What happened on this day, August 27 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1967
Jack Brabham won the 1967 Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport International Raceway, driving for his own Brabham team. The race marked the first Canadian Grand Prix to be included in the World Championship. Local driver Al Pease faced significant challenges during the event. After replacing his battery on the grid and losing six laps, Pease spun his privately entered Eagle-Climax and stalled on the circuit. He then encountered another dead battery. Determined to continue, he returned to the pits, retrieved a new battery, installed it himself, and rejoined the race. Despite these setbacks, though 43 laps behind Brabham, he finished the race. In the sister Brabham, Denny Hulme claimed second, and US driver Dan Gurney claimed third with the Eagle team. This was the 50th race for the Brabham team and their 10th Grand Prix win, enough to claim the 1967 Constructors’ Championship with three races left of the season.
1978
The 1978 Dutch Grand Prix, held at Zandvoort on August 27 1978, was won by Lotus driver Mario Andretti. This race win marked the final career victory for Andretti, who later secured the 1978 Drivers’ Championship following Ronnie Peterson‘s tragic crash at the next race in Monza. It also represented the last 1-2 finish for the original Lotus team and remains the last victory by an American driver in Formula 1 as of the 2024 season. It was Lotus’ fourth 1-2 finish that season, ensuring they claimed the 1978 Constructors Championship with three races left.
1989
Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna won the 1989 Belgian Grand Prix, starting from pole position with McLaren. He narrowly beat his French teammate Alain Prost, while Britain’s Nigel Mansell secured third place in his Ferrari. This win marked Senna’s fifth of the season, bringing him within 11 points of Prost in the 1989 Drivers’ Championship standings.
1995
The 1995 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps was won by Michael Schumacher, who drove for Benetton that year. Despite starting from 16th on the grid, Schumacher claimed his sixth victory of the season after a thrilling duel with Damon Hill in the Williams, who finished second. Hill was not impressed with Schumacher’s performance, particularly after Schumacher’s defensive manoeuvres forced Hill to either back off or risk going off the track. While Schumacher insisted he only blocked Hill in the low-speed corners, video evidence indicated that he also blocked Hill in some high-speed corners, including Radillion and Blanchimont. As a result of his aggressive driving to prevent Hill from overtaking, Schumacher received a suspended one-race ban. Martin Brundle took third in a Ligier, his final F1 podium finish.
2000
The 2000 Belgian Grand Prix saw 83,000 spectators over the weekend. It was the 13th race of the 2000 season, and Mika Hakkinen, driving for McLaren, secured victory in the 44-lap race from pole position. Michael Schumacher finished second for Ferrari, and brother Ralf Schumacher took third place for Williams. Post-race, Hakkinen remained in the 2000 Drivers’ Championship lead with 74 points.
2006
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa secured his first pole position at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix and went on to claim his maiden race victory. Fernando Alonso, driving for Renault, finished in second place, while Massa’s teammate, Michael Schumacher, completed the podium in third.
This event also marked the debut Grand Prix weekend for future four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who served as a Friday test driver for the BMW Sauber team. Vettel was fined $1,000 for speeding in the pit lane just six seconds after first entering the track.
Additionally, this race celebrated the 200th Grand Prix for the McLaren–Mercedes engine partnership, which began in 1995.
2017
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix, his 200th Grand Prix and started from pole position for the 68th time in his career, matching Michael Schumacher’s record for the most poles. Sebastian Vettel finished second for Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo third with Red Bull.
Ferrari’s Vettel entered the round with a fourteen-point lead over Lewis Hamilton in the 2017 Drivers’ Championship, with Valtteri Bottas trailing by an additional nineteen points in third place. With Hamilton’s win, he narrowed the gap to Vettel’s championship lead to just seven points. Hamilton would go on to win the Championship.
2023
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who started from pole position, won the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, a race heavily influenced by wet weather conditions. Fernando Alonso followed him in the Aston Martin for second place, and Pierre Gasly, driving for Alpine, secured his first podium of the season in third. Verstappen’s win marked his ninth consecutive win, tying Sebastian Vettel’s record. The event also saw the Grand Prix debut of Liam Lawson, who stepped in for AlphaTauri driver Daniel Ricciardo after Ricciardo sustained a metacarpal fracture during a practice session.
F1 Driver Birthdays 27 August
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 27 August 1909 | Charles Pozzi |
| 27 August 1942 | Tom Belso |
| 27 August 1954 | Derek Warwick |
| 27 August 1959 | Gerhard Berger |
| 27 August 1976 | Mark Webber |
| 27 August 1995 | Sergey Sirotkin |
F1 Driver Deaths 27 August
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 27 August 2007 | Ebb Rose |
F1 Champion 27 August
| Date | Team/Driver |
|---|---|
| 27 August 1967 | Brabham |
| 27 August 1978 | Team Lotus |
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