What Happened On This Day June 11 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, June 11 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1939

Sir John “Jackie” Stewart is a Scottish Formula One legend, motorsport executive, and broadcaster. Competing from 1965 to 1973, Stewart earned the nickname “The Flying Scot” and won three World Championship titles. At the time of his retirement, he held the records for most career wins (27) and podium finishes (43).

In addition to his three championships, Stewart finished as runner-up twice during his nine seasons in Formula One. He remained the only British driver with three world titles until Lewis Hamilton matched his record in 2015. Beyond Formula One, Stewart came close to victory in his debut at the Indianapolis 500 in 1966 and participated in the Can-Am series in 1970 and 1971. From 1997 to 1999, Stewart, alongside his son Paul, led the Stewart Grand Prix team as team principal.

A tireless advocate for motor racing safety, Stewart played a key role in pushing for improved medical facilities and track conditions. After John Surtees died in 2017, Stewart became the last surviving Formula One World Champion from the 1960s and remains the oldest living Grand Prix winner.

1955

The deadliest accident in motorsport history occurred during the third hour of the 1955 Le Mans 24-Hour race when Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes collided with Lance Macklin’s Austin-Healey, which had swerved to avoid Mike Hawthorn‘s braking Jaguar. The collision sent Levegh’s car airborne into an earth bank beside the track, causing it to disintegrate and hurl debris into the crowd, resulting in over 80 spectator fatalities as well as the death of Levegh himself. Despite the catastrophe, the race continued to avoid potential panic. Mercedes withdrew from the race eight hours later and, at the season’s end, ceased all racing activities, with Jaguar also scaling back its team.

1964

A single Grand Prix win underlines Jean Alesi’s Formula One career at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix on his 31st birthday, a win helped by Michael Schumacher’s misfortunes. Despite showing early promise, Alesi’s F1 career is often remembered for its unfulfilled potential. He ended his career with one win and 32 podiums from 201 race starts, known for his ability in wet weather.

1966

Tragedy struck the motorsport world when Jimmy Davies, a former third-place finisher at the 1955 Indianapolis 500, died in a midget car crash at Santa Fe Speedway in Chicago.

On the same day, another well-known American driver, Jud Larson, was fatally injured alongside Red Reigel during a race at Reading Speedway in Pennsylvania when their cars collided and somersaulted.

1972

The charismatic racer Jo Bonnier tragically lost his life at the 1972 Le Mans 24-Hour race when his Lola collided with a Ferrari during the night, sending his car crashing through pine trees and disintegrating over a 200-yard path. Bonnier, who began his Formula 1 career in 1956, had achieved a single F1 victory at the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix.

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  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

1995

The 1995 Canadian Grand Prix concluded chaotically as fans broke through barriers to celebrate Jean Alesi‘s first Formula 1 victory for Ferrari in his 91st attempt. Adding to the victory was that the win also happened on Alesi’s 31st birthday while driving the red number 27 Ferrari, as driven by the late Canadian Gilles Villeneuve.

This race was also the last time to date that a Grand Prix was won by a car with a V12 engine and the only race of the season won by a non-Renault-powered car. By winning this race, Ferrari topped McLaren as the most successful F1 constructor in terms of wins.

Alesi took the lead with 12 laps remaining after Michael Schumacher‘s Benetton required a pit stop due to a gearbox issue. Overcome with emotion, Alesi admitted, “I started to cry in the car,” acknowledging both the highs and lows of his time with Ferrari, which he felt were redeemed with this victory. That evening, the first rumours started circulating that Michael Schumacher had signed a multimillion-dollar contract with Ferrari for 1996. The rumour turned out to be true.

Jordan drivers Rubens Barrichello and Eddie Irvine finished second and third.

1995 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	69	1:46:31.333	10
2	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	69	+31.687s	6
3	15	Eddie Irvine	Jordan Peugeot	69	+33.270s	4
4	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	69	+36.506s	3
5	1	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Renault	69	+37.060s	2
6	9	Gianni Morbidelli	Footwork Hart	68	+1 lap	1
7	24	Luca Badoer	Minardi Ford	68	+1 lap	0
8	4	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	68	+1 lap	0
9	10	Taki Inoue	Footwork Hart	67	+2 laps	0
NC	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier Mugen Honda	61	DNF	0
NC	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	61	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	22	Roberto Moreno	Forti Ford	54	DNF	0
NC	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	50	DNF	0
NC	7	Mark Blundell	McLaren Mercedes	47	DNF	0
NC	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	42	DNF	0
NC	16	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific Ilmor	36	DNF	0
NC	30	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	26	DNF	0
NC	21	Pedro Diniz	Forti Ford	26	DNF	0
NC	29	Jean-Christophe Boullion	Sauber Ford	19	DNF	0
NC	17	Andrea Montermini	Pacific Ilmor	5	DNF	0
NC	6	David Coulthard	Williams Renault	1	DNF	0
NC	2	Johnny Herbert	Benetton Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	0	DNF	0

2006

Fernando Alonso edged closer to clinching the world championship with a win at the 2006 British Grand Prix, his 14th consecutive podium finish. “So far it has been fantastic, with five wins and three seconds,” he remarked, praising the flawless performance and the team’s efforts.

Michael Schumacher took second for Ferrari and Finn Kimi Raikkonen third for McLaren.

This race also featured the first ever pit stop to have involved a woman, during a Midland F1 pit stop for Tiago Monteiro, ITV-F1’s then pit-lane reporter Louise Goodman was the left rear tyre changer.

2006 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	60	1:25:51.927	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	60	+13.951s	8
3	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	60	+18.672s	6
4	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	60	+19.976s	5
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	60	+31.559s	4
6	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren Mercedes	60	+64.769s	3
7	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	60	+71.594s	2
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber BMW	60	+78.299s	1
9	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams Cosworth	60	+79.008s	0
10	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	59	+1 lap	0
11	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	59	+1 lap	0
12	14	David Coulthard	RBR Ferrari	59	+1 lap	0
13	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Cosworth	59	+1 lap	0
14	15	Christian Klien	RBR Ferrari	59	+1 lap	0
15	19	Christijan Albers	MF1 Toyota	59	+1 lap	0
16	18	Tiago Monteiro	MF1 Toyota	58	+2 laps	0
17	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	57	+3 laps	0
18	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri Honda	57	+3 laps	0
NC	12	Jenson Button	Honda	8	DNF	0
NC	21	Scott Speed	STR Cosworth	1	DNF	0
NC	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	0	DNF	0
NC	9	Mark Webber	Williams Cosworth	0	DNF	0

2017

The 2017 Canadian Grand Prix saw Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes secure pole, equalling Ayrton Senna‘s record of 65 career poles. Hamilton dominated the race, leading all 70 laps and setting the fastest lap on the 64th circuit of his career, finishing almost 20 seconds ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas to secure Mercedes’ first 1-2 finish of the season. Red Bull Racing‘s Daniel Ricciardo completed the podium in third place. ​

The race featured several notable incidents, including a first-lap collision involving Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa, which led to their immediate retirements and an early safety car. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel sustained front wing damage during the opening lap, making an early pit stop that dropped him to the back of the field. Despite this setback, Vettel executed a remarkable recovery drive to finish fourth, overtaking both Force India drivers, Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon, in the closing stages. Local favourite Lance Stroll earned his first career points by finishing ninth, becoming the first Canadian driver to score in Formula One since Jacques Villeneuve in 2006. ​

2017 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	70	1:33:05.154	25
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	70	+19.783s	18
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	70	+35.297s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	70	+35.907s	12
5	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	70	+40.476s	10
6	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	70	+40.716s	8
7	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+58.632s	6
8	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	70	+60.374s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	69	+1 lap	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	69	+1 lap	1
11	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	69	+1 lap	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	69	+1 lap	0
15	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber Ferrari	68	+2 laps	0
16	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	66	DNF	0
NC	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	54	DNF	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	10	DNF	0
NC	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 11 June

Birthday	F1 Driver
11 June 1936	Brian Whitehouse (d. 2005)
11 June 1939	Jackie Stewart
11 June 1947	Bob Evans
11 June 1949	Tom Pryce (d. 1977)
11 June 1964	Jean Alesi

Birthday	F1 Mentions
11 June 1953	Pat Symonds Former Chief Technical Officer at Williams Grand Prix Engineering.

F1 Driver Deaths 11 June

Death	F1 Driver
11 June 1955	Pierre Levegh (b. 1905)
11 June 1966	Jimmy Davies (b. 1929)
11 June 1966	Jud Larson (b. 1923)
11 June 1972	Jo Bonnier (b. 1931)