Formula One - On This Day

Born on this day, Ken McAlpine British former racing driver from England who participated in 7 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on July 19, 1952. He scored no championship points.

The birth of the first grand prix winner, Ferenc Szisz, in Szeghalom, then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. An engineer, he moved to France in 1900 and acted as the riding mechanic for Louis Renault and subsequently took up driving. It was in 1906 he drove a Renault AK 90CV to victory in the first Grand Prix at Le Mans.

Ferenc Szisz

The French Grand Prix held over 25 laps of a 15.835 km circuit at Pau for a total race distance of 395.875 km, was won by Philippe Étancelin driving a Bugatti. The race was notable for the fact that Sir Henry Birkin came second in a 4.5 litre supercharged Bentley, which was a stripped-down road car.

French Grand Prix - 1930

Monegasque driver Louis Chiron crossed the finish line in Lyon to win the French Grand Prix in a Talbot-Lago. The race was a continuation of the Grand Prix’s long history and France’s first major post-World War Two race. The event had been suspended for several years during the war, along with almost all other car racing.

Louis Chiron

Yorkshireman Peter Whitehead (43), who became the first Ferrari F1 privateer after convincing Enzo Ferrari to allow him to buy a Formula 1 car in 1949, died. In ten starts he climbed on the podium once, leading the French Grand prix in 1950 before gearbox problems relegated him to third. In 1958 while competing in the Tour de France Automobile, his 3. Continue Reading →

Peter Whitehead

At the Portuguese Grand Prix Nigel Mansell completed what the Guardian described as "possibly the most important win of his career" to leave him needing victory in the penultimate race in Mexico to secure the championship. It was not to be, but it was "flawless performance" to set up the finale. Ayrton Senna, who started on pole, appeared set for second until he ran out of fuel on the last lap, a situation caused by a malfunctioning computer which showed he had enough left.

Contested over 71 laps of the 2.697 mile A1-Ring circuit, the Austrian Grand Prix was won by Jacques Villeneuve for the Williams team, from a pole position start. David Coulthard finished second in a McLaren, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen third in the other Williams car. Austrian Formula One veteran Gerhard Berger announced he was to retire at the end of the season, shortly after he qualified 18th on the grid.

Start of the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix