What Happened On This Day April 6 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 6 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1909

Hermann Lang, born on this day in 1909 in Stuttgart, was one of the top drivers in the years leading up to World War II as part of the legendary, Nazi-backed Silver Arrows. Rising from a working-class background, he faced scepticism from his aristocratic peers but proved his talent on the track. He won the 1937 Tripoli Grand Prix and repeated the feat in the following two years. In 1938, he claimed two more victories, but it wasn’t until his dominant 1939 season—securing five wins in eight races—that he earned the respect of his fellow drivers.

Lang’s humble beginnings left him socially unprepared for the elite world of Grand Prix racing; after his first win, he and his wife locked themselves in their hotel room, lacking suitable attire for the celebratory dinner. The outbreak of war abruptly halted his flourishing career—”My world disappeared,” he later reflected. The German authorities controversially awarded him the 1939 European Championship despite Paul Müller leading on points.

Returning to racing in 1946, Lang found the once-dominant Mercedes team gone, yet he still won his first race in an ageing six-year-old BMW. By 1949, he moved to sports car racing and later competed in Formula Two. In 1951, he rejoined the reformed Mercedes team for the 1951 Buenos Aires Grand Prix. The following year, he achieved a career highlight by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Fritz Riess.

Lang continued racing for Mercedes in 1953, finishing fifth at the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix, but by 1954, younger drivers increasingly took his place. His final bid for a top seat ended when he spun out after ten laps at the 1954 German Grand Prix and lost a race-off for the team’s No. 3 spot. Accepting that his time had passed, he retired at the age of 45.

2001

Born in 2001, Oscar Piastri quickly ascended through the motorsport ranks, establishing himself as one of the brightest talents in Formula One. His career began in karting, but by 2016, Piastri had graduated to junior formula, where he started collecting championships at an astonishing pace.

During his junior career, Piastri was snapped up as a member of the Alpine Academy, a program designed to develop young drivers for a future in Formula One. From 2020 to 2021, he served as a test and reserve driver for the Alpine team while competing in junior categories. Despite being a promising candidate for a future race seat at Alpine, a contract dispute at the end of 2022 saw Piastri part ways with the team. This dispute would ultimately lead to Piastri securing a race seat with McLaren for the 2023 season.

Piastri made his Formula One debut with McLaren in 2023, partnering with Lando Norris. Despite the pressure of racing for one of the most iconic teams in the sport and going up against a highly-rated teammate, Piastri quickly adapted, including his first podium finish at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix.

2003

The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix marked the 700th World Championship race and became one of the most controversial in F1 history, ultimately being decided in court. The dramatic event saw half the grid crash out, and when Fernando Alonso’s Renault struck debris from Mark Webber’s separate accident, the race was red-flagged. Amid unfolding fuel strategies, confusion ensued over the rightful winner. Giancarlo Fisichella, believing he had secured victory, celebrated with Jordan team boss Eddie Jordan—only to be informed that Kimi Raikkonen and McLaren had been awarded the win. Adding to the chaos, Fisichella’s car caught fire in the pit lane. Five days later, the FIA ruled in Fisichella’s favour, confirming him as the rightful winner. Raikkonen took second, with Fernando Alonso third.

2003 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Ford	54	1:31:17.748	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	54	+0.945s	8
3	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	54	+6.348s	6
4	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	54	+8.096s	5
5	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Petronas	54	+8.642s	4
6	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	54	+16.054s	3
7	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	54	+38.526s	2
8	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	54	+45.927s	1
9	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	53	DNF	0
10	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	53	+1 lap	0
NC	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	46	DNF	0
NC	17	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	32	DNF	0
NC	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi Cosworth	30	DNF	0
NC	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	26	DNF	0
NC	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	24	DNF	0
NC	15	Antonio Pizzonia	Jaguar Cosworth	24	DNF	0
NC	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	17	DNF	0
NC	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	18	Justin Wilson	Minardi Cosworth	15	DNF	0
NC	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	8	DNF	0

2006

On this day in 2006, yet another breakaway threat emerged. This time, Bernie Ecclestone was forced to calm tensions by promising to keep Formula 1 free to air after a power struggle over TV rights and the sport’s commercial future led Renault, BMW, Mercedes, Fiat, and Ford to threaten the formation of a rival series. Amid the turmoil, Ecclestone confirmed he would remain at the helm of F1 for another five years, following a deal in which the German media company Kirch acquired a 75% stake in SLEC, the sport’s holding company.

2008

The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix was overshadowed by tabloid allegations about Max Mosley, which surfaced the week before. Facing intense media scrutiny and pressure from several teams calling for his resignation, Mosley cancelled his planned visit. On track, the race itself was uneventful, with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa taking a straightforward victory. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton endured a difficult day—stalling on the grid due to a launch map error before colliding with previous season teammate Fernando Alonso. After a pit stop for a new front wing, he rejoined in 18th place and could only recover to finish 13th.

2008 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	1:31:06.970	10
2	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	+3.339s	8
3	4	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	57	+4.998s	6
4	3	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	57	+8.409s	5
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	57	+26.789s	4
6	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	+41.314s	3
7	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	57	+45.473s	2
8	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	57	+55.889s	1
9	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	57	+69.500s	0
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	+77.181s	0
11	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	57	+77.862s	0
12	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
13	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	56	+1 lap	0
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	56	+1 lap	0
15	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
16	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	56	+1 lap	0
17	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	56	+1 lap	0
18	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	56	+1 lap	0
19	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India Ferrari	55	+2 laps	0
NC	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	40	DNF	0
NC	16	Jenson Button	Honda	19	DNF	0
NC	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR Ferrari	0	DNF	0

2014

The 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, the third round of the season, made F1 history, becoming the 900th World Championship race and the first Bahrain Grand Prix to be held at night. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton claimed victory over the 57-lap race after starting from second on the grid, securing his second win of the season and the 24th of his career. His teammate Nico Rosberg finished in second, while the Force India of Sergio Perez completed the podium in third.

2014 Bahrain Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	1:39:42.743	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	+1.085s	18
3	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	57	+24.067s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	57	+24.489s	12
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	57	+28.654s	10
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	57	+29.879s	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	57	+31.265s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	57	+31.876s	4
9	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	+32.595s	2
10	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	57	+33.462s	1
11	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR Renault	57	+41.342s	0
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	57	+43.143s	0
13	4	Max Chilton	Marussia Ferrari	57	+59.909s	0
14	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Renault	57	+62.803s	0
15	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham Renault	57	+87.900s	0
16	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
17	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	55	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren Mercedes	40	DNF	0
NC	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	39	DNF	0
NC	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham Renault	33	DNF	0
NC	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Renault	18	DNF	0
NC	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber Ferrari	17	DNF	0
Note – Ricciardo qualified third, but was penalised 10 grid places for an unsafe release at the previous round. Sutil qualified 18th, but was penalised five grid places for forcing Grosjean off track in Q1.

2024

After failing to finish the previous race, Max Verstappen rebounded from his early retirement in Australia with a dominant performance at the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. He secured the win ahead of his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Verstappen was in the lead from the beginning to the end, with unexpectedly warm weather conditions, diverse tyre strategies, and an initial collision involving RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Williams’ Alex Albon contributing to the dynamic of the race.

The win was Verstappen’s third consecutive win from pole position at Suzuka and his third win in four races in 2024, strengthening his position in the Drivers’ Championship following a setback due to a brake failure at Albert Park in the previous round.

• 

  2024 Japanese Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2024 Japanese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	PTS
1	1	Max Verstappen*	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	53	1:54:23.566	26
2	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	53	+12.535s	18
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	53	+20.866s	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	53	+26.522s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	53	+29.700s	10
6	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	53	+44.272s	8
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	53	+45.951s	6
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	53	+47.525s	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	+48.626s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	52	+1 lap	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
12	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	52	+1 lap	0
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	52	+1 lap	0
17	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0
NC	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	12	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	0	DNF	0
NC	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 6 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
6 April 1909	Hermann Lang (d. 1987)
6 April 2001	Oscar Piastri

F1 Driver Deaths 6 April

Death	F1 Driver
6 April	None