It’s an exciting time for football fans as the 2026 FIFA World Cup officially kicks off on Thursday, June 11, with the first match in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
The expanded 48-team tournament stretches across six weeks and, as well as the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend, it also encompasses the Austrian, British and Belgian Grands Prix too.<\/p>\n
That means a lot of F1 folk with a passion for football will be combining their day jobs with keeping a close eye on what\u2019s happening on the other side of the world.<\/p>\n
That includes many of the drivers, some of whom have displayed their own talents in charity matches such as the one traditionally held on the Wednesday before the Monaco Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
When Arsenal played Paris St Germain in the recent UEFA Champions League final football fans Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and Pierre Gasly<\/a> were keen to show their support for their respective teams, but the World Cup will be on another level.<\/p>\n If you count Alex Albon\u2019s<\/a> English DNA then 19 of the 22 drivers on the grid have a direct interest in the tournament as their home countries are participating.<\/p>\n The outliers are Charles Leclerc<\/a>, Valtteri Bottas<\/a> and current Drivers’ Championship leader Kimi Antonelli<\/a>. Along with tennis superstar Jannik Sinner the Mercedes driver is flying the tricolore for his countrymen this summer after Italy failed to qualify for the tournament that they have won four times.<\/p>\n A keen follower of his local Bologna team, Antonelli admits that his loyalties are now divided. \u201cObviously, there are a lot of players that I cheer for. Personally, I do really like Brazil, for example, the way they play the game. Also when I was little, I really liked, when they were playing for Barcelona of course, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely, I like Brazil. So if they will do well, I would be happy for sure. But again, I’m also cheering for Messi, he was my one of my favourite players when I was little, and also I got to meet him in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it’s going to be a cool event, even though Italy is not in it, unfortunately. So we’re going to wait another four years, maybe. I’m going to be watching pretty much all the games, because it’s just super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Another driver with an interest in Brazil is Max Verstappen<\/a>, via his partner Kelly Piquet. The former World Champion also has Belgian roots through his mother Sophie, but he has no doubts about where his true loyalties lie, despite his other family connections.<\/p>\n \u201cI support of course Holland,\u201d he says. \u201cThat’s my team and my country. So naturally, of course, you would like to see them do very well. And if there is any kind of rivalry, then let’s see what shirt will be worn on the couch. Mine will be orange…\u201d<\/p>\n For the rest of the drivers it\u2019s pretty clear cut as to where their support lies. Few are as excited as Sergio Perez<\/a>, who hopes to use the gap between the Spanish and Austrian Grands Prix to take his son to see Mexico play South Korea in his home town of Guadalajara.<\/p>\n \u201cI am pushing really hard,\u201d he says. \u201cI’m trying to figure out my schedules to make sure, because I will be in Europe, and I literally have to come just for the game, and then go back to Europe. But we will make it happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThe national team is very new, it’s like a new generation, so let’s say it’s not the ideal scenario at the moment. But it’s a World Cup at home, anything can happen, and we have some really good players, so it can be a good surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI don’t know who I’m going to cheer for, to be fair, for the World Cup,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n