What Happened On This Day April 26 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 26 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1937

Jean-Pierre Beltoise, a one-time Grand Prix winner, was born on this day in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. After beginning his career in motorbike racing in the early 1960s, he moved to Formula One, starting 84 Grands Prix between 1967 and 1974.

His sole F1 victory came at the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, driving for BRM. A sensational start from fourth on the grid saw him take the early lead, while his rivals struggled in the torrential spray. Delivering a flawless drive in treacherous conditions, Beltoise dominated the race, though he was never able to replicate the success again in his F1 career.

After leaving Formula One, he found success in French touring cars, winning two national titles for BMW, while also competing in rallycross and ice racing.

1958

Johnathan Colum Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute—better known as Johnny Dumfries—was born on this day in Rothesay, Scotland. Despite being heir to a vast fortune and a distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, Dumfries chose to forgo a privileged life to pursue a career in motor racing.

Before making a name in motorsport, he worked as a painter, decorator, and even as the driver of Williams’ team bus. His dedication eventually paid off, and he began racing karts in 1980. He progressed rapidly, winning the British Formula Three Championship in 1984, which earned him a test driver role at Ferrari while he competed in Formula 3000.

In 1986, to the paddock’s surprise, Dumfries was signed as Ayrton Senna’s teammate at Lotus. Many expected Derek Warwick to take the seat, but Senna personally lobbied for Dumfries, arguing that Lotus could not run two competitive cars effectively. Dumfries completed the full season, scoring points twice in 16 starts, with a best finish of fifth in Hungary.

However, he lost his F1 drive in 1987 when Lotus struck a deal with Honda, which came with the condition of signing Satoru Nakajima as a driver.

Dumfries continued racing, securing a career-defining victory at the 1988 Le Mans 24 Hours. He retired from motorsport in 1991 to manage his family estate.

1998

David Coulthard secured his only victory of the 1998 season, beating Michael Schumacher to win at Imola. While his McLaren teammate Mika Hakkinen dominated the year with eight wins en route to his first World Championship, the 1998 San Marino Grand Prix was one of the few occasions where Coulthard had the upper hand.

Starting from pole position, Coulthard took control of the race, and when Häkkinen retired with gearbox failure, he cruised to a comfortable victory, marking one of his standout performances of the season. Ferrari‘s Schumacher and Eddie Irvine finished second and third.

1998 San Marino Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	62	1:34:24.593	10
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	62	+4.554s	6
3	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	62	+51.776s	4
4	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Mecachrome	62	+54.590s	3
5	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Mecachrome	62	+77.477s	2
6	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber Petronas	61	+1 lap	1
7	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Mugen Honda	60	+2 laps	0
8	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi Ford	60	+2 laps	0
9	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	60	+2 laps	0
10	9	Damon Hill	Jordan Mugen Honda	57	DNF	0
11	11	Olivier Panis	Prost Peugeot	56	DNF	0
NC	20	Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell Ford	48	DNF	0
NC	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell Ford	40	DNF	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost Peugeot	34	DNF	0
NC	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	18	DNF	0
NC	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	17	DNF	0
NC	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	17	DNF	0
NC	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	17	DNF	0
NC	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	12	DNF	0
NC	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	0	DNF	0

2009

Jenson Button continued his sensational start to the 2009 season, securing his third victory in four races with a hard-fought win at the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix for Brawn GP. He would go on to win six of the first seven races, all but securing his path to the 2009 World Championship.

Unlike some of his earlier dominant performances, Bahrain proved to be a tougher challenge. Button executed a crucial overtaking move on the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, creating enough of a gap to keep the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel at bay.

Toyota had locked out the front row in qualifying, raising hopes of a maiden victory. However, their challenge fizzled out after the first round of pit stops, leaving Button to control the race and take another decisive step toward the title he would win. Vettel finished second and Jarno Trulli finished third for Toyota.

2009 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn Mercedes	57	1:31:48.182	10
2	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	57	+7.187s	8
3	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	+9.170s	6
4	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	57	+22.096s	5
5	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes	57	+37.779s	4
6	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	+42.057s	3
7	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	57	+42.880s	2
8	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	+52.775s	1
9	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	57	+58.198s	0
10	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	57	+65.149s	0
11	14	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	57	+67.641s	0
12	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	57	+77.824s	0
13	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR Ferrari	57	+78.805s	0
14	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
15	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
16	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
17	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
18	5	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	56	+1 lap	0
19	6	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	56	+1 lap	0
NC	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	48	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 26 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
26 April 1921	Francois Picard (d. 1996) F2 Driver to Increase F1 Grid.
26 April 1937	Jean-Pierre Beltoise (d. 2015)
26 April 1937	Gus Hutchison
26 April 1943	Tom Jones (d. 2015)
26 April 1944	Jose Dolhem (d. 1998)
26 April 1958	Johnny Dumfries (d. 2021)
26 April 1994	Daniil Kvyat

F1 Driver Deaths 26 April

Death	F1 Driver
26 April 1995	Willi Krakau (b. 1911)
26 April 2009	Danny Kladis (b. 1917)