What Happened On This Day December 12 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, December 12 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1923

Ken Kavanagh, a Melbourne-born racer, had a brief Formula One career, failing to start in either of the Grands Prix he entered in 1958. He qualified for the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix but blew his Maserati’s engine in the process. A successful motorcyclist, Kavanagh became the first Australian to win a Grand Prix (1952) and claimed victory in the Junior TT at the Isle of Man in 1956.

1946

Twice world champion Emerson Fittipaldi was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Over his Formula One career from 1970 to 1980, he started 144 races, winning 14 of them, and secured two championships (1972 and 1974). Moving to ChampCars in 1984, Fittipaldi found huge success, winning the Championship in 1989. His motorsport career ended after a serious crash in 1996. Following a plane crash, he decided to abandon risky ventures, turning his attention to farming oranges in Brazil.

1946

Renzo Zorzi, an Italian driver born in Ziano di Fiemme, competed in seven Grands Prix between 1975 and 1977, with a career-best sixth-place finish at the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix. Tragedy struck that same year when Zorzi’s minor engine fire indirectly led to the death of his Shadow teammate, Tom Pryce. Marshals running to extinguish the flames crossed the track, leading to a fatal collision with Pryce, and killing one of the marshals who was carrying a hefty fire extinguisher. Both were killed instantly. Zorzi was soon replaced and later moved to sports cars and British F1 before returning to his original job at Pirelli.

1948

Roelof Wunderink, a Dutch driver with modest accomplishments, owed his Formula One opportunity to wealthy sponsors. His prior performances in Formula 3 and F5000 hinted at some skill, but his best Formula One result was a tenth place in a non-championship race at Brands Hatch. A crash in F5000 midway through his F1 season stunted his progress. By 1976, he was replaced by another pay driver.

1959

The final round of the Championship, the 1959 United States Grand Prix, took place at Sebring. Despite leading most of the race, Jack Brabham ran out of fuel within sight of the finish line. Earlier, he had refused his team manager’s pleas to start on full tanks. Seeing his World Championship hopes slipping away, Brabham pushed his Cooper Climax a quarter of a mile uphill to cross the finish line in fourth position, securing both his and Cooper’s first World Championship. Maurice Trintignant scored a point for the fastest lap, becoming the last person to do so, as the rule was abolished the following season until 2019. Bruce McLaren claimed his first race victory, becoming the youngest-ever winner at the time (22 years, 104 days), a record held until Fernando Alonso won the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren also received several acres of land by Sebring Lake as part of his prize.

1959 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	42	2:12:35.700	8
2	6	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper Climax	42	+0.600s	7
3	2	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	42	+180.900s	4
4	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	42	+297.300s	3
5	10	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	39	+3 laps	2
6	4	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	38	+4 laps	0
7	17	Harry Blanchard	Porsche	38	+4 laps	0
NC	12	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Maserati	23	DNF	0
NC	3	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	23	DNF	0
NC	1	Rodger Ward	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	20	DNF	0
NC	14	Alessandro de Tomaso	Cooper OSCA	13	DNF	0
NC	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	8	DNF	0
NC	15	Fritz d’Orey	Tec-Mec Maserati	6	DNF	0
NC	19	Harry Schell	Cooper Climax	5	DNF	0
NC	16	George Constantine	Cooper Climax	5	DNF	0
NC	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper Climax	5	DNF	0
NC	11	Alan Stacey	Lotus Climax	1	DNF	0
NC	18	Bob Said	Connaught Alta	0	DNF	0

1973

Having recently retired as a three-time world champion, Jackie Stewart was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the second Formula One driver to win the accolade after Stirling Moss in 1961. John Surtees had also won the award in 1959, but for his motorcycling achievements. Interestingly, Stewart’s win coincided with the 11th anniversary of his Formula One debut at the Rand Grand Prix, a non-championship event.

2021

The 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the end of the season and held enormous stakes, determining the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships. The leaders, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton entered the race tied on 369.5 points each. In a dramatic turn of events, Hamilton led a significant portion of the race and seemed poised to clinch an unprecedented eighth World Drivers’ Championship title. He had taken the lead right from the start, making a decisive move on the first lap at turn one. However, in the closing moments of the race, a highly controversial safety car restart occurred. Verstappen capitalised on this opportunity and overtook Hamilton on the final lap, securing the win and, ultimately, the Drivers’ Championship.

Following the race, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) began an inquiry into the race start proceedings following the Saftey Car period. This investigation led to substantial changes in race control, including replacing Michael Masi as the race director and revising the safety car regulations. The inquiry ultimately determined that race officials had wrongly applied the regulations due to human error but upheld the race results.

Max Verstappen’s win at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked his first Drivers’ Championship, ending Red Bull‘s driver championship drought since 2013. While Mercedes claimed their eighth consecutive Constructors’ Championship, setting a new record in the sport’s history. The race also saw Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion at 42 years of age, retire from Formula 1 after an impressive two-decade career

2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen¹	Red Bull Racing Honda	58	1:30:17.345	26
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	+2.256s	18
3	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	58	+5.173s	15
4	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda	58	+5.692s	12
5	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	58	+6.531s	10
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	58	+7.463s	8
7	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	58	+59.200s	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	58	+61.708s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	58	+64.026s	2
10	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	+66.057s	1
11	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Mercedes	58	+67.527s	0
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	57	+1 lap	0
13	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Mercedes	57	+1 lap	0
14	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
15	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda	55	DNF	0
NC	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	50	DNF	0
NC	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	33	DNF	0
NC	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	26	DNF	0
NC	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	25	DNF	0

¹Max Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.
^*Nikita Mazepin withdrew prior to the start of the Grand Prix following a positive COVID-19 test.

F1 Driver Birthdays 12 December

Birthday	F1 Driver
12 December 1913	Rex Easton
12 December 1916	Andy Furci
12 December 1923	Ken Kavanagh
12 December 1943	Ray Allen
12 December 1946	Emerson Fittipaldi
12 December 1946	Renzo Zorzi
12 December 1948	Roelof Wunderink

F1 Driver Deaths 12 December

Death	F1 Driver
12 December	None

F1 Champion 12 December

Date	Team/Driver
12 December 1959	Jack Brabham
12 December 2021	Max Verstappen
12 December 1959	Cooper
12 December 2021	Mercedes

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Lee is our staff writer specialising in anything technical within Formula 1 from aerodynamics to engines. Lee writes most of our F1 guides for beginners and experienced fans having followed the sports since 1991, researching and understanding how teams build the ultimate machines. Like everyone else on the team he listens to podcasts about F1 and enjoys reading biographies of former drivers.