The Triple Crown of Motorsport is one of the rarest and most prestigious honours in racing. It represents the ultimate test of versatility, demanding mastery across multiple disciplines. This accolade isn’t about dominating a single series; it’s about proving yourself at the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500, the three races that couldn’t be more different, yet together embody the sport’s ultimate achievement.
What Is the Triple Crown?
The Triple Crown of Motorsport isn’t officially sanctioned by any governing body, but it has long been regarded as the ultimate benchmark of a driver’s versatility. Its earliest definition required a driver to win three very different challenges: the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship.
Over time, though, the meaning has shifted. In its more popular modern form, the Formula One World Championship is replaced by the Monaco Grand Prix, giving us the version most fans recognise today: victory at the Monaco GP, Le Mans 24 and the Indy 500. This updated version focuses on winning the three most iconic single events rather than a full-season championship, but both definitions reflect the same idea: conquering motorsport’s most diverse and demanding stages.
The Triple Crown: The Races and Their Unique Challenges
Monaco Grand Prix
Series: Formula 1 World Championship
Challenges: Tight, twisty street circuit; almost no room for error; requires precision, car balance, courage at braking and traction out of slow corners. Qualifying is vitally important. Rain or safety cars often shift everything.
Why It’s Unique: Monaco is as much about finesse as speed. It rewards drivers who can thread the needle, maintain concentration, and manage risk. Winning here demands mastery of micro-moments.
Indianapolis 500
Series: IndyCar
Challenges: High-speed oval, huge G-forces, slipstreaming, drafting, managing tyre wear at sustained high speeds, and being part of a massive field. Pit strategy, fuel management and avoiding crashes are crucial.
Why It’s Unique: The oval format is unlike most other major motorsport events. Speeds are extreme, the risk of a single mistake is huge, and the spectacle is intense.
24 Hours of Le Mans
Series: World Endurance Championship (WEC)
Challenges: Endurance, night driving, changing weather, traffic (sharing track with slower classes), reliability, and stamina for drivers and machines. Strategy calls — when to push, when to preserve — are constantly shifting.
Why It’s Unique: It tests durability, not just speed. Winning Le Mans is as much a team effort and engineering triumph as driver skill.
Drivers Who’ve Won or Chased the Triple Crown
Not many have managed all three, but many have claimed two out of three. Key names:
Graham Hill: The only driver to win all three of the Monaco GP, Indy 500, and Le Mans. He is also a two-time Formula 1 World Champion, in 1962 and 1968.
Fernando Alonso: Has won the Monaco GP (twice), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (twice), but hasn’t won the Indy 500. Chasing the Triple Crown. He holds 2 F1 World Championship titles (2005 & 2006) as well as a FIA World Endurance Championship title (2018-19).
Juan Pablo Montoya: Won the Indy 500 and Monaco GP, but Le Mans has eluded him in terms of outright victory.
Jacques Villeneuve: Another who has two of the three (F1 Championship in 1997 and Indy500 victory) but is missing the Le Mans 24 knockout.
Many drivers have tried, in fact some many times, but for most it has proved a dream rather than a reality.
What About the Constructors?
McLaren is the only constructor (team/chassis manufacturer) that has won all three of the traditional Triple Crown races:
Indianapolis 500: McLaren has a history of competing in American open-wheel racing, as both an entrant and a chassis constructor. As an entrant, McLaren won the Indianapolis 500 in:
- 1972: Mark Donohue, in a McLaren chassis entered by the Penske team, marked the first of the three victories.
- 1974: Johnny Rutherford secured McLaren’s second Indy 500 win with the M16.
- 1976: Johnny Rutherford won again, making it a total of three wins for the M16 at the Indy 500.
Monaco Grand Prix: McLaren won its first Monaco GP in 1984 with Alain Prost driving the MP4/2. Over many years, McLaren has tallied multiple Monaco victories.
24 Hours of Le Mans: McLaren’s first win at Le Mans came in 1995 with drivers JJ Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya in the McLaren F1 GTR.
So yes: McLaren holds the “team Triple Crown,” having achieved the wins in all three events across its history.
The Graham Hill Debate
Here’s a point of view that often comes up: Graham Hill believed that winning the Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship is a more meaningful F1 achievement than winning just the Monaco Grand Prix. He argued that consistent performance throughout a whole season is what separates a champion from someone great in single races.
As Paddock Queen, I agree with Graham Hill. Monaco is undeniably legendary and immensely prestigious, but a World Championship reflects something deeper — consistency, adaptability, reliability and speed sustained over an entire season. If the Triple Crown used the F1 title instead of Monaco, it would shift the focus towards season-long excellence rather than a single weekend. That said, the traditional version still carries its own charm and history, which is why the debate remains so fascinating.
So here’s my question to you:
Should the Triple Crown include winning the Formula 1 World Championship instead of the Monaco Grand Prix, or does the classic Monaco GP–Indy 500–Le Mans 24 line-up still deserve its iconic status?
Drop your thoughts in the comments. I’d love to hear your perspective and see which side of the debate you’re on.
Interested more? You can watch the story of McLaren’s Triple Crown here.
Article Cover Photo by McLaren Racing
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