What Happened On This Day April 7 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 7 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1966

In 1966, Walt Hansgen, a former Lotus driver who had made two Formula One appearances—including a fifth-place finish at the 1964 United States Grand Prix—tragically lost his life during a test session for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Driving a seven-litre Ford Mk2 sports car on a wet track, Hansgen lost control and veered down an escape road, unaware that a barrier had been placed across it. The resulting crash was severe, and he succumbed to his injuries three days later in a French hospital. He was 46.

1968

In an era of F1 history when fatalities in Formula One were all too common, the death of double world champion Jim Clark on this day sent shockwaves through the sport. Clark lost his life in a modest Formula Two race at Hockenheim, driving a car he disliked on a circuit he loathed. Despite his reservations, he was bound by contract to race under the insistence of team boss Colin Chapman.

Before the start, Clark confided in his mechanics that he was uneasy and had no intention of pushing hard. Early in the race, he even waved two cars past. Running in eighth place on the fifth lap, his car suddenly skidded off the track, crashed through saplings, and struck a tree side-on. The impact split the chassis in two, and Clark succumbed to his injuries before reaching the hospital. He was 32.

Over 72 Championship Grands Prix, Clark claimed victory 25 times, a record at the time. He also set 28 fastest laps and secured 33 pole positions—benchmarks that would remain unbeaten for the next 21 years. Clark’s versatility extended beyond Formula One, notably winning the Indianapolis 500 in 1965, becoming the first non-American to do so in nearly five decades. Clark is widely regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time.

Clark was eventually inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

1982

In 1982, Austrian journalist and former racing driver Harald Ertl tragically lost his life in a light-aircraft crash.

Ertl began his motorsport career in the German Formula Vee, progressing through Super Vee and Formula Three before shifting to touring cars, where he claimed victory in the Tourist Trophy for BMW at Silverstone in 1973. His long-awaited Formula One opportunity came in 1975 when he secured a drive in a privately entered Hesketh. He continued competing with the team for the next two seasons while also racing in Formula Two.

In 1978, Ertl switched to an Ensign in F1 but struggled to find success. Eventually, he moved to the radical Group 5 series in Germany, where he continued his racing career before his untimely passing.

1984

The morning of the 1984 South African Grand Prix was overshadowed by a dramatic crash that tore Osella driver Piercarlo Ghinzani‘s car in half. The monocoque cartwheeled down the track before erupting into flames, but Ghinzani miraculously escaped with only burns to his hand.

In the race, Niki Lauda, driving for McLaren, took control from the 21st lap and cruised to victory, finishing over a minute ahead of the field. Teammate Alain Prost took second and Derek Warwick third in a Renault. Meanwhile, future three-time champion Ayrton Senna, driving a Toleman, crossed the line in sixth place, earning his first-ever World Championship point.

1984 South African Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	75	1:29:23.430	9
2	7	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	75	+65.950s	6
3	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	74	+1 lap	4
4	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	73	+2 laps	3
5	26	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	73	+2 laps	2
6	19	Ayrton Senna	Toleman Hart	72	+3 laps	1
7	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	71	+4 laps	0
8	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit Hart	71	+4 laps	0
9	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows Ford	71	+4 laps	0
10	17	Marc Surer	Arrows Ford	71	+4 laps	0
11	25	Francois Hesnault	Ligier Renault	71	+4 laps	0
12	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	70	DNF	0
NC	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	66	DNF	0
NC	5	Jacques Laffite	Williams Honda	60	DNF	0
NC	14	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS BMW	53	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	51	DNF	0
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Renault	51	DNF	0
NC	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	40	DNF	0
NC	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	29	DNF	0
NC	20	Johnny Cecotto	Toleman Hart	26	DNF	0
NC	9	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	24	DNF	0
NC	10	Jonathan  Palmer	RAM Hart	22	DNF	0
NC	2	Teo Fabi	Brabham BMW	18	DNF	0
NC	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	4	DNF	0

1985

In 1985, Toleman endured a disastrous start to the season at the 1985 Brazilian Grand Prix, forced to sit out the race after failing to secure a tyre supplier. With Pirelli and Goodyear limiting their support to just eight teams, Toleman was left stranded on the sidelines.

On the track, Alain Prost claimed victory for McLaren, crossing the finish line three seconds ahead of Michele Alboreto in a Ferrari, while Elio de Angelis rounded out the podium for Lotus. Rene Arnoux secured fourth place for Ferrari, but his race was overshadowed by off-track drama—he was sacked immediately afterwards, reportedly following a heated dispute with Enzo Ferrari, who, at 88 years old, remained as authoritative as ever. The driver who finished 7th, Stefan Johansson, was picked up by the Scuderia for the rest of the year.

1985 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	61	1:41:26.115	9
2	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	61	+3.259s	6
3	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	60	+1 lap	4
4	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	59	+2 laps	3
5	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	59	+2 laps	2
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Renault	59	+2 laps	1
7	4	Stefan Johansson	Tyrrell Ford	58	+3 laps	0
8	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Ford	58	+3 laps	0
9	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	58	+3 laps	0
10	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	57	+4 laps	0
11	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	57	+4 laps	0
12	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	57	+4 laps	0
13	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM Hart	57	+4 laps	0
NC	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows BMW	51	DNF	0
NC	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	48	DNF	0
NC	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	42	DNF	0
NC	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	41	DNF	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	27	DNF	0
NC	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	26	DNF	0
NC	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	20	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	10	DNF	0
NC	8	Francois Hesnault	Brabham BMW	9	DNF	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	8	DNF	0
NC	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit Hart	7	DNF	0
NC	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	2	DNF	0

1996

At the 1996 Argentine Grand Prix, the Williams of Damon Hill delivered a dominant performance, securing his fourth consecutive victory and third of the season. While Jacques Villeneuve helped Williams complete their second one-two of the season. Jean Alesi finished in third for Benetton. The race took place on an extremely bumpy circuit, drawing widespread complaints from drivers about the severe jolting; despite this, it was the first race of 1996 where no drivers failed to meet the 107% time.

Meanwhile, it was a far less fortunate day for Pedro Diniz, whose spot on the grid owed much to his father’s wealth. His troubles began when his Ligier collided with Luca Badoer’s Forti, flipping Badoer’s car upside down in the gravel. Diniz managed to make it back to the pits, but his return to the track was short-lived—his car suddenly erupted in flames due to a jammed fuel valve, bringing a fiery and premature end to his race.

1996 Argentine Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	72	1:54:55.322	10
2	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	72	+12.167s	6
3	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	72	+14.754s	4
4	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	72	+55.131s	3
5	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	72	+64.991s	2
6	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork Hart	72	+68.913s	1
7	8	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	72	+73.400s	0
8	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	72	+74.295s	0
9	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Ford	71	+1 lap	0
10	23	Andrea Montermini	Forti Ford	69	+3 laps	0
NC	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	56	DNF	0
NC	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	46	DNF	0
NC	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi Ford	39	DNF	0
NC	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	36	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan Peugeot	34	DNF	0
NC	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi Ford	33	DNF	0
NC	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier Mugen Honda	29	DNF	0
NC	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	28	DNF	0
NC	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork Hart	24	DNF	0
NC	22	Luca Badoer	Forti Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	19	DNF	0

2009

In 2009, McLaren faced serious charges from the FIA for bringing the sport into disrepute following the “Lie-gate” scandal at the Australian Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton misled race stewards after the event.

The team admitted to five breaches of the International Sporting Code but managed to avoid immediate punishment, receiving only a suspended three-race ban. Many speculated that Ron Dennis’s decision to step down as McLaren chairman and CEO of McLaren Racing just two weeks before the hearing played a key role in securing a more lenient outcome.

F1 Driver Birthdays 7 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
7 April	None

Birthday	F1 Mentions
7 April 1965	Guenther Steiner Former team principal for the Haas F1 Team.

F1 Driver Deaths 7 April

Death	F1 Driver
7 April 1966	Walt Hansgen (b. 1919)
7 April 1968	Jim Clark (b. 1936)
7 April 1982	Harald Ertl (b. 1948)
7 April 2005	Cliff Allison (b. 1932)