What Happened On This Day March 11 In F1 History?

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

1930

American racer Troy Ruttman was born on this day. From 1950 to 1960, he competed in eight Grand Prix. Ruttman is famously remembered for his victory at the 1952 Indianapolis 500 when the race was part of the F1 Championship, where he became the youngest winner in the event’s history at 22 years and 80 days old. A record that still stands. Starting his racing career at just 15, Ruttman secured multiple regional and AAA-sanctioned championships. Ruttman died from cancer at 67 on May 19, 1997.

1943

Italian driver Arturo Francesco Merzario, known for his heroic rescue of Niki Lauda in 1976, was born on this day. Merzario raced in 57 Grand Prix from 1972 to 1979 for Ferrari, Frank Williams, Fittipaldi, March, and Shadow, before founding his own, Team Merzario, in 1977. He scored 11 Championship points with his final appearance at the 1979 United States Grand Prix.

During the 1976 German Grand Prix, Niki Lauda crashed heavily; Merzario was one of the drivers, along with Guy Edwards, Brett Lunger and Harald Ertl who stopped to help, effectively pulling Lauda out of the burning car.

1953

Derek Daly, an Irish driver, was born on this day in Dublin. Competing in 64 Grand Prix with 49 starts from 1978 to 1982. Daly made his Formula One debut at the 1978 United States Grand Prix West. With 15 championship points by the end of his F1 career, he became the first Irish driver to score in Formula One, and he remains the highest-scoring Irish driver to date. After his Formula One career, Daly moved to the United States to race in CART and IMSA series, leading Nissan to win the IMSA GTP Championship in 1990. Daly later founded a racing school in Las Vegas and worked as a television commentator in America.

1990

The 1990 Formula 1 season began in Phoenix, Arizona, at the 1990 United States Grand Prix, with Ayrton Senna securing a challenging victory in his McLaren Honda. Rain during qualifying disrupted the grid, but in only his second season, Jean Alesi initially led the race for Tyrrell. Senna, starting fifth, overtook Alesi after expecting the Tyrrell’s Pirelli tyres to degrade quicker than his own Goodyears. Despite a thrilling battle, Senna eventually took the lead, and Alesi finished an impressive second, despite the underfunded Tyrrell 018, just eight seconds behind and over 45 seconds ahead of third-placed Thierry Boutsen in the Williams Renault. It was Alesi’s first podium finish while Swiss driver Gregor Foitek made his Formula One race debut for the Brabham team.

Senna and Alesi had nothing but praise for one another post-race. Senna said he knew Alesi had the ingredients to be World Champion, and Alesi gushed, “He is my hero and has been for many years.” With two of Ken Tyrrell’s cars in the points, Senna wasn’t the only winner, with the team bagging seven vital Constructors’s points.

1990 United States Grand Prix Race Results

2000

Jenson Button survived a 160-mph crash during practice at his F1 debut, the 2000 Australian Grand Prix, severely damaging his Williams FW22 car. He was fifth fastest at the time. He eventually qualified 21st after he was caught out by yellow and red flags in the spare car and retired from sixth due to engine failure during the race.

F1 Driver Birthdays 11 March

F1 Driver Deaths 11 March