What happened on this day, July 4 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1954
Juan Manuel Fangio led Karl Kling to victory as Mercedes dominated the 1954 French Grand Prix at Reims, securing its first Formula One win as a team. Arriving with their striking but unconventional silver W196 cars, Mercedes dominated in practice, securing the front row alongside Alberto Ascari in a Maserati. However, Ascari’s race ended abruptly due to a transmission failure on the first lap, allowing Fangio and Kling to pull away from the pack, finishing a lap ahead of Robert Manzon in a Ferrari.
1971
Jackie Stewart won the 1971 French Grand Prix from pole position, leading his Tyrrell teammate and home crowd favourite, François Cevert, to a 1-2 finish. Cevert, starting from seventh on the grid, drove tenaciously and capitalised on the retirements of Clay Regazzoni and Pedro Rodriguez, securing his first-ever podium finish behind his good friend at his home race.
1976
James Hunt won the 1976 French Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Patrick Depailler and John Watson. Starting from pole, Hunt was initially overtaken by Ferrari’s Niki Lauda, who led until his engine blew on lap nine. Hunt then faced a strong challenge from Clay Regazzoni, but Regazzoni’s subsequent retirement left Hunt with a clear path to victory. John Watson secured a fortunate third place after late retirements by Jody Scheckter and Ronnie Peterson.
1993
Alain Prost led Damon Hill to a Williams 1-2 finish at the 1993 French Grand Prix. Ayrton Senna, competing in his 150th Grand Prix, finished fourth behind Michael Schumacher in a Benetton. Shortly after the race, Senna announced his departure from McLaren to join Williams for the 1994 season.
2004
Michael Schumacher clinched his ninth victory in ten races during a dominant season by winning the 2004 French Grand Prix. Renault had shown exceptional speed in qualifying, prompting Ferrari to adopt an unconventional four-stop strategy. This tactic surprised Renault and Fernando Alonso, allowing Schumacher to capitalise on lighter fuel loads and set blisteringly quick laps. He ultimately finished over eight seconds ahead of his Spanish rival.
2021
The 2021 Austrian Grand Prix was the second of two consecutive races held at the Red Bull Ring, following the Styrian Grand Prix the previous week at the same venue. The race saw early drama when Esteban Ocon retired on the first lap after colliding with Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo, breaking his front suspension. The incident triggered a safety car, with racing resuming on lap 4.
On the final lap, Kimi Raikkonen collided with Sebastian Vettel’s Aston Martin, forcing Vettel to retire just before the finish.
At the front, Max Verstappen dominated the race, securing his first career Grand Slam—taking pole position, setting the fastest lap, leading every lap, and winning the race. Valtteri Bottas finished second with Mercedes with Lando Norris third for McLaren.
2021 Austrian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 71 | 1:23:54.543 | 26 |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 71 | +17.973s | 18 |
| 3 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 71 | +20.019s | 15 |
| 4 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 71 | +46.452s | 12 |
| 5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 71 | +57.144s | 10 |
| 6 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda | 71 | +57.915s | 8 |
| 7 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Mercedes | 71 | +60.395s | 6 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 71 | +61.195s | 4 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda | 71 | +61.844s | 2 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine Renault | 70 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 70 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin Mercedes | 69 | DNF | 0 |
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | Haas Ferrari | 69 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 19 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas Ferrari | 69 | +2 laps | 0 |
| NC | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Perez received a 10-second time penalty for forcing another driver off track. Stroll received a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Tsunoda received a 5-second time penalty for crossing the white line at the pit entry. Raikkonen received a drive-through penalty, converted to a 20-second time penalty, for causing a collision. Mazepin and Latifi received 10-second stop-and-go penalties, converted to 30-second time penalties, for not respecting double yellow flags. | ||||||
F1 Driver Birthdays 4 July
| Birth Date | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 4 July 1907 | Ernst Loof |
| 4 July 1918 | John “Johnnie” Woodrow Parsons |
| 4 July 1926 | Wolfgang Seidel |
| 4 July 1927 | James Robert “Jim” McWithey |
| 4 July 1938 | Ernest “Ernie” Pieterse |
| 4 July 1948 | René Alexandre Arnoux |
| 4 July 1960 | Roland Ratzenberger |
| 4 July 1973 | Jan Ellegaard Magnussen |
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