What happened on this day, March 16 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1942
Gijs van Lennep, a Dutch race driver born on this day in 1942, is known more for his endurance racing than his eight Grands Prix appearances. He claimed victory at the 1971 Le Mans with Helmut Marko and again in 1976 with Jacky Ickx, after which he retired from racing. His best results in F1 were two sixth-place finishes, one at his home race in 1973 with Frank Williams Racing Cars and the other in 1975 at the German Grand Prix for Ensign.
1943
Hans Heyer, born in Monchengladbach, Germany, is remembered for his unconventional single Grand Prix start for the 1977 German Grand Prix. The event had limited grid slots, allowing only 24 of the 30 entrants to race, which Heyer initially failed to secure, thus earning his DNQ. He wasn’t expected to race as a third reserve, but due to unforeseen withdrawals and a starting light malfunction, he slipped onto the track unnoticed. His race ended abruptly after nine laps due to gearbox failure, marking a DNF. His unauthorised start also led to a disqualification. This series of misfortunes culminated in a de facto lifetime ban from Formula One, as it was his first and last appearance in the sport.
Despite this infamous F1 outing, Heyer had some success in touring car races. However, his 14 attempts at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended ironically in DNFs.
1995
McLaren announced that Mark Blundell would temporarily drive for the team while a pretty significant cost of £500,000 of modifications were made to the car to accommodate Nigel Mansell, who was frustrated by the initially too-small cockpit. Mansell eventually left the team after just two races due to displeasure with the car’s setup. A decision he later says he regretted.
1996
Eddie Irvine and his dismissive remarks about Damon Hill following the 1996 Australian Grand Prix proved ill-judged as Hill went on to win the 1996 Drivers’ Championship that year. Irvine had criticised Hill’s performance, suggesting he lacked the calibre to win the championship, especially compared to Jacques Villeneuve and his ‘superior’ performance during the race. Irvine said: ”He isn’t good enough to win the World Championship. I just don’t believe Damon has it inside him to become world champion. When you look at him, it’s just not there, is it?. Damon was buried by Jacques in Australia. To be honest, Jacques made him look silly. Jacques looked better in every session, even though Damon has got years more Formula One experience. He drove circles round Damon.”
2000
Renault re-entered Formula One by acquiring Benetton for $110 million, with Flavio Briatore as the team principal. Luciano Benetton, the team’s chairman, expressed that competing with insufficient budgets made wins nearly impossible, prompting the sale. Renault would go on to clinch the constructors’ championships in 2005 and 2006, with Fernando Alonso winning both drivers’ championships.
2001
Tensions flared at the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix between McLaren and Ferrari. The confrontation began when a Ferrari technician was seen lingering in front of McLaren’s garage, leading to a physical altercation with a McLaren mechanic. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis commented, “I didn’t see the incident, but I know the Ferrari guy concerned and his body language is always pretty infuriating. But it is a pit lane. He is not the traditional tyre-spotter and we all live with each other’s tyre-spotters. ‘He was … generally being a bit of a Nosy Parker. There is nothing in the regulations to stop that happening, but when you step back over him as, in this instance, one of our guys did, then in this heat, with a bit of jet lag, the sympathy is not there.”
2008
The season-opening 2008 Australian Grand Prix attracted 200,000 fans and celebrated Rubens Barrichello‘s 250th Grand Prix start. However, it was a disappointing day for him after he was disqualified for ignoring a red light at the pit-lane exit. Lewis Hamilton, who started on pole in his McLaren–Mercedes, won the race, setting the stage for his eventual Drivers’ Championship victory that year.
Nick Heidfeld secured second for Sauber, and Nico Rosberg third in a Williams. This was Rosberg’s first F1 podium finish. The race was also the first time in seven years, since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix, not to feature cars using traction control, which the FIA had banned at the end of 2007.
2008 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 58 | 1:34:50.616 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber BMW | 58 | +5.478s | 8 |
| 3 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams Toyota | 58 | +8.163s | 6 |
| 4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +17.181s | 5 |
| 5 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren Mercedes | 58 | +18.014s | 4 |
| 6 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams Toyota | 57 | +1 lap | 3 |
| 7 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR Ferrari | 55 | DNF | 2 |
| 8 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 53 | DNF | 1 |
| NC | 4 | Robert Kubica | Sauber BMW | 47 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri Honda | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Renault | 30 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull Renault | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 19 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India Ferrari | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR Ferrari | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India Ferrari | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Anthony Davidson | Super Aguri Honda | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2014
The 2014 Australian Grand Prix saw the introduction of the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines to Formula One, the first use of turbocharged engines since 1988. German driver Nico Rosberg won the race with Mercedes, celebrating his fourth Grand Prix win. The win also mirrored a historical family record, as Rosberg’s father, Keke Rosberg, had won the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide in 1985—the first World Championship race hosted by Australia. This familial double had previously been achieved by Stan Jones and Alan Jones and Graham Hill and Damon Hill, with Rosberg having achieved the same at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Kevin Magnussen, in his Formula One debut, finished second for McLaren, scoring his first and only World Championship Grand Prix podium by a Danish driver as of 2025. Jenson Button came in third in the sister McLaren, recording his 50th and final Formula One podium, although he never made the podium ceremony due to a pending disqualification of Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo was later disqualified from the race when his Red Bull exceeded the maximum allowable fuel flow rate allowed in F1 technical regulations.
2014 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 57 | 1:32:58.710 | 25 |
| EX | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Renault | 57 | +24.525s | 0 |
| 2 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +26.777s | 18 |
| 3 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +30.027s | 15 |
| 4 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 57 | +35.284s | 12 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Mercedes | 57 | +47.639s | 10 |
| 6 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India Mercedes | 57 | +50.718s | 8 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 57 | +57.675s | 6 |
| 8 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR Renault | 57 | +60.441s | 4 |
| 9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR Renault | 57 | +63.585s | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 57 | +85.916s | 1 |
| 11 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber Ferrari | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber Ferrari | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia Ferrari | 55 | +2 laps | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia Ferrari | 49 | +8 laps | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus Renault | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus Renault | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham Renault | 27 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing Renault | 3 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 2 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| Note – Ricciardo originally finished second, but was excluded after his car was found to have exceeded the maximum permitted fuel flow rate. | ||||||
2025
Formula 1 was back! After a three-month break, the 2025 season roared into life at Melbourne’s Albert Park for the 2025 Australian Grand Prix, where the semi-permanent street circuit set the stage for an action-packed season opener. With a record-equalling 24 races spanning five continents, the journey from Australia to the season finale in December promised high-stakes battles, fresh rivalries, and plenty of storylines to follow. As the drivers and teams took to the track for the first time since last year’s 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all eyes were on Max Verstappen retaining the Drivers’ title and McLaren the Constructors’ Championship.
Come race day, Lando Norris claimed his first victory of the 2025 season with McLaren in a dramatic, rain-soaked season opener, edging out the Red Bull of Verstappen in chaotic conditions. The McLaren driver now led the World Championship for the first time in his F1 career, but his native teammate Oscar Piastri could only manage ninth after a costly late spin while racing in second place at the time. With Piastri tumbling down the order, George Russell, running fourth place, took the third step on the podium for Mercedes. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton endured a challenging Ferrari debut, finishing 10th after the team’s risky switch to slick tyres in the damp conditions backfired.
Full Race Report
2025 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | 1:42:06.304 | 25 |
| 2 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 57 | +0.895s | 18 |
| 3 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 57 | +8.481s | 15 |
| 4 | 12 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | 57 | +10.135s | 12 |
| 5 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 57 | +12.773s | 10 |
| 6 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 57 | +17.413s | 8 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 57 | +18.423s | 6 |
| 8 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 57 | +19.826s | 4 |
| 9 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +20.448s | 2 |
| 10 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | 57 | +22.473s | 1 |
| 11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 57 | +26.502s | 0 |
| 12 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 57 | +29.884s | 0 |
| 13 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Haas Ferrari | 57 | +33.161s | 0 |
| 14 | 87 | Oliver Bearman | Haas Ferrari | 57 | +40.351s | 0 |
| NC | 30 | Liam Lawson | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 46 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 45 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Williams Mercedes | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Jack Doohan | Alpine Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls Honda RBPT | 0 | DNF | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 16 March
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 16 March 1935 | Peter de Klerk |
| 16 March 1942 | Gijs van Lennep |
| 16 March 1943 | Hans Heyer |
F1 Driver Deaths 16 March
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 16 March 2009 | Thomas Monarch (b. 1945) |
| 16 March 2022 | Kunimitsu Takahashi (b. 1940) |
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