What Happened On This Day January 17 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, January 17 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1924

John Riseley-Prichard, a Lloyd’s insurance broker, was born in Hereford. His brief F1 career ended abruptly after crashing in the 1954 British Grand Prix. He left racing following the horrific 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race and later moved to Thailand after legal troubles, where he passed away in 1993 at the age of 69.

1954

Juan Manuel Fangio clinched victory at the traditional Argentine season-opener, the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix, driving a Maserati. This win marked the beginning of his streak of four consecutive Drivers’ titles. The reigning champion, Alberto Ascari, did not compete as his Lancia was still incomplete. Drivers faced a revised circuit, switched to anti-clockwise following a severe accident in 1953, which required relearning the track. The race, affected by rain, included dramatic events such as Mike Hawthorn‘s disqualification for receiving a push start and a strategic slowdown by Ferrari drivers after their team manager protested that more than three mechanics worked on Fangio’s car during a pit stop. Nino Farina and Jose Froilan Gonzalez finished in second and third, respectively, for Ferrari.

1954 Argentine Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	87	3:00:55.800	8
2	10	Nino Farina	Ferrari	87	+79.000s	6
3	12	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	87	+121.000s	5
4	26	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	86	+1 lap	3
5	20	Elie Bayol	Gordini	85	+2 laps	2
6	28	Harry Schell	Maserati	84	+3 laps	0
7	8	Prince Bira	Maserati	83	+4 laps	0
8	30	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	83	+4 laps	0
9	16	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	82	+5 laps	0
DQ	14	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari		DSQ	0
DQ	18	Jean Behra	Gordini		DSQ	0
NC	4	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	5	DNF	0
NC	32	Roberto Mieres	Maserati		DNF	0
NC	34	Jorge Daponte	Maserati		DNF	0
NC	22	Roger Loyer	Gordini		DNF	0
NC	24	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2	DNF	0

1995

Lotus, a stalwart in F1 since its 1958 debut, announced its withdrawal from the sport due to persistent financial issues. Since its beginning in 1952, Lotus had secured six Drivers’ Championships and seven Constructors’ titles. David Hunt, the team’s owner and brother of ex-champion James Hunt, expressed hope for overcoming these challenges but wanted to preserve the team’s reputation from diminishing by competing poorly. Unfortunately, the Lotus name struggled at the back of the field when it returned under Malaysian ownership in 2010, leading to a legal battle over the rights to the name between Proton and team boss Tony Fernandes.

2001

Jaguar debuted its new car early in the season but faced setbacks when Eddie Irvine crashed it in Valencia, destroying the front end against a tyre barrier at a speed of about 140mph. Despite the accident occurring during a familiarisation session with the car, a team spokesman assured it was not due to driver error. Irvine was unharmed, though the car suffered significant damage.

F1 Driver Birthdays 17 January

Birthday	F1 Driver
17 January 1924	John Riseley-Prichard
17 January 1939	Antonio Bernardo

F1 Driver Deaths 17 January

Death	F1 Driver
17 January 2000	Carl Forberg

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Mark is a staff writer specialising in the history of Formula 1 races. Mark researches most of our historic content from teams to drivers and races. He has followed Formula 1 since 1988, and admits to having a soft spot for British drivers from James Hunt and Nigel Mansell to Lando Norris. He loves a great F1 podcast and has read pretty much every drivers biography.