When F1 met cars – celebrating 20 years of the movie

It has been 20 years since the release of Disney Pixar's Cars, and none other than Lightning McQueen rolled into the Formula 1 paddock at the Italian Grand Prix to mark the anniversary. Sporting a fresh, special one-off track official livery at Monza, the legendary animated machine celebrated two decades since it first introduced fans to the ambitious rookie racer.

That 2006 release inspired a whole generation of current Formula 1 drivers, including championship leader , , and Racing Bulls' . Lawson has frequently described the Piston Cup champion as his childhood hero, admitting he watched the movie every other day when he was three years old just as he was starting go-karts. When asked by F1 in a 2024 interview what his own character would be, Lawson said: "It would have to look cool; it would have to be a cool-looking car; it couldn't be a boring looking car. Obviously he'd have to be fast, and he'd have to race. He'd have to be like Lightning [McQueen] and he'd have to be in the Piston Cup – he'd have to win the Piston Cup! Number 30 as well."

Beyond fandom, the franchise boasts deep ties to racing royalty. While audiences know Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, and Richard Petty as the voices of Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson, and The King, actual F1 legends have featured directly in the films. Mario Andretti appears as himself in car form, represented by a 1967 Ford Fairlane ahead of the 200-lap winner-takes-all tiebreaker race at the end of the first movie. Seven-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher also appears as a 2005 Ferrari F430 at Luigi's Casa Della Tires.

International dubbing brought even more motorsport giants into the universe. voiced Andretti's character for Spanish speakers, while Mika Hakkinen replaced Andretti entirely in the German version and voiced The King in the Finnish translation. Three-time World Champion Niki Lauda completed a voiceover for The King in the German version, and Giancarlo Fisichella lent his voice to Boost for the Italian release.