What happened on this day, April 4 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1924
Born on this day, 4 April 1924, Bob Christie competed in the USAC Championship Car series from 1956 to 1963, making eight appearances in the Indianapolis 500 between 1956 and 1960, when the Indianapolis 500 was included in the FIA World Championship, earning Christie recognition for five World Championship starts during this time.
1940
Richard Attwood, born on this day in Wolverhampton, UK, began his career in Formula Junior, achieving a famous win at the F1 Monaco support race in 1963. His early Formula One experience in 1964 was a challenging period with a limited program at BRM. In 1965, he had a more promising stint with Reg Parnell Racing, driving a Lotus-BRM and securing a couple of sixth-place finishes. After racing sports cars for two seasons, Attwood returned to BRM in 1968 to replace Mike Spence. He made a remarkable start by finishing second in his first race at Monaco, a performance that surprised many. Despite this success, he never repeated a podium finish and shifted focus to sports car racing, eventually winning the 1970 Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche.
1982
Niki Lauda triumphed at the 1982 United States Grand Prix West in Long Beach, celebrating his first F1 victory in nearly five years, coming in just the third race after his self-imposed two-year retirement. “I said it would take three races and thank God it did,” he said. It was the 18th victory of Lauda’s career and his first for McLaren.
Keke Rosberg came home in second for Williams while Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve crossed the line in third, but he was disqualified after the race when the officials upheld a protest of his Ferrari’s rear wing. This handed the Brabham of Riccardo Patrese third place.
1982 United States Grand Prix West Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Niki Lauda | McLaren Ford | 75 | 1:58:25.318 | 9 |
| 2 | 6 | Keke Rosberg | Williams Ford | 75 | +14.660s | 6 |
| DQ | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 75 | DSQ | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham Ford | 75 | +79.140s | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Michele Alboreto | Tyrrell Ford | 75 | +80.950s | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus Ford | 74 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren Ford | 74 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus Ford | 73 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 8 | 17 | Jochen Mass | March Ford | 73 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 9 | 18 | Raul Boesel | March Ford | 70 | +5 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 4 | Slim Borgudd | Tyrrell Ford | 68 | +7 laps | 0 |
| NC | 25 | Eddie Cheever | Ligier Matra | 59 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Andrea de Cesaris | Alfa Romeo | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 29 | Brian Henton | Arrows Ford | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Roberto Guerrero | Ensign Ford | 27 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Matra | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 31 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Osella Ford | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham Ford | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 33 | Derek Daly | Theodore Ford | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | Mario Andretti | Williams Ford | 19 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 10 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 6 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Eliseo Salazar | ATS Ford | 3 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Manfred Winkelhock | ATS Ford | 1 | DNF | 0 |
2004
The 2004 Bahrain Grand Prix, the first F1 race to be held in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Middle East, turned out to be a relatively dull affair, with Michael Schumacher dominating again for Ferrari leading from start to finish, securing his third victory of the season in as many races. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second, ensuring a Ferrari one-two, well ahead of Jenson Button in the BAR 006. The Times reported, “{Schumacher] was buffeted by a fierce wind that cut across the desert around the circuit in Sakhir and whipped up blinding clouds of dust. The sand was blown with such intensity that it stripped paint from the noses of the cars as they sped around.”
2004 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 57 | 1:28:34.875 | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 57 | +1.367s | 8 |
| 3 | 9 | Jenson Button | BAR Honda | 57 | +26.687s | 6 |
| 4 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 57 | +32.214s | 5 |
| 5 | 10 | Takuma Sato | BAR Honda | 57 | +52.460s | 4 |
| 6 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 57 | +53.156s | 3 |
| 7 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 57 | +58.155s | 2 |
| 8 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar Cosworth | 56 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 9 | 17 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 16 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Sauber Petronas | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 12 | Felipe Massa | Sauber Petronas | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams BMW | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 15 | Christian Klien | Jaguar Cosworth | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 18 | Nick Heidfeld | Jordan Ford | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 19 | Giorgio Pantano | Jordan Ford | 55 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 20 | Gianmaria Bruni | Minardi Cosworth | 52 | +5 laps | 0 |
| NC | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 50 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Zsolt Baumgartner | Minardi Cosworth | 44 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 7 | DNF | 0 |
2010
At the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel led home a Red Bull one-two finish, taking the win ahead of teammate Mark Webber, who had clinched pole position in dramatic fashion. During a rain-soaked qualifying session, Webber made a strategic switch to intermediate tyres after a delay in Q3, just as a heavy storm hit the circuit. This timely decision proved crucial as the track began to dry in the closing moments, securing his top spot on the grid. Nico Rosberg completed the podium in third for Mercedes.
2010 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR Renault | 56 | 1:33:48.412 | 25 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Webber | RBR Renault | 56 | +4.849s | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 56 | +13.504s | 15 |
| 4 | 11 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 56 | +18.589s | 12 |
| 5 | 14 | Adrian Sutil | Force India Mercedes | 56 | +21.059s | 10 |
| 6 | 2 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 56 | +23.471s | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 56 | +27.068s | 6 |
| 8 | 1 | Jenson Button | McLaren Mercedes | 56 | +37.918s | 4 |
| 9 | 17 | Jaime Alguersuari | STR Ferrari | 56 | +70.602s | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | 56 | +73.399s | 1 |
| 11 | 16 | Sebastien Buemi | STR Ferrari | 56 | +78.938s | 0 |
| 12 | 9 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 54 | DNF | 0 |
| 14 | 25 | Lucas di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | 53 | +3 laps | 0 |
| 15 | 20 | Karun Chandhok | HRT Cosworth | 53 | +3 laps | 0 |
| 16 | 21 | Bruno Senna | HRT Cosworth | 52 | +4 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 18 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus Cosworth | 51 | +5 laps | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Heikki Kovalainen | Lotus Cosworth | 46 | +10 laps | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Vitaly Petrov | Renault | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | 12 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 9 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 24 | Timo Glock | Virgin Cosworth | 2 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | Sauber Ferrari | DNS | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 4 April
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 4 April 1924 | Bob Christie (d. 2009) |
| 4 April 1928 | Bud Tingelstad (d. 1981) |
| 4 April 1940 | Richard Attwood |
| 4 April 1958 | Christian Danner |
| 4 April 1980 | Bjorn Wirdheim |
| 4 April 1989 | Luiz Razia |
F1 Driver Deaths 4 April
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 4 April 1959 | George Amick (b. 1924) |
| 4 April 1966 | Jimmy Daywalt (b. 1924) |
| 4 April 2017 | Mike Taylor |
| 4 April 2024 | Bruce Kessler |
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