What Happened On This Day August 2 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, August 2 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1953

The 1953 German Grand Prix, held on 2 August at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was the seventh round of the nine-race World Championship. Like the previous season, the 1953 championship was contested under Formula Two regulations rather than the standard Formula One rules. This race set a record for the largest starting grid in World Championship F1 history, with 34 cars taking the start.

Nino Farina claimed victory for Ferrari, finishing just over a minute ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio in second. This would be Farina’s final win in Formula One. Meanwhile, Alberto Ascari secured his second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship, as neither Mike Hawthorn, who finished third in the race, nor Fangio could catch his points total with just two races remaining.

1953 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	3:02:25.000	8
2	5	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	18	+64.000s	6
3	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	18	+103.600s	4
4	7	Felice  Bonetto	Maserati	18	+528.600s	3
5	17	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	17	+1 lap	2
6	19	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	17	+1 lap	0
7	18	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
8	1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		SHC	1
8	1	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
9	31	Hans  Herrmann	Veritas	17	+1 lap	0
10	20	Louis  Rosier	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
11	40	Rodney Nuckey	Cooper Bristol	16	+2 laps	0
12	24	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
13	16	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	16	+2 laps	0
14	36	Rudolf Krause	BMW	16	+2 laps	0
NC	4	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari		SHC	0
NC	4	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	15	DNF	0
NC	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	15	DNF	0
15	37	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	15	+3 laps	0
16	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
NC	8	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	13	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	12	DNF	0
NC	35	Edgar Barth	EMW	12	DNF	0
NC	26	Oswald Karch	Veritas	10	DNF	0
NC	23	Willi Heeks	Veritas	8	DNF	0
NC	9	Jean Behra	Gordini	7	DNF	0
NC	11	Harry Schell	Gordini	6	DNF	0
NC	14	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	6	DNF	0
NC	28	Theo Fitzau	AFM BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	34	Kurt Adolff	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	41	Günther Bechem	AFM BMW	2	DNF	0
NC	15	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	1	DNF	0
NC	32	Erwin Bauer	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	10	Maurice  Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
NC	21	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	0	DNF	0
NC	30	Ernst Loof	Veritas	0	DNF	0

1959

The 1959 German Grand Prix was unique, as it was the only time the race was not held at the Nürburgring or Hockenheim circuits as part of the World Championship. Instead, it took place at the AVUS circuit in Berlin, which consisted of two stretches of dual carriageway connected by a hairpin at one end and steep banking at the north end. AVUS had previously held the original German Grand Prix in 1926 pre-championship.

Due to concerns about tyre durability, the race was divided into two heats. British driver Tony Brooks won the race, with Dan Gurney and Phil Hill completing an all-Ferrari podium. All three drove Ferrari Dino 246s.

Brooks’ victory brought him within four points of the championship leader, Australian and Cooper driver Jack Brabham. Brabham went on to win his first of three drivers’ championships that season.

1959 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	4	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	60	2:09:31.600	9
2	6	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	60	+1.900s	6
3	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	60	+64.800s	4
4	8	Maurice  Trintignant	Cooper Climax	59	+1 lap	3
5	9	Jo Bonnier	BRM	58	+2 laps	2
6	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper Maserati	56	+4 laps	0
7	10	Harry Schell	BRM	49	+11 laps	0
NC	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	37	DNF	0
NC	11	Hans  Herrmann	BRM	35	DNF	0
NC	3	Masten Gregory	Cooper Climax	23	DNF	0
NC	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	15	DNF	0
NC	16	Graham Hill	Lotus Climax	10	DNF	0
NC	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	7	DNF	0
NC	17	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	2	DNF	0
NC	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper Climax	1	DNF	0

1964

Dutch driver and nobleman Carel Godin de Beaufort died at the Nürburgring during practice for the 1964 German Grand Prix. He veered off at the sweeping Bergwerk corner at the northernmost part of the track, crashing into the trees and sustaining severe head injuries. He passed away the next day at a neurological centre in Cologne. Beaufort competed in Formula One from 1957 until his death. During his career, he started 31 races and achieved four points without any podium finishes.

On race day, Ferrari driver John Surtees won the 15-lap race, starting from pole position. Graham Hill finished second for the BRM team, while Surtees’s teammate, Lorenzo Bandini, secured third place.

1970

The 1970 German Grand Prix was relocated to Hockenheim from the Nürburgring at the last minute after drivers refused to race at the latter due to safety concerns. Jochen Rindt won the race with Lotus, extending his championship lead to 20 points. Tragically, Rindt later became Formula One’s only posthumous world champion after being killed during the 1970 Italian Grand Prix at Monza that same year; it was his final race win in F1. Jacky Ickx finished second for the Ferrari team, and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.

1970 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Jochen Rindt	Lotus Ford	50	1:42:00.300	9
2	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	50	+0.700s	6
3	4	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	50	+81.800s	4
4	17	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	50	+115.100s	3
5	21	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham Ford	49	+1 lap	2
6	14	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	49	+1 lap	1
7	23	Francois  Cevert	March Ford	49	+1 lap	0
8	12	Jo Siffert	March Ford	47	DNF	0
9	7	John Surtees	Surtees Ford	46	DNF	0
NC	9	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	37	DNF	0
NC	5	Chris Amon	March Ford	34	DNF	0
NC	15	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	30	DNF	0
NC	16	John  Miles	Lotus Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	1	Jackie Stewart	March Ford	20	DNF	0
NC	11	Mario Andretti	March Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	22	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	6	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	7	DNF	0
NC	18	Jackie Oliver	BRM	5	DNF	0
NC	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	4	DNF	0
NC	24	Peter  Gethin	McLaren Ford	3	DNF	0

1981

Alain Prost secured the first pole position of his career at the 1981 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim with Renault. Nelson Piquet, driving for Brabham, won the race, with Prost finishing second. His compatriot Jacques Laffite finished third in a Ligier–Matra. This victory, Piquet’s third of the season, brought him within eight points of the Drivers’ Championship leader, Argentine Carlos Reutemann, who retired due to an engine failure. Prost went on to achieve a total of 33 pole positions during his Formula One career.

1981 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	45	1:25:55.600	9
2	15	Alain Prost	Renault	45	+11.520s	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	45	+64.600s	4
4	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham Ford	45	+99.690s	3
5	3	Eddie  Cheever	Tyrrell Ford	45	+110.520s	2
6	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	44	+1 lap	1
7	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	44	+1 lap	0
8	32	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella Hart	44	+1 lap	0
9	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	44	+1 lap	0
10	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	44	+1 lap	0
11	1	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	44	+1 lap	0
12	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows Ford	44	+1 lap	0
13	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	44	+1 lap	0
14	33	Marc Surer	Theodore Ford	43	DNF	0
15	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	43	+2 laps	0
NC	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign Ford	39	+6 laps	0
NC	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS Ford	35	DNF	0
NC	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier Matra	27	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Daly	March Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Ford	12	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	1	DNF	0

2020

Lewis Hamilton won a last-gasp lap at the 2020 British Grand Prix after he suffered a puncture on the final lap. A fate his teammate Valtteri Bottas had suffered a few laps earlier. Race leader Hamilton was cautioned over the radio to conserve his tyres, but the warning came too late. On the final lap at turn eight, Hamilton experienced a front-left tyre failure, becoming the third driver to do so. Despite the issue, Hamilton had built a lead of over 30 seconds following a precautionary pit stop by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. As Hamilton limped through the lap, this lead diminished rapidly.

Verstappen managed to close the gap to just six seconds by the finish line, but Hamilton crossed the chequered flag to secure his third consecutive victory of the season, his 87th career win, and his seventh at the British Grand Prix. Verstappen finished second and claimed the fastest lap, while Charles Leclerc completed the podium for Ferrari.

The race marked the first of two back-to-back Formula One events at Silverstone, with the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix scheduled for the following week.

2020 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	1:28:01.283	25
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	52	+5.856s	19
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+18.474s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	52	+19.650s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	52	+22.277s	10
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	52	+26.937s	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	52	+31.188s	6
8	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	52	+32.670s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	52	+37.311s	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	+41.857s	1
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+42.167s	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	52	+52.004s	0
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	52	+53.370s	0
14	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	52	+54.205s	0
15	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	52	+54.549s	0
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	52	+55.050s	0
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
NC	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	11	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	0	DNS	0
Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Giovinazzi received a 5-second time penalty for failing to slow under the safety car.

2022

The infamous Oscar Piastri tweet from 2022 occurred on August 2nd, when Piastri publicly refuted Alpine team’s announcement that he would be driving for them in the 2023 Formula 1 season. In his tweet, Piastri stated that the announcement was made without his agreement and that he would not be driving for Alpine in 2023, creating a notable controversy in the F1 paddock and sending Twitter (X) into meltdown.

Oscar wrote: “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”

After the tweet, a contract dispute ensued between Alpine and McLaren, both claiming valid contracts with Piastri. The FIA’s Contract Recognition Board ruled in favour of McLaren, allowing Piastri to join them for the 2023 season and replace Daniel Ricciardo, who then left McLaren. Alpine subsequently signed Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri to join Esteban Ocon.

F1 Driver Birthdays 2 August

Birthday	F1 Driver
2 August	None

F1 Driver Deaths 2 August

Death	F1 Driver
2 August 1964	Carel Godin de Beaufort

F1 Champion 2 August

Date	Driver/Team
2 August 1953	Alberto Ascari