What Happened On This Day June 16 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, June 16 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1923

Ron Flockhart, born on 16 June 1923 in Edinburgh, raced in 14 F1 championship events from 1954 to 1960, peaking with a third-place finish at Monza in 1956. He also achieved consecutive victories at the Le Mans 24-Hour in 1956 and 1957. An avid aviator, Flockhart attempted to set a flight record from Sydney to London in 1961 but was unsuccessful. Tragically, he died in a plane crash on 12 April 1962 while preparing for another attempt at the record, piloting a Mustang fighter.

1930

Innes Ireland, a famous driver in Formula 1, was born on this day June 16 1930. Starting with Lotus in 1959, he finished fourth and fifth in his first races and stood fourth in the 1960 drivers’ championship, buoyed by strong finishes at the 1960 Dutch Grand Prix and 1960 British Grand Prix. A severe accident in 1961 during Monaco’s practice session saw him break multiple bones, narrowly escaping a fatal allergic reaction to morphine thanks to Stirling Moss‘s intervention. He recovered to win the 1961 USA Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, celebrating Lotus’s first victory, though he was unexpectedly let go afterwards. Post-retirement, Ireland ventured into various businesses before focusing on writing and eventually became the president of the British Racing Drivers Club until his death in 1993.

1985

Michele Alboreto dominated the 1985 Canadian Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari one-two finish with Stefan Johansson. Alain Prost narrowly missed splitting the duo in a McLaren, trailing by just two seconds. Post-race, Alboreto described the Grand Prix as easy, experiencing no significant challenges after overtaking the championship leader, Elio de Angelis, in a Lotus.

Notably, both de Angelis and Prost had to slow down considerably so as not to run out of fuel (with Prost having to stop almost immediately after crossing the finishing line).

1985 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	70	1:46:01.813	9
2	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	70	+1.957s	6
3	2	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	70	+4.341s	4
4	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	70	+27.821s	3
5	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	70	+43.349s	2
6	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	70	+77.878s	1
7	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	69	+1 lap	0
8	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Renault	69	+1 lap	0
9	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	68	+2 laps	0
10	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	68	+2 laps	0
11	4	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell Ford	68	+2 laps	0
12	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Ford	68	+2 laps	0
13	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows BMW	67	+3 laps	0
14	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	67	+3 laps	0
15	8	Marc Surer	Brabham BMW	67	+3 laps	0
16	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	65	+5 laps	0
17	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	64	+6 laps	0
NC	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Motori Moderni	57	DNF	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	37	DNF	0
NC	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	35	DNF	0
NC	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	28	DNF	0
NC	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	25	DNF	0
NC	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM Hart	5	DNF	0
NC	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman Hart	3	DNF	0
NC	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW		DNS	0

1991

In a mesmerising drive, Nigel Mansell shattered multiple lap records in a spirited chase that narrowly missed beating his Williams teammate, Riccardo Patrese, who won the 1991 Mexican Grand Prix by a mere 1.3 seconds. Even the formidable Ayrton Senna, in the McLaren, had to abandon his pursuit due to an overheating engine. The race’s beginning was comically troubled, with multiple false starts due to stalled cars and further delays caused by issues with the scheduled TV satellite links. After a lengthy wait and slow parade laps, the race finally began nearly 30 minutes behind schedule. Senna eventually finished third in the McLaren-Honda, a full 57 seconds behind Patrese in first.

Larrousse driver Eric Bernard finished sixth, the last point scored by a chassis manufactured by Lola Cars. And as of 2025, it was the most recent Formula One race to feature a car powered by a Porsche engine in the Footwork cars.

1991 Mexican Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	67	1:29:52.205	10
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	67	+1.336s	6
3	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	67	+57.356s	4
4	33	Andrea de Cesaris	Jordan Ford	66	DNF	3
5	19	Roberto Moreno	Benetton Ford	66	+1 lap	2
6	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Ford	66	+1 lap	1
7	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ferrari	66	+1 lap	0
8	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Lamborghini	65	+2 laps	0
9	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Judd	65	+2 laps	0
10	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Judd	65	+2 laps	0
11	4	Stefano Modena	Tyrrell Honda	65	+2 laps	0
12	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Honda	64	+3 laps	0
NC	8	Mark Blundell	Brabham Yamaha	54	DNF	0
NC	32	Bertrand Gachot	Jordan Ford	51	DNF	0
NC	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Ford	48	DNF	0
NC	20	Nelson Piquet	Benetton Ford	44	DNF	0
NC	28	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	42	DNF	0
NC	22	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Judd	30	DNF	0
NC	9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Porsche	24	DNF	0
NC	7	Martin Brundle	Brabham Yamaha	20	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Ilmor	19	DNF	0
NC	27	Alain Prost	Ferrari	16	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Ilmor	15	DNF	0
NC	14	Olivier Grouillard	Fondmetal Ford	13	DNF	0
NC	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	5	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ferrari	4	DNF	0

1996

Williams driver Damon Hill emerged victorious at the 1996 Canadian Grand Prix, which proved disastrous for Ferrari. After stalling during the parade lap and starting from the back of the grid, Michael Schumacher retired on lap 43 due to a broken driveshaft. At the same time, Eddie Irvine‘s race was cut short on the second lap when his suspension failed. Hill’s teammate, Jacques Villeneuve in his debut season, finished a poignant second on the track that memorializes his father, Gilles Villeneuve. Frenchman Jean Alesi took third in a Benetton.

1996 Canadian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	69	1:36:03.465	10
2	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	69	+4.183s	6
3	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	69	+54.656s	4
4	8	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	69	+63.673s	3
5	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	68	+1 lap	2
6	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan Peugeot	68	+1 lap	1
7	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Ford	68	+1 lap	0
8	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Minardi Ford	67	+2 laps	0
NC	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi Ford	44	DNF	0
NC	22	Luca Badoer	Forti Ford	44	DNF	0
NC	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	42	DNF	0
NC	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	41	DNF	0
NC	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	39	DNF	0
NC	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	39	DNF	0
NC	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier Mugen Honda	38	DNF	0
NC	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	22	DNF	0
NC	23	Andrea Montermini	Forti Ford	22	DNF	0
NC	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	19	DNF	0
NC	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork Hart	10	DNF	0
NC	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork Hart	6	DNF	0
NC	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	6	DNF	0
NC	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 16 June

Birthday	F1 Driver
16 June 1923	Ron Flockhart (d. 1962)
16 June 1930	Mike Sparken (d. 2012)
16 June 1995	Jake Dennis

F1 Driver Deaths 16 June

Death	F1 Driver
16 June 1998	Fred Wacker (b. 1918)
16 June 2009	Peter Arundell (b. 1933)