F1 x Poker - 5 F1 Drivers You Won't Believe Play Poker

The worlds of motor racing and poker have always enjoyed a nice rhythm together. The two activities enjoy similar audiences, so promotional partnerships have come easy, and cards games have long been a fixture in the garages of racing teams at all levels and in all formats.

Long after the checkered flag has been waved and the cars have been put away, racers and their teams are still in search for high-stakes action to pass the time between stops on the lengthy racing schedule.

Here are five F1 racers that you may not believe enjoyed poker off the track:

F1 Las Vegas 2023: A Quick Spin Round the Casino Capital

#5 - Jaime Alguersuari

Photo: Mark McArdle from Canada. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Now a DJ and music producer, Jaime Alguersuari was once the youngest Formula One driver in the world when he took to the track for the first time in 2009. His record was eventually eclipsed by current World Champion Max Verstappen, but not before the young Spanish racer spent three years on the F1 circuit.

Alguersuari was an ambassador for partypoker while he was a member of the Toro Rosso team.

Nationality Spanish
Years Active (F1) 3
Most Notable F1 Achievement Youngest Formula One driver to start a Grand Prix in 2009 (19 years old)
Most Notable Poker Achievement partypoker Ambassador in 2010.

#4 - Giancarlo Fisichella

Photo: David Merrett from Daventry, England.CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Giancarlo Fisichella raced for six different teams in his 14 years as a Formula One driver, and he crossed paths with the poker world as a partypoker Ambassador in 2009. Fisichella, one of many motorsports drivers who enjoys poker behind the scenes, even appeared in a televised high-stakes charity game in 2008.

The game took place in Italy and it included drivers Eddie Irvine, Giorgio Pantano, Tonio Liuzzi, Alex Zanardi, and Adrian Sutil. In the end, it was Nico Rosberg who came out on top for $43,828.

Fisichella also has one recorded cash on Hendon Mob, a second-place finish in a recurring daily tournament at Melbourne Crown Casino. The timing coincides with the Australian Grand Prix in Mrch of that year, so it looks like the world-class driver had time to sneak away for a daily during his prep for the race.

Nationality Italian
Years Active (F1) 14
Most Notable F1 Achievement Three wins in 229 starts
Most Notable Poker Achievement 2nd Place A$60 NLH Tuesday Night Melbourne Crown Casino (March 2009)

#3 Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso is a two-time winner of the F1 World Drivers Championship with 32 victories in 20 years as a driver on the circuit. The Spaniard has been racing on anything with wheels since the age of three and he currently runs for the Aston Martin team.

Alonso is also known as a card shark among his friends. Here he is seen bragging about cleaning up at a home game in 2012:

Nationality Spanish
Years Active (F1) 20
Most Notable F1 Achievement Two World Drivers Championships, 32 wins
Most Notable Poker Achievement Cleaned out his friends in a cash game in 2012

#2 - Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher raced for 19 years and won the F1 World Drivers Championship seven times, a total only matched recently by Lewis Hamilton. The German dominated the F1 scene for nearly two decades for several teams, most notably Ferrari, where he won several championships and turned around the long-struggling operation.

The champ was also known as a fixture on the charitable poker scene and in private games. Unfortunately, he has remained very private since he suffered a skiing accident in 2013.

Nationality German
Years Active (F1) 19
Most Notable F1 Achievement Seven-time World Champion, 91 wins
Most Notable Poker Achievement Likely cleaned out a few garage games of his own

#1 Lewis Hamilton

Photo: Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lewis Hamilton is the greatest driver of his generation, a seven-time champion with over 100 wins and one of the highest salaries in sports.

In 2020, Hamilton sat down for some high-stakes tournament action on GGPoker.

Ahead of theTurkish Grand Prixin November of 2020, Hamilton paid the $10,300 buy-in to enter Event #7 of the GGPoker High Rollers Week, which came with a $1.25 million guarantee. However, the six-time champion wasn’t adding another win to his resume. He finished at the back of the pack in 113th place out of 130 players.

An official spokesperson forGGPokertoldPokerNewsthat Hamilton was just “a guest.”

Nationality British
Years Active (F1) 17
Most Notable F1 Achievement Seven-time World Champion, 103 wins
Most Notable Poker Achievement 113th place in Event #7: $10,300 NLH during 2020 GGPoker High Rollers Week

F1 x Poker - Top 5 F1 and Poker Destinations

Honorable Mentions

Robert Kubica is a Polish driver known for his precise driving and modest off-track image. He prefers pastimes like snooker and poker over the celebrity lifestyle of your average driver.

Kimi Raikkonen is an accomplished Finnish driver who is known to play poker in his time away from the track. He was spotted at a Texas card room in Texas after the 2022 race in Austin.

Click here to participate in this poll.

Tags

FAQ

How do you become a WPT player?

How do you become a WPT player? Players can qualify for the WPT at the local casino where the event is held. In addition, online poker operators including partypoker offer satellites to many WPT events. Players can also qualify for free via the Club WPT app and will be able to qualify in the future at WPT Global.

Is Chinese poker the same as poker?

Is Chinese poker the same as poker? Chinese poker is a card game in the poker family that plays quite differently from traditional game variants that most poker players are familiar with (like Texas Hold’em). Each player gets 13 cards in a game of Chinese poker, and is tasked with making two five-card hands and a three-card hand.

When and where was the game of roulette first played?

When and where was the game of roulette first played? The game as we know it today first appeared in Paris in 1796, and quickly gained popularity throughout Europe, especially in the casinos of Monte Carlo. The addition of the zero by Francois and Louis Blanc in the mid-19th century helped to increase the house edge and make the game more profitable for casinos.

How to Download WSOP NV

How to Download WSOP NV 1. Visit the WSOP site 2. Locate the download link and click on it 3. When the download completes, run the installation on your device 4. When the installation completes, you can log in with your existing account or register if you do not already have one 5. Make a deposit via the mobile interface to fund your account 6. You will have access to all tournaments and cash games available via the desktop software

Can you play WPT global with a VPN?

Can you play WPT global with a VPN? Wpt global is one of the world’s largest online poker sites, but it is also one of the most restrictive in terms of IP address restrictions. As a general rule, traditional VPNs cannot be used to access the platform because they can either warn or block your accounts.

🔥 😏 WPT Global App Download Official 😘
🎬 Latest Articles 👀 👄 Popular Articles 🎗️
🎡 Recommended Articles 📹