What happened on this day, June 29 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1921
American Formula One driver Harry Schell was born on this day in Paris, France. Known for his race craft rather than his victories, Schell failed to secure any championship titles but earned respect up and down the paddock.
Over his decade-long career, he raced for prestigious teams such as Maserati, Ferrari, Gordini, BRM, and Vanwall. Schell celebrated a victory in a non-championship Grand Prix with Ferrari in 1957. By 1959, he resorted to privately entering a Cooper to maintain his presence in the top formulas.
His final race was in 1960, competing in only one championship event before tragically dying during a practice session for the International Trophy at Silverstone. He lost control at 100 mph, struck mud, and violently somersaulted into a brick wall, leading to his immediate death and the wall’s destruction.
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1980
Alan Jones defeated seven home drivers at Paul Ricard for the 1980 French Grand Prix. The starting lineup had been promising for France, with Jacques Laffite in a Ligier, Rene Arnoux in a Renault, and Didier Pironi in another Ligier occupying the top three on the grid. With four more French drivers among the top ten, expectations were high.
Laffite surged ahead from the start, setting a formidable pace and leaving Pironi, Arnoux, and Jones vying for second. Jones overtook Arnoux, and then Pironi within a few laps, but Laffite had already established a significant lead of eight seconds. Nevertheless, Laffite’s aggressive start had worn out his tyres, allowing Jones to gradually reduce the gap. By lap 35, Jones effortlessly overtook him and quickly extended his lead. Eventually, Laffite also lost a position to Pironi, finishing third. Pironi took second.
1980 French Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams Ford | 54 | 1:32:43.420 | 9 |
| 2 | 25 | Didier Pironi | Ligier Ford | 54 | +4.520s | 6 |
| 3 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Ford | 54 | +30.260s | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham Ford | 54 | +74.880s | 3 |
| 5 | 16 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 54 | +76.150s | 2 |
| 6 | 28 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams Ford | 54 | +76.740s | 1 |
| 7 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren Ford | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows Ford | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows Ford | 53 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 4 | Derek Daly | Tyrrell Ford | 52 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 52 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 20 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi Ford | 50 | DNF | 0 |
| 14 | 3 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell Ford | 50 | +4 laps | 0 |
| NC | 31 | Eddie Cheever | Osella Ford | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Marc Surer | ATS Ford | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Patrick Depailler | Alfa Romeo | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Mario Andretti | Lotus Ford | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi Ford | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Alain Prost | McLaren Ford | 6 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus Ford | 3 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Ricardo Zunino | Brabham Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
1997
In an uneventful 1997 French Grand Prix, a sudden rain shower near the end added some excitement. The rain caused the track to become increasingly tricky, leading to Michael Schumacher spinning even though he had a substantial lead over Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Despite this, he swiftly recovered and comfortably secured the victory over the Williams driver.
Meanwhile, a more intense battle unfolded for fifth place among Jean Alesi, Ralf Schumacher, and David Coulthard. The three drivers were tightly bunched, struggling for traction, until Ralf Schumacher spun and fell a lap behind his brother. It appeared he would finish out of the points after a strong performance, but in a display of sportsmanship, Michael slowed down to allow his brother to unlap himself. This move gave Ralf another lap to race, during which he managed to overtake Coulthard and clinch the final point.
Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate, Eddie Irvine, completed the podium in third.
1997 French Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 72 | 1:38:50.492 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams Renault | 72 | +23.537s | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 72 | +74.801s | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams Renault | 72 | +81.784s | 3 |
| 5 | 7 | Jean Alesi | Benetton Renault | 72 | +82.735s | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan Peugeot | 72 | +89.871s | 1 |
| 7 | 10 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 71 | DNF | 0 |
| 8 | 16 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber Petronas | 71 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 12 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Peugeot | 71 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 14 | Jarno Trulli | Prost Mugen Honda | 70 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 20 | Ukyo Katayama | Minardi Hart | 70 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | Damon Hill | Arrows Yamaha | 69 | +3 laps | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell Ford | 61 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton Renault | 60 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows Yamaha | 58 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Norberto Fontana | Sauber Petronas | 40 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart Ford | 36 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Jan Magnussen | Stewart Ford | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Jos Verstappen | Tyrrell Ford | 15 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Shinji Nakano | Prost Mugen Honda | 7 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Tarso Marques | Minardi Hart | 5 | DNF | 0 |
2003
The Williams of Ralf Schumacher triumphed at the Nurburgring for the 2003 European Grand Prix in front of his home crowd, while his brother and championship leader, Michael Schumacher, experienced a challenging weekend.
Kimi Raikkonen was initially poised for victory after securing pole position, but his race ended prematurely due to an engine failure on lap 25 while leading. This mishap handed a comfortable lead to Ralf, who had already outperformed Michael at the start.
Throughout the weekend, Michael’s Ferrari, equipped with Bridgestone tyres, struggled against cars with Michelin tyres, including Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams who eventually finished in second. Montoya determined not to trail the Ferrari, executed a bold overtake around the outside at the hairpin. Despite leaving adequate room, the two cars made contact, causing Michael to spin. Controversially, marshals intervened to remove Michael’s car from the gravel, citing its potentially dangerous position. He resumed the race and managed to secure a fifth-place finish, earning four critical points. Rubens Barrichello finished third for Ferrari.
Michael later clinched the championship by a narrow two-point margin over Raikkonen.
2003 European Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 60 | 1:34:43.622 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams BMW | 60 | +16.821s | 8 |
| 3 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 60 | +39.673s | 6 |
| 4 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 60 | +65.731s | 5 |
| 5 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 60 | +66.162s | 4 |
| 6 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar Cosworth | 59 | +1 lap | 3 |
| 7 | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR Honda | 59 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 8 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber Petronas | 59 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 9 | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber Petronas | 59 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 15 | Antonio Pizzonia | Jaguar Cosworth | 59 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan Ford | 58 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Ford | 58 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi Cosworth | 58 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 14 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi Cosworth | 57 | +3 laps | 0 |
| 15 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 53 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR Honda | 51 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 37 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 37 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 25 | DNF | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 29 June
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 29 June 1921 | Harry Schell (d. 1960) |
| 29 June 1995 | Nicholas Latifi |
| Birthday | F1 Mentions |
|---|---|
| 29 June 1956 | Nick Fry Chief Executive Officer of the Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team. |
F1 Driver Deaths 29 June
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 29 June 2000 | Rodney Nuckey (b. 1929) |
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