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
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 5 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 56 | 1:34:12.912 | 10 |
2 | 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams BMW | 56 | +39.700s | 6 |
3 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 56 | +61.795s | 4 |
4 | 15 | Jenson Button | Renault | 56 | +69.767s | 3 |
5 | 7 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber Petronas | 55 | +1 lap | 2 |
6 | 8 | Felipe Massa | Sauber Petronas | 55 | +1 lap | 1 |
7 | 25 | Allan McNish | Toyota | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
8 | 11 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR Honda | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
9 | 10 | Takuma Sato | Jordan Honda | 54 | +2 laps | 0 |
10 | 17 | Pedro de la Rosa | Jaguar Cosworth | 54 | +2 laps | 0 |
11 | 20 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Arrows Cosworth | 54 | +2 laps | 0 |
12 | 24 | Mika Salo | Toyota | 53 | +3 laps | 0 |
13 | 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Honda | 53 | +3 laps | 0 |
NC | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 39 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 23 | Mark Webber | Minardi Asiatech | 34 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 16 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar Cosworth | 30 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 22 | Alex Yoong | Minardi Asiatech | 29 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 24 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 21 | Enrique Bernoldi | Arrows Cosworth | 20 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 3 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 15 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 12 | Olivier Panis | BAR Honda | 9 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 14 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 9 | DNF | 0 |
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
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus Renault | 58 | 1:30:03.225 | 25 |
2 | 3 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 58 | +12.451s | 18 |
3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing Renault | 58 | +22.346s | 15 |
4 | 4 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 58 | +33.577s | 12 |
5 | 10 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 58 | +45.561s | 10 |
6 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing Renault | 58 | +46.800s | 8 |
7 | 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India Mercedes | 58 | +65.068s | 6 |
8 | 14 | Paul di Resta | Force India Mercedes | 58 | +68.449s | 4 |
9 | 5 | Jenson Button | McLaren Mercedes | 58 | +81.630s | 2 |
10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus Renault | 58 | +82.759s | 1 |
11 | 6 | Sergio Perez | McLaren Mercedes | 58 | +83.367s | 0 |
12 | 18 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR Ferrari | 58 | +83.857s | 0 |
13 | 12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber Ferrari | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
14 | 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
15 | 22 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia Cosworth | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
16 | 20 | Charles Pic | Caterham Renault | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
17 | 23 | Max Chilton | Marussia Cosworth | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
18 | 21 | Giedo van der Garde | Caterham Renault | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
NC | 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR Ferrari | 39 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 9 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 26 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams Renault | 24 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber Ferrari | DNS | 0 |
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
Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 58 | 1:25:27.325 | 26 |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 58 | +20.886s | 18 |
3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 58 | +22.520s | 15 |
4 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 58 | +57.109s | 12 |
5 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 58 | +58.230s | 10 |
6 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 58 | +87.156s | 8 |
7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 6 |
8 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 57 | +1 lap | 4 |
9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 57 | +1 lap | 2 |
10 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 1 |
11 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Red Bull Racing Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
12 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
15 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
16 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 56 | +2 laps | 0 |
17 | 88 | Robert Kubica | Williams Mercedes | 55 | +3 laps | 0 |
NC | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 29 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 28 | DNF | 0 |
NC | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 9 | DNF | 0 |
Note – Bottas scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. |
F1 Driver Birthdays 17 March
Birthday | F1 Driver |
---|---|
17 March 1910 | Ralph Pratt (d. 1981) |
17 March 1932 | Fred Gamble |
Birthday | F1 Mentions |
---|---|
17 March 1952 | Sergio Rinland Argentine engineer and designer that worked with RAM, Williams, Brabham, Dallara, Sauber and Arrows. |
17 March 1964 | Pat Fry Chief Technical Officer at Alpine, as well as working for McLaren and Ferrari. |
F1 Driver Deaths 17 March
Death | F1 Driver |
---|---|
17 March | None |
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