12 November 2026 12:05 (UTC)
From the thrill of the TT to the challenges of sharing a seat, Oscar explores what appeals to him about other popular racing series
In the ‘50s and ‘60s, it was common for active F1 drivers to take on events such as the Indianapolis 500 or the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but today, those crossovers are much rarer.
Our Founder, Bruce McLaren, was a proper, old-school, multi-series racer. Alongside F1, he competed in both Le Mans and Can-Am, and had ambitions to race in the Indy 500. Graham Hill is perhaps the most famous example of a driver succeeding across disciplines, having achieved motorsport’s Triple Crown: the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Bruce was far from alone. Former McLaren drivers Denny Hulme, Dan Gurney, Jochen Mass and Chris Amon also tried their hands at other series in that era, from the Indy 500 and Le Mans to USAC Championship Car, Can-Am, the World Sportscar Championship and even NASCAR.
More recently, while racing for McLaren in F1, Fernando Alonso attempted the Indy 500 in 2017 and won Le Mans in 2018. After leaving F1 at the end of that year, he took a second consecutive Le Mans victory in 2019 and made further Indy 500 attempts in 2019 and 2020.
But with today’s packed F1 calendar and the demands of competing at the very highest level, it’s hard to find room for another series. So although we’re not going to see Oscar compete outside of F1 anytime soon – that doesn’t mean we can’t ask him hypothetically.
During the break between races, we sat down with Oscar to ask him which series he most enjoys watching, and which races he thinks he’d most enjoy taking part in, if he wasn’t competing in F1.
Oscar’s visit to the Isle of Man TT in May this year captured the attention of the racing community, offering fans a glimpse of the Aussie star in another motorsport setting.
Few events in the world rival the TT for sheer wow factor. The annual, two-week motorcycle racing event pits riders against the clock around public roads on the Snaefell Mountain Course. The 37.73-mile circuit features more than 200 corners, with riders facing off in a time trial around tight, twisting roads lined with stone walls, trees, and houses.
Oscar was watching from outside one of those houses. Attending ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, he saw the action unfold from the iconic Roz's Garden spectator spot – a private residential front garden at the exit of Bray Hill that’s known to provide the best views of the action, and has famously hosted several racing personalities over the years.
“We’re going through someone’s garden,” he explained in a video captured at the TT. “Apparently, this is the spot to watch… I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it!”
Describing the legendary TT as “nuts”, it’s an event Oscar loved attending, but a form of racing he’s happy to enjoy from the sidelines.
Another two-wheeled series he’s happy to watch from afar is MotoGP. Oscar met seven-time MotoGP Champion Marc Márquez on a visit to MotoGP’s British Grand Prix in 2023 and singles out the Ducati man when asked to name his favourite racer to watch across any discipline.
On the verge of sealing his eighth MotoGP title, the 33-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable return to form in the past two seasons, overcoming an injury-hit three-season spell between 2020 and 2023.
“Marc Márquez has obviously had an extraordinary career, but I think what he is doing at the moment, to be back fighting for a World Championship after everything he's been through, is incredibly impressive,” Oscar says.
The World Rally Championship has also recently caught Oscar’s attention. Like the TT, rallying takes place on real-world terrain, uses a time-trial format, and attracts a fearless field. Oscar has been seen scratching that itch virtually, posting a video of himself taking on his local rally, Rally Monte Carlo, via the WRC game.
For now, Oscar is happy to confine his rallying efforts to his sim - although when we ask, he doesn’t completely rule it out.
“Rallying is cool, and I think those guys are unbelievably talented,” he says. “The risk-reward ratio is very different to most other forms of motorsport. In F1, there's an element of fear to an extent, but it’s much greater in rally – if you get it wrong, you’re in a tree or off the side of a cliff, the stakes are higher. So I’m very happy to do it on a video game, but probably not in real life – at least until I am retired.
“There are some transferable skills, though. In both sports you need to be really adaptable. In rally, you need to be adaptable because the conditions and the surface are always changing. In F1, the conditions are also very changeable, so you may need to adapt to driving in the rain, but you will also need to adapt to driving with degrading tyres, or a different fuel load.
“The other similarity is how you’re driving on instinct in both, and that you need to be very, very confident to get the most out of the car.”
So, while we can probably put a line through a guest spot in the TT or WRC for the foreseeable future, are there any other races he’d fancy turning his hand to, in this hypothetical life away from F1?
As a race that also takes place in single-seaters, the Indy 500 is the obvious choice, but when we put the idea to Oscar, he isn’t thrilled by the prospect of taking on an oval.
“I don’t think I’d fancy taking up oval racing at the Indy 500,” he says. “When you hit a wall at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it’s never a small crash. The speed involved in the Indy 500 is huge. It’s also quite an unusual event in that you’re doing a lot of race management, fuel management, and just generally trying to stay out of trouble, for a lot of the race. Then, in the last 50 or so laps, everything starts to happen.”
Another popular choice with drivers is the 24 Hours of Le Mans, however, as a driver who’s previously referred to sleep as his favourite hobby, how would he cope with a 24-hour race?
“For a race like that, I can give up a night's sleep,” he reassures, before revealing another potential sticking point…
“I've always been a little bit funny about endurance racing because I'm quite particular about my seat and how I like to sit in the car, so I don't know how I'd feel about sharing a seat with anyone… but it would be fun. Le Mans is obviously a pretty cool event.”
One race Oscar brings up himself, not dissimilar from Le Mans, is the Bathurst 1000. Widely regarded as Australia's biggest race, it runs over 1,000km, with two drivers sharing each touring car. Held annually in his home country as part of the Supercars Championship at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, it’s an event he says would be “very cool” to take on.
But for now, Oscar is happy to keep a watching brief, choosing to keep his focus firmly on F1.
