We track down the whereabouts of some familiar, some forgotten, drivers of F1's past decade.
We track down the whereabouts of some F1 faces of yesteryear
It's a truism to say that, while a driver's climb through the ranks to Formula 1 can be a long, hard slog, the descent once their career at motorsport's top table has petered out can be ruthlessly swift.
But as you'll see below though, there is very much a life after F1. Here we select 15 drivers from the last decade - some of who are more memorable than others - and see where their respective journeys around the world of motorsport have taken them in the intervening years...
Christian Klien - 49 races (2004-2010)The Austrian-born former Jaguar and Red Bull driver, rather than the maker of stylish pants, was last seen in F1 circles as recently as the final races of 2010 when he was finally recalled from several years in the test driver wilderness amid an unpredictable driver merry-go-round at HRT. He performed solidly alongside Bruno Senna, but wasn't retained for 2011 and has since turned his attention to sports cars - driving for Aston Martin at both Le Mans and Silverstone last year. More recently has been seen trying to tame some muscle V8 supercars in Australia.
Kazuki Nakajima - 36 grands prix (2007-2009)Having ended his two-year spell at Williams without putting a single point on the board in 2009, the low-profile Japanese was named as a driver for the mysterious Stefan GP team but the obscure Serbian outfit were never granted an official entry. Since then Nakajima, after a year out of the cockpit, has returned to racing in his homeland and finished as runner-up in last season's Formula Nippon championship.
Nelson Piquet Jr - 28 grands prix (2008-2009)The son of three-time champion Nelson Sr quickly vanished from the F1 scene in the summer of 2009 after being axed by Flavio Briatore at Renault and then lifting the lid on the explosive Singapore GP 'Crashgate' scandal. Although granted immunity by the FIA during its investigations, the now 26-year-old soon headed for America to start a racing career of a very different kind in stock cars. Although yet to compete at NASCAR's top level, he regularly runs in the rather unfortunately titled 'truck' category while also making some appearances in the Nationwide - that's the second tier of NASCAR, rather than your high-street building society, by the way.
Sebastien Bourdais - 27 grands prix (2008-2009)For those of you with very F1-specific motorsport blinkers on, it might seem that France's Sebastien Bourdais - who belatedly arrived at motorsport's top level in 2008 as a four-time Champ Car title winner no less - has sunk without trace since being dumped by Toro Rosso midway through 2009. Well, technically he hasn't - in fact he's been rather busy. He became a race winner in the football-themed SuperLeague series driving for Sevilla and Lyon - yes, a strange concept we know - and a winner in Le Mans sports cars with Peugeot. The Frenchman has also returned to America for some races in IndyCar.
Takuma Sato - 90 grands prix (2002-2008)Sato became Japan's most successful, and one of its most popular, F1 exponents during his near century of races in the sport for Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri before the latter folded in early 2008 and left him without a drive. Like many a discarded F1 driver, he sought sanctuary in America - racing for the Jimmy Vasser co-owned KV Racing IndyCar team in 2010-11, scoring two pole positions last year. For 2012 he has joined Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Ralf Schumacher - 180 grands prix (1997-2007)The other Schumacher had something of an inconsistent decade in F1 to put it mildly; showing flashes of inspired big brother-beating pace on some days and crash-magnet form on others. Since his F1 career, and lucrative Toyota contract, ended over four years ago he's taken to German's DTM touring car championship and made steady progress as he has got to grips with the tin-top cars. Last year witnessed by far his strongest performances yet, with two podiums to show for his work, and Ralf stays on with Mercedes-Benz for 2012.
Markus Winkelhock - One grand prix (2007)Surely the only man with a 100% record for leading a lap in every grand prix he ever competed in, the son of 1980s driver Manfred Winkelhock became something of a cult figure in his one and only F1 appearance on home soil at the Nurburgring for back-of-the-grid Spyker five years ago. Coming into the pits to change to wet tyres before the start as the team sensed a storm brewing, he found himself in the lead as the heavens suddenly unleashed a downpour of biblical proportions on the track, staying there for six laps before being overhauled by the big guns and soon retiring. With something of a mark made, he spent the next three years in DTM before switching to the FIA GT1 series in 2011.
Christijan Albers - 46 grands prix (2005-2007)The abiding memory long-time F1 followers are likely to have of Holland's Christijan Albers - if, in fairness, they can remember him at all - was at the 2007 French GP when, apparently blissfully unaware that he had left his pit box with something rather large - a fuel hose - still attached to his Spyker, drove straight out of the pit lane. After much mirth at the time, Albers only lasted one more race before being quietly axed. After little success on a brief return to Germany's DTM, he reunited with his former boss Colin Kolles for some outings for the German's sports car team at Le Mans, although wasn't picked up on the mainstream motorsport radar in 2011.
Tiago Monteiro - 37 grands prix (2005-2006)Former Jordan and Midland driver and sometime quiz question answer for being the other man (after Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello) to finish on the podium in the six-car US GP of 2005. Has raced extensively in the World Touring Car Championship since his F1 foray came to the end, and is now also a team owner - his Ocean Racing Technology outfit compete in GP2.
Juan Pablo Montoya - 94 grands prix (2001-2006)A seven-time grand prix winner who seemed to like nothing more than taking on Michael Schumacher, Columbian firebrand Montoya was arguably one that got away for F1 when he split from McLaren mid-way through the 2006 season. Such was his profile as a former Champ Car champion in America that he didn't struggle to find a drive in the main NASCAR series and swiftly acclimatised to the very different challenge of racing in the category, winning a race in his debut year. He continues to compete in the series to this day, becoming a very established name on the category's huge entry lists.
Yuji Ide - Four grands prix (2006)It's not often in F1 these days that a driver finds themselves clearly out of their depth, such is the deep level of driving talent on show, but Japan's Yuji Ide was unfortunately one such man. Although he had a decent track record in his home single-seater categories, at 31 he quickly found the F1 going somewhat tougher with the new Super Aguri outfit. So much so that after just four races he had his super licence revoked by the FIA, having demonstrated both a lack of pace and a penchant for wayward driving. Unsurprisingly, a swift return to home followed and he continues to race in Formula Nippon and Super GT with unspectacular success.
Ricardo Zonta - 36 grands prix (1999-2004)Arguably best known as being the meat in a Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher sandwich in the former's astonishing pass of the great German at Spa in 2000, Zonta had race stints for BAR, Jordan and Toyota before becoming a recognised test driver. Since his last noted F1 involvement, as a tester for Renault in 2007, the Brazilian has raced extensively in sports car categories back in his homeland and made a handful of appearances in last year's FIA GT1 series.
Cristiano da Matta - 28 grands prix (2003-2004) Cristiano da Matta was one of several former Champ Car title winners who failed to leave a lasting mark on F1. After two unspectacular years in the early days of Toyota's F1 team, the Brazilian returned from where he came in America. However, in 2006 he was involved in a terrifying accident when he hit a deer that ran in front of him during testing at Road America. After nearly two years out of the cockpit as he recovered from his injuries, he returned to racing in sports cars and most recently competed in the American Le Mans series in 2011.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 156 grands prix (1994-2003)When they were junior drivers racing sports cars for Mercedes, many rated this German driver more highly than another of a similar age who would go on to rewrite the F1 record books. While one is still racing at the top level, the other -Frentzen, if you haven't guessed yet - has plotted a different course since seeing out his reasonably successful F1 days with Sauber in 2003. After a trio of seasons in the DTM, and appearances in the defunct Speedcar series where several F1 veterans were also to be found, in 2011 he returned to racing in German sports cars and has signed for the new Indian Racing League, which is due to begin this year.
Ralph Firman - 14 grands prix (2003)Yes, we'd almost forgotten about him too. The Irishman, whose sole F1 season came with Jordan nearly a decade ago, subsequently made a number of appearances for his country's A1GP team as well as winning races in Japanese Super GT sports cars. Most recently spotted in the Le Mans series, both in Europe and the US, and more GT events.
James Galloway
