What Happened On This Day June 1 In F1 History?

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

1947

Ron Dennis, born on this day, began his motorsport career as a mechanic in the 1960s, working with teams like Cooper and Brabham. In 1971, he co-founded Rondel Racing, a Formula Two team, and later established Project Four Racing in 1976. He achieved remarkable success in junior categories, which soon caught McLaren’s attention, leading to a merger in 1980. ​

As McLaren’s team principal from 1981 to 2009, Dennis transformed the team into a dominant force in Formula One. Under his leadership, McLaren secured seven Constructors’ Championships and five Drivers’ Championships with F1 legends Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, and Lewis Hamilton. Dennis’s time saw technological innovations and strategic partnerships, solidifying McLaren’s status as one of the sport’s most successful teams. ​

Interestingly, the change to the ‘MP4’ designation in McLaren’s car naming system reflected the merger between Project Four Racing—Ron Dennis’ team—and McLaren in 1980. The first car under this naming convention, the MP4/1, was already designed before the merger. The MP4 naming system continued until 2017, when it was replaced by ‘MCL’, marking a new era for the team after Ron Dennis’ second and eventual departure.

Alongside his team principal role, he also served as founder, chairman, and owner of McLaren Group between 1985 and 2017, where he founded McLaren Automotive in 2010.

1959

Martin Brundle, a veteran of 165 grands prix and a famous commentator, was born on this day June 1, 1959. Brundle climbed the ranks in the late 1970s and early 1980s, competing in BTCC, British Formula Ford, and Formula 3. In 1983, he narrowly missed the F3 title to Ayrton Senna, but his performance earned him a drive with Tyrrell in F1 the following year.

Despite a 13-year career in F1, he never won a race, achieving two second-place finishes and a best-season result of sixth with Benetton in 1992 alongside Michael Schumacher. His crowning achievement was winning the 1990 Le Mans 24 Hours with Price Cobb and John Nielsen in a Jaguar XJR-12.

Brundle retired from F1 at the end of 1996, turning down a Sauber contract to join Murray Walker as a commentator for ITV, where he quickly became a fan favourite. In 2010, he returned to racing in the VW Scirocco Cup, finishing on the podium in his debut race.

1980

The 1980 Spanish Grand Prix, held on June 1, was a non-championship race due to the ongoing conflict between FISA and FOCA. Initially planned as a championship event, the race lost its official status amid the power struggle. Alan Jones secured victory in a Williams, followed by Jochen Mass in an Arrows and Elio de Angelis in a Lotus.

Ferrari, Renault, and Alfa Romeo chose not to participate, fearing repercussions for competing in other FIA-sanctioned events. Osella initially refrained from practice but ultimately joined the race under pressure from their sponsors.

1980 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	27	Alan Jones	Williams – Ford	80	01:43:14
2	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows – Ford	80	+ 50.940
3	12	Elio de Angelis	Lotus – Ford	80	+ 1:12.271
4	3	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell – Ford	79	+ 1 lap
5	20	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi – Ford	79	+ 1 lap
6	14	Patrick Gaillard	Ensign – Ford	75	+ 5 laps
Ret	31	Eddie Cheever	Osella – Ford	67	Gearbox
Ret	25	Didier Pironi	Ligier – Ford	65	Lost wheel
Ret	7	John Watson	McLaren – Ford	49	Accident
Ret	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham – Ford	42	Gearbox
Ret	17	Geoff Lees	Shadow – Ford	42	Suspension
Ret	28	Carlos Reutemann	Williams – Ford	36	Accident
Ret	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier – Ford	36	Accident
Ret	6	Ricardo Zunino	Brabham – Ford	34	Gearbox
Ret	34	Emilio de Villota	Williams – Ford	34	Accident
Ret	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows – Ford	30	Gearbox
Ret	11	Mario Andretti	Lotus – Ford	29	Engine
Ret	9	Jan Lammers	ATS – Ford	26	Electrics
Ret	4	Derek Daly	Tyrrell – Ford	13	Accident
Ret	21	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi – Ford	11	Accident
Ret	8	Alain Prost	McLaren – Ford	5	Engine
Ret	18	David Kennedy	Shadow – Ford	2	Accident

1986

Jo Gartner tragically died at the Le Mans 24 Hours due to a mechanical failure on his Kremer Porsche 962C, causing him to crash into the barriers at 160 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Gartner had previously made a mark in Formula 2 with several race wins and entered Formula One in 1984 with Osella, taking part in eight races. Despite finishing fifth at the 1984 Italian Grand Prix, he earned no points as the team had only officially entered one car for the season. A gifted sports car driver, Gartner won the 1986 Sebring 12 Hours in a Porsche 962 alongside Hans Stuck and Bob Akin.

2001

Jaguar appeared to have secured top F1 car designer Adrian Newey from McLaren, with an announcement that he would join the Ford-backed team from 2002 onwards. However, the deal fell through as Ron Dennis persuaded Newey to stay at McLaren. Newey eventually moved to Red Bull, formerly Jaguar, in 2006.

2003

Juan Pablo Montoya achieved his only win in Monte Carlo at the 2003 Monaco Grand Prix, narrowly beating the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen by less than a second. The race was decided during the pit stops when Montoya overtook his teammate, Ralf Schumacher, during refuelling and maintained his lead on the tight circuit. Early on, Heinz-Harald Frentzen suffered a severe crash at the Swimming Pool section, hitting the barriers after misjudging the kerb. Montoya’s victory marked Williams‘ first win in Monaco in over 20 years and remains their last to date. Their previous win came in 1983 with Keke Rosberg. German Michael Schumacher third in a Ferrari.

There were no recorded on-track overtakes during this race, which was one of the very few occasions in Formula One history where this happened. The other three races not to feature any on-track overtakes were the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix and 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, as well as the 2009 European Grand Prix

2003 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	78	1:42:19.010	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	78	+0.602s	8
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	78	+1.720s	6
4	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	78	+28.518s	5
5	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	78	+36.251s	4
6	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	78	+40.972s	3
7	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	78	+41.227s	2
8	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	78	+53.266s	1
9	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	77	+1 lap	0
10	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Ford	77	+1 lap	0
11	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	76	+2 laps	0
12	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan Ford	76	+2 laps	0
13	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	74	+4 laps	0
NC	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	63	DNF	0
NC	18	Justin Wilson	Minardi Cosworth	29	DNF	0
NC	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi Cosworth	28	DNF	0
NC	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	16	DNF	0
NC	15	Antonio Pizzonia	Jaguar Cosworth	10	DNF	0
NC	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Petronas	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 1 June

Birthday	F1 Driver
1 June 1920	Syd van der Vyver (d. 1958)
1 June 1959	Martin Brundle

Birthday	F1 Mentions
1 June 1947	Ron Dennis Served as team principal, CEO and co-owner of McLaren in Formula One.

F1 Driver Deaths 1 June

Death	F1 Driver
1 June 1986	Jo Gartner (b. 1944)
1 June 2009	Bob Christie (b. 1924)