The Ultimate Motorsport Trifecta
There’s just one driver ever to have completed Motorsport’s Triple Crown, and that’s Graham Hill. The original definition of this feat was to win the Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hour race, and the Indianapolis 500-mile event.
Hill completed the final leg, which for him was the 1972 Le Mans victory, some 11 years after his Indy 500 debut. He won five Monaco Grands Prix and two Formula One championships during his career.
Alonso’s Near-Miss at the Brickyard
In recent times, Fernando Alonso has come the closest to achieving this nigh-on impossible feat, famously skipping the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix to chase a win in the Indy 500. The Spaniard was on target to win the race, leading 27 laps before his Honda engine gave up the ghost late in the race.
At the time, Fernando was driving in F1 for McLaren and struck a deal with IndyCar team SPM to race the legendary 500-mile race. McLaren later formed an association with SPM in North American Racing before the team finally became Arrow McLaren, as it is known today.
Villeneuve’s Le Mans Heartbreak
1997 Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve is another close driver in the modern era to chase the coveted Triple Crown; having won the Indy 500 and the F1 World Championship, he came agonizingly close to a Le Mans victory in 2008, driving a factory Peugeot 908 HDi FAP, but finished 2nd overall behind the dominant Audi R10.
McLaren’s New Hypercar Weapon
With teams in two of the fabled series, McLaren revealed this season the McLaren MCL-HY race car. Built to LMDh regulations, the car features a bespoke carbon fiber monocoque chassis designed by McLaren, built by Dallara, and powered by a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 engine paired with a regulated hybrid system delivering 707 horsepower to the rear axle.
Its initial 2026 test livery pays direct homage to the papaya-and-blue McLaren M6A Can-Am cars of the 1960s, heavily channeling the spirit of the brand’s origins. McLaren is spending the remainder of 2026 putting the MCL-HY through a rigorous on-track testing program before homologation in the winter and its full-season debut in the 2027 FIA World Endurance Championship.
Agony and Ecstasy at Indy
As a works team, McLaren has won the Indy 500 on two occasions, and in the closing stages of the 2026 running of the event had Pato O’Ward in second place before a late caution shook up the order. The Mexican driver was eventually classified in fourth place, just under half a second behind the winner, Felix Rosenqvist.
The climax of the almost three-and-a-half-hour race coincided with the start of the F1 Grand Prix in Montreal. Unlike when the Indy 500 was part of the official F1 calendar, these days it often clashes with an F1 race, despite always being held on Memorial Day weekend in the USA.
A Tale of Two Cities
As Lando Norris burst into the lead at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit, Rosenqvist—an ex-McLaren driver—was crossing the yard of bricks to claim his greatest victory of all in Indiana. Norris, meanwhile, failed to finish in Montreal following a gearbox failure.
Yet the following day, Lando headed down to the Hoosier State to check out the iconic IMS Autodromo, which sees 350,000 fans in attendance on race day. He met up with ex-teammate Daniel Ricciardo and, along with the Arrow McLaren team principal, completed laps around the 2.5-mile oval circuit in a Corvette.
He further took a tour of the Indianapolis museum with IndyCar legend ‘The Captain’—Roger Penske—and congratulated Felix on his epic victory 24 hours earlier.
Norris Leaves the Door Open
Lando Norris refused to rule out a future appearance at the historic Indianapolis 500, admitting he is highly intrigued by the iconic American race. When asked if a trip to the Brickyard is in his future, Norris kept the door firmly open.
“I never know. You never know. I don’t want to say no,” Norris said. “I certainly want to try things outside of Formula 1. I love Formula 1 more than anything but at the same time, I love everything. I love bikes, I love rally, I love IndyCar—just all racing in general, whether it is the Indy 500 or just IndyCar in general.”
Ticking the Boxes
With the advent of McLaren’s hypercar entry in the World Endurance Series, Norris is aware of the history awaiting his racing organization. “It’s obviously part of the Triple Crown for McLaren as well,” Norris noted. “I won Monaco, which is part one done. Obviously got a championship now under my belt. There are two more to do.”
He credited former teammate Fernando Alonso’s high-profile Indy excursions for making the event feel even more alluring. “Seeing Fernando attempt it and things like that always makes it more inviting. So you never know. I would want to experience it. Maybe not that actual race at the minute, but just a lap around here in an IndyCar would be pretty gnarly—maybe one day.”
Respecting the Borg-Warner
The British driver made his comments while inspecting the towering Borg-Warner Trophy. Norris lamented that his own tight schedule prevented him from watching the race live, but expressed immense respect for Felix Rosenqvist, who claimed the coveted trophy by a razor-thin margin of just two-hundredths of a second.
“I can’t imagine, in some ways, but I can imagine just how amazing it is for Felix right now,” Norris said. “The trophy just looks nuts. It’s crazy how big it is… I know how much goes into achieving something like that, how hard you’ve got to try. Even when you feel like you can drive perfectly here, sometimes it can still not be your day. You just need things to go right.”
The Road Back to Monaco
Norris will shift his focus back to his day job at the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix on June 5–7. He currently sits fifth in the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings with 58 points. The title race is currently spearheaded by the Mercedes duo, with Kimi Antonelli leading the charge on 131 points ahead of teammate George Russell on 88 points.
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A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
