Real Madrid and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was hard to miss at Spa, towering over Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as he presented them with their sprint race trophies on Saturday after waving the chequered flag.
But the 2m-tall goalie isn’t just a random local celebrity ushered to Spa for an obligatory PR appearance, as Courtois is a genuine petrolhead.
“Even as a child, I loved watching Formula 1, especially with Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. I even follow MotoGP, but it’s mainly motor racing and Formula 1 that I’m passionate about, so I also watch Formula 2 and 3,” Courtois told Belgian broadcaster Sporza on Saturday.
That passion has seen him become the latest team owner on the FIA’s single-seater ladder. In 2023 Courtois teamed up with former F1 driver Roberto Merhi, a paddock regular as a confidant of Carlos Sainz, to run the eponymous TC Racing. The Madrid-based outfit made its racing debut last year in the Spanish F4 championship.
“A few years ago, I was asked to sponsor a Formula E team in Spain,” Courtois explained. “I then started my own team, and my passion has only grown since then. I try to attend a grand prix whenever I can. I’ve already been to Monaco, Le Castellet, Barcelona and, of course, here. It’s always fun.”
Courtois’ hyper ambitious personality has seen him become one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation, and a key pillar of boyhood club Genk, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and – since 2018 – Real Madrid. It therefore won’t come as a surprise that he’s aiming high with his off-track ventures as well.
“We are currently racing in Formula 4 in Spain, but normally we will move up a level next year by participating in the Eurocup- 3. Formula 1 may be a bit difficult, then I’ll need a very big partner,” Courtois grinned. “But the goal and our dream is to move up to Formula 3 and then hopefully even Formula 2.”
Carlos Sainz, McLaren, poses with Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Courtois’ organisation also runs an esports team, with the 33-year-old hoping to help talented sim racers graduate to real-life racing, a similar objective world champion Verstappen is chasing with his GT3 squad that won its class at the most recent Spa 24 Hours.
“We race in simulator competitions such as the Spa 24 Hours or Le Mans. It does help to discover talent,” he added. “Young people who are good on a simulator can then be put in a real car. The dream scenario is to find a driver who is very good at a simulator, get them into a car and even guide them to Formula 1.”
Despite his busy schedule, having only recently wrapped up a seemingly never-ending 2024/2025 season at an expanded Club World Cup in the US, Courtois likes to be involved in most of the key decisions.
“I am less involved in day-to-day operations, but I am involved as an investor,” he explained. “I make 80% of the decisions myself, together with the people around me. I therefore attend many meetings to know which direction we are going with the team.
“It involves more than I had initially thought. There’s a lot of logistics involved. It was quite a challenge to get everything ready for the start of last year’s season, but we had a reasonably good first year and scored some points. This year is going even better, but we’re still aiming higher.”
As a keen sim racer Courtois is a familiar figure to most of the current grid, having participated in F1’s esports events during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I even made a nice overtaking manoeuvre on [Alex] Albon. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris were laughing with him at the time…” he jested.
Given his height, taking to the cockpit of an actual single-seater will be a challenge, but Courtois is looking to turn to real-life racing after his football career is over. Just not to make up the numbers.
“When I stop playing football, that would be a dream come true, like taking part in a GT3 race,” he said. “But I don’t know my abilities and if I participate in something, I don’t want to be three seconds behind the rest. I want to know what I’m capable of first, because you can’t just do something like that. It really takes a lot of training.
“But if that were to happen, I’d like to get into a car that I can legally fit into with my height. I don’t fit into a formula car. My head sticks out above the halo in an F4 car, so that wouldn’t be very safe…”
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