What Happened On This Day December 30 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, December 30 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1911

Walt Brown, born in Springfield, New York, competed in two Indianapolis Grands Prix in 1950 and 1951 when the race formed part of the F1 Championship. Tragically, he lost his life in a racing accident in the United States in 1951 at the age of 39.

1936

Mike Spence, born in Croydon, Surrey, competed in 36 Grands Prix from 1963 to 1968. After Jim Clark’s tragic death in 1968, Colin Chapman invited Spence to race for Lotus in the Indianapolis 500. While testing the innovative Lotus 56 Gas Turbine at Indy, Spence crashed into a wall. He was struck on the head by a wheel from the car and sadly passed away a few hours later.

1942

Guy Edwards, born on this day in Macclesfield, Cheshire, had a modest Formula 1 career, competing in 17 Grands Prix between 1974 and 1977, with a best result of seventh place. However, he is best remembered for his heroics during the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where he was one of three drivers who pulled Niki Lauda from his burning car after a horrific crash. Recalling the incident in a 1996 Autosport interview, Edwards said: “I had time to get out of my car and run back to save him. Petrol fires are awful; this one was massive. The heat and noise were incredible—it wasn’t a pretty sight at all. As I ran towards the fire, I kept thinking, ‘Do I really want to do this?’ Honestly, no. But what could I do? Stop and walk away? Holy hell, it was a mess. I couldn’t see him through the flames, but I got hold of his arm and gripped his body. We pulled him out like a cork from a bottle, all of us falling in a heap.” For his bravery, Edwards was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. After retiring from racing, he became a sponsorship consultant in motor racing.

1956

Francois Hesnault, born in Neuilly, Paris, raced in 19 Grands Prix during the 1984 and 1985 seasons, finishing only five. He holds a small but notable place in F1 history: in his final race, the 1985 German Grand Prix, Hesnault’s Renault became the first F1 car to be equipped with an onboard camera. This was also the last race where a team entered three cars. After suffering a severe crash during testing with Brabham, Hesnault retired from racing.

2002

Former world champion Alain Prost made headlines with a scathing critique of modern Formula 1, describing its drivers as “trained monkeys.” Prost remarked, “They just follow the engineers’ instructions and let the computers do all the work. To me, it’s no longer real racing. Worse, these drivers are so ingrained in the system they have to remain silent to protect the team’s or sponsors’ image. I don’t want to sound old-fashioned, but in the last decade, drivers have increasingly become like robots.”

F1 Driver Birthdays 30 December

F1 Driver Deaths 30 December