What Happened On This Day July 11 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 11 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1943

Rolf Stommelen, born in Cologne on this day, entered F1 with Brabham in 1970, showing promise with four top-six finishes. However, stints with Surtees and Eifelland March nearly derailed his career. A sporadic return with Brabham in 1974 offered a lifeline, leading to a drive with the Hill team in 1975. His career suffered a major setback after a crash at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, where his car flew into the crowd, killing four spectators. After returning later that year, Stommelen struggled with form and spent most of his time away from F1, except for a brief period with Arrows in 1978. He later returned to sports cars and was killed in a crash at Riverside, California, in 1983. In 53 F1 starts, he achieved one podium finish.

1964

Jim Clark triumphed at the 1964 British Grand Prix, the first British Grand Prix held at Brands Hatch after the Aintree course was sold. This was his third consecutive win at the event.

Clark took the lead from Dan Gurney on the second lap and maintained it, despite a prolonged challenge from Graham Hill. Hill would finish second for BRM with another fellow Brit, John Surtees taking third for Ferrari.

1964 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	80	2:15:07.000	9
2	3	Graham Hill	BRM	80	+2.800s	6
3	7	John Surtees	Ferrari	80	+80.600s	4
4	5	Jack Brabham	Brabham Climax	79	+1 lap	3
5	8	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	78	+2 laps	2
6	10	Phil Hill	Cooper Climax	78	+2 laps	1
7	19	Bob Anderson	Brabham Climax	78	+2 laps	0
8	4	Richie Ginther	BRM	77	+3 laps	0
9	2	Mike Spence	Lotus Climax	77	+3 laps	0
10	11	Innes Ireland	BRP BRM	77	+3 laps	0
11	20	Jo Siffert	Brabham BRM	76	+4 laps	0
12	18	Giancarlo Baghetti	BRM	76	+4 laps	0
13	6	Dan Gurney	Brabham Climax	75	+5 laps	0
14	22	John  Taylor	Cooper Ford	56	+24 laps	0
NC	16	Jo Bonnier	Brabham BRM	46	DNF	0
NC	24	Peter  Revson	Lotus BRM	43	DNF	0
NC	23	Ian Raby	Brabham BRM	37	DNF	0
NC	17	Tony Maggs	BRM	37	DNF	0
NC	12	Trevor  Taylor	Lotus BRM	22	DNF	0
NC	14	Mike Hailwood	Lotus BRM	16	DNF	0
NC	15	Chris Amon	Lotus BRM	9	DNF	0
NC	9	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	6	DNF	0
NC	26	Frank Gardner	Brabham Ford	0	DNF	0

1971

Pedro Rodríguez, known for his eccentricities such as his deerstalker hat and Tabasco sauce, died on this day in Germany. Rodríguez had become a loved F1 and sports car driver, but in 1971, he accepted an offer to race in a minor Interseries event in Germany. While vying for the lead, he was edged into a wall by a slower car, causing his Ferrari to burst into flames. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after being removed from the wreckage.

1993

Alain Prost claimed his 50th Grand Prix victory at the 1993 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, capitalising on the misfortunes of early leader Damon Hill, whose engine failed, and Ayrton Senna, whose McLaren broke down on the last lap.

Hill had appeared set for victory despite Prost closing in, but a safety car brought out after Luca Badoer’s crash erased his lead. On the restart, Prost was right behind Hill and took the lead when Hill’s car failed. Michael Schumacher finished second in a Benetton-Ford, with teammate Riccardo Patrese third.

This was the second race of 1993 to be held in Britain, after the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park three months earlier. It would be almost two decades later that Britain would hold two events. The next time was in the 2020 F1 World Championship, when Silverstone hosted the 2020 British Grand Prix and the 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix—events held during the disrupted COVID-19 pandemic 2020 season.

1993 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Alain Prost	Williams Renault	59	1:25:38.189	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	59	+7.660s	6
3	6	Riccardo Patrese	Benetton Ford	59	+77.482s	4
4	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	59	+78.407s	3
5	8	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Ford	58	DNF	2
6	9	Derek Warwick	Footwork Mugen Honda	58	+1 lap	1
7	26	Mark Blundell	Ligier Renault	58	+1 lap	0
8	30	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Sauber	58	+1 lap	0
9	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	58	+1 lap	0
10	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Hart	58	+1 lap	0
11	19	Philippe Alliot	Larrousse Lamborghini	57	+2 laps	0
12	23	Christian Fittipaldi	Minardi Ford	56	DNF	0
13	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	55	+4 laps	0
14	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier Renault	53	DNF	0
NC	4	Andrea de Cesaris	Tyrrell Yamaha	43	+16 laps	0
NC	0	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	41	DNF	0
NC	11	Alessandro Zanardi	Lotus Ford	41	DNF	0
NC	15	Thierry Boutsen	Jordan Hart	41	DNF	0
NC	22	Luca Badoer	Lola Ferrari	32	DNF	0
NC	24	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	29	Karl Wendlinger	Sauber	24	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	10	DNF	0
NC	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	8	DNF	0

1999

Michael Schumacher‘s quest for the F1 title ended abruptly at the 1999 British Grand Prix due to a rare Ferrari failure. Attempting to overtake Eddie Irvine at Stowe, Schumacher’s brakes failed, causing him to crash nose-first into a wall, resulting in a broken leg.

Mika Hakkinen also faced misfortune as his race ended when he lost a wheel shortly after a pit stop, paving the way for David Coulthard in the McLaren to secure his first win of the year. Irvine finished second for the Ferrari team and Williams driver Ralf Schumacher came in third.

Meanwhile, Damon Hill announced his intention to retire after the race, although he decided to complete the season after finishing fifth, with Jos Verstappen on standby for Jordan.

This was McLaren’s first British Grand Prix victory since 1989. The 1–2 finish by David Coulthard and Eddie Irvine was also the last time two drivers racing under the British flag shared a home Grand Prix podium—until the 2023 British Grand Prix, when Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton finished second and third, respectively.

1999 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	60	1:32:30.144	10
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	60	+1.829s	6
3	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams Supertec	60	+27.411s	4
4	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Mugen Honda	60	+27.789s	3
5	7	Damon Hill	Jordan Mugen Honda	60	+38.606s	2
6	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber Petronas	60	+53.643s	1
7	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	60	+54.614s	0
8	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	60	+68.590s	0
9	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost Peugeot	60	+72.045s	0
10	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	60	+72.123s	0
11	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams Supertec	60	+77.124s	0
12	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart Ford	60	+77.709s	0
13	18	Olivier Panis	Prost Peugeot	60	+80.492s	0
14	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber Petronas	59	+1 lap	0
15	21	Marc Gene	Minardi Ford	58	+2 laps	0
16	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	58	+2 laps	0
NC	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR Supertec	41	DNF	0
NC	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	35	DNF	0
NC	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Supertec	29	DNF	0
NC	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi Ford	6	DNF	0
NC	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	0	DNF	0

2004

Michael Schumacher’s tenth win in 11 races at the 2004 British Grand Prix was a display of sporting excellence but left fans bored, as critics described it as little more than a procession. Schumacher’s narrow two-second victory over Kimi Raikkonen was more a result of the safety car intervention than a thrilling race. Rubens Barrichello, Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate, came home in third.

The race was often remembered more for other events around the weekend. Prior to the race, a special demonstration of contemporary Formula One cars took place on London’s Regent Street, featuring appearances by several teams and drivers—including former British World Champion Nigel Mansell, who drove the Jordan EJ14. The event drew an estimated crowd of 500,000 spectators.

Tragically, the occasion was tainted by the sudden passing of Minardi Sporting Director John Walton, who suffered a fatal heart attack following the demonstration. As a mark of respect, the Minardi team withdrew from Saturday’s early practice session.

2004 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	60	1:24:42.700	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	60	+2.130s	8
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	60	+3.114s	6
4	9	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	60	+10.683s	5
5	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	60	+12.173s	4
6	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber Petronas	60	+12.888s	3
7	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	60	+19.668s	2
8	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	60	+23.701s	1
9	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber Petronas	60	+24.023s	0
10	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	60	+24.835s	0
11	10	Takuma Sato	BAR Honda	60	+33.736s	0
12	4	Marc Gene	Williams BMW	60	+34.303s	0
13	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	59	+1 lap	0
14	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar Cosworth	59	+1 lap	0
15	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan Ford	59	+1 lap	0
16	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi Cosworth	56	+4 laps	0
NC	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	39	DNF	0
NC	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi Cosworth	29	DNF	0
NC	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	16	DNF	0

2010

The 2010 British Grand Prix, held on July 11 at Silverstone Circuit, was the tenth round of the 2010 Formula One World Championship. Red Bull Racing‘s Mark Webber secured a commanding win, leading all 52 laps after overtaking teammate Sebastian Vettel at the start. Webber’s win was mainly remembered given the pre-race controversy over Red Bull’s decision to allocate a new front wing to Vettel, leading to tensions within the team. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished second, 1.360 seconds behind Webber, while Mercedes‘ Nico Rosberg completed the podium in third place. Starting from 14th, Jenson Button delivered an impressive drive to finish fourth, just behind Rosberg. ​

The race featured several incidents, including Sebastian Vettel losing the lead at the start and suffering a puncture following contact with Hamilton, dropping him to the back of the field; he recovered to finish seventh. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso received a drive-through penalty for overtaking Renault’s Robert Kubica off-track, ultimately finishing 14th. His teammate, Felipe Massa, also faced challenges, ending the race in 15th place. Webber’s victory propelled him to third in the 2010 Drivers’ Standings, just behind Hamilton and Vettel

2010 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	52	1:24:38.200	25
2	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	52	+1.360s	18
3	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	52	+21.307s	15
4	1	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	52	+21.986s	12
5	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	52	+31.456s	10
6	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	52	+32.171s	8
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	52	+36.734s	6
8	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	52	+40.932s	4
9	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	52	+41.599s	2
10	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams Cosworth	52	+42.012s	1
11	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India Mercedes	52	+42.459s	0
12	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	52	+47.627s	0
13	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	52	+59.374s	0
14	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	52	+62.385s	0
15	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	52	+67.489s	0
16	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	51	+1 lap	0
17	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	51	+1 lap	0
18	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	50	+2 laps	0
19	20	Karun Chandhok	HRT Cosworth	50	+2 laps	0
20	21	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT Cosworth	50	+2 laps	0
NC	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	44	DNF	0
NC	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber Ferrari	29	DNF	0
NC	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	19	DNF	0
NC	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	9	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 11 July

Births	F1 Driver
11 July 1922	Fritz Riess (d. 1991)
11 July 1924	Alberto Uria (d. 1988)
11 July 1941	Clive Puzey
11 July 1943	Rolf Stommelen (d. 1983)
11 July 1988	Naoki Yamamoto

Births	F1 Mentions
11 July 1959	Lawrence Stroll Known for being a part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, as well as the owner of their Formula One team.

F1 Driver Deaths 11 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
11 July 1971	Pedro Rodriguez (b. 1940)
11 July 1981	Mike Burch (b. 1907)
11 July 2005	Jesus Iglesias (b. 1922)
11 July 2012	Andre Simon (b. 1920)
11 July 2015	Peter de Klerk (b. 1935)