. 

DAZN News understands current F1 drivers Lance Stroll and Lando Norris are the most recent drivers to have secretly and seriously tested some of the latest specification rally cars behind closed doors adding intrigue into their future plans.

Publicly - Haas driver Esteban Ocon and Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson got to sample the latest Rally1 cars at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year, a fun and relaxed affair where drivers can be a fan for the weekend and look at and even try cars they wouldn’t normally get to sample. For Lawson - more was at stake. Not since the eighties have we seen F1 drivers go up against rally drivers in public tests. That was to change as Liam would get five goes in the M-Sport built Ford Puma Rally1 around the Forest Rally Stage.

In front of millions of views and thousands watching at the event - full-time WRC driver Josh McErelan set the benchmark for the New Zealand F1 star to try and match. Lawson shaved off time against the Irishman with every practice run - with the deficit going from ten seconds on the two-mile long stage to within half a second by his final timed run. When you have it. You have it!

“You don’t expect it to have that much grip,” said Lawson. “There were a couple of corners that were really, really loose. There is so much pitch control, like you are having to constantly pitch the car on the way into the corners. The track was getting faster. I was dying, that was so hard!

“I have never had that feeling from a race car - it’s so much fun. You can’t help it, the adrenaline kick is unbelievable.”

And what about the other way? How about rally drivers slipping into a single seater?

1995 WRC Champion Colin McRae got to swap his title winning Subaru Impreza for a Jordan F1 missile with F1 pundit and then-Jordan Grand Prix driver Martin Brundle going the other way - both grinning from ear to ear after the Silverstone swap experience. 

But how close did it ever get to a rally driver taking to the F1 grid? Nine-time WRC Champion Sébastien Loeb first took to a wheel of an F1 car in 2007 - a year after taking second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans - with rumours circulating then that the French ace would swap to circuit racing full time. 

With the Red Bull energy drink firm linking up with his Citroen team, Loeb was offered a test in the latest car from Red Bull Racing. But this wasn’t a closed door publicity stunt - this was in an official F1 winter test in Barcelona. The rally man would be eighth quickest out of 17 drivers present! There was much speculation - could a rally driver ever make it to Formula One. Loeb got close!

Fellow countryman Sébastien Bourdais was driving for the Red Bull junior team - Torro Rosso at the time and by his high standards was underperforming throughout 2009. Loeb filled the column inches with quotes like this one given to French media outlet L’Equipe at the time. “As long as the Formula 1 and rallying calendars don’t overlap, anything is possible. If there is a place at Toro Rosso I am available.”

With a phone call from Red Bull motorsport to hastily ready the Frenchman twice in 2009 - the dream was on from both parties. Loeb was destined to take the seat at the final round in Abu Dhabi - one week after wrapping up his WRC title in the UK. Sadly, the FIA, the world governing body did not grant him the necessary super licence needed to race in F1 - citing a lack of circuit racing experience. The dream was over. We can only imagine what could have happened…

Watch WRC on DAZN

Follow all the action of the FIA World Rally Championship LIVE this weekend from Paraguay 29th -31st August. Three days not to be missed! The 2025 World Rally Championship is available through DAZN on its own dedicated app channel,  Rally TV. It is available either as a dedicated Rally TV subscription, or as part of your existing DAZN subscription for a small add-on fee.

DAZN is the home of Rally TV worldwide, excluding Estonia, Finland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, China, Hong Kong and Japan.

Rally TV also broadcasts every rally from the FIA European Rally Championship.

Watch every WRC and ERC rally this year on DAZN's 24-hour dedicated Rally TV channel. For more information on prices, subscriptions and more, click here.