What Happened On This Day April 9 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 9 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1921

Born on this day in 1921, Jean-Marie Balestre was a French motorsport executive who served as the president of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) from 1978 to 1991 and the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) from 1986 to 1993. His tenure was marked by controversy, particularly during the FISA-FOCA war in the early 1980s, where he clashed with Bernie Ecclestone over the commercial control of Formula 1. Balestre was known for his authoritarian leadership style and frequent clashes with teams and drivers, most notably his alleged favouritism toward Alain Prost over Ayrton Senna during the 1989 Formula 1 season. His influence waned after losing the FIA presidency to Max Mosley in 1993, marking the end of his control over international motorsport governance.

1971

Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 Formula One World Champion, was born on this day in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Canada. The son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, he first made a name for himself in IndyCar, where he was named Rookie of the Year and won the prestigious Indianapolis 500.

Villeneuve moved to Formula One in 1996, making an immediate impact with four wins in his debut season with Williams. The following year, he claimed seven victories on his way to securing the drivers’ championship in a dramatic final-race showdown. However, his success was short-lived, as he struggled with underperforming cars at Williams, BAR, and later teams. All 11 of his Grand Prix wins came in his first two seasons, and from then on, he managed just four podium finishes in 130 races.

After leaving F1 in 2006, Villeneuve continued racing in sports cars and had a brief stint in NASCAR. In 2010, he was briefly linked with Stefan GP as the team attempted to enter Formula One, but it ultimately failed to secure a spot on the grid.

1995

Damon Hill claimed victory at the 1995 Argentine Grand Prix, the race’s first return to the calendar in 14 years, after pole-sitter and teammate David Coulthard retired with an electrical failure.

It was a frustrating day for defending champion Michael Schumacher, whose Benetton struggled throughout the race. Though he later blamed his difficulties on inconsistent tyres, Hill was thrilled with his performance. “It was very pleasing to execute such a good manoeuvre on Michael,” Hill said. “I got him cleanly. When anyone gets past you like that it is bound to be deflating and he didn’t look too happy afterwards. I drove a very good race in difficult circumstances after a bad start.” Jean Alesi was second for Ferrari, with Michael Schumacher third.

1995 Argentine Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	71	1:51:39.531	10
2	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	71	+7.136s	6
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Renault	71	+32.888s	4
4	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton Renault	70	+1 lap	3
5	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	69	+2 laps	2
6	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	69	+2 laps	1
7	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	69	+2 laps	0
8	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	68	+3 laps	0
9	11	Domenico Schiattarella	Simtek Ford	67	+4 laps	0
NC	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti Ford	62	OK	0
NC	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti Ford	62	OK	0
NC	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	48	OK	0
NC	25	Aguri Suzuki	Ligier Mugen Honda	47	OK	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	44	OK	0
NC	9	Gianni Morbidelli	Footwork Hart	43	OK	0
NC	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork Hart	40	OK	0
NC	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	33	OK	0
NC	12	Jos Verstappen	Simtek Ford	23	OK	0
NC	6	David Coulthard	Williams Renault	16	OK	0
NC	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren Mercedes	9	OK	0
NC	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan Peugeot	6	OK	0
NC	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific Ilmor	1	OK	0

2000

Michael Schumacher continued his perfect start to the season with a hard-fought victory at the 2000 San Marino Grand Prix, making it three wins from three races. His triumph came after a well-executed pit-stop strategy by Ferrari, allowing him to slip past defending world champion Mika Hakkinen, who had started from pole.

Schumacher’s race nearly unravelled at the start when his rear tyres spun too much, engulfing his car in smoke as he lurched across the track. Reflecting on the moment, he admitted, “I made a very bad start with massive wheelspin but I managed to keep my second position.” Despite the shaky launch, he secured another crucial victory in his championship-winning campaign. McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen finished second, while teammate David Coulthard finished third.

2000 San Marino Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	62	1:31:39.776	10
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	62	+1.168s	6
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	62	+51.008s	4
4	4	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	62	+89.276s	3
5	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	61	+1 lap	2
6	17	Mika Salo	Sauber Petronas	61	+1 lap	1
7	7	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	61	+1 lap	0
8	16	Pedro Diniz	Sauber Petronas	61	+1 lap	0
9	12	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	61	+1 lap	0
10	8	Johnny Herbert	Jaguar Cosworth	61	+1 lap	0
11	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	61	+1 lap	0
12	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR Honda	61	+1 lap	0
13	21	Gaston Mazzacane	Minardi Fondmetal	60	+2 laps	0
14	19	Jos Verstappen	Arrows Supertec	59	+3 laps	0
15	6	Jarno Trulli	Jordan Mugen Honda	58	DNF	0
NC	18	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows Supertec	49	DNF	0
NC	9	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	45	DNF	0
NC	14	Jean Alesi	Prost Peugeot	25	DNF	0
NC	15	Nick Heidfeld	Prost Peugeot	22	DNF	0
NC	10	Jenson Button	Williams BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	20	Marc Gene	Minardi Fondmetal	5	DNF	0
NC	5	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Mugen Honda	4	DNF	0

2017

Lewis Hamilton secured his sixth consecutive pole position for the 2017 Chinese Grand Prix, edging out the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The race began on a damp track, but with no further rain, conditions gradually improved. Hamilton led from start to finish, also setting the fastest lap. Vettel switched from intermediate to slick tyres during a virtual safety car period, which dropped him to sixth, but he fought back to finish second. Meanwhile, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen put on a spectacular drive, charging through the field from 16th on the grid to claim the final podium spot in third.

2017 Chinese Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1:37:36.158	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	56	+6.250s	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	+45.192s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	56	+46.035s	12
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	56	+48.076s	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	56	+48.808s	8
7	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	56	+72.893s	6
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	55	+1 lap	4
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	55	+1 lap	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	55	+1 lap	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
12	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	55	+1 lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	55	+1 lap	0
14	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	55	+1 lap	0
15	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	33	DNF	0
NC	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	18	DNF	0
NC	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	17	DNF	0
NC	36	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 9 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
9 April 1922	Johnny Thomson (d. 1960)
9 April 1971	Jacques Villeneuve

Birthday	F1 Mentions
9 April 1921	Jean-Marie Balestre (d. 2008)

F1 Driver Deaths 9 April

Death	F1 Driver
9 April 2002	Pat Flaherty (b. 1926)