Formula One fans follow the sport for the action presented on the tracks, but what happens behind the wheel is equally fascinating. It is interesting to uncover the cars they drive when they are not cruising down the fast lane of the racing tracks, but we find ourselves also intrigued by who they are dating, have dated or are married to.
A few F1 racers have even dated fellow celebrities like Lewis Hamilton who, in the past, has been rumored to have romanced Rihanna, Rita Ora, and Nicki Minaj. Here’s a sneak peek into the romantic lives of some of the most well-known racecar drivers.
Valtteri Bottas And Emilia Bottas – 9 Years
Racer Valtteri Bottas and Finnish swimmer Emila Pikkarainen started dating in 2010. Six years later, she became Mrs. Bottas as they walked down the aisle at St. John’s Church in Helsinki. Emila has represented Finland three times at the Olympics; the first time was in 2008 and she was just 15 years old.
Besides swimming, Emila has participated in several show jumping competitions and she’s very passionate about horse riding. She told MTV Finland that she wasn’t worried about her husband’s career but what gives her anxiety is knowing the risks that come with racing.
Kimi Raikkonen And Minttu Raikkonen – 6 Years
Alfa Romeo F1 driver, Kimi Raikkonen, met former Miss Scandinavia Jenni Dahlman, in 2002. They walked down the aisle just two years later and proceeded to split their time between Finland and Switzerland. Their union ended in divorce after 10 years of marriage.
Raikkonen married his current wife, fitness professional Minna-Mari “Minttu” Virtanen, in 2016, in Italy. The two met in 2013 through mutual friends shortly after Raikkonen separated from his first wife. They welcomed their first child in 2015; a son they called Robin. Their daughter Rianna was born in 2017.
Lewis Hamilton And Jasmine Sanders
After a night out partying, following the 2019 Paris Fashion Week, five-time F1 champion, Lewis Hamilton, was rumored to be romantically involved with American model Jasmine Sanders. They were reportedly seen entering a vehicle together after leaving a posh Paris restaurant.
Reports had it that they were in the company of other women and it was about 3 a.m. Hamilton responded through an Instagram post saying that it was all fake news. He added that it was sad that a man cannot have female friends because the media always makes it seem like something that it isn’t.
Kevin Magnussen And Louise Gjørup – 3 Years
Kevin Magnussen, a Haas Automation F1 driver, exchanged vows with Louise Gjørup during Summer in August of 2019. The two had their nuptials in the Danish town of Nyborg and their family and close friends broke the news by sharing photos from the big day on social media.
The two met in 2014 when Magnussen was trying to find his way after McLaren gave him the boot. Things turned around when he joined Renault for their 2016 season and then Haas in 2017. He has been racing for Haas since then. He returned to the tracks at the end of August following his honeymoon, at the 2019 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Lance Stroll And Kimberley Garner – Unknown
Lance Stroll is the son of billionaire Lawrence Stroll, a part-owner of SportPesa. Lance, who currently races for the Racing Point F1 team has become quite the eligible bachelor and was once linked to English TV personality and swimwear designer Kimberly Garner.
Given that the Daily Mail shared photos of Garner and her mystery beau cuddling at a London park, we believe her relationship with Stroll may have been short-lived. Garner dated the mystery blonde hunk for three years before they broke up in 2019 only to re-unite in August. She’s managed to remain tight-lipped, all these years, about the identity of her beau.
Pierre Gasly And Caterina Masetti Zannini – 1 Year & 8 Months
Red Bull F1 racer, Pierre Gasly, has been dating Caterina Masetti Zannini for about 1 year and 8 months now. Like most women who date F1 drivers, not much is known about Zannini except that she’s an aerospace engineer with 19.8K followers on Instagram. She is originally from Bologna and is known for posting swimwear photos.
Also, Gasly and Zannini haven’t been too open about their love life on the internet but they are believed to have started dating in early 2018. While Zannini rarely attends Gasly’s races, she always wishes him the best through sweet Instagram posts.
George Russell And Seychelle de Vries – 3 Years
Seychelle de Vries is the sister of F2 racer Nyck de Vries and although she was romantically linked to racer Max Verstappen, back in 2016, she currently dates George Russell; a Williams F1 driver. de Vries also stays relatively private about her life but regularly shares photos of their travels together.
Russell had previously dated Dilara Sanlik, a German student, before his relationship with Vries. Vries and Russell met during his F2 days, and there is a photo of the two of them back when he won the GP3 Series in 2017. She confirmed their relationship with a photo that same year, which showed them standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Sergio Pérez And Carola Martinez – 8 Years
Sergio Pérez who competes for Racing Point is married to Carola Martinez. They joined as one in June of 2018 after being together since 2011. They had the honor of having Pope Francis bless their union, both of them being from a Christian background.
Martinez shares quite a lot with her sister Lupita who is just two years older than her. They were both born on the 19th of December and Martinez married Pérez just three months after Lupita walked down the aisle. Pérez and Martinez are also parents; they welcomed their son in 2017.
Romain Grosjean And Marion Jolles Grosjean – 11 Years
Haas driver Romain Grosjean is married to French journalist and TV reporter Marion Jolles. The two started dating in 2008 and they got married four years later. Marion adopted his family name following their nuptials. They have three children together; two sons and a daughter.
In June of 2019, the couple was the victim of a home invasion when burglars broke into their property. Romain confronted the intruders who proceeded to run away from the scene. His wife wrote a sweet Instagram post gushing about her husband’s bravery and calling him a fearless hero.
Daniil Kvyat And Kelly Piquet – 4 Years
Toro Rosso driver, Daniil Kvyat, has been dating Kelly Piquet since 2016. They have a five year age gap between them; Kvyat is 25 and Piquet is 30, as of 2019. Piquet is the daughter of the famous racer Nelson Piquet Sr, who is still considered a true champion in the sport.
In March of 2017, they announced that they were expecting their first child together and welcomed their daughter in July of 2018. Piquet obtained a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and she’s been featured in Vogue and Claire magazines. She is part of the Formula E social media team.
Fernando Alonso And Linda Morselli – 3 Years
Two-time F1 World champion, Fernando Alonso, was formerly married to singer Raquel del Rosario. Their union ended after five years of marriage. Alonso then dated Dasha Kapustina and journalist Lara Alvarez. His relationship with Linda Morselli began in 2016 and they’ve been together since then.
Morselli previously dated MotoGP racer, Valentino Rossi. She is signed to Next Management and during the 2006 Miss Italy pageant, she earned the Miss Elegance crown. Morselli has about $230K Instagram followers and regularly shares sweet posts about her boyfriend. Also, she often posts videos of her sessions at the gym.
Michael Schumacher And Corinna Schumacher – 24 Years
Michael and Corinna Schumacher have been married since 1995! They have two children together and their son Mick followed in his father’s footsteps to become a racecar driver. Michael is well-known for his seven F1 championship wins. Their daughter Gina-Maria followed the path her mother took and she’s now a professional horse rider.
Corinna won the 2010 European Championship under the western horse riding style category. The couple also owns horse ranches in Switzerland and Texas. Michael escaped a near-death skiing accident in 2013 at the French Alps; Corinna sold their Norway holiday home and Michael’s jet after the incident.
Jacques Villeneuve And Camilla Lopez – 7 Years
Canadian auto racer, Jacques Villeneuve, was engaged to singer Dannii Minogue and ballerina Ellen Green, however, both relationships didn’t work out. He eventually married Johanna Martinez in 2006 during a civil ceremony and they had a son later that year. They had another child before going their separate ways in 2009.
Villeneuve found love again and married Camilla Lopez in 2012. Lopez and Villeneuve had two sons of their own; the family currently lives in the Swiss village known as Villars-sur-Ollon. Villeneuve returned to racing with the Go Fas Racing NASCAR team in 2019.
Alain Prost And Anne-Marie Prost – 37 Years
Retired French racer, Alain Prost, is a four-time F1 champion who held the title for having earned the most Grand Prix wins from 1987 to 2001. In 1980, he married Anne-Marie but they eventually parted ways in 2017. They had two sons together; their son Nicholas also became a racer.
Alain Prost has a daughter named Victoria who was born out of an affair with Bernadette Cottin, the ex-wife of pilot Jacques Laffite. He has two grandchildren; Kimi, who is the son of his child Nicholas and Liam who is his second son Sacha’s child.
Ayrton Senna And Adriane Galisteu – Unknown
Brazillian racer Ayrton Senna died in 1994 following a car crash. He was competing at the San Marino Grand Prix when the unfortunate incident took place and claimed his life. Senna had been married to Lilian Vasconcelos for just a year and they parted ways because she couldn’t adapt to his racing lifestyle.
Senna then dated Adriane Yamin, Maria “Xuxa” Meneghel, and Carol Alt amongst other women. Adriane Galisteu was his last known girlfriend and many people believed that they would have walked down the aisle. Galisteu married businessman Alexandre Iodice in 2009. They have a son named Vittorio Iodice.
Niki Lauda And Birgit Wetzinger – 11 Years
Niki Lauda passed away in early 2019 while receiving dialysis treatment in Zurich. Lauda first married Marlene Knaus in 1976 but they divorced in 1991. They had two children together and their son Mathias became a racer while their second child Lukas served as his brother’s manager.
Lauda married Birgit Wetzinger, a flight attendant, who is 30 years younger than him, in 2008. They had twins and were still together up until his passing. In 2018, Lauda had a lung transplant in Austria which was successful. Despite this, he passed away at the age of 70 and family members issued a statement saying that he died peacefully in his sleep.
Jenson Button And Brittny Ward – 3 Years
F1 racer Jenson Button and singer Louise Griffiths were engaged, however, in 2005, they separated after a five-year relationship. In 2009, he began dating Jessica Michibata and in 2014, he proposed to her as well. They split up the following year after one year of marriage.
Button and Brittny Ward started seeing each other in 2016. Ward started modeling when she was 12 and she took part in several beauty pageants. Button and Ward got engaged in June of 2018 and at the start of 2019, they announced that they are expecting a child together.
Max Chilton And Chloe Roberts – 11 Years
IndyCar driver Max Chilton and his wife Chloe celebrated their union in 2017. Chloe had just graduated from college and she was pursuing a career as an artist. The two began dating in 2008 when Chilton was 17 and Chloe was 15.
Chloe is often seen supporting Chilton during his F1 races. Before being drafted by Indycar, Chilton drove for the Marussia F1 team during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. British Touring Car Championship driver, Tom Chilton, is his brother. His last race was at the Grand Prix of Portland in 2019.
Felipe Nasr And Giulia Maria Testoni – 6 Years
IMSA Sportscar champion, Luiz Nasr, has been dating Giulia Maria Testoni since 2013. Nasr previously dated Julia Piquet from 2010 and they broke up just a year before he started seeing Testoni. For people who are always followed by cameras wherever they go, there aren’t many details known about their relationship.
Luiz Nasr had his debut as a Williams test driver before joining the Sauber F1 team in 2015. However, the team replaced him with Pascal Wehrlein in 2017 and Nasr switched over to the IMSA WeatherTech racing team in 2018.
David Coulthard And Karen Minier – 14 Years
Belgian TV presenter, Karen Minier, is the wife of former F1 racer David Coulthard. They started dating in 2005 but it wasn’t until 2013 that they tied the knot in Monaco. The couple welcomed their son in 2008 and Minier also has a daughter.
She attended the Free University of Brussels where she studied journalism. She then joined a modeling agency but then began interviewing F1 drivers for a show on the French TF1 channel. She co-presented Children of the TV and after the birth of her son in 2008, she went back to modeling.
Nico Rosberg And Vivian Sibold – 5 Years
Nico Rosberg married his childhood friend Vivian Sibold in 2014. They have two children together; daughters Alaia and Nalia. His wife Vivian is a businesswoman, focusing on interior design. During his F1 racing days, he drove for Mercedes-AMG and Williams under the German flag. Rosberg won the 2016 F1 World Championship.
After his retirement from F1 racing in 2016, he ventured into vlogging on YouTube. His videos focus on F1, Formula E, and car-related content. In 2019, he launched the Berlin Greentech Festival in partnership with Marco Voigt and Sven Kruger.
Felipe Massa And Anna Raffaela Bassi – 17 Years
Felipe Massa and Anna Raffaela Bassi met in 2002 through mutual friends. It was during this time that Massa had his debut with Sauber, however, it was a poor season for him. The team fired him but he would later say that if they hadn’t let him go he might never have met his wife.
They exchanged vows in 2007 and had a son two years later. Raffaela is quite popular on Instagram where she has more than 200K followers. She also isn’t afraid of the limelight and often strikes a pose for the paparazzi. She is her husband’s biggest fan and often attends events and races with him.
Pastor Maldonado And Gabriela Tarkanyi – 7 Years
Pastor Maldonado represented the Williams and Lotus teams during his F1 days. He won the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012 for the Williams team. Maldonado and journalist Gabriela Tarkanyi exchanged vows in 2012. They had the ceremony in Venezuela and a year later they had a child together.
Maldonado is quite outspoken about his political stance and he supports socialist views. He was even associated with Venezuela’s late president Hugo Chavez and served as one of his guards of honor during his send-off. Manuel Maldonado is his cousin and he currently races for the Fortec Motorsport team.
Esteban Gutiérrez And Mónica Casán – 13 Years
IndyCar driver Esteban Gutiérrez exchanged vows with Mónica Casán at the close of 2016. He shared a video of highlights from their marriage ceremony saying that it was the beginning of what he considers, the best project of his life. Gutierrez drove for Sauber during the 2013 and 2014 F1 seasons.
He moved to Ferrari for the 2015 season as a reserve and test driver. He began competing for Haas in 2016 and then he became a test driver for the Mercedes team. Gutierrez announced, in 2017, that he would join the Formula E team and since then, he’s been competing in the IndyCar series.
Alex Yoong And Arriana Teoh – 17 Years
Alex Yoong comes from an athletic family and both his sisters are competitive skiers. He is the first Malaysian to have become an F1 racer but he left the sport after one season. Yoong married Arriana Teoh, a former Miss Malaysia, in 2002. The next year, they welcomed their son Alister who is now an F4 racer in Asia.
The two amicably parted ways in 2010 and they even continued living under the same roof for the sake of their son who was seven at the time. Teoh has stayed away from the limelight since then and not much is known about her current endeavors.
Mark Webber And Ann Neal – 24 Years
Former racer Mark Webber and Anne Neal have been together for about 24 years now. They had an interview in 2017 with Australian Story where Webber praised Neal, who also serves as his manager, for his success. They met in 1994 and started a romantic relationship the next year.
Neal is 13 years older than Webber but that never affected their relationship. Over the years there have been rumors that they tied the knot with only close friends and family in attendance. The claims have never been proven and neither of the two has confirmed it.
Narain Karthikeyan And Pavarna Karthikeyan – 17 Years
Narain Karthikeyan is the first racer from India to have competed in the Formula 1 events. He raced for the Jordan and HRT F1 teams. A friend introduced him to Pavarna and after a two-year courtship, the two went on to exchange vows in 2004.
They married at Karthikeyan’s hometown in Tamil Nadu and their guests included Tamil actors and industrialists. Pavarna’s father is an industrialist and much like other F1 WAGS not much is known about her. However, she has made several appearances at events, supporting her husband during races.
Adrian Sutil And Julie Alessin – Unknown
Racer Adrian Sutil has driven for Spyker, Sauber, and Force India throughout his F1 career. He is dating Julie Alessin and that’s as much as we know about his love life. Apart from the occasional times they’ve been photographed together, not much is known about how they met and if they are headed to the altar.
In 2011, Sutil had a run-in with the law when he struck Shanghai nightclub owner, Eric Lux, with a champagne glass. Lux sustained a neck wound and he had to get 24 stitches. He filed a lawsuit and Sutil received an 18-month suspension following the trial. He also paid a $220K fine that went to charity.
Brendon Hartley And Sarah Hartley – 13 Years
Toro Rosso driver, Brendon Hartley, exchanged vows with Sarah Wilson in 2018. The two had been together for 12 years before deciding to take the next step. The couple celebrated their big day with a wedding ceremony on Waiheke Island and several motorsport drivers were in attendance.
They held the ceremony at the Mudbrick, an establishment known as a go-to eatery for celebrities including Taylor Swift and Eva Longoria. Brendon and Sarah only had a few days to enjoy each other after their nuptials before he had to return to the racing tracks in Europe.
Jarno Trulli And Barbara Trulli – 19 Years
After retiring from F1 racing in 2012, Jarno Trulli made a comeback in 2014 during the inaugural Formula E Championship season. He raced for the team that he founded called Trulli GP. Trulli married Barbara in 1990 and they have two children together.
Trulli also co-owns a vineyard located in Italy’s Abruzzo region and there, they produce wine. Additionally, he launched a line of karts dubbed Trulli Kart. Their son, Enzo, who is now 14 years old, has apparently begun his journey to becoming a racer himself, competing in the WSK series.
Nico Hülkenberg And Egle Ruskyte – 4 Years
Nico Hülkenberg and Egle Ruskyte started dating in 2015. Ruskyte is very supportive and she’s often spotted around the tracks when her boyfriend is racing. She is a Lithuanian and she attended university in her home country. Ruskyte currently runs a business that specializes in making handmade crochet clothing.
She also enjoys the jet-set life and has visited St Tropez, Thailand, and Abu Dhabi in recent years. As dog lovers, the two are the proud owners of a Pomeranian. Hülkenberg previously dated Laura Zinnel, a police officer, for 8 years until they broke up in 2014.
Max Verstappen And Dilara Sanlik – 1 Year & 8 Months
Max Verstappen marked his fifth season of F1 racing in 2019. He’s just 21 but has already been romantically linked to multiple women including Ross Van Der Aa, a fashion blogger, and fellow racer Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky. In January of 2018, Verstappen confirmed that he was dating German student Dilara Sanlik.
Sanlik is currently pursuing her studies in London. The two had spent Christmas together which started fuelling rumors that they were an item. Since then, they have made headlines on numerous media outlets but Sanlik chooses to avoid the limelight; even her Instagram is private.
Charles Leclerc And Giada Gianni – 4 Years
F1 racer Charles Leclerc currently competes for the Ferrari team and he is dating Giada Gianni. Not much is known about Gianni except for the fact that she’s 21 and a huge supporter of Leclerc. She’s quite popular on Instagram, with 56K followers, where she shares snippets of her life.
Leclerc and Gianni started dating in 2015 and rumor has it that he popped the question when they celebrated their fourth anniversary in early 2019. The two haven’t confirmed or denied the engagement rumors as yet. However, they always keep their fans up to date about their jet-setting and holidays through social media posts.
Sebastian Vettel And Hanna Prater – 20 Years
F1 champion Sebastian Vettel and Hanna Prater are one of the sport’s longest-standing couples. The two met while attending the same German middle school and they’ve been together since then. It wasn’t until June 2019 that they exchanged vows.
They had already welcomed two children before their nuptials and they bought a medial-styled mansion in Switzerland. The two are notoriously private as well but what we know about Prater is that she is passionate about style and is rumored to be working on a personal collection of jewelry and accessories.
Daniel Ricciardo And Jessica Gomes – Unknown
Daniel Ricciardo’s relationship with his high school sweetheart, Jemma Boskovich, ended in 2016. Since then, he was rumored to have been dating Annemarie Horbass, a former Redbull colleague. However, he’s now said to be in a relationship with Jessica Gomes, a Perth native.
The two are yet to confirm whether or not they are an item. Gomes has modeled for some of the biggest brands including Victoria’s Secrets, Vogue, LG, and Hyundai. She’s signed to IMG and has also appeared on the big screen alongside actor Bruce Willis. Furthermore, she had a name-check on one of Kanye West’s songs.