What happened on this day, December 20 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1968
Austrian racer Karl Wendlinger was born in Kufstein. He competed in 42 Formula 1 Grand Prix races between 1991 and 1995 for teams including Leyton House, March, and Sauber. While his results were inconsistent, he achieved a career-best finish of fourth place three times: at the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix, the 1993 Italian Grand Prix, and the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. After leaving F1, Wendlinger found greater success in sports car and GT racing.
1974
Cy Marshall, born in 1902 and who died on this day in 1974, was an American racing driver who competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1928 to 1950. His final attempt at the race came in 1950 when he failed to qualify for the event, the first year that the race became a part of the inaugural Formula One World Championship.
1992
Ayrton Senna secretly tested a Penske IndyCar in Phoenix, Arizona. Frustrated by the dominance of Williams in Formula 1, Senna briefly considered stepping away from the sport. Encouraged by his friend and fellow Brazilian, Emerson Fittipaldi, he took part in the test, managing to beat Fittipaldi’s lap time by half a second. Nigel Beresford, Penske’s head of engineering, recalled the moment: “He came back into the pits and said, ‘Thank you very much, I’ve learned what I need to know.’ Then he got out of the car, and that was it.” Ultimately, Senna chose to remain in F1 and never drove an IndyCar again.
F1 Driver Birthdays 20 December
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 20 December 1968 | Karl Wendlinger |
F1 Driver Deaths 20 December
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 20 December 1974 | Cy Marshall |
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