What Happened On This Day June 20 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, June 20 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1904

The Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Recconus (AIACR), the precursor to today’s FIA, was established in Paris. The organisation took on a role similar to the modern FIA, overseeing global motorsport activities and representing the interests of motorists worldwide.

1920

Paul Pietsch, known for his pre-World War Two racing, competed primarily as a privateer and briefly with the Auto Union team. Although his career briefly overlapped with the FIA World Championship era, he primarily focused on his thriving publishing business during this time.

1952

Italian racer Luigi Fagioli passed away on 20 June 1952. After World War II, the 52-year-old joined the Alfa Romeo team for the inaugural 1950 Formula One season, claiming five podium finishes in six races and placing third overall in the first FIA World Championship. His final Grand Prix, in 1951, was also a victorious one, where he won the 1951 French Grand Prix alongside Juan Manuel Fangio. Fagioli remains the oldest driver to win an F1 race, having competed in seven Grand Prix races, winning one.

1954

Stirling Moss took his first podium at the 1954 Belgian Grand Prix in a Maserati. This race also featured Juan Manuel Fangio’s final appearance for Maserati in 1954, before he switched to Mercedes. Fangio secured the win, followed by Maurice Trintignant in a Ferrari and the promising young Moss.

1954 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	26	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	36	2:44:42.400	9
2	8	Maurice  Trintignant	Ferrari	36	+24.200s	6
3	22	Stirling Moss	Maserati	35	+1 lap	4
4	10	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari		SHC	1.5
4	10	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	35	+1 lap	1.5
5	18	Andre Pilette	Gordini	35	+1 lap	2
6	20	Prince Bira	Maserati	35	+1 lap	0
7	30	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	34	+2 laps	0
NC	16	Paul Frere	Gordini	14	DNF	0
NC	4	Nino Farina	Ferrari	14	DNF	0
NC	12	Jean Behra	Gordini	12	DNF	0
NC	28	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	3	DNF	0
NC	2	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	6	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	24	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	0	DNF	0

1971

The 1971 Dutch Grand Prix, held on June 20 at Circuit Zandvoort, was the fourth round of the 1971 Formula One World Championship. In treacherous wet conditions, the Ferrari of Jacky Ickx showcased his wet-weather skills by securing pole with a time of 1:17.42, achieving the fastest lap at 1:34.95 on lap 49, and leading the majority of the race to claim victory. The BRM of Pedro Rodríguez finished second, just under eight seconds behind Ickx, while the Ferrari of Clay Regazzoni secured third place, a lap down. The challenging weather led to numerous incidents, including spins by notable drivers such as Chris Amon and Jackie Stewart, which shuffled the final order. ​

This race was the final F1 weekend at Zandvoort before significant safety upgrades were introduced. Concerns over the circuit’s lack of safety features led to the cancellation of the Dutch Grand Prix in 1972. The event returned in 1973 following modifications to the track layout and the addition of improved safety measures.

1971 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	70	1:56:20.090	9
2	8	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	70	+7.990s	6
3	3	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	4
4	16	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	68	+2 laps	3
5	23	John Surtees	Surtees Ford	68	+2 laps	2
6	9	Jo Siffert	BRM	68	+2 laps	1
7	10	Howden  Ganley	BRM	66	+4 laps	0
8	30	Gijs van Lennep	Surtees Ford	65	+5 laps	0
9	21	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	65	+5 laps	0
10	24	Graham Hill	Brabham Ford	65	+5 laps	0
11	5	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	65	+5 laps	0
12	26	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	63	+7 laps	0
NC	31	Henri Pescarolo	March Ford	62	+8 laps	0
NC	22	Skip  Barber	March Ford	60	+10 laps	0
NC	28	Peter  Gethin	McLaren Ford	60	+10 laps	0
NC	19	Alex  Soler-Roig	March Ford	57	DNF	0
NC	25	Tim  Schenken	Brabham Ford	39	DNF	0
NC	6	Francois  Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	29	DNF	0
DQ	29	Rolf Stommelen	Surtees Ford	19	DSQ	0
DQ	14	Reine  Wisell	Lotus Ford	17	DSQ	0
NC	18	Nanni  Galli	March Alfa Romeo	7	DNF	0
NC	15	Dave  Walker	Lotus Pratt & Whitney	6	DNF	0
NC	4	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	5	DNF	0
NC	20	Chris Amon	Matra	2	DNF	0

2004

During the 2004 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Michael Schumacher clinched the win, a triumph shadowed by his near withdrawal from the race. This hesitation followed his brother Ralf Schumacher‘s severe accident caused by a tyre failure that hurled his car into the wall at high speed. The impact left Schumacher with spinal fractures and concussion, which prevented him from racing until the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, three months and six races later. This victory marked Ferrari’s 175th win in Formula 1 history.

Michael’s teammate, Rubens Barrichello, started from pole in his Ferrari. However, following a start-line incident between five cars, four of whom retired as a result, Schumacher overtook Barrichello on the safety car restart on lap six, and despite a threat from Barrichello after the final pit stops, Schumacher held on to take his eighth win of the season. BAR driver Takuma Sato became the second Japanese driver to achieve a podium finish coming home in third.

Ralf’s serious accident was caused by Michelin tyre failures in what would be a precedent for the 2005 United States Grand Prix, at which all Michelin-shod cars withdrew over safety concerns.

2004 United States Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	73	1:40:29.914	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	73	+2.950s	8
3	10	Takuma Sato	BAR Honda	73	+22.036s	6
4	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	73	+34.544s	5
5	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	73	+37.534s	4
6	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	72	+1 lap	3
7	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	72	+1 lap	2
8	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi Cosworth	70	+3 laps	1
9	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber Petronas	65	DNF	0
NC	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	60	DNF	0
NC	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan Ford	43	DNF	0
NC	9	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	26	DNF	0
NC	16	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	17	DNF	0
NC	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	9	DNF	0
NC	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	8	DNF	0
NC	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar Cosworth	0	DNF	0
NC	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber Petronas	0	DNF	0
NC	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi Cosworth	0	DNF	0
Note – Montoya was disqualified for abandoning his race car on the grid to switch to the spare car less than 15 seconds before the start of the formation lap.

2021

The 2021 French Grand Prix marked the 61st time the race had been included in the Formula One World Championship since the series began in 1950.

Max Verstappen secured pole position for Red Bull Racing, ahead of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. However, a mistake at the start saw Verstappen run wide, allowing Hamilton to take the early lead. The Dutchman regained control of the race after the first round of pit stops, but Red Bull opted for an aggressive two-stop strategy, bringing Verstappen in for a second pit stop, which dropped him 18 seconds behind Hamilton.

With the advantage of fresher tyres, Verstappen began closing the gap and eventually overtook Hamilton on the penultimate lap to secure victory, also claiming the bonus point for the fastest lap. His teammate Sergio Perez passed Bottas late in the race to secure third place, giving Red Bull a double podium finish.

2021 French Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	53	1:27:25.770	26
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	53	+2.904s	18
3	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda	53	+8.811s	15
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	53	+14.618s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	53	+64.032s	10
6	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	53	+75.857s	8
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri Honda	53	+76.596s	6
8	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	53	+77.695s	4
9	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Mercedes	53	+79.666s	2
10	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Mercedes	53	+91.946s	1
11	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	53	+99.337s	0
12	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda	52	+1 lap	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	52	+1 lap	0
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
16	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	52	+1 lap	0
19	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
20	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas Ferrari	52	+1 lap	0
Note – Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

F1 Driver Birthdays 20 June

Birthday	F1 Driver
20 June 1911	Paul Pietsch (d. 2012)
20 June 1918	George Lynch (d. 1997)

Birthday	F1 Mentions
20 June 1979	James Vowles Team Principal for Williams. He previously worked for the Mercedes team.

F1 Driver Deaths 20 June

Death	F1 Driver
20 June 1952	Luigi Fagioli (b. 1898)