What Happened On This Day April 10 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 10 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1914

Paul Russo, born on this day, competed in eight Indianapolis 500 races during the years it was part of the Formula One World Championship. His best results came in 1955, when he shared second place with Tony Bettenhausen, and in 1957, when he finished fourth.

Before World War II, Russo made a name for himself as a standout midget-car racer. Over his career, he participated in the AAA and USAC Championship Car series, securing three victories in 85 starts between 1940 and 1962.

1929

Mike Hawthorn, born on this day in Yorkshire, was a tall, blond, and charismatic racer who became Britain’s first Formula One world champion. Always seen with his signature cap and bow tie, he brought the international success that British motorsport fans longed for in the 1950s. His flamboyant driving style and eventful private life made him a standout figure, and by the mid-1950s—having already signed with Ferrari—he was proving himself against the sport’s greats, including the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio.

Hawthorn’s career took a brief detour after the death of his father, prompting him to leave Ferrari to manage the family garage business. He joined Vanwall in 1955 but was unimpressed with the car and team, leading to a swift return to Ferrari—only to find Mercedes had taken the lead in performance. That same year, he was tragically involved in the infamous Le Mans disaster, where Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes crashed into the crowd, killing 80 people.

His time with BRM in 1956 was underwhelming, but a return to Ferrari in 1957 saw him finish second at the 1957 German Grand Prix. Then, in 1958, everything came together. Despite winning only once compared to Stirling Moss’s four victories and Tony Brooks’s three, Hawthorn’s remarkable consistency—finishing second five times—earned him the 1958 World Championship. He retired immediately, planning to expand the family business and settle down.

Tragically, just months later in 1959, Hawthorn was killed in a road accident. It was later revealed that he had been suffering from a serious kidney illness, which would have forced him to retire from racing regardless of his plans.

2011

Sebastian Vettel secured victory at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix, leading from pole to claim his second consecutive win of the season for Red Bull Racing. Jenson Button finished second for McLaren, while Nick Heidfeld took third for Renault, completing the podium. This marked Heidfeld’s final podium in Formula One and Renault’s last top-three finish until the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.

2011 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	56	1:37:39.832	25
2	4	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	56	+3.261s	18
3	9	Nick Heidfeld	Renault	56	+25.075s	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	56	+26.384s	12
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+36.958s	10
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+37.248s	8
7	16	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	56	+66.439s	6
8	3	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	56	+69.957s	4
9	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	56	+84.896s	2
10	15	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	56	+91.563s	1
11	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	56	+101.379s	0
12	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
13	18	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
14	19	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
15	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Renault	55	+1 lap	0
16	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	54	+2 laps	0
17	10	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	52	DNF	0
NC	23	Vitantonio Liuzzi	HRT Cosworth	46	DNF	0
NC	25	Jerome d’Ambrosio	Virgin Cosworth	42	DNF	0
NC	21	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Renault	31	DNF	0
NC	17	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	23	DNF	0
NC	11	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	22	DNF	0
NC	22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Cosworth	14	DNF	0
NC	12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Cosworth	8	DNF	0

2022

After a three-year absence, the 2022 Australian Grand Prix marked the third round of the Formula One World Championship and the event’s long-awaited return.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dominated the race, securing his first career grand slam—starting from pole position, leading every lap, setting the fastest lap, and taking victory. He finished ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and the Mercedes of George Russell. It was Ferrari’s first grand slam since Fernando Alonso achieved the feat at the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix.

This was the first Australian Grand Prix since 2019. The 2020 race was abruptly cancelled just hours before the first practice session due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the 2021 edition was initially postponed and later cancelled due to ongoing pandemic-related restrictions in Australia.

2022 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	1:27:46.548	26
2	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing RBPT	58	+20.524s	18
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	58	+25.593s	15
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	+28.543s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	58	+53.303s	10
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	58	+53.737s	8
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	58	+61.683s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	58	+68.439s	4
9	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri RBPT	58	+76.221s	2
10	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	58	+79.382s	1
11	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	58	+81.695s	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+88.598s	0
13	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
14	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri RBPT	57	+1 lap	0
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	57	+1 lap	0
17	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	57	+1 lap	0
NC	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RBPT	38	DNF	0
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	22	DNF	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
Note – Leclerc scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Stroll received a five-second penalty for weaving on the straight.

F1 Driver Birthdays 10 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
10 April 1913	Duke Dinsmore (d. 1985)
10 April 1914	Paul Russo (d. 1976)
10 April 1914	Pedro Llano (d. 1968)
10 April 1929	Mike Hawthorn (d. 1959)
10 April 1934	Carel Godin de Beaufort (d. 1964)

F1 Driver Deaths 10 April

Death	F1 Driver
10 April 1968	Pedro Llano (b. 1914)
10 April 1991	Jay Abney (b. 1927)