What Happened On This Day March 4 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, March 4 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1933

Nino Vaccarella, born today, is revered as a legendary race driver in Italy. Although he only participated in five Grand Prix races, he is famed for his victories at Le Mans in 1964 and the Targa Florio in 1965, 1971, and 1975, transitioning from his earlier career as a school headmaster.

1936

Jim Clark, born today in Kilmany, Scotland, is often hailed as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in history. He and Colin Chapman created a formidable partnership at Lotus, capturing the world titles in 1963 and 1965, and Clark became the first F1 driver to win the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. At his untimely death in 1968 during a Formula Two race in Hockenheim, he held records for most Grand Prix wins (25) and F1 pole positions (33). His gravestone in Chirnside, Berwickshire, proudly names him a farmer first, honouring his own wishes.

Clark was more than just a Formula One driver. In 1965, Clark made motorsport history by winning four major championships: Formula One, the Tasman Series, and the French and British Formula Two championships, making him the only driver to win multiple championships in a single season alongside an F1 World Drivers’ Championship.

Clark was eventually inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

1944

Harvey Postlethwaite born on 4 March 1944 was a renowned British engineer and served as Technical Director for multiple Formula One teams, including Hesketh, Ferrari, Tyrrell, and Sauber, throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. He tragically passed away from a heart attack in Spain in 1999 while overseeing the testing of the ultimately discontinued Honda F1 project.

1972

Denny Hulme won the 1972 South African Grand Prix in his McLaren Ford after Jackie Stewart, who had led most of the race, retired due to gearbox issues 35 laps before the finish. Stewart had initially secured pole, which was later confirmed after a corrected timing error that had favoured Carlos Reutemann. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second for the Lotus team and McLaren driver Peter Revson came in third.

1972 South African Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	79	1:45:49.100	9
2	8	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus Ford	79	+14.100s	6
3	14	Peter Revson	McLaren Ford	79	+25.800s	4
4	7	Mario Andretti	Ferrari	79	+38.500s	3
5	3	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	79	+49.000s	2
6	19	Graham Hill	Brabham Ford	78	+1 lap	1
7	4	Niki Lauda	March Ford	78	+1 lap	0
8	5	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	78	+1 lap	0
9	2	Francois  Cevert	Tyrrell Ford	78	+1 lap	0
10	9	Dave  Walker	Lotus Ford	78	+1 lap	0
11	21	Henri Pescarolo	March Ford	77	+2 laps	0
12	6	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	77	+2 laps	0
13	25	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland Ford	77	+2 laps	0
14	24	Helmut  Marko	BRM	76	+3 laps	0
15	15	Chris Amon	Matra	76	+3 laps	0
16	27	John Love	Surtees Ford	73	DNF	0
17	22	Carlos Pace	March Ford	73	+6 laps	0
NC	23	Howden  Ganley	BRM	70	+9 laps	0
NC	18	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees Ford	69	+10 laps	0
NC	11	Peter  Gethin	BRM	65	+14 laps	0
NC	10	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	60	DNF	0
NC	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell Ford	45	DNF	0
NC	17	Mike Hailwood	Surtees Ford	28	DNF	0
NC	20	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	16	Tim  Schenken	Surtees Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	26	Dave Charlton	Lotus Ford	2	DNF	0

1972

Jos Verstappen, who would become the most successful Dutch F1 driver at the time with two podiums and 17 career points, was born on this day in Montford, Holland. His F1 career spanned 106 Grand Prix race starts, and he notably survived a fiery incident during a pit stop at the 1994 German Grand Prix. His son, Max Verstappen, has since gone on to eclipse his father, becoming a four-time World Champion as of the end of the 2024 season.

1978

The 1978 South African Grand Prix was the season’s third round and marked the 300th World Championship Grand Prix since the series’ beginning in 1950. Held in Kyalami, the race also featured the debut of future world champion Keke Rosberg. New models from Ferrari (312T3) and Brabham (BT46) were introduced, and Renault made a return with its innovative turbocharged car. The race culminated in a thrilling final lap where Ronnie Peterson in the Lotus 78, equipped with Colin Chapman’s pioneering ground effect aerodynamics, narrowly defeated Patrick Depailler in his Tyrrell to secure a dramatic win. John Watson rounded out the podium in third place for Brabham.

1978 South African Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	78	1:42:15.767	9
2	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	78	+0.466s	6
3	2	John Watson	Brabham Alfa Romeo	78	+4.442s	4
4	27	Alan  Jones	Williams Ford	78	+38.990s	3
5	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	78	+69.220s	2
6	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell Ford	77	+1 lap	1
7	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	77	+1 lap	0
8	10	Jean-Pierre Jarier	ATS Ford	77	+1 lap	0
9	36	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows Ford	77	+1 lap	0
10	25	Hector Rebaque	Lotus Ford	77	+1 lap	0
11	30	Brett Lunger	McLaren Ford	76	+2 laps	0
12	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees Ford	76	+2 laps	0
NC	35	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	63	DNF	0
NC	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf Ford	59	DNF	0
NC	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren Ford	56	DNF	0
NC	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	55	DNF	0
NC	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	55	DNF	0
NC	18	Rupert Keegan	Surtees Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham Alfa Romeo	52	DNF	0
NC	9	Jochen Mass	ATS Ford	43	DNF	0
NC	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario Ford	39	DNF	0
NC	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	38	DNF	0
NC	32	Keke Rosberg	Theodore Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	24	Eddie  Cheever	Hesketh Ford	8	DNF	0
NC	7	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	5	DNF	0

2001

The season-opening 2001 Australian Grand Prix was marred by tragedy when Jacques Villeneuve‘s car, after colliding with Ralf Schumacher, soared into a concrete wall. The crash caused a wheel to detach and fatally strike marshal Graham Beveridge through a gap in the safety fencing. The incident prompted the use of wheel tethers in Formula One to enhance safety.

Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 58-lap race from pole position. David Coulthard driving for the McLaren team finished second and Schumacher’s teammate Rubens Barrichello third. It was Schumacher’s fifth consecutive victory in Formula One and the 45th of his career.

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  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

2001 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	58	1:38:26.533	10
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	58	+1.718s	6
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	58	+33.491s	4
4	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	58	+71.479s	3
5	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Honda	58	+72.807s	2
6	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber Petronas	58	+84.143s	1
7	9	Olivier Panis	BAR Honda	58	+87.050s	0
8	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar Cosworth	57	+1 lap	0
9	22	Jean Alesi	Prost Acer	57	+1 lap	0
10	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows Asiatech	57	+1 lap	0
11	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	57	+1 lap	0
12	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi European	56	+2 laps	0
13	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Renault	55	+3 laps	0
14	8	Jenson Button	Benetton Renault	52	DNF	0
NC	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	40	DNF	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan Honda	38	DNF	0
NC	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	25	DNF	0
NC	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	4	DNF	0
NC	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	4	DNF	0
NC	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi European	3	DNF	0
NC	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows Asiatech	2	DNF	0
NC	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost Acer	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 4 March

Birthday	F1 Driver
4 March 1911	Carl Forberg (d. 2000)
4 March 1933	Nino Vaccarella (d. 2021)
4 March 1936	Jim Clark (d. 1968)
4 March 1971	Satoshi Motoyama
4 March 1972	Jos Verstappen

Birthday	F1 Mentions
4 March 1944	Harvey Postlethwaite (d. 1999) British engineer and Technical Director of several Formula One teams during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

F1 Driver Deaths 4 March

Death	F1 Driver
4 March 1974	Bill Aston (b. 1900)

Death	F1 Mentions
4 March 2001	Graham Beveridge Trackside marshal who died at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.