What Happened On This Day July 5 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, July 5 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1953

After 300 miles of racing, the 1953 French Grand Prix was decided in the final straight when Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari overtook Juan Manuel Fangio in a Maserati to clinch victory. With just a second separating the leading two cars, it was widely acclaimed as the best grand prix since the inception of the Formula One World Championship and marked the first win by a British driver. Throughout the season, a fierce battle for Italian pride raged between Ferraris and Maseratis, culminating at the Reims circuit.

Jose Froilan Gonzalez, driving a Maserati, took an early lead in his A6GCM, but his light fuel load forced him to pit, thrusting him back into a fierce contest with Fangio, Hawthorn, and Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari. The battle raged on for the entire race, with no driver able to gain a clear advantage. In the end, the top four cars crossed the finish line within five seconds of each other, a remarkable feat after 2 hours and 44 minutes of racing. Gonzalez finished third.

1953 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	16	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	60	2:44:18.600	8
2	18	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	60	+1.000s	6.5
3	20	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	60	+1.400s	4
4	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	60	+4.600s	3.5
5	14	Nino Farina	Ferrari	60	+67.600s	2
6	12	Luigi  Villoresi	Ferrari	60	+75.900s	0
7	46	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	58	+2 laps	0
8	44	Louis  Rosier	Ferrari	56	+4 laps	0
9	22	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	55	+5 laps	0
10	2	Jean Behra	Gordini	55	+5 laps	0
11	38	Bob  Gerard	Cooper Bristol	55	+5 laps	0
12	48	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	53	+7 laps	0
13	28	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	52	+8 laps	0
14	30	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	50	+10 laps	0
15	32	Louis  Chiron	OSCA	43	+17 laps	0
NC	24	Felice  Bonetto	Maserati	42	DNF	0
NC	36	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	38	DNF	0
NC	42	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	29	DNF	0
NC	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	18	DNF	0
NC	40	Ken  Wharton	Cooper Bristol	17	DNF	0
NC	4	Maurice  Trintignant	Gordini	14	DNF	0
NC	26	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	9	DNF	0
NC	8	Roberto Mieres	Gordini	4	DNF	0
NC	6	Harry Schell	Gordini	4	DNF	0
NC	50	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	2	DNF	0

1959

Jean Behra’s promising career at Ferrari ended dramatically following a physical altercation with team manager Romolo Tavoni after the 1959 French Grand Prix at Reims. Fellow Ferrari driver Tony Brooks won the race, seemingly outperforming Behra in front of the Frenchman’s home fans. Behra eventually retired from the race due to a broken piston and returned to the pits, convinced that Ferrari had favoured Brooks over him.

In a heated discussion with Tavoni, Behra threw a punch at his boss and was immediately dismissed from the team. Less than a month later, Behra tragically died while racing a Porsche RSK Spyder at Avus. He lost control and flew off the top of the 45-degree banking at the Nordkurve, hitting a flagpole and dying instantly.

Brooks had dominated the race, leading all 50 laps and winning by 27 seconds over his American Ferrari teammate Phil Hill. Australian driver Jack Brabham was over a minute behind in third position driving a Cooper.

1959 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	24	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	50	2:01:26.500	8
2	26	Phil Hill	Ferrari	50	+27.500s	6
3	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	50	+97.700s	4
4	22	Olivier  Gendebien	Ferrari	50	+107.500s	3
5	12	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	50	+107.700s	2
6	44	Ron Flockhart	BRM	50	+125.700s	0
7	6	Harry Schell	BRM	47	+3 laps	0
DQ	2	Stirling Moss	BRM	42	DSQ	1
8	40	Giorgio  Scarlatti	Maserati	41	+9 laps	0
9	42	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Maserati	40	+10 laps	0
10	38	Fritz d’Orey	Maserati	40	+10 laps	0
11	14	Maurice  Trintignant	Cooper Climax	36	+14 laps	0
NC	30	Jean Behra	Ferrari	31	DNF	0
NC	16	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Maserati	20	DNF	0
NC	28	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	19	DNF	0
NC	34	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	14	DNF	0
NC	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper Maserati	13	DNF	0
NC	10	Masten Gregory	Cooper Climax	8	DNF	0
NC	32	Graham Hill	Lotus Climax	7	DNF	0
NC	20	Colin  Davis	Cooper Maserati	7	DNF	0
NC	4	Jo Bonnier	BRM	6	DNF	0

1970

Clermont Ferrand, one of the greatest Grand Prix circuits of all time, nearly lost the right to host the 1970 French Grand Prix. However, local supporters gathered enough funds to prevent the race from moving to Albi. Jochen Rindt claimed victory in front of massive crowds gathered on the hillsides. Jacky Ickx initially led the race, but his Ferrari’s flat-12 engine, which had sounded troubled on the way to the grid, failed 15 laps in. Jean Pierre Beltoise then took the lead but lost time due to a slow puncture, eventually conceding the position to Rindt. The Lotus driver went on to win the race. Chris Amon finished second for the March team and Brabham driver Jack Brabham came in third

Despite the locals’ efforts to keep the race at Clermont Ferrand, it moved to Paul Ricard the following year and returned only once more in 1972 before permanently dropping off the calendar.

1970 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Jochen Rindt	Lotus Ford	38	1:55:57.000	9
2	14	Chris Amon	March Ford	38	+7.610s	6
3	23	Jack Brabham	Brabham Ford	38	+44.830s	4
4	19	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	38	+45.660s	3
5	20	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	38	+79.420s	2
6	17	Dan Gurney	McLaren Ford	38	+79.650s	1
7	22	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham Ford	38	+140.160s	0
8	7	John  Miles	Lotus Ford	38	+167.170s	0
9	1	Jackie Stewart	March Ford	38	+189.610s	0
10	8	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	37	+1 lap	0
11	2	Francois  Cevert	March Ford	37	+1 lap	0
12	4	George Eaton	BRM	36	+2 laps	0
13	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	35	DNF	0
14	11	Ignazio  Giunti	Ferrari	35	+3 laps	0
NC	16	Andrea de Adamich	McLaren Alfa Romeo	29	+9 laps	0
NC	12	Jo Siffert	March Ford	23	DNF	0
NC	18	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	10	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	3	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	6	DNF	0
NC	5	Jackie Oliver	BRM	5	DNF	0

1981

The 1981 French Grand Prix delivered a thrilling race, with two distinct halves and culminating in Alain Prost‘s first F1 victory. Nelson Piquet made an excellent start from the Dijon grid, leading the race ahead of John Watson, Prost, Andrea de Cesaris, and Gilles Villeneuve. While Prost’s Renault showed impressive speed, it took him several laps to overtake Watson’s McLaren, allowing Piquet to extend his lead.

On lap 58, heavy rain drenched the track, rendering it undriveable and prompting the stewards to stop the race. Fortunately, it was only a passing shower, and the eager organisers decided to restart the race from the grid in the positions the drivers held on lap 58. Prost quickly closed in on Piquet, eventually forcing his way past, followed closely by Watson, to secure his maiden victory. Watson took second and Piquet third.

1981 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	15	Alain Prost	Renault	80	1:35:48.130	9
2	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	80	+2.290s	6
3	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	80	+24.220s	4
4	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	80	+42.300s	3
5	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	2
6	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	79	+1 lap	0
9	6	Hector Rebaque	Brabham Ford	78	+2 laps	0
10	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	78	+2 laps	0
11	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren Ford	78	+2 laps	0
12	33	Marc Surer	Theodore Ford	78	+2 laps	0
13	3	Eddie  Cheever	Tyrrell Ford	77	+3 laps	0
14	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	77	+3 laps	0
15	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	77	+3 laps	0
16	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell Ford	77	+3 laps	0
17	1	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	76	+4 laps	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	57	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Daly	March Ford	55	DNF	0
NC	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	41	DNF	0
NC	25	Patrick Tambay	Ligier Matra	30	DNF	0
NC	20	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	14	Eliseo Salazar	Ensign Ford	6	DNF	0

1987

The 1987 French Grand Prix took place on July 5 at Circuit Paul Ricard, the sixth round of the 1987 Formula One World Championship. The Williams of Nigel Mansell secured pole with a time of 1:06.454, with McLaren’s Alain Prost alongside him on the front row. At the start, Mansell maintained his lead, while teammate Nelson Piquet moved ahead of Prost into second place. The Williams duo dominated the early stages, with Ayrton Senna‘s Lotus and Prost following closely. On lap 19, Piquet spun, allowing Prost to reclaim second. During the pit stops, Piquet managed to get ahead of both Prost and Mansell, but Mansell quickly retook second from Prost and closed up on Piquet. However, overtaking was another issue until Piquet made a mistake and ran wide on lap 46, allowing Mansell to take the lead. Mansell then maintained his position to secure victory, finishing 7.7 seconds ahead of Piquet. Prost completed the podium in third, while Senna finished fourth. Teo Fabi’s Benetton and Philippe Streiff’s Tyrrell rounded out the top six. The win was Mansell’s second victory of the season.

In the Drivers’ Championship standings, Senna retained the lead with 27 points, followed closely by Prost with 26, and Piquet with 24. Mansell’s victory elevated him to fourth place with 21 points. Williams led the Constructors’ Championship with 45 points, ahead of McLaren-TAG’s 39 and Lotus-Honda’s 30.

1987 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	80	1:37:03.839	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams Honda	80	+7.711s	6
3	1	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	80	+55.255s	4
4	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Honda	79	+1 lap	3
5	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton Ford	77	+3 laps	2
6	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell Ford	76	+4 laps	1
7	3	Jonathan  Palmer	Tyrrell Ford	76	+4 laps	0
8	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren TAG	74	DNF	0
9	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS Ford	74	+6 laps	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	71	DNF	0
NC	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus Honda	71	+9 laps	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	64	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows Megatron	62	DNF	0
NC	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola Ford	57	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	March Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	23	Adrian Campos	Minardi Motori Moderni	52	DNF	0
NC	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Megatron	33	DNF	0
NC	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	10	Christian Danner	Zakspeed	26	DNF	0
NC	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier Megatron	24	DNF	0
NC	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi Motori Moderni	23	DNF	0
NC	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	19	DNF	0
NC	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	18	DNF	0
NC	21	Alex Caffi	Osella Alfa Romeo	11	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham BMW	2	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie  Cheever	Arrows Megatron	0	DNF	0

1992

Similar weather conditions to the 1981 race led to another 1992 French Grand Prix being split into two halves, this time at Magny-Cours. Riccardo Patrese led the first half in the dominant Williams, ahead of his teammate Nigel Mansell, but his lead evaporated with the mid-race downpour. At the restart, Mansell was right behind Patrese, and the Italian eventually and quite obviously waved him through. After the race, Mansell sidestepped questions about whether Patrese had let him pass: “I think it was the biggest casino of a race that we have had with regards to the weather. I must compliment Riccardo because the first race was great and it was a shame that it was stopped.”

1992 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	69	1:38:08.459	10
2	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	69	+46.447s	6
3	20	Martin Brundle	Benetton Ford	69	+72.579s	4
4	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Ford	68	+1 lap	3
5	26	Erik Comas	Ligier Renault	68	+1 lap	2
6	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	68	+1 lap	1
7	9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Mugen Honda	68	+1 lap	0
8	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Lamborghini	68	+1 lap	0
9	21	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Ferrari	67	+2 laps	0
10	22	Pierluigi Martini	Dallara Ferrari	67	+2 laps	0
11	3	Olivier Grouillard	Tyrrell Ilmor	66	+3 laps	0
NC	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	61	DNF	0
NC	4	Andrea de Cesaris	Tyrrell Ilmor	51	DNF	0
NC	30	Ukyo Katayama	Venturi Lamborghini	49	DNF	0
NC	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Renault	46	DNF	0
NC	28	Ivan Capelli	Ferrari	38	DNF	0
NC	16	Karl Wendlinger	March Ilmor	33	DNF	0
NC	32	Stefano Modena	Jordan Yamaha	25	DNF	0
NC	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	20	DNF	0
NC	19	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	10	DNF	0
NC	15	Gabriele Tarquini	Fondmetal Ford	6	DNF	0

2009

Bernie Ecclestone sparked global outrage when he claimed Adolf Hitler was a man who “could get things done.” In an interview with The Times, Ecclestone was asked if he had a favourite historical dictator, such as Stalin or Napoleon. He responded: “Maggie [Margaret Thatcher] has gone. In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people able to get things done. In the end he got lost so he wasn’t a very good dictator. Either he knew what was going on and insisted, or he just went along with it — either way he wasn’t a dictator.” These comments generated headlines worldwide and were heavily criticised by politicians and Jewish organizations.

2015

The 2015 British Grand Prix, held on July 5 at Silverstone Circuit, was the ninth round of the 2015 Formula One World Championship. Mercedes‘ Lewis Hamilton had secured pole with a time of 1:32.248, with teammate Nico Rosberg alongside him on the front row. At the race start, both Mercedes drivers were overtaken by the fast-starting Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, who seized first and second. An early collision involving Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, and Jenson Button brought out the safety car, leading to retirements for all three drivers. Once the race restarted, the Williams cars maintained their lead, with team orders initially preventing Bottas from overtaking Massa. Hamilton strategically undercut Massa during the pit stops, regaining the lead by lap 20.

The race’s latter stages saw intermittent rain, adding complexity to tyre strategies. Hamilton opted to pit for intermediate tires at an opportune moment, a decision that allowed him to maintain his lead and ultimately secure victory. Rosberg also switched to intermediates but could not close the gap, finishing second. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel capitalised on the changing conditions, executing a well-timed pit stop that enabled him to overtake both Williams drivers and claim third place. Massa and Bottas finished fourth and fifth, while Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat took sixth. This win extended Hamilton’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship to 17 points over Rosberg, while Mercedes continued to dominate the Constructors’ standings.

2015 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	1:31:27.729	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	52	+10.956s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	+25.443s	15
4	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	52	+36.839s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	52	+63.194s	10
6	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing Renault	52	+63.955s	8
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	52	+78.744s	6
8	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	51	+1 lap	4
9	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	51	+1 lap	2
10	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	51	+1 lap	1
11	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	51	+1 lap	0
12	98	Roberto Merhi	Marussia Ferrari	49	+3 laps	0
13	28	Will Stevens	Marussia Ferrari	49	+3 laps	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	STR Renault	31	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	21	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	STR Renault	3	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	0	DNF	0
NC	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	0	DNS	0

2020

The 2020 Austrian Grand Prix became the opening round of the Championship and also the first of two consecutive races at the Red Bull Ring, with the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix scheduled to take place the following week.

Lewis Hamilton entered the round as the defending World Drivers’ Champion, while Mercedes sought to defend their Constructors’ title. However, it was Valtteri Bottas who emerged victorious for Mercedes, with Charles Leclerc finishing second for Ferrari and Lando Norris securing third for McLaren—his first career podium in Formula One. At 20 years old, Norris became the third-youngest driver in F1 history to stand on an F1 podium.

The race took place under unique circumstances, as the original 2020 F1 calendar was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The planned season opener in Australia was abruptly canceled just two days before the race, forcing the FIA to reorganise the schedule. The revised championship finally commenced on July 5, with Austria hosting the first race.

To accommodate the disrupted season, race organizers signed a contract to host a second round at the same circuit on July 12, known as the Styrian Grand Prix. This marked several firsts in Formula One history: it was the first time since 1995 that a country hosted back-to-back Grands Prix in a single season (Japan previously hosted the Pacific and Japanese Grands Prix). It was the first time ever that the same circuit layout hosted two consecutive World Championship races in a season. And it was the first F1 race weekend to be held behind closed doors, with no spectators allowed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

2020 Austrian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	71	1:30:55.739	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	+2.700s	18
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	71	+5.491s	16
4	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	71	+5.689s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	71	+8.903s	10
6	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	71	+15.092s	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	71	+16.682s	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	71	+17.456s	4
9	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	71	+21.146s	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	71	+24.545s	1
11	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	71	+31.650s	0
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri Honda	69	DNF	0
13	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing Honda	67	DNF	0
NC	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	53	DNF	0
NC	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	49	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	49	DNF	0
NC	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	24	DNF	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	20	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	17	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	11	DNF	0
Note – Norris scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Hamilton received a 5-second time penalty for causing a collision. Perez received a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

F1 Driver Birthdays 5 July

Births	F1 Driver
5 July 1928	Elmer George (d. 1976)

F1 Driver Deaths 5 July

Deaths	F1 Driver
5 July 1954	Bob Scott (b. 1928)
5 July 1964	Tony Bonadies (b. 1910)
5 July 1986	Albert Scherrer (b. 1908)
5 July 2000	Dorino Serafini (b. 1909)
5 July 2004	Roger Ward (b. 1921)