Ahh, June! Always a great time to be British. Wimbledon, (relatively) nice weather, Glastonbury, and the build up to Silverstone.

I grew up a stone’s throw from Silverstone and was raised on my granddad and my dad watching the F1 season each year. I remember asking to fill in the wall chart and being intrigued by the different flags next to each name. What is this flag? Where are these people from? What language do they speak? Good times.

Back in 2011, I was lucky enough to bag myself tickets to Singapore Grand Prix! The fact that Shakira was playing had nothing to do with my decision to go. It was Rick Astley that made me book. I kid, but brace yourself for the coolest sentence ever…Rick Astley brushed past me but I couldn’t get a photo because I had a fresh coconut in my hand.

Anyway, enough about me. You came here to read about language, right? What does Formula 1 have to do with language? Well, I could go on and on about how the Ferrari team radio is music to my ears, or how all the non-natives must have the same teacher because they all say ‘for sure’, but this post is all about linguistically talented F1 drivers. If you think these guys can do nothing but drive, think again. Many of them excel in their language talents. I’ve found some example videos of them chatting away in different languages where possible but I haven’t included their native language or English videos because, hey, they all speak English!

Felipe Massa

Being a native of Brazil, Massa speaks Portuguese, but also English, and Italian as you can see in the video below.



Related: Guest Post: 3 Commonly Used Italian Words Every Beginner Should Know

Fernando Alonso

In addition to Spanish, Alonso speaks English, Italian and French. Say what?!





Related: 5 Essential French Grammar Tips for Beginners

Nico Rosberg

Wow, wow, wow. Rosberg speaks a whopping 5 (and a half) languages! German, English, Italian, Spanish and French but despite his father being Finnish, he only speaks a little of the language, although he is learning it.





Related: 12 Top Tips: How to Improve German Pronunciation

Sebastian Vettel

Vettel’s language abilities are often highly praised but it’s really hard to find any hard facts about him! He’s a native German and also speaks English but is rumoured to speak a number of other languages to a high level. He also prides himself in being able to swear in 30 languages, and of course, we all remember when this happened…



Related: 5 Essential Grammar Tips for Spanish Beginners to Get it Perfecto

Michael Schumacher

Schumacher recorded his lines for his guest appearance in the film Cars in 4 different languages – English, German, French and Italian.



Related: The Ultimate Guide to Language Learning Podcasts

Lewis Hamilton

Hmm…I couldn’t find a great deal about Hamilton’s linguistic flair but I did come across this…



Related: Linguistically Talented Actors

Ready to Learn Languages Yourself?

Feeling inspired? I’ve got a growing collection of language learning resoruces waiting for you in the Little Language Library. Yay! Click here to learn more and sign up to turn that inspiration into some impressive language skills.

Have I missed someone? Will you be watching the race this weekend? Let me know in the comments!