What happened on this day, July 24 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1906
Franco Comotti was born on 24 July 1906. He participated in two World Championship F1 races, debuting on 3 September at the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, where he drove for Scuderia Milano in a Maserati 4CLT/50. He scored no championship points at that Grand Prix or the 1952 French Grand Prix in a Ferrari 166 for Scuderia Marzotto.
1938
A young British aristocrat racer named Dick Seaman won the 1938 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, driving a Mercedes-Benz, with Adolf Hitler watching. Seaman, who had received a country estate for his 20th birthday, became the first Englishman to win a major grand prix since Major Henry Segrave in 1923. On the podium, he gave a Nazi salute but later remarked, “I only wish it had been a British car.” The following year, Seaman was killed while pushing too hard at Spa. Hitler sent an enormous wreath, and Mercedes still tends to his grave to this day.
1966
Jack Brabham won the 1966 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, extending his lead in the drivers’ championship over Graham Hill. Despite newspaper speculation that the 40-year-old was too old to be a serious contender for the world championship, Brabham amused the paddock by limping to his car with the aid of a stick and sporting a false beard. He had the last laugh as he won the race and, ultimately, the championship.
1976
Tiago Monteiro was born on this day, 24 July 1976. He competed in Formula One from 2005 to 2006 for Jordan Grand Prix, Midland, and Spyker MF1—successive iterations of the same team under different owners. Monteiro is the only Portuguese driver to have achieved a Formula One podium finish, which occurred during the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix.
During that race, concerns over tyre safety led to the withdrawal of all Michelin-equipped teams, leaving only the three Bridgestone-equipped teams to compete. Monteiro secured third place out of the six drivers who raced.
At the podium ceremony, which was notably absent of scheduled dignitaries, Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello quietly accepted their results and quickly departed. Monteiro, however, remained to celebrate his first podium finish alone. Despite the boos throughout most of the ceremony, the fans gave the Portuguese driver a round of applause.
1988
Ayrton Senna won the 1988 German Grand Prix, beating his teammate Alain Prost, as McLaren continued its dominant march towards the championship. This victory marked the team’s eighth successive win in a season where they would only fail to win one race, the 1988 Italian Grand Prix (won by Gerhard Berger for Ferrari).
The win, Senna’s fifth of the season, moved him to within three points of Prost at the top of the Drivers’ Championship. Gerhard Berger took third in a Ferrari.
The race also marked defending champion Nelson Piquet‘s 150th Grand Prix start. He would end his career on 204 starts from 207 entries and 3x World Championships.
2005
Fernando Alonso won the 2005 German Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button, extending his championship lead to 36 points over Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen seemed poised to win the race until a hydraulics problem forced his retirement on lap 35, leaving Alonso to coast to victory and solidify his lead towards the 2005 drivers’ title.
F1 Driver Birthday’s 24 July
| Birth Date | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 24 July 1906 | Franco Comotti |
| 24 July 1976 | Tiago Monteiro |
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