What Happened On This Day March 30 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, March 30 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1907

Rudolf Krause, born in Oberreichenbach, East Germany, competed in the 1952 and 1953 German Grand Prix driving for BMW. He died in 1987 at the age of 80.

1910

Swiss driver Peter Hirt was born on this day in Zurich. Competing in five Grand Prix from 1951 to 1953, he achieved his best result, seventh place, at the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix driving a Ferrari 212. He passed away in 1992 at the age of 82.

1948

Eddie Jordan, the founder of the Jordan Grand Prix Team, was born on this day in 1948, in Bray, County Wicklow. Originally a driver, Jordan soon realised his strengths lay in team management. He became renowned for recognising and nurturing emerging talents, giving many future F1 stars their first opportunities, including Michael Schumacher. As a Formula 1 constructor the Jordan team ran from 1991 and continued to race until 2005. The team was headquartered near the iconic Silverstone Circuit in the UK. However, it proudly raced under an Irish license, reflecting its founder’s heritage.

1961

New Zealand-born Mike Thackwell, who participated in two Grand Prix but did not finish either, was born in Palmerston North. Later, he retired to the south coast of England where he operated a surf and skateboard shop.

1969

Belgian Formula One driver Lucien Bianchi tragically died during a test run on this day in 1969 for Le Mans when his Alfa Romeo T33 crashed into a telegraph pole. The son of a race mechanic, Bianchi had competed in 17 Grand Prix from 1959 to 1968.

1973

French Formula One driver Yves Giraud-Cabantous passed away in Paris on this day at the age of 68. Over his career, he competed in 13 Grand Prix, initially driving a Talbot Largo before switching to HWM for the 1952 and 1953 seasons. His best performance was a fourth-place finish at the 1950 British Grand Prix, F1’s first Championship race.

1974

Brabham driver Carlos Reutemann made F1 history by becoming the first Argentinian to win a Championship Grand Prix since Juan Manuel Fangio, 16 years earlier, with his triumph at Kyalami, for the 1974 South African Grand Prix. The event was delayed by a month due to the 1973 national oil crisis. Starting on pole with Ferrari, Niki Lauda led the race for the first ten laps before retiring on lap 75, near the end, with ignition and low oil pressure issues. Jean-Pierre Beltoise fought his way up through the field to 2nd for BRM, holding off a determined challenge from Mike Hailwood who took the final podium place. Beltoise’s 2nd place would be the last podium finish for a BRM.

The race weekend was tainted by the tragic death of Peter Revson during testing the weekend before.

1974 South African Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	78	1:42:40.960	9
2	14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	78	+33.940s	6
3	33	Mike Hailwood	McLaren Ford	78	+42.160s	4
4	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	78	+44.190s	3
5	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	78	+46.230s	2
6	20	Arturo Merzario	Iso Marlboro Ford	78	+56.040s	1
7	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren Ford	78	+68.390s	0
8	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	78	+70.540s	0
9	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	77	+1 lap	0
10	10	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	77	+1 lap	0
11	18	Carlos Pace	Surtees Ford	77	+1 lap	0
12	26	Graham Hill	Lola Ford	77	+1 lap	0
13	29	Ian Scheckter	Lotus Ford	76	+2 laps	0
14	32	Eddie  Keizan	Tyrrell Ford	76	+2 laps	0
15	37	Francois  Migault	BRM	75	+3 laps	0
16	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	74	DNF	0
17	8	Richard  Robarts	Brabham Ford	74	+4 laps	0
18	15	Henri Pescarolo	BRM	72	+6 laps	0
19	23	Dave Charlton	McLaren Ford	71	+7 laps	0
NC	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	65	DNF	0
NC	28	John Watson	Brabham Ford	56	DNF	0
NC	2	Jacky Ickx	Lotus Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	24	James Hunt	Hesketh Ford	13	DNF	0
NC	19	Jochen Mass	Surtees Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	30	Paddy Driver	Lotus Ford	6	DNF	0
NC	1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	21	Tom Belso	Iso Marlboro Ford	0	DNF	0

1980

At the Long Beach, California, 1980 United States Grand Prix West, despite numerous accidents and retirements, Nelson Piquet, starting from pole, effortlessly secured his first World Championship victory and set the fastest lap. He stressed the importance of a clean start to avoid getting stuck in the initial laps, where most accidents happen. Close to the race’s conclusion, Clay Regazzoni suffered a severe crash due to a brake pedal failure on his Ensign, propelling him into a wall at 170mph after hitting the abandoned Brabham of Ricardo Zunino. He sustained severe spinal and leg injuries and underwent a lengthy five-hour surgery, ultimately ending his career and leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

Italian driver Riccardo Patrese was driving for Arrows and finished second. Third was Brazilian driver and two-time World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, driving a Fittipaldi F7.

1980 United States Grand Prix West Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	80	1:50:18.550	9
2	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	80	+49.210s	6
3	20	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	80	+78.560s	4
4	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	79	+1 lap	3
5	1	Jody Scheckter	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	2
6	25	Didier Pironi	Ligier Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	30	Jochen Mass	Arrows Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	4	Derek Daly	Tyrrell Ford	79	+1 lap	0
9	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	78	+2 laps	0
10	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	71	+9 laps	0
NC	21	Keke Rosberg	Fittipaldi Ford	58	DNF	0
NC	14	Clay Regazzoni	Ensign Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	49	DNF	0
NC	27	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	2	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	46	DNF	0
NC	22	Patrick Depailler	Alfa Romeo	40	DNF	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Ford	36	DNF	0
NC	31	Eddie  Cheever	Osella Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	28	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	3	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Tyrrell Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	12	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	6	Ricardo Zunino	Brabham Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	11	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	9	Jan Lammers	ATS Ford	0	DNF	0

1997

Jacques Villeneuve clinched a win at the 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix in his Williams Renault, dominating from the start by overtaking the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher. Gerhard Berger finished second for Benetton, trailing by 4.1 seconds. The race was restarted following multiple collisions at the first corner, including an incident involving Villeneuve and Schumacher that left Villeneuve in the gravel. He expressed relief at the race’s suspension, noting the discomfort caused by gravel in his seat. This race marked a significant downturn for the Lola team, as their sponsor, Mastercard, withdrew support after the previous race, leading to their withdrawal from the championship after spending the race weekend in the garage. Prost driver Olivier Panis was third.

1997 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	72	1:36:06.990	10
2	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	72	+4.190s	6
3	14	Olivier Panis	Prost Mugen Honda	72	+15.870s	4
4	9	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	72	+33.033s	3
5	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	72	+33.731s	2
6	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	72	+34.020s	1
7	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	72	+50.912s	0
8	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Peugeot	72	+0.639s	0
9	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Renault	72	+15.402s	0
10	10	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	71	+1 lap	0
11	17	Nicola Larini	Sauber Petronas	71	+1 lap	0
12	21	Jarno Trulli	Minardi Hart	71	+1 lap	0
13	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Ford	71	+1 lap	0
14	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost Mugen Honda	71	+1 lap	0
15	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell Ford	70	+2 laps	0
16	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	70	+2 laps	0
17	1	Damon Hill	Arrows Yamaha	68	DNF	0
18	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi Hart	67	+5 laps	0
NC	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Peugeot	52	DNF	0
NC	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows Yamaha	15	DNF	0

2014

At the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton secured pole position, tying Jim Clark‘s record for the most poles by a British Formula One driver with his 33rd career pole. The event was marked by a poignant tribute, with a minute’s silence held before the race to honour the passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, lost over the Indian Ocean three weeks earlier. Drivers displayed messages of respect on their cars and helmets. Dominating the race from start to finish, Hamilton clinched victory with his Mercedes team. He was followed by his teammate Nico Rosberg, securing a one-two finish for Mercedes, while Sebastian Vettel claimed third place with Red Bull.

2014 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	56	1:40:25.974	25
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	+17.313s	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	56	+24.534s	15
4	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+35.992s	12
5	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	56	+47.199s	10
6	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	56	+83.691s	8
7	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	56	+85.076s	6
8	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	56	+85.537s	4
9	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren Mercedes	55	+1 lap	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR Renault	55	+1 lap	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	55	+1 lap	0
12	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	55	+1 lap	0
13	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham Renault	55	+1 lap	0
14	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham Renault	54	+2 laps	0
15	4	Max Chilton	Marussia Ferrari	54	+2 laps	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	49	DNF	0
NC	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	35	DNF	0
NC	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber Ferrari	32	DNF	0
NC	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Renault	18	DNF	0
NC	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Ferrari	8	DNF	0
NC	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Renault	7	DNF	0
NC	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	0	DNS	0
Note – Bottas qualified 15th, but was subsequently penalised three grid places for impeding during qualifying.

F1 Driver Birthdays 30 March

Birthday	F1 Driver
30 March 1907	Rudolf Krause (d. 1987)
30 March 1910	Peter Hirt (d. 1992)
30 March 1927	Johnny Baldwin (d. 2000)
30 March 1961	Mike Thackwell

Birthday	F1 Mentions
30 March 1948	Eddie Jordan Former team boss and owner of the Jordan Grand Prix team

F1 Driver Deaths 30 March

Death	F1 Driver
30 March 1969	Lucien Bianchi (b. 1934)
30 March 1973	Yves Giraud-Cabantous (b. 1904)
30 March 2009	Jackie Pretorius (b. 1934)
30 March 2024	Fred Gamble