What happened on this day, December 7 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1917
Ottorino Volonterio, born in Orselina, Switzerland, raced in three Grand Prix events—the 1954 Spanish, 1956 German, and 1957 Italian—without much impact. Outside of racing, he practised law.
1924
John Love, born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia, partnered Tony Maggs in Ken Tyrrell’s Formula Junior team in 1961, and in 1962, he won the British Touring Car Championship in a works Mini Cooper. An attempt to compete in European Formula One in 1964 led him back to South Africa, where he won the first of six South African Formula One titles that year. He regularly competed in the country’s World Championship Grand Prix, though often in outdated equipment. In 1967, he nearly achieved a remarkable victory but was relegated to second place after a precautionary pit stop for fuel. Love later excelled in the South African Springbok sports car series.
1925
Hermano da Silva Ramos was born in France to a Brazilian father and a French mother, leaving him identified as French by French journalists, Brazilian by Brazilians, and Franco-Brazilian by others. After a short F1 career, with his best result a fifth place at Monaco in 1955, he retired for his wife’s health. “Doctors advised that to end my wife’s distress, I either divorce her or retire from racing,” he recalled. “I chose to quit racing, but it took two years before I could sleep peacefully with that decision.”
1984
Poland’s first F1 driver, Robert Kubica, was born in Krakow. He claimed his maiden victory at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the 99th driver to win a world championship race. The previous year at the same event, he suffered a major accident, with his car flipping and hitting barriers at 186 mph. Kubica emerged with only a mild concussion and a sprained ankle. After skipping the next race in Indianapolis, he returned in France and finished fourth.
In 2010, Kubica joined the Renault team and planned to continue with them in 2011. At the same time, he had also signed a pre-contract with Ferrari to join them for the 2012 season. It was a move that came to a tragic end when he suffered a horrific rally crash during the winter break on 6 February 2011, before the F1 season began. The life-altering accident at the Ronde di Andora Rally resulted in his right forearm being partially severed.
In 2018, Kubica took on the role of reserve driver for Williams, and in 2019, he returned to the F1 grid with a full-time seat for the team. However, after the 2019 season, it was clear Kubica had found it hard to transition to the sport after his injury and was sadly dropped by the team. He moved to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2019 while maintaining his connection to Formula One as a reserve and test driver for Alfa Romeo. He took part in various practice sessions and even replaced Kimi Räikkönen in the Dutch and Italian Grand Prix in 2021.
1996
On this day the final weekend running of The Formula One Indoor Trophy took place. A short-lived, unofficial Formula One event held annually at the Bologna Motor Show in Italy from 1988 to 1996. It was designed as an indoor, non-championship exhibition event that gave fans an up-close experience of F1 cars in a more casual and condensed format.
The event featured a knockout-style head-to-head competition on a small, enclosed circuit, outside of the arena that hosted the show where two F1 cars would race against each other in short sprints. Despite its unofficial status, the Trophy attracted notable teams and drivers, providing a unique spectacle during the off-season. It ultimately ended in 1996 due to a combination of safety concerns, logistical challenges, and shifting priorities in Formula One.
The event switched to using Formula 3000 cars from 1997 onwards; the event was rebranded Bologna Motor Show F3000 Sprint as a result.
Winners of the Indoor Trophy
| Year | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Luis Pérez-Sala | Minardi |
| 1989 | Luis Pérez-Sala | Minardi |
| 1990 | Gianni Morbidelli | Minardi |
| 1991 | Gabriele Tarquini | Fondmetal |
| 1992 | Johnny Herbert | Team Lotus |
| 1993 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan Grand Prix |
| 1994 | Not Held | Not Held |
| 1995 | Luca Badoer | Minardi |
| 1996 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton |
2002
An awkward situation arose for both Bernie Ecclestone and the government when the Sunday Express reported that the Labour Party had sought to delay a tobacco advertising ban to benefit F1, shortly after Ecclestone donated £1 million to the party. Once the donation became public, Tony Blair was compelled to return the funds. Liberal Democrat health spokesman Evan Harris remarked, “It’s outrageous. The clear conclusion is they’re still intent on settling old debts with their Formula One sponsors.”
2005
A potential F1 breakaway series was thwarted when Williams, previously aligned with a manufacturers’ group pushing for an alternative championship, joined Ferrari, Red Bull, and Midland in signing an extension of the current agreement with Bernie Ecclestone. Despite the agreement, a Williams spokesperson expressed caution: “It doesn’t resolve all our initial goals, but the remaining issues weren’t significant enough to justify a rival series. That would be detrimental to Formula One.”
F1 Driver Birthdays 7 December
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 7 December 1917 | Ottorino Volonterio |
| 7 December 1924 | John Love |
| 7 December 1925 | Hermano da Silva Ramos |
| 7 December 1984 | Robert Kubica |
F1 Driver Deaths 7 December
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 7 December 1977 | Georges Grignard |
| 7 December 2015 | Peter Westbury |
Seen in:
