F1 2024 stars reimagined as ICONIC Christmas movie characters

lando norris, lewis hamilton, max verstappen, christmas, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Christmas Feature

F1 2024 stars reimagined as ICONIC Christmas movie characters

The F1 paddock as your favourite Christmas movie characters

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Wednesday 25 December 2024 10:57

GPFans have already provided you with the ultimate F1 team Christmas gift giving guide, but as we edge nearer to the big day, we've assembled the list you’ve really been waiting for.

We have decided which personalities from the F1 paddock would fit in perfectly as iconic Christmas movie characters!

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From Max Verstappen to Bernie Ecclestone, we’ve matched your favourite F1 figures to their festive counterparts (three guesses as to who Ecclestone is), because tenuous links between two entirely separate concepts are our speciality.

Without further ado, here's our list of F1 personalities as Christmas characters!

Fernando Alonso: The Ghost of Christmas Past (A Christmas Carol)

Fernando Alonso's last world title was in 2006

Alonso may be hoping for a third world title, but it seems that his championship winning days belong in the distant past.

As tensions with Lewis Hamilton re-surface on the track from time-to-time, it appears the Aston Martin driver is still haunted by his former rival, making the Ghost of Christmas Past the perfect part for Alonso to play at Christmas time.

George Russell: George Bailey (It's a Wonderful Life)

Now, this pick isn’t just because they’re both called George, rather Russell is infused with that George Bailey/Frank Capra righteousness that reigns throughout It’s a Wonderful Life.

As head of the GPDA, and therefore the voice of the common man (the first and last time you will hear F1 drivers described as such), Russell is practically the modern-day James Stewart.

Yuki Tsunoda: Kevin McCallister (Home Alone)

Yuki Tsunoda failed to receive the Red Bull promotion

Abandoned just before Christmas? Known for their short temper at times? I could be describing Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, but strangely the same also applies to Yuki Tsunoda.

Tsunoda was cruelly rejected from the Red Bull meain team by Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, just as poor Macaulay Culkin was forgotten by Catherine O’Hara at Christmas.

Will a late Red Bull move materialise for Tsunoda, as Kevin’s mother did at the end of the much-loved Christmas movie? Unlikely.

Max Verstappen: The Grinch (How the Grinch Stole Christmas)

Max Verstappen is known for his short temper over team radio

He may be a four-time world champion, but that won’t stop Max Verstappen from having a good old moan on certain occasions.

Whether it was his X-rated team radio messages in Hungary, or despondent press conferences regarding Red Bull’s pace in 2024, at times Verstappen could be a real Grinch.

However, just like the Grinch welcoming joy into his home at the end of the iconic Christmas film, Verstappen too celebrated in Las Vegas with a smile and a gin & tonic in his hand after securing the 2024 drivers' title.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri: Harry and Marv (Home Alone)

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri secured the constructors' trophy in 2024

If Red Bull are the metaphorical McCallister family in this list, then that makes McLaren the thieving duo of the Wet Bandits.

The driver lineup of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ensured they stole Red Bull’s constructors’ crown from the reigning champions, just as Harry and Marv attempted to rob the McCallister family home.

Valtteri Bottas: The Snowman (The Snowman)

Valtteri Bottas will be Mercedes' reserve driver in 2025

Similar to the Snowman in Raymond Briggs' nostalgic illustration, Bottas would be the perfect F1 driver to embark on a night of revelry in the snowy north.

However, Bottas will also cruelly melt away after Christmas after failing to acquire a seat for 2025, which, for the purposes of this list, makes him the Snowman.

Also he’s from Finland, and it snows a lot there!

Eddie Jordan: Billy Mack (Love Actually)

Eddie Jordan's team competed in F1 from 1991 until 2005

An effervescent older gentleman, who says exactly what he thinks and doesn’t give a damn!

The parallels are endless between Eddie Jordan and Billy Mack, and if F1 were ever to produce a biopic about the team boss, Bill Nighy would be the ideal candidate to play Jordan.

Bernie Ecclestone: Ebenezer Scrooge (A Christmas Carol)

Who else but Bernie Ecclestone could play Ebenezer Scrooge if the F1 paddock staged a performance of A Christmas Carol?

The former F1 boss and business magnate has the wealth and the surly demeanour to play the character perfectly, in fact we can picture him perfectly in Victorian garb already!

Leo Leclerc: Gizmo (Gremlins)

Leo Leclerc was introduced to the F1 paddock in 2024

Leo Leclerc burst onto our screens in 2024, following his adoption by Ferrari star Charles Leclerc and his partner Alexandra Saint Mleux.

As audiences fell in love with Gizmo in 1984, F1 fans have also become enraptured with the cute little creature, and it would not be a proper tribute to the 2024 season without featuring the pup in our Christmas list.

Roscoe Hamilton: Stripe (Gremlins)

Roscoe Hamilton has frequently been seen alongside the champion

If Leo Leclerc was to have an evil adversary in the F1 paddock, it would of course be Roscoe Hamilton.

The seven-time world champion’s pooch possesses the mischievous spirit of Stripe, who wrecked havoc on Kingston Falls at Christmas.

Like Stripe, Roscoe too has the ability to commandeer a bar with his accomplices, and party the night away.

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

View full biography

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