What Happened On This Day March 18 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, March 18 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1937

American racer Mark Donohue was born in Summit, New Jersey. After retiring in 1973, he briefly returned to racing with Penske in F1 but died because of a qualifying crash at the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix. Initially, he walked away, but a persistent headache worsened. After going to the hospital in Graz the next day, Donohue lapsed into a coma from a cerebral haemorrhage and died. During his career, he was known for his ability to set up his race car and drive it to wins.

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  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

1950

Australian driver Larry Perkins was born on this day in Murrayville, Victoria. He competed in 11 Grand Prix from 1974 to 1977, making his first appearance in Formula One at the 1974 German Grand Prix for Chris Amon Racing. He later raced in the Australian V8 championship and, after retiring, founded Perkins Engineering.

1962

German driver Volker Weidler was born in Heidelberg. He raced for Rial in F1 in 1989 but failed to qualify in ten attempts. While his Formula 1 career was unsuccessful, Weidler is best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991, driving alongside F1 driver Johnny Herbert and Belgium’s Bertrand Gachot.

1964

Italian driver Alex Caffi was born on this day in 1964 and competed in 56 Grands Prix from 1986 to 1991. He made his debut at the 1986 Italian Grand Prix with Osella. After retiring from F1, he pursued a career in Italian and Spanish touring cars and GT racing.

1977

Carlos Pace, a much-loved Brazilian F1 driver, tragically died at 32 in a light plane crash near Sao Paulo with fellow racer Marivaldo Fernandes. Pace, who competed in 71 Grands Prix for teams including Frank Williams Racing, Surtees, and Brabham, is commemorated by the naming of the Sao Paulo circuit after him. His single F1 Championship win came at his home race, the 1975 Brazilian Grand Prix. He also secured 6 podiums, 1 pole, 5 fastest laps and 58 career points.

1982

German driver Timo Glock was born. Making his F1 debut in 2004 with Jordan, he immediately scored championship points, joining an exclusive group of drivers to achieve this in their first race. His time with Toyota from 2008 to 2009 was the highlight of his Formula One career, during which he achieved multiple-point finishes. At the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix, Glock secured his first and the team’s first podium in nearly four years, finishing in second place. From 91 race starts he secured 3 podiums and 51 points.

1994

F1 faced mixed opinions on reintroducing refuelling, which had been banned since 1983. Williams’ Patrick Head supported the change for strategic edges, while McLaren’s Ron Dennis expressed concerns about the risks of handling flammable liquids under stress.

2001

The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix saw the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher take victory from pole position, followed by teammate Rubens Barrichello in second, and McLaren’s David Coulthard in third. The race was briefly delayed and shortened from 56 to 55 laps due to Giancarlo Fisichella of the Benetton team being out of position on the starting grid requiring a restart.

This win was Schumacher’s sixth consecutive victory from pole, surpassing the previous record held by former world champions Nigel Mansell and Alberto Ascari. In response to the tragic death of track marshal Graham Beveridge at the preceding Australian Grand Prix, Malaysian race organisers enforced enhanced safety measures without seeking help from Formula One officials. Changes included repositioned kerbs at turns five and six and retracted guard rails at turns two and 15 by 2 meters. These safety modifications were approved by FIA race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting, aiming to protect trackside personnel and drivers better.

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  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	55	1:47:34.801	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	55	+23.660s	6
3	4	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	55	+28.555s	4
4	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Honda	55	+46.543s	3
5	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	55	+48.233s	2
6	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	55	+48.606s	1
7	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows Asiatech	55	+81.560s	0
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan Honda	54	+1 lap	0
9	22	Jean Alesi	Prost Acer	54	+1 lap	0
10	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar Cosworth	54	+1 lap	0
11	8	Jenson Button	Benetton Renault	53	+2 laps	0
12	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost Acer	53	+2 laps	0
13	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi European	52	+3 laps	0
14	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi European	51	+4 laps	0
NC	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Renault	31	DNF	0
NC	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	3	DNF	0
NC	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	3	DNF	0
NC	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows Asiatech	3	DNF	0
NC	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	3	DNF	0
NC	9	Olivier Panis	BAR Honda	1	DNF	0
NC	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber Petronas	0	DNF	0

2003

Karl Kling, the oldest living F1 driver at the time, passed away at age 92. He started racing for the iconic Mercedes team before World War II, served as a Luftwaffe aircraft technician during the war, and resumed racing afterwards. In the early 1950s, Mercedes recruited him for their sports car and Formula One teams, leading to notable successes. He was runner-up at the 1954 French Grand Prix to Fangio and clinched victory in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana with Hans Klenk in a Mercedes 300SL. Kling retired in 1955 and later managed Mercedes’ rally program in the early 1960s. He made a notable visit to the German Grand Prix paddock in 1996.

2007

Kimi Raikkonen won the season-opening 2007 Australian Grand Prix with Ferrari, marking his tenth F1 victory. The race also featured Lewis Hamilton securing an impressive third-place finish with McLaren in his F1 debut. Hamilton’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, finished second.

Criticism was directed at Bridgestone for poorly visible tyre markings of the soft options when the car was on track, prompting a change in the next race. It was the first Grand Prix since the 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix where all Formula One teams used Bridgestone tyres, following Michelin’s departure from the sport after the 2006 season.

2007 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	58	1:25:28.770	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Mercedes	58	+7.242s	8
3	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	58	+18.595s	6
4	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	58	+38.763s	5
5	3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	58	+66.469s	4
6	5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	58	+66.805s	3
7	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	57	+1 lap	2
8	11	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	57	+1 lap	1
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	57	+1 lap	0
10	4	Heikki Kovalainen	Renault	57	+1 lap	0
11	8	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	57	+1 lap	0
12	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	57	+1 lap	0
13	15	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	57	+1 lap	0
14	18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
15	7	Jenson Button	Honda	57	+1 lap	0
16	23	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri Honda	56	+2 laps	0
17	20	Adrian Sutil	Spyker Ferrari	56	+2 laps	0
NC	17	Alexander Wurz	Williams Toyota	48	DNF	0
NC	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	48	DNF	0
NC	10	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	36	DNF	0
NC	19	Scott Speed	STR Ferrari	28	DNF	0
NC	21	Christijan Albers	Spyker Ferrari	10	DNF	0

2008

On this day in 2008, Jean Todt resigned as CEO of Scuderia Ferrari and was elected FIA president the following year, succeeding Max Mosely. In December 2021, he completed his 12-year term as FIA President; FIA rules limit the position to three 4-year terms.

2012

McLaren’s Jenson Button secured his third win at the Albert Park Circuit during the 2012 Australian Grand Prix. The reigning double World Champion, Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull Racing, finished in second, with Lewis Hamilton, who started from pole position and Button’s teammate at McLaren, rounding out the top three.

Racing for his home crowd, Mark Webber achieved his best Australian Grand Prix result by finishing fourth. This was the highest finish by an Australian in the event since Alfredo Costanzo, who also came in fourth back in 1984 under Australian domestic rules. The race became part of the World Championship the following year, in 1985.

2012 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	58	1:34:09.565	25
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	58	+2.139s	18
3	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	58	+4.075s	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	58	+4.547s	12
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	58	+21.565s	10
6	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	58	+36.766s	8
7	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	58	+38.014s	6
8	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	58	+39.458s	4
9	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	58	+39.556s	2
10	11	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	58	+39.737s	1
11	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	58	+39.848s	0
12	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	58	+57.642s	0
13	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	57	DNF	0
14	24	Timo Glock	Marussia Cosworth	57	+1 lap	0
15	25	Charles Pic	Marussia Cosworth	53	DNF	0
16	19	Bruno Senna	Williams Renault	52	DNF	0
NC	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	46	DNF	0
NC	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham Renault	38	DNF	0
NC	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham Renault	34	DNF	0
NC	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	10	DNF	0
NC	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	1	DNF	0
NC	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	0	DNF	0
Note – Perez qualified 17th but dropped five grid places as penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change. De la Rosa and Karthikeyan did not qualify after failing to meet the Q1 107% time.

F1 Driver Birthdays 18 March

Birthday	F1 Driver
18 March 1937	Mark Donohue (d. 1975)
18 March 1946	Michel Leclere
18 March 1950	Larry Perkins
18 March 1962	Volker Weidler
18 March 1964	Alex Caffi
18 March 1982	Timo Glock

Birthday	F1 Mentions
18 March 1972	Mike Krack Known for having been the team principal for Aston Martin

F1 Driver Deaths 18 March

Death	F1 Driver
18 March 1977	Carlos Pace (b. 1944)
18 March 1982	Theo Fitzau (b. 1923)
18 March 1994	Hans Blees (b. 1920)
18 March 2003	Karl Kling (b. 1910)