What happened on this day, August 26 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1979
Alan Jones secured his fourth consecutive win for Williams at the 1979 Dutch Grand Prix on 26 August. The race was remembered for Ferrari driver, Gilles Villeneuve‘s dramatic tyre failure on lap 51, which sent him into a high-speed spin while passing the pits. He limped back to the pits on two wheels but had to retire the car. Jody Scheckter, who dropped to the back of the field on lap one, after avoiding an accident between Rene Arnoux and Clay Regazzoni. He made a dramatic comeback in the sister Ferrari to claim second, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite coming home in third for the Ligier team.
1984
Frenchman Alain Prost won the 1985 Dutch Grand Prix, driving a McLaren-TAG, after starting from pole position. Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet led the first ten laps in his Brabham until an oil pressure issue forced him to retire, allowing Prost to take the lead for the rest of the race. Prost’s Austrian teammate Niki Lauda finished in second place, while Nigel Mansell secured third in a Lotus. The 1-2 finish clinched the 1984 Constructors’ Championship for McLaren, their first since 1974.
1990
Ayrton Senna secured his fifth victory of the season at the 1990 Belgian Grand Prix in his McLaren MP4/5B, finishing four seconds ahead of reigning world champion Alain Prost in the Ferrari 641. This win marked Senna’s fourth triumph at the Belgian Grand Prix and his third consecutive victory at the race. Senna’s Austrian teammate, Gerhard Berger, took third place, while Mauricio Gugelmin earned a point for the Leyton House team further down the field.
The race required three starts, with the first two being red-flagged due to collisions. Aguri Suzuki’s Lola was eliminated after the first start, and Paolo Barilla’s Minardi after the second. The Onyx team also withdrew from Formula 1 before the race weekend, citing financial difficulties, after competing for a season and a half.
2007
Felipe Massa won the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix on 26 August at Istanbul Park, marking the third time a Formula 1 race was held at this circuit. The previous winners were Kimi Raikkonen in 2005 and Massa in 2006, both of whom were competing for Ferrari in the 2007 season. Raikkonen took second place while McLaren driver Fernando Alonso took third. In the post-race press drivers’ conference, Massa commented that “Istanbul Park was the track where he made his career turn-around and finally began winning races.”
2018
The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix was held on this day, 26 August, for the 61st time at Spa-Francorchamps, and the 51st time it was part of the World Championship. Sebastian Vettel claimed victory with Ferrari, finishing ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. The win propelled Vettel past Alain Prost in the all-time Formula 1 wins rankings and would be his last win for over a year until the 2019 Singapore Grand Prix.
The race included a dramatic first-lap crash involving Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, and Charles Leclerc. Hulkenberg misjudged his braking and collided with the back of Alonso’s car, causing Alonso to be launched over Leclerc’s car and landing on the halo.
F1 Driver Birthdays 26 August
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 26 August 1924 | Bobby Ball |
F1 Driver Deaths 26 August
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 26 August | n/a |
F1 Champion 26 August
| Date | Team/Driver |
|---|---|
| 26 August 1984 | McLaren |
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