Source : @F1
AUSTIN — Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the famous names Formula 1 drivers say they have in their phones, after the sport put the grid on the spot with a quickfire question about their contacts.
Formula 1’s official X account posted a 23-second clip on Tuesday (Oct 20) with the caption: “Some famous friends in the phonebook 📲 We’re putting F1 drivers on the spot with all sorts of questions like this – watch the full video now on YouTube 👀”. The teaser shows drivers from McLaren, Audi, Haas, Alpine, Cadillac, Williams and Racing Bulls being asked: “Who is the most famous person in your contacts outside F1?”
The answers, shown in on-screen captions, covered football, film, music, tennis and politics. Haas driver Esteban Ocon named Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds and French football great Zinedine Zidane, while Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez replied: “I think Cristiano.” A Williams driver also named Cristiano Ronaldo, and a McLaren driver answered: “Probably Beckham.”
Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson suggested actor Patrick Dempsey, an Alpine driver said Emmanuel Macron, and one Audi driver mentioned Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner or André Lamoglia, adding: “It’s a Brazilian actor.” The other Audi driver kept his answer short: “Simply Red.” The clip does not reveal the full version of each response, which Formula 1 directed fans to on its YouTube channel.
Some of the names have clear links to the sport. Reynolds’ Maximum Effort Investments was part of a consortium that invested €200 million in the Alpine team in June 2023, taking a 24 per cent stake, at a time when Ocon was racing for the French outfit. Ocon described the actor as “inspiring” after the deal was announced, Motorsport.com reported. Lamoglia, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1997, is known for playing Iván Carvalho in the Netflix series Élite.
The video is the latest in a run of light-hearted content from Formula 1 as the paddock heads to Texas for the United States Grand Prix, the first of the final six rounds of the 2026 season. It also features drivers from Audi and Cadillac, both new names on the grid this year, with Cadillac making its debut as a Formula 1 team.
On track, the stakes in Austin could hardly be higher. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leads the drivers’ championship on 340 points, 102 ahead of team-mate George Russell, and can become the sport’s youngest world champion on Sunday if he wins the race, with Russell finishing ninth or lower and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton fifth or lower.
Among the drivers featured in the clip, Lawson is the best placed in the standings, ninth on 75 points for Racing Bulls, while Ocon has seven points for Haas. Pérez has yet to score in Cadillac’s debut season, according to the official standings, but the Mexican will be racing on home soil a week later, when Mexico City hosts the next round from Oct 30 to Nov 1.
The United States Grand Prix weekend runs from Oct 23 to 25 at the Circuit of The Americas, with the 56-lap race starting at 3pm local time on Sunday, which is 4am on Monday (Oct 26) in Malaysia. The original Formula 1 post can be viewed on X: https://x.com/F1/status/2112585690852601961.
About The Author
