What happened on this day, August 23 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1953
Alberto Ascari defied team orders to lead a Ferrari 1-2-3 finish at the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix and clinch his second Drivers’ World Championship. Despite battling a gearbox issue with Maserati driver and rival Juan Manuel Fangio, Ascari encountered engine problems and had to pit. Rejoining the race behind teammates Giuseppe Farina and Mike Hawthorn, Ascari ignored instructions to hold position and overtook both to secure the victory. It was the last race win and finish of his F1 career.
1959
Stirling Moss and Masten Gregory demonstrated the dominance of the Cooper-Climax T51 by finishing first and second, respectively, at the 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix. Moss led from pole position, with the Cooper’s of Jack Brabham, Gregory, and Bruce McLaren in pursuit. Brabham then spun while avoiding the lapped Mario Cabral, hitting a telegraph pole and being launched back onto the track, narrowly missing Gregory after being thrown from his car. This incident promoted McLaren to third, but a transmission failure saw the Ferrari of Dan Gurney inherit the position.
1964
Italian Lorenzo Bandini claimed victory at the inaugural Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari, marking his only F1 win. This race also saw the debut of Jochen Rindt, the first Austrian to race in Formula One and the sport’s only posthumous World Champion. Richie Ginther finished second for the BRM team and Brabham driver Bob Anderson came in third.
1987
Didier Pironi became the focal point of one of Formula One’s most infamous team disputes when he ignored Ferrari team orders, seizing a dramatic last-minute victory from Gilles Villeneuve at the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix. A furious Villeneuve vowed never to speak to Pironi again and tragically lost his life while attempting to secure pole position for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit Zolder two weeks later. Pironi himself died on this day 23 August 1987, when his powerboat flipped in the Solent off of the Isle of Wight in the UK. Known in F1 for his uncompromising driving style, Pironi continued this approach into watersports; the wake of an oil tanker at full throttle caused his boat to flip and instantly killed him and his two crew members. Two weeks after his death, Pironi’s girlfriend Catherine gave birth to twins, naming them Gilles and Didier.
2009
Rubens Barrichello claimed victory for Brawn GP after starting from third on the grid at the 2009 European Grand Prix. The 2008 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, finished second for McLaren, while the 2007 world champion, Kimi Räikkönen, took third place for Ferrari. Championship leader Jenson Button finished seventh for the second consecutive race but extended his lead as both Red Bull Racing drivers, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, failed to score points.
This win was Barrichello’s first Grand Prix victory since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, a gap of 85 races during which he was driving for Ferrari. His triumph also marked the 100th victory for a Brazilian driver in Formula One. Notably there were no overtakes recorded during this race.
2015
Guy Ligier passed away on this day, 23 August 2015. He achieved several top-six finishes in Formula Two in 1964 and moved to Formula One in 1966. Despite breaking his kneecap mid-season, he returned in 1967 with a Brabham, scoring his only point at the Nurburgring. After a brief retirement following the death of his friend Jo Schlesser, Ligier returned to racing and began building sports cars in 1970, eventually founding the Ligier Formula One team in 1976. Though his team had sporadic success, they never fully capitalised on their potential. Ligier sold most of his shares in the team in the early 1990s. Following his death, his funeral took place at the church of St. Blaise de Vichy on 28 August 2015. Ligier was survived by his wife and their two children, son Philippe and daughter Pascale.
2015
Lewis Hamilton won the 2015 Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes, extending his championship lead over Nico Rosberg, who finished second, to 28 points. French and Lotus F1 driver Romain Grosjean achieved a podium finish for the first time since the 2013 United States Grand Prix, with Grosjean benefiting from a controversial tyre failure on Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari late in the race.
The event marked Scuderia Ferrari’s 900th Grand Prix race. Meanwhile, McLaren received a record 105-place grid penalty due to numerous changes to their Honda power units. It was also the last podium for a French driver until Pierre Gasly at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix.
F1 Driver Birthdays 23 August
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 23 August 1919 | Dries van der Lof |
F1 Driver Deaths 23 August
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 23 August 1967 | Georges Berger |
| 23 August 1987 | Didier Pironi |
| 23 August 2015 | Guy Ligier |
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