Formula 1 racers who love to play online casinos

At first glance, Formula 1 and gambling are from different worlds. Racing is a high-speed, road, and advanced automotive technology. Online gambling — an intellectual form of entertainment, which does not require anything other than the Internet and a computer. On the other hand, some parallels between Formula and casinos still exist.

To succeed on the track, the racer needs mental clarity, the skill to make effective and correct decisions. All of these qualities are also needed at casinos. And the calculation of risk in gambling is as important as in racing. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are many fans of poker, blackjack, and slots among gamblers. Some prefer to play with friends and colleagues, while others even take part in tournaments and become official representatives of poker clubs.

In this article, we will talk about the most famous racers of the legendary Formula 1, that took a risk not only on the track but also at online casinos. Let’s start.

Lewis Hamilton

Despite the difficult character, the Britishman has forever written himself in the history of motorsport: besides him, only two managed to become five-time world champions: Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio. At the same time, Hamilton is perhaps the most public figure in the history of Formula 1. Between races, he was constantly seen on the fashion shows, presentation of movies, in coolest clubs and casinos of the world. And this is how he differs from almost all the racers of the championship as they often lead a private way of life and carefully hide all the information about themselves.

Also, Hamilton does not hide his passion for gambling. Sometimes he can be seen at casinos in Monaco, Las Vegas, and New York. At other times he prefers to play poker online as it requires less time to find the website than to look for a good land-based casino.

Fernando Alonso

Although the last title of two-time world champion dates back to 2006 he still remains one of the fastest and strongest drivers in history. A man of phenomenal talent, he has a manic hunger for racing. Alonso is one of the few who has competed in two championships at the same time: Formula One and the FIA WEC Endurance Championship. In the framework of the second, he won the legendary race Le Mans 24 Hours. And with all that, he still manages to compete anonymously in local championships.

Fernando is a big fan of poker. Almost every year he takes part in different tournaments for real money. But most of all he likes to play anonymously in online casinos.

Giancarlo Fisichella

Formula 1 racer Giancarlo Fisichella has long been known not only as one of the best drivers of the Royal races but also as a big fan of poker. He has repeatedly stated that he likes to play card games with his friends.

In Italy, where Fisichella is recognized as a public figure and a great sportsman, he worked as an ambassador for poker, often collaborating with major brands associated with gambling. He was also an ambassador for a number of poker rooms and even gave advice to less experienced players.

After years on the race track, Fisichella devoted himself to online gambling. Unlike the other racers on our list, Fisichella even participated in professional tournaments where he had the opportunity to battle some of the best poker players in the world.

Kimi Raikkonen

He is the pilot, who is loved by everyone without exception. Kimi is the absolute embodiment of the typical Finn: laconic, fast, loves the risk, and gambling. Such character features help racers win not only on the track but also at various $1 deposit casino platforms. At the same time, Raikkonen is one of the few who has not lost to either Alonso or Schumacher.

He got the “Iceman” nickname for several reasons: first, he’s not very talkative. Secondly, he has remarkable composure, even in the most difficult situations. Thirdly, sometimes it looks like he has no emotions, including those outside the track. Such poker-face feature greatly helps him during pokers sessions.

Max Verstappen

Young, but already very bright racer started his Formula career in a record 17 years. Despite his young age, he is now one of the fastest drivers in the world. Verstappen is a very hot-tempered person that likes to always be a winner.  Max is the son of another Formula 1 pilot Jose Verstappen, which did not show outstanding results on the track, but always got into scandals outside the track.

Verstappen does not like land-based casinos, but he still plays there from time to time. Max is not hiding this because he is a resident citizen of Monaco. Of course, many racers play in local luxurious casinos but most of them prefer to play online slots. It helps them to relax during short breaks between races.

Robert Kubica

He is the first and only Polish driver in the history of Formula 1, one of the fastest drivers of his generation, and also an expert in online gambling. His phenomenal speed made him one of the fastest drivers in his debut season. Everyone expected him to be world champion within a few years. 

But in 2011, during a rally in Italy (rallying was his hobby) he had a terrible accident. His right arm was injured so bad, that it was literally collected from pieces for six months. Everyone thought that this incident will put an end to the career of an auto racer (an arm has not yet regained functionality). But after a few years, Kubica returned first to rally and then to circuit racing. Moreover — in 2019 he became the driver of the Williams team, and it is one of the most phenomenal comebacks in the history of Formula One.

The racer can often be seen in the best casinos of Europe where he plays poker with his colleagues. He does not like to gamble big, but sometimes he risks large amounts of money. At online casinos, he plays with his friends from other countries.

Felipe Massa

Massa is remembered for a number of hugely memorable episodes. The first is the defeat in the championship literally in the last race in his native San Paulo. In this case, he did everything he could: confidently leading in the pouring rain, came to the finish line first, and even the first 30 seconds after the finish was considered the champion. But in the last corner, Lewis Hamilton overtook the Toyota driver Timo Glock, which allowed him to take a one-point lead over Massa. A ringing silence hung over Brazil, and only the McLaren team broke out in hysterics — two hours ago no one could imagine this outcome.

The second striking event is a terrible injury during the qualifying in the Hungarian Grand Prix. At full speed, the suspension spring from Rubens Barrichello’s car flew into the head of Massa, who drove in front. The Ferrari driver immediately lost consciousness and at a speed of 200 km/h hit a wall. After that, he had a long recovery period but eventually returned to driving in 2010.

During the German Grand Prix, he received a thinly veiled command to allow his team-mate, Fernando Alonso, to take the lead and win the race. As a result, the Brazilian was robbed of a 100% victory.

But at the casino, Massa prefers not to lose to his opponents. He is really good at poker and even plays in professional tournaments, both online and offline.

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg is an outstanding strategist and great pilot, from whom you should always expect bright performances on the track. It is noteworthy that he become one of the best racers of the 2010-2016 seasons. Even these days, Rosberg remains a role model in terms of working on the choice of strategies.

Nico is also an excellent poker player. He is well versed in the online and offline strategies of the game and can count cards and probabilities without error. 

Conclusion

Formula 1 drivers made history in motorsports because of their incredible achievements on the racetrack. Brilliant victories, speed records, and other stunning results made the racers idols of millions of people. There were many fans of gambling among those drivers. Some played as amateurs while others preferred professional tournaments.

And this is not strange at all. Racing and online gambling have a lot in common. Risk, money, and adrenaline can be obtained both at the wheel and when playing casino games. That is why many famous racers can be found in both land-based and online casinos. And in most cases, they don’t play to win money. After the end of their career, such people like to taste victory again, as well as get another dose of dopamine. In this article, we told the history of only a few famous racers. But in fact, there are many more gambling enthusiasts among the stars of Formula 1.