What Happened On This Day March 17 In F1 History?

From the birth of one time F1 racer Fred Gamble to Valtteri Bottas winning the 2019 Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes.

Lee Parker

By Lee Parker
Updated on January 20, 2025

2019 Australian Grand Prix Podium

What happened on this day, March 17 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1932

Fred Gamble, a racing driver born in Pittsburgh, competed in only one F1 Championship race, the 1960 Italian Grand Prix. He finished 10th overall driving the Formula Two Behra-Porsche, scoring no Championship points. After retiring from racing, he worked for Goodyear, the tyre manufacturer, where he fought to approve an International Racing Tyre Division. Gamble was appointed its founding Director. In just 5 years, Gamble and his team had racked up seven World Championships and 3 Le Mans victories (Ferrari 1965, Ford 1966–1967), Goodyear’s first Formula One win (Ginther/Honda-Mexico 65) and Gurney’s historic All-American 1967 Belgian GP win. Gamble died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 30, 2024, at 92.

1998

Jackie Stewart announced the signing of Scotsman Andrew Kirkaldy under his management, emphasising a bright future for him in racing. Stewart commented, “We would not have taken Andrew on if I did not believe he has a great future. He is one of the real budding young talents. Hopefully, he is going to be waving the St Andrew’s Cross around the world for many years, and people will be waving it for him.” Kirkaldy later had a test drive with McLaren, though he did not advance to Formula One.

2000

Bernie Ecclestone slammed Tony Blair after a £1 million donation to the Labour Party was returned once it became public, amidst claims it was a ploy for a Formula One exemption from the tobacco advertising ban. Ecclestone had previously kept silent about the donation, a stance initially shared by Blair, who later unexpectedly spoke about it. Ecclestone expressed disappointment, saying, “I rarely regret anything I do, but I’m disappointed that Blair could not keep his word about that,” he said. “I said to those clowns: if someone puts me up against the wall with a machinegun, I will not confirm or deny anything about the donation. They said, okay, okay, we will do the same. The next thing that happens is that Blair has started talking. I only found out by accident. It is third-rate behaviour.”

2002

During the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix race weekend, Michael Schumacher secured Ferrari their 150th pole position. The race saw an early collision involving Juan Pablo Montoya in a Williams and Schumacher’s Ferrari, with stewards blaming Montoya and issuing a drive-through penalty—a decision many, including Schumacher, deemed too severe. Ultimately, Michael Schumacher’s brother, Ralf Schumacher, won the race for Williams, followed by Montoya and Michael in third place.

Such was Ferrari and Schumacher’s dominance that season that it would be Williams’ only win and only double podium of 2002. It was also one of just two races Ferrari didn’t win (the other being the Monaco Grand Prix, won by David Coulthard in a McLaren). It was also the only time in the 2002 season that Michael Schumacher finished on the podium without securing first or second place.

2002 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
15Ralf SchumacherWilliams BMW561:34:12.91210
26Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams BMW56+39.700s6
31Michael SchumacherFerrari56+61.795s4
415Jenson ButtonRenault56+69.767s3
57Nick HeidfeldSauber Petronas55+1 lap2
68Felipe MassaSauber Petronas55+1 lap1
725Allan McNishToyota55+1 lap0
811Jacques VilleneuveBAR Honda55+1 lap0
910Takuma SatoJordan Honda54+2 laps0
1017Pedro de la RosaJaguar Cosworth54+2 laps0
1120Heinz-Harald FrentzenArrows Cosworth54+2 laps0
1224Mika SaloToyota53+3 laps0
139Giancarlo FisichellaJordan Honda53+3 laps0
NC2Rubens BarrichelloFerrari39DNF0
NC23Mark WebberMinardi Asiatech34DNF0
NC16Eddie IrvineJaguar Cosworth30DNF0
NC22Alex YoongMinardi Asiatech29DNF0
NC4Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren Mercedes24DNF0
NC21Enrique BernoldiArrows Cosworth20DNF0
NC3David CoulthardMcLaren Mercedes15DNF0
NC12Olivier PanisBAR Honda9DNF0
NC14Jarno TrulliRenault9DNF0

2013

Kimi Räikkönen won the 2013 Australian Grand Prix with the Lotus F1 Team, followed by the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso in second place and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel in third. Remarkably the win was the last time a Formula One race was won by a driver from a team outside of Mercedes, Ferrari, or Red Bull until Pierre Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, 147 races later.

The race was also Kimi Räikkönen’s final win until his triumph at the 2018 United States Grand Prix and was the last victory by a Finnish driver until Valtteri Bottas, who made his F1 debut at this race when he won the 2017 Russian Grand Prix.

2013 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
17Kimi RäikkönenLotus Renault581:30:03.22525
23Fernando AlonsoFerrari58+12.451s18
31Sebastian VettelRed Bull Racing Renault58+22.346s15
44Felipe MassaFerrari58+33.577s12
510Lewis HamiltonMercedes58+45.561s10
62Mark WebberRed Bull Racing Renault58+46.800s8
715Adrian SutilForce India Mercedes58+65.068s6
814Paul di RestaForce India Mercedes58+68.449s4
95Jenson ButtonMcLaren Mercedes58+81.630s2
108Romain GrosjeanLotus Renault58+82.759s1
116Sergio PerezMcLaren Mercedes58+83.367s0
1218Jean-Eric VergneSTR Ferrari58+83.857s0
1312Esteban GutierrezSauber Ferrari57+1 lap0
1417Valtteri BottasWilliams Renault57+1 lap0
1522Jules BianchiMarussia Cosworth57+1 lap0
1620Charles PicCaterham Renault56+2 laps0
1723Max ChiltonMarussia Cosworth56+2 laps0
1821Giedo van der GardeCaterham Renault56+2 laps0
NC19Daniel RicciardoSTR Ferrari39DNF0
NC9Nico RosbergMercedes26DNF0
NC16Pastor MaldonadoWilliams Renault24DNF0
NC11Nico HulkenbergSauber FerrariDNS0

2019

The 2019 Australian Grand Prix saw the final running of Albert Park Circuit’s layout used since 1996. The 2020 and 2021 rounds were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2022 race featured a newly revised track configuration.

Lewis Hamilton, the reigning 2018 Drivers’ Champion, and his team, Mercedes, the defending 2018 Constructors’ Champions, came into the race with high expectations. Hamilton secured pole position, tying the record for the most poles at a single Grand Prix (8). However, the race was won by his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who started second on the grid. Hamilton finished in second place, and Max Verstappen claimed third for Red Bull. The race also saw the Formula One debut of future race winners Lando Norris and George Russell, driving for McLaren and Williams, respectively.

2019 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
PosNoDriverCarLapsTime/retiredPts
177Valtteri BottasMercedes581:25:27.32526
244Lewis HamiltonMercedes58+20.886s18
333Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Honda58+22.520s15
45Sebastian VettelFerrari58+57.109s12
516Charles LeclercFerrari58+58.230s10
620Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari58+87.156s8
727Nico HulkenbergRenault57+1 lap6
87Kimi RäikkönenAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari57+1 lap4
918Lance StrollRacing Point BWT Mercedes57+1 lap2
1026Daniil KvyatScuderia Toro Rosso Honda57+1 lap1
1110Pierre GaslyRed Bull Racing Honda57+1 lap0
124Lando NorrisMcLaren Renault57+1 lap0
1311Sergio PerezRacing Point BWT Mercedes57+1 lap0
1423Alexander AlbonScuderia Toro Rosso Honda57+1 lap0
1599Antonio GiovinazziAlfa Romeo Racing Ferrari57+1 lap0
1663George RussellWilliams Mercedes56+2 laps0
1788Robert KubicaWilliams Mercedes55+3 laps0
NC8Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari29DNF0
NC3Daniel RicciardoRenault28DNF0
NC55Carlos SainzMcLaren Renault9DNF0
Note – Bottas scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race.

F1 Driver Birthdays 17 March

BirthdayF1 Driver
17 March 1910Ralph Pratt (d. 1981)
17 March 1932Fred Gamble
BirthdayF1 Mentions
17 March 1952Sergio Rinland
Argentine engineer and designer that worked with RAM, Williams, Brabham, Dallara, Sauber and Arrows.
17 March 1964Pat Fry
Chief Technical Officer at Alpine, as well as working for McLaren and Ferrari.

F1 Driver Deaths 17 March

DeathF1 Driver
17 MarchNone

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About The Author

Staff Writer

Lee Parker
Lee Parker

Lee is our staff writer specialising in anything technical within Formula 1 from aerodynamics to engines. Lee writes most of our F1 guides for beginners and experienced fans having followed the sports since 1991, researching and understanding how teams build the ultimate machines. Like everyone else on the team he listens to podcasts about F1 and enjoys reading biographies of former drivers.

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