What happened on this day, June 15 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1958
Tony Brooks led a British dominance at the 1958 Belgian Grand Prix, driving a Vanwall, with Mike Hawthorn in second (Ferrari), Stuart Lewis-Evans in third (Vanwell), and Cliff Allison (Lotus) trailing in fourth, marking a nearly complete British sweep. Only Hawthorn’s Ferrari, also the lone non-British car in the lead pack, malfunctioned, emitting smoke and steam as he finished the race. Stirling Moss‘ Vanwall, however, succumbed after just one lap.
This race also marked the first points finish for Lotus when Cliff Allison came across the line in fourth.
The race also marked the first World Championship race start (and finish) by a woman with Maria Teresa de Filippis, who had entered the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix earlier in the year but failed to qualify. She finished tenth in her privately-entered Maserati 250F, two laps behind Brooks’ Vanwall.
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1958 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Tony Brooks | Vanwall | 24 | 1:37:06.300 | 8 |
| 2 | 16 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 24 | +20.700s | 7 |
| 3 | 6 | Stuart Lewis-Evans | Vanwall | 24 | +180.900s | 4 |
| 4 | 40 | Cliff Allison | Lotus Climax | 24 | +255.500s | 3 |
| 5 | 10 | Harry Schell | BRM | 23 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 20 | Olivier Gendebien | Ferrari | 23 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 7 | 28 | Maurice Trintignant | Maserati | 23 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 24 | Roy Salvadori | Cooper Climax | 23 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 36 | Jo Bonnier | Maserati | 22 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 26 | Maria Teresa de Filippis | Maserati | 22 | +2 laps | 0 |
| NC | 38 | Paco Godia | Maserati | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Jack Brabham | Cooper Climax | 16 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 42 | Graham Hill | Lotus Climax | 12 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Luigi Musso | Ferrari | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Jean Behra | BRM | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Peter Collins | Ferrari | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 32 | Wolfgang Seidel | Maserati | 4 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 30 | Masten Gregory | Maserati | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Stirling Moss | Vanwall | 0 | DNF | 0 |
1961
Giulio Cabianca, an occasional F1 driver, met a tragic end on this day in a freak accident at Modena when his Cooper‘s throttle stuck, causing him to veer off the track and collide with a taxi on a nearby road, resulting in fatalities for all occupants of the taxi.
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1986
After his win in Belgium, Williams driver Nigel Mansell won at the 1986 Canadian Grand Prix, narrowing his gap to championship leader Alain Prost to just two points. In the race, Senna inadvertently held back the field with his heavily fueled Lotus, allowing Mansell an advantage. Meanwhile, Patrick Tambay had a narrow escape during a 160mph crash in a warm-up session.
Frenchman Prost finished second for McLaren, with Mansell’s Brazilian teammate Nelson Piquet third.
1986 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams Honda | 69 | 1:42:26.415 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Alain Prost | McLaren TAG | 69 | +20.659s | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Williams Honda | 69 | +36.262s | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | Keke Rosberg | McLaren TAG | 69 | +95.673s | 3 |
| 5 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus Renault | 68 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 25 | Rene Arnoux | Ligier Renault | 68 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Renault | 68 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 68 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell Renault | 67 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | Alan Jones | Lola Ford | 66 | +3 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 4 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell Renault | 65 | +4 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 29 | Huub Rothengatter | Zakspeed | 63 | +6 laps | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham BMW | 44 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella Alfa Romeo | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Andrea de Cesaris | Minardi Motori Moderni | 40 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows BMW | 38 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton BMW | 34 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 28 | Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Johnny Dumfries | Lotus Renault | 28 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Jonathan Palmer | Zakspeed | 24 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Derek Warwick | Brabham BMW | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 24 | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi Motori Moderni | 17 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Teo Fabi | Benetton BMW | 13 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Christian Danner | Osella Alfa Romeo | 6 | DNF | 0 |
1993
James Hunt, former 1976 F1 champion, died suddenly at 45 due to a heart attack at his home in Wimbledon. His death came shortly after his engagement, aiming for a third marriage. Known for his flamboyant lifestyle during his racing career, Hunt later transformed into a respected commentator. Financial difficulties had diminished his wealth, leading to a modest lifestyle at his death. His death profoundly affected his friend and former rival Niki Lauda, who remembered with “For me, James was the most charismatic personality who’s ever been in Formula One.”
1997
The 1997 Canadian Grand Prix ended abruptly after Oliver Panis suffered a high-speed 160mph crash, stopping the race with 14 laps to go. Panis sustained two broken legs after his Prost car collided with a wall.
The incident led to Michael Schumacher clinching a “fortunate victory,” as described by the Guardian, following multiple failures, including on lap 2, local driver and eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve who crashed into the wall on the exit of the final corner. The wall would later be known as the ‘Wall of Champions’, after three former World Champions, including Villeneuve, crashed into it separately in the 1999 race. While McLaren driver David Coulthard had been leading, was delayed for over a lap by a clutch problem during his second pit stop, dropping him to seventh in the final standings.
Jean Alesi in the Benetton and Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan finished second and third.
1997 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 54 | 1:17:40.646 | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | Jean Alesi | Benetton Renault | 54 | +2.565s | 6 |
| 3 | 12 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Peugeot | 54 | +3.219s | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams Renault | 54 | +3.768s | 3 |
| 5 | 16 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber Petronas | 54 | +4.716s | 2 |
| 6 | 15 | Shinji Nakano | Prost Mugen Honda | 54 | +36.701s | 1 |
| 7 | 10 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 54 | +37.753s | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows Yamaha | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 1 | Damon Hill | Arrows Yamaha | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 17 | Gianni Morbidelli | Sauber Petronas | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 14 | Olivier Panis | Prost Mugen Honda | 51 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell Ford | 46 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Jos Verstappen | Tyrrell Ford | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton Renault | 35 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart Ford | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Jarno Trulli | Minardi Hart | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan Peugeot | 14 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Ukyo Katayama | Minardi Hart | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams Renault | 1 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Jan Magnussen | Stewart Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2003
Michael Schumacher secured a win at the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix, pushing him into a three-point lead over Kimi Raikkonen in the season’s championship standings.
Despite the win, Schumacher had stiff competition, with Ralf Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Fernando Alonso closely battling the win with him, all finishing within 3.4 seconds of each other. The Daily Mail said:
“The good news is that Schumacher was hounded every inch of the way to the chequered flag by the Williams-BMW duo of his brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya, and Fernando Alonso in the Renault. A mere 3.4 seconds separated the leading quartet.”
This was the fourth time that the Schumacher brothers had finished 1-2, having become the first siblings to do so at the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix on 10 June.
2003 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 70 | 1:31:13.591 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 70 | +0.784s | 8 |
| 3 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams BMW | 70 | +1.355s | 6 |
| 4 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 70 | +4.481s | 5 |
| 5 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 70 | +64.261s | 4 |
| 6 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 70 | +70.502s | 3 |
| 7 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar Cosworth | 69 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 8 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 69 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 9 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi Cosworth | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | Antonio Pizzonia | Jaguar Cosworth | 66 | DNF | 0 |
| 11 | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 64 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi Cosworth | 60 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR Honda | 51 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 47 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber Petronas | 47 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Ford | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan Ford | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR Honda | 14 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber Petronas | 6 | DNF | 0 |
2013
Jose Froilan Gonzalez, the first driver to secure a world championship Grand Prix victory for Ferrari, passed away in Buenos Aires at age 90. Known as ‘The Pampas Bull’ due to his full-bodied physique, Gonzalez triumphed at Silverstone in 1951 and 1954, retiring in 1960. He finished second in the championship to Juan Manuel Fangio in 1954.
Luca di Montezemolo, then Ferrari president, expressed deep sadness at his passing, noting Gonzalez’s lasting bond with Ferrari and his significant role in its the team and F1 history.
F1 Driver Birthdays 15 June
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 15 June 1916 | Gene Force (d. 1983) |
| 15 June 1920 | Keith Andrews (d. 1957) |
| 15 June 1958 | Riccardo Paletti (d. 1982) |
F1 Driver Deaths 15 June
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 15 June 1961 | Giulio Cabianca (b. 1923) |
| 15 June 1993 | James Hunt (b. 1947) |
| 15 June 2013 | Jose-Froilan Gonzalez (b. 1922) |
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