What Happened On This Day July 15 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 15 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1914

Prince Bira, born on this day, 15 July 1914, in Bangkok, emerged as one of the most extravagant drivers of his era, known for his playboy lifestyle and frequent headline appearances. A car enthusiast from a young age, he pursued his dream of becoming a racing driver while at school in England. Bira eventually advanced to the powerful ERA, but his career was interrupted by World War II. After the war, he achieved success in various Formula Two races before debuting in Formula 1 in 1950 with Maserati, finishing fifth at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix and fourth in the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix. Over the years, he raced for Maserati, Gordini, Connaught, and Maserati again before retiring in early 1955.

1961

Ferrari dominated the 1961 British Grand Prix, with Wolfgang von Trips leading Phil Hill and Ritchie Ginther to a 1-2-3 finish. The race, which started in rain and ended in sunshine, saw Stirling Moss retire, then take over Jack Fairman’s four-wheel-drive Ferguson, only to be disqualified for receiving a push start.

After a rain-soaked weekend that saw torrential downpours disrupt both qualifying and the race start, the 1961 British Grand Prix turned into a showcase for Ferrari. The Italian team dominated the event, securing all three podium positions with Wolfgang von Trips leading Phil Hill and Ritchie Ginther to a 1-2-3 finish.

German driver von Trips claimed victory after a commanding performance from fourth on the grid, his second—and tragically final—Grand Prix win, as he would lose his life just two races later at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix. His teammate Phil Hill, who had taken pole, finished second and would go on to win the 1961 World Drivers’ Championship. American Richie Ginther completed Ferrari’s sweep in third place.

von Trips’s win was the last full-length Grand Prix victory by a German until Michael Schumacher’s victory at the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix.

The race also holds a special place in F1 history for technological milestones. It was the first time a four-wheel drive car competed in a World Championship race, and the last time a front-engined car was entered. The same machine achieved both feats—the innovative Ferguson P99-Climax, run by the Rob Walker Racing Team. Although disqualified for receiving outside assistance on track, the car was later driven by Stirling Moss, who had retired his own Lotus due to brake failure. Moss demonstrated the potential of the four-wheel-drive system before retiring. The event would also be Moss’s final British Grand Prix appearance, as his illustrious career was cut short by a crash in a non-championship race ahead of the 1962 season.

Ferrari all but secured the Intercontinental Cup for Manufacturers, having claimed all three spots on the podium for the second time in three races.

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1961 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	4	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	75	2:40:53.600	9
2	2	Phil Hill	Ferrari	75	+46.000s	6
3	6	Richie Ginther	Ferrari	75	+46.800s	4
4	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	75	+68.600s	3
5	8	Jo Bonnier	Porsche	75	+76.200s	2
6	36	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Climax	75	+86.200s	1
7	10	Dan Gurney	Porsche	74	+1 lap	0
8	14	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	74	+1 lap	0
9	22	Tony Brooks	BRM Climax	73	+2 laps	0
10	16	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	72	+3 laps	0
11	42	Masten Gregory	Cooper Climax	71	+4 laps	0
12	62	Lorenzo Bandini	Cooper Maserati	71	+4 laps	0
13	50	Tony Maggs	Lotus Climax	69	+6 laps	0
14	44	Ian Burgess	Lotus Climax	69	+6 laps	0
15	54	Keith  Greene	Gilby Climax	69	+6 laps	0
16	56	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	69	+6 laps	0
NC	18	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	62	DNF	0
17	52	Wolfgang Seidel	Lotus Climax	58	+17 laps	0
DQ	26	Jack  Fairman	Ferguson Climax		DSQ	0
DQ	26	Stirling Moss	Ferguson Climax	56	DSQ	0
NC	32	Lucien Bianchi	Lotus Climax	45	DNF	0
NC	28	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	44	DNF	0
NC	20	Graham Hill	BRM Climax	43	DNF	0
NC	58	Giancarlo Baghetti	Ferrari	27	DNF	0
NC	25	Tony  Marsh	Lotus Climax	25	DNF	0
NC	34	John Surtees	Cooper Climax	23	DNF	0
NC	38	Tim  Parnell	Lotus Climax	12	DNF	0
NC	46	Jackie  Lewis	Cooper Climax	7	DNF	0
NC	40	Gerry  Ashmore	Lotus Climax	7	DNF	0
NC	30	Henry Taylor	Lotus Climax	5	DNF	0
NC	62	Massimo  Natili	Cooper Maserati	0	DNF	0

1967

Jim Clark revived his struggling season with a victory at the 1967 British Grand Prix. Despite having the fastest cars, Lotus faced transmission issues, with both cars retiring while leading in the 1967 French Grand Prix two weeks prior. At Silverstone, Clark and Graham Hill dominated until Hill’s car suffered rear suspension and engine failures on the 55th lap, allowing Clark to secure the win.

Denny Hulme finished second for the Brabham team and Ferrari driver Chris Amon came in third.

1967 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Jim Clark	Lotus Ford	80	1:59:25.600	9
2	2	Denny Hulme	Brabham Repco	80	+12.800s	6
3	8	Chris Amon	Ferrari	80	+16.600s	4
4	1	Jack Brabham	Brabham Repco	80	+21.800s	3
5	12	Pedro Rodriguez	Cooper Maserati	79	+1 lap	2
6	7	John Surtees	Honda	78	+2 laps	1
7	15	Chris  Irwin	BRM	77	+3 laps	0
8	20	David  Hobbs	BRM	77	+3 laps	0
9	14	Alan  Rees	Cooper Maserati	76	+4 laps	0
10	18	Guy  Ligier	Brabham Repco	76	+4 laps	0
NC	19	Bob Anderson	Brabham Climax	67	DNF	0
NC	6	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	64	DNF	0
NC	4	Mike Spence	BRM	44	DNF	0
NC	9	Dan Gurney	Eagle Weslake	34	DNF	0
NC	22	Silvio  Moser	Cooper ATS	29	DNF	0
NC	11	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Maserati	26	DNF	0
NC	3	Jackie Stewart	BRM	20	DNF	0
NC	10	Bruce McLaren	Eagle Weslake	14	DNF	0
NC	17	Jo Siffert	Cooper Maserati	10	DNF	0
NC	23	Jo Bonnier	Cooper Maserati	0	DNF	0

1972

Emerson Fittipaldi triumphed in an eventful 1972 British Grand Prix. Jackie Ickx led initially before retiring due to oil pressure problems. Ronnie Peterson seemed set for fourth place until his engine failed, causing him to crash into the abandoned cars of Graham Hill and Francois Cevert.

Jackie Stewart finished in second for Tyrrell and Peter Revson third for McLaren.

1972 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	76	1:47:50.200	9
2	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	76	+4.100s	6
3	19	Peter  Revson	McLaren Ford	76	+72.500s	4
4	17	Chris Amon	Matra	75	+1 lap	3
5	18	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	75	+1 lap	2
6	6	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	75	+1 lap	1
7	3	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	74	DNF	0
8	27	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	73	+3 laps	0
9	4	Niki Lauda	March Ford	73	+3 laps	0
10	33	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland Ford	71	+5 laps	0
11	11	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	70	+6 laps	0
12	28	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham Ford	69	DNF	0
13	31	Mike  Beuttler	March Ford	69	+7 laps	0
NC	22	Tim  Schenken	Surtees Ford	64	DNF	0
NC	2	Francois  Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	9	Dave  Walker	Lotus Ford	59	DNF	0
NC	5	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	49	DNF	0
NC	26	Graham Hill	Brabham Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	25	Carlos Pace	March Ford	39	DNF	0
NC	14	Jackie Oliver	BRM	36	DNF	0
NC	21	Mike Hailwood	Surtees Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	29	Dave Charlton	Lotus Ford	21	DNF	0
NC	30	Nanni  Galli	Tecno	9	DNF	0
NC	24	Henri Pescarolo	Politoys Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	12	Peter  Gethin	BRM	5	DNF	0
NC	23	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees Ford	3	DNF	0

1990

Alain Prost claimed his third consecutive victory at the 1990 British Grand Prix, overtaking Ayrton Senna in the 1990 Drivers’ Championship. The race began with Senna and Nigel Mansell battling for the lead, but mechanical issues plagued Mansell, and Senna spun out, leaving Prost to win comfortably. A frustrated Mansell, who retired on the 56th lap, expressed his frustration, questioning why such problems didn’t affect other drivers. He announced his retirement in an emotional statement but later reconsidered.

Belgian Thierry Boutsen finished second in a Williams, with Brazilian Senna third for McLaren.

Riccardo Patrese made F1 history by becoming the first-ever F1 driver to compete in 200 F1 Grands Prix.

1990 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Alain Prost	Ferrari	64	1:18:30.999	9
2	5	Thierry Boutsen	Williams Renault	64	+39.092s	6
3	27	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	64	+43.088s	4
4	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Lamborghini	64	+75.302s	3
5	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	64	+84.003s	2
6	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Lamborghini	63	+1 lap	1
7	10	Alex Caffi	Arrows Ford	63	+1 lap	0
8	4	Jean Alesi	Tyrrell Ford	63	+1 lap	0
9	8	Stefano Modena	Brabham Judd	62	+2 laps	0
10	25	Nicola Larini	Ligier Ford	62	+2 laps	0
11	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Ford	62	+2 laps	0
12	24	Paolo Barilla	Minardi Ford	62	+2 laps	0
13	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Ford	61	+3 laps	0
14	28	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	60	DNF	0
NC	2	Nigel Mansell	Ferrari	55	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Judd	48	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Donnelly	Lotus Lamborghini	48	DNF	0
NC	11	Derek Warwick	Lotus Lamborghini	46	DNF	0
NC	17	Gabriele Tarquini	AGS Ford	41	DNF	0
NC	9	Michele Alboreto	Arrows Ford	37	DNF	0
NC	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	26	DNF	0
NC	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Ford	20	DNF	0
NC	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Dallara Ford	12	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	3	DNF	0

2001

During his dominant period, the 2001 British Grand Prix proved a rare setback for Michael Schumacher as he failed to win despite starting from pole position. The victory went to the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen with Schumacher taking second and his Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello in third.

The race would also be the end of Heinz-Harald Frentzen‘s time with Jordan, as he was sacked following a disappointing season.

2001 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	60	1:25:33.770	10
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	60	+33.646s	6
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	60	+59.280s	4
4	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	60	+68.772s	3
5	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber Petronas	59	+1 lap	2
6	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	59	+1 lap	1
7	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Honda	59	+1 lap	0
8	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	59	+1 lap	0
9	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	59	+1 lap	0
10	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows Asiatech	58	+2 laps	0
11	22	Jean Alesi	Prost Acer	58	+2 laps	0
12	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar Cosworth	58	+2 laps	0
13	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Renault	58	+2 laps	0
14	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows Asiatech	58	+2 laps	0
15	8	Jenson Button	Benetton Renault	58	+2 laps	0
16	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi European	57	+3 laps	0
NC	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	36	DNF	0
NC	23	Luciano Burti	Prost Acer	6	DNF	0
NC	4	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	2	DNF	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan Honda	0	DNF	0
NC	9	Olivier Panis	BAR Honda	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 15 July

Births	F1 Driver
15 July 1914	Prince Bira (d. 1985)
15 July 1929	Ian Stewart (d. 2017)

F1 Driver Deaths 15 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
15 July 1986	Alfonso Thiele (b. 1920)
15 July 2020	Mike Oliver (b. 1921)

F1 Champions 15 July

Date	Driver/Team
15 July 1961	Ferrari