What Happened On This Day July 18 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 18 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1953

Italian dominance, courtesy of Ferrari and Maserati, was anticipated at Silverstone for the 1953 British Grand Prix, and the race unfolded as expected. Alberto Ascari seized the lead from the start and maintained his position throughout, never once being challenged. He would go on to win the drivers’ title that year. Juan Manuel Fangio finished second for the Maserati team and Ascari’s teammate Nino Farina came in third.

1953 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	90	2:50:00.000	8.5
2	23	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	90	+60.000s	6
3	6	Nino Farina	Ferrari	88	+2 laps	4
4	24	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	88	+2 laps	3.5
5	8	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	87	+3 laps	2
6	25	Felice  Bonetto	Maserati	82	+8 laps	0
7	10	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	82	+8 laps	0
8	16	Ken  Wharton	Cooper Bristol	80	+10 laps	0
NC	18	Jimmy Stewart	Cooper Bristol	79	DNF	0
9	20	Peter  Whitehead	Cooper Alta	79	+11 laps	0
10	9	Louis  Rosier	Ferrari	78	+12 laps	0
NC	14	Tony Rolt	Connaught Lea Francis	71	DNF	0
NC	7	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	67	DNF	0
NC	26	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	67	DNF	0
NC	2	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	56	DNF	0
NC	19	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	56	DNF	0
NC	4	Jack  Fairman	HWM Alta	54	DNF	0
NC	12	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	50	DNF	0
NC	31	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	34	DNF	0
NC	1	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	31	DNF	0
NC	30	Jean Behra	Gordini	30	DNF	0
NC	15	Ian Stewart	Connaught Lea Francis	26	DNF	0
NC	29	Maurice  Trintignant	Gordini	15	DNF	0
NC	3	Duncan  Hamilton	HWM Alta	14	DNF	0
NC	17	Bob  Gerard	Cooper Bristol	8	DNF	0
NC	28	Harry Schell	Gordini	5	DNF	0
NC	22	Tony Crook	Cooper Bristol	0	DNF	0
NC	11	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	0	DNF	0

1959

Due to strikes in Italy, Ferrari missed the 1959 British Grand Prix. However, Tony Brooks, fresh off his victory in France, was released by the team and secured a drive with Vanwall. Driving a Cooper, Jack Brabham took an early lead and remained unchallenged throughout the race to win. The second-place battle was intense, with Stirling Moss in the BRM narrowly edging out Bruce McLaren by just 0.2 seconds.

1959 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	12	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	75	2:30:11.600	8
2	6	Stirling Moss	BRM	75	+22.200s	6.5
3	16	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	75	+22.400s	4.5
4	8	Harry Schell	BRM	74	+1 lap	3
5	18	Maurice  Trintignant	Cooper Climax	74	+1 lap	2
6	2	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	74	+1 lap	0
7	14	Masten Gregory	Cooper Climax	73	+2 laps	0
8	30	Alan  Stacey	Lotus Climax	71	+4 laps	0
9	28	Graham Hill	Lotus Climax	70	+5 laps	0
10	48	Chris  Bristow	Cooper Borgward	70	+5 laps	0
NC	4	Carroll  Shelby	Aston Martin	69	DNF	0
11	58	Henry Taylor	Cooper Climax	69	+6 laps	0
12	52	Peter  Ashdown	Cooper Climax	69	+6 laps	0
13	46	Ivor  Bueb	Cooper Borgward	69	+6 laps	0
NC	40	Fritz d’Orey	Maserati	57	DNF	0
NC	42	Ron Flockhart	BRM	53	DNF	0
NC	38	Jack  Fairman	Cooper Climax	39	DNF	0
NC	10	Jo Bonnier	BRM	37	DNF	0
NC	22	Ian Burgess	Cooper Maserati	31	DNF	0
NC	24	Hans  Herrmann	Cooper Maserati	21	DNF	0
NC	64	David  Piper	Lotus Climax	19	DNF	0
NC	36	Brian  Naylor	JBW Maserati	18	DNF	0
NC	50	Mike  Taylor	Cooper Climax	17	DNF	0
NC	20	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	13	DNF	0

1965

Jim Clark showcased his dominance at the 1965 Dutch Grand Prix, quickly overtaking Richie Ginther and Graham Hill within the first five laps and cruising to victory for Lotus. This win marked his fifth in six races that season, virtually securing the championship title for Clark. For Hill to have any chance of overtaking him, he would have needed to win all four remaining races.

1965 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	80	2:03:59.100	9
2	12	Jackie Stewart	BRM	80	+8.000s	6
3	16	Dan Gurney	Brabham Climax	80	+13.000s	4
4	10	Graham Hill	BRM	80	+45.100s	3
5	14	Denny Hulme	Brabham Climax	79	+1 lap	2
6	22	Richie Ginther	Honda	79	+1 lap	1
7	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	0
8	8	Mike Spence	Lotus Climax	79	+1 lap	0
9	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	0
10	38	Innes Ireland	Lotus BRM	78	+2 laps	0
11	30	Frank Gardner	Brabham BRM	77	+3 laps	0
12	34	Richard Attwood	Lotus BRM	77	+3 laps	0
13	28	Jo Siffert	Brabham BRM	55	+25 laps	0
NC	20	Jochen Rindt	Cooper Climax	48	DNF	0
NC	18	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	36	DNF	0
NC	26	Jo Bonnier	Brabham Climax	16	DNF	0
NC	36	Bob Anderson	Brabham Climax	11	DNF	0

1970

Jack Brabham came heartbreakingly close to victory in the 1970 British Grand Prix, only to run out of fuel on the final lap. As he coasted towards the chequered flag, Jochen Rindt overtook him for the win. Brabham had just enough momentum to cross the finish line ahead of Denny Hulme in the McLaren, securing second place and Hulme third.

This was the first F1 race for Brazilian future World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, who qualified 21st and finished eighth in an older Lotus 49. It was also the final F1 race for American Dan Gurney.

1970 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Jochen Rindt	Lotus Ford	80	1:57:02.000	9
2	17	Jack Brabham	Brabham Ford	80	+32.900s	6
3	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	80	+54.400s	4
4	4	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	80	+54.800s	3
5	16	Chris Amon	March Ford	79	+1 lap	2
6	14	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	2	Francois  Cevert	March Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	28	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	78	+2 laps	0
9	27	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	72	+8 laps	0
NC	29	Pete  Lovely	Lotus Ford	69	+11 laps	0
NC	10	Dan Gurney	McLaren Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	22	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	58	DNF	0
NC	23	Jackie Oliver	BRM	54	DNF	0
NC	1	Jackie Stewart	March Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	20	John Surtees	Surtees Ford	51	DNF	0
NC	8	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	41	DNF	0
NC	7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	24	DNF	0
NC	26	Mario Andretti	March Ford	21	DNF	0
NC	15	Jo Siffert	March Ford	19	DNF	0
NC	6	John  Miles	Lotus Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	24	George Eaton	BRM	10	DNF	0
NC	3	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	6	DNF	0

1976

The 1976 British Grand Prix was one of the most controversial in history, with the final outcome not determined until 24 September, over two months after the chequered flag. Initially, James Hunt, driving for McLaren, was declared the winner, but his victory was later overturned following an appeal by Ferrari.

The controversy began when the race was red-flagged after a pile-up at the first corner, leading to a restart. James Hunt, whose car was damaged in the crash, faced disqualification from the restart; the race stewards announced that no driver would be allowed to take part in the restarted race unless they were in their original car and that they had finished the first lap of the original race. However, due to the stewards’ fear of the large, angry crowd throwing beer cans onto the track and chanting, “We want Hunt!” they caved and allowed Hunt to use his repaired car and rejoin the grid.

During the race, Niki Lauda took the lead until lap 45, when gearbox problems forced him to slow down, allowing Hunt to pass and eventually win the race. Ferrari immediately protested, claiming Hunt had already been eliminated when the red flag was shown. Hunt argued that his car was still moving despite a severely damaged chassis and pointed out that Ferrari driver Niki Lauda caused the crash.

Although the stewards initially rejected Ferrari’s protest, the case was referred to the FIA, which ultimately ruled in Ferrari’s favour. This decision had the potential to be decisive in the 1976 drivers’ championship. However, heavy rain in Japan later in the season led to Lauda’s retirement from that race, ensuring that the lost points from the British Grand Prix did not cost Hunt the championship title. In the end, Lauda won the race, from Jody Scheckter in second for Tyrrell and John Watson in third for Penske.

1976 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
DQ	11	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	76		0
1	1	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	76	1:44:19.660	9
2	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	76	+16.180s	6
3	28	John Watson	Penske Ford	75	+1 lap	4
4	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow Ford	75	+1 lap	3
5	19	Alan  Jones	Surtees Ford	75	+1 lap	2
6	30	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	74	+2 laps	1
7	24	Harald Ertl	Hesketh Ford	73	+3 laps	0
8	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham Alfa Romeo	73	+3 laps	0
9	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	70	+6 laps	0
NC	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus Ford	67	DNF	0
NC	10	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	18	Brett Lunger	Surtees Ford	55	DNF	0
NC	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Alfa Romeo	46	DNF	0
NC	35	Arturo Merzario	March Ford	39	DNF	0
NC	2	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	36	DNF	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	31	DNF	0
NC	32	Bob Evans	Brabham Alfa Romeo	31	DNF	0
NC	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	22	DNF	0
NC	38	Henri Pescarolo	Surtees Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	22	Chris Amon	Ensign Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	12	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	34	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	25	Guy Edwards	Hesketh Ford	0	DNF	0

1981

John Watson emerged as the unexpected but widely celebrated winner of the 1981 British Grand Prix. Driving a McLaren, he managed to catch up to the turbocharged Renaults and capitalise on their mechanical issues. René Arnoux led the race, with his turbo engine expected to outpace Watson’s Cosworth-powered McLaren. However, on lap 50, Arnoux’s Renault began to falter. Watson swiftly took the lead, while Arnoux’s deteriorating engine prevented him from earning even a single championship point.

Carlos Reutemann finished in second place for Williams, and Jacques Laffite finished third place for Ligier. The race also became the first victory for a carbon fibre composite monocoque F1 car, the McLaren MP4/1.

1981 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	68	1:26:54.800	9
2	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	68	+40.650s	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	67	+1 lap	4
4	3	Eddie  Cheever	Tyrrell Ford	67	+1 lap	3
5	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham Ford	67	+1 lap	2
6	10	Slim Borgudd	ATS Ford	67	+1 lap	1
7	17	Derek Daly	March Ford	66	+2 laps	0
8	32	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella Hart	65	+3 laps	0
9	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	64	DNF	0
10	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	64	DNF	0
11	33	Marc Surer	Theodore Ford	61	DNF	0
NC	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	59	DNF	0
NC	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi Ford	56	DNF	0
NC	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	15	Alain Prost	Renault	17	DNF	0
NC	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier Matra	15	DNF	0
NC	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	13	DNF	0
NC	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	5	DNF	0
NC	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	4	DNF	0
NC	1	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows Ford	0	DNF	0

1982

Niki Lauda redeemed his poor track record at Brands Hatch by winning the 1982 British Grand Prix after a chaotic start. Pole-sitter Keke Rosberg in the Williams failed to start during the warm-up lap due to fuel vaporisation caused by the hot weather. A watering can of cold water eventually solved the problem, but by then, the rest of the pack had already set off, forcing Rosberg to start from the back. At the race’s start, Riccardo Patrese stalled his Brabham and was subsequently hit by René Arnoux’s Renault.

Didier Pironi finished second in a Ferrari, while teammate Patrick Tambay taking his first F1 podium finish by coming third.

1982 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren Ford	76	1:35:33.812	9
2	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	76	+25.730s	6
3	27	Patrick Tambay	Ferrari	76	+38.440s	4
4	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	76	+41.240s	3
5	5	Derek Daly	Williams Ford	76	+41.430s	2
6	15	Alain Prost	Renault	76	+41.640s	1
7	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	75	+1 lap	0
8	4	Brian Henton	Tyrrell Ford	75	+1 lap	0
9	30	Mauro Baldi	Arrows Ford	74	+2 laps	0
10	17	Jochen Mass	March Ford	73	+3 laps	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	66	DNF	0
NC	25	Eddie  Cheever	Ligier Matra	60	DNF	0
NC	29	Marc Surer	Arrows Ford	59	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	3	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell Ford	44	DNC	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	41	DNF	0
NC	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman Hart	40	DNF	0
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Ford	29	DNF	0
NC	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	9	DNF	0
NC	14	Roberto Guerrero	Ensign Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	31	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	20	Chico Serra	Fittipaldi Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	36	Teo Fabi	Toleman Hart	0	DNF	0
NC	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	2	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	0	DNF	0

2021

The 2021 British Grand Prix made F1 history by introducing Formula One’s first-ever “Sprint Qualifying” event—a new format held on Saturday, covering a 100-kilometre (62-mile) distance. Points were awarded to the top three finishers: three points for the winner, two for second place, and one for third. The results of the sprint determined the starting grid for Sunday’s race.

Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in traditional qualifying, securing pole position for the Sprint. However, it was Max Verstappen who won the Sprint Qualifying, earning pole position for the Grand Prix.

The race was defined by a dramatic first-lap collision between Hamilton and Verstappen at Copse Corner, sending Verstappen into the barriers and forcing him to retire. The crash led to a 10-second time penalty for Hamilton, who was deemed at fault for the incident. Despite the penalty, Hamilton mounted a remarkable comeback, overtaking the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc in the final laps to claim victory, securing his eighth British Grand Prix win. Leclerc finished second, while Valtteri Bottas completed the podium in third.

2021 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	1:58:23.284	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+3.871s	18
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+11.125s	15
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	52	+28.573s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	52	+42.624s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	52	+43.454s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	52	+72.093s	6
8	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Mercedes	52	+74.289s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	52	+76.162s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda	52	+82.065s	1
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	52	+85.327s	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	51	+1 lap	0
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
14	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	51	+1 lap	0
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
16	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda	51	+1 lap	0
17	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
18	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
NC	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Mercedes	40	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 18 July

Births	F1 Driver
18 July 1911	Danny Oakes (d. 2007)
18 July 1920	Eric Brandon (d. 1982)

Births	F1 Mentions
18 July 1911	Richard Branson Virgin Racing (subsequently Marussia Virgin Racing) was a Formula One racing team which was under management of Manor Motorsport, Wirth Research and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group
18 July 2001	Enzo Fittipaldi Brazilian racing driver. He is the grandson of Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of Pietro Fittipaldi.

F1 Driver Deaths 18 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
18 July 2009	Ricardo Londono (b. 1949)