What happened on this day, March 29 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1900
British racer Bill Aston, born in Stafford, England, competed in three Grand Prix in 1952 but qualified for only the German race when the championship was run to Formula Two rules, for his own team, Aston Butterworth. Aston raced on into his 60s with a Mini and a Jaguar in the British Saloon Car Championship before he retired. He passed away on 4 March 1974, aged 73.
1961
Gary Brabham, son of Australian F1 legend Jack Brabham and born in Wimbledon, London, entered two Grand Prix with the Life team in 1990 but failed to prequalify for either. He also raced in two ChampCar events in 1993 and 1994 and won the 1991 Sebring 12 Hours. Later in life, Brabham was convicted of rape and one charge of indecent treatment of a child then aged six, in 2016.
1974
Born on this day in Sabadell, Spain, Marc Gene raced in 36 Grand Prix from 1999 to 2004 with Minardi and Williams before becoming a Ferrari test driver alongside Luca Badoer. He left F1 having secured just five championship points. He found greater success after F1 with a win at the 2009 Le Mans 24 hours driving for Peugeot.
1981
The 1981 Brazilian Grand Prix saw Formula One’s shift from São Paulo’s Interlagos circuit to the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro, driven by safety issues and the expanding slums around São Paulo, which were said to conflict with Formula One’s “glamorous image”. Argentine and Williams driver Carlos Reutemann won the race under controversial circumstances; he defied team orders signalled from the pits to surrender the lead to his teammate and team leader, Alan Jones, who finished second but was notably absent from the podium ceremony in protest of the outcome of the race. Riccardo Patrese secured third place, driving for Arrows.
1981 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams Ford | 62 | 2:00:23.660 | 9 |
| 2 | 1 | Alan Jones | Williams Ford | 62 | +4.440s | 6 |
| 3 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows Ford | 62 | +63.080s | 4 |
| 4 | 14 | Marc Surer | Ensign Ford | 62 | +77.030s | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus Ford | 62 | +86.420s | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Matra | 62 | +86.830s | 1 |
| 7 | 25 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Ligier Matra | 62 | +90.250s | 0 |
| 8 | 7 | John Watson | McLaren Ford | 61 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 20 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi Ford | 61 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 33 | Patrick Tambay | Theodore Ford | 61 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 12 | Nigel Mansell | Lotus Ford | 61 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham Ford | 60 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 4 | Ricardo Zunino | Tyrrell Ford | 57 | +5 laps | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Eddie Cheever | Tyrrell Ford | 49 | +13 laps | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 40 | +22 laps | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 25 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham Ford | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Alain Prost | Renault | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 30 | Siegfried Stohr | Arrows Ford | 20 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 28 | Didier Pironi | Ferrari | 19 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Andrea de Cesaris | McLaren Ford | 9 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Chico Serra | Fittipaldi Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Mario Andretti | Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | 0 |
1981
British racing driver David Prophet tragically died in a helicopter crash shortly after departing from the Silverstone Circuit on 29 March 1981. With him was Christopher Roberts. Born in Hong Kong, he competed in two Grand Prix races, both in South Africa, in a privateer Brabham. He scored no championship points but he did finish sixth in the non-Championship 1963 Rand Grand Prix.
1998
At the 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen secured his third consecutive win , while McLaren achieved its third consecutive 1-2 finish. Starting from pole, Hakkinen led the entire race and clocked the fastest lap. Teammate David Coulthard finished second, with Michael Schumacher third in a Ferrari.
The race also saw Damon Hill‘s disqualification due to an underweight Jordan car, leading him to remark, “I don’t think it gets much worse than this.”
1998 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 72 | 1:37:11.747 | 10 |
| 2 | 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 72 | +1.102s | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 72 | +60.550s | 4 |
| 4 | 6 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton Playlife | 72 | +67.453s | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams Mecachrome | 71 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton Playlife | 71 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams Mecachrome | 71 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 71 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 14 | Jean Alesi | Sauber Petronas | 71 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 19 | Jan Magnussen | Stewart Ford | 70 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 15 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber Petronas | 67 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 11 | Olivier Panis | Prost Peugeot | 63 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart Ford | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Ricardo Rosset | Tyrrell Ford | 52 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Esteban Tuero | Minardi Ford | 44 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Toranosuke Takagi | Tyrrell Ford | 19 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Mika Salo | Arrows | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Jarno Trulli | Prost Peugeot | 17 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Shinji Nakano | Minardi Ford | 3 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan Mugen Honda | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2009
The season-opening 2009 Australian Grand Prix became a spectacular debut for the newly formed Brawn GP team, with Jenson Button clinching their first pole position and Rubens Barrichello completing the front row. On race day, Button led a dominant 1-2 finish for Brawn GP, with them becoming the first constructor since Mercedes in 1954 at the French Grand Prix to secure a pole and win on their debut. It was Button’s second F1 win and his first since the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. The race also celebrated Jarno Trulli‘s 200th Grand Prix, with him taking third for Toyota. The race also saw the re-introduction of slick tyres since the 1997 European Grand Prix, moving away from the grooved tyres F1 had become known for.
2009 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn Mercedes | 58 | 1:34:15.784 | 10 |
| 2 | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn Mercedes | 58 | +0.807s | 8 |
| 3 | 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 58 | +1.604s | 6 |
| DQ | 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 58 | +2.914s | 0 |
| 4 | 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 58 | +4.435s | 5 |
| 5 | 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 58 | +4.879s | 4 |
| 6 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams Toyota | 58 | +5.722s | 3 |
| 7 | 12 | Sebastien Buemi | STR Ferrari | 58 | +6.004s | 2 |
| 8 | 11 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR Ferrari | 58 | +6.298s | 1 |
| 9 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India Mercedes | 58 | +6.335s | 0 |
| 10 | 6 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber BMW | 58 | +7.085s | 0 |
| 11 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India Mercedes | 58 | +7.374s | 0 |
| 12 | 14 | Mark Webber | RBR Renault | 57 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR Renault | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| 14 | 5 | Robert Kubica | Sauber BMW | 55 | DNF | 0 |
| 15 | 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 55 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 3 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 45 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Nelson Piquet | Renault | 24 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams Toyota | 17 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren Mercedes | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2015
At the 2015 Malaysian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton clinched pole position during a rain-drenched qualifying session, marking the 40th pole of his career. Starting from second, Sebastian Vettel won the race, which was also the 40th victory of his career. This win marked Ferrari’s first victory since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix and the first for a German Ferrari driver since Michael Schumacher‘s win at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton took second place, followed by his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in third.
2015 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 56 | 1:41:05.793 | 25 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 56 | +8.569s | 18 |
| 3 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 56 | +12.310s | 15 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 56 | +53.822s | 12 |
| 5 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Mercedes | 56 | +70.409s | 10 |
| 6 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 56 | +73.586s | 8 |
| 7 | 33 | Max Verstappen | STR Renault | 56 | +97.762s | 6 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | STR Renault | 55 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 9 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull Racing Renault | 55 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Renault | 55 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 11 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus Mercedes | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber Ferrari | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India Mercedes | 55 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 98 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia Ferrari | 53 | +3 laps | 0 |
| NC | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus Mercedes | 47 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren Honda | 41 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 21 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | 3 | DNF | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 29 March
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 29 March 1900 | Bill Aston (d. 1974) |
| 29 March 1923 | Geoff Duke (d. 2015) |
| 29 March 1961 | Gary Brabham |
| 29 March 1974 | Mark Gene |
F1 Driver Deaths 29 March
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 29 March 1981 | David Prophet (b. 1937) |
| 29 March 2006 | Bob Veith (b. 1926) |
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