What happened on this day, March 6 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1909
Bill Schindler, an American race car driver, was born in Middletown, New York. Known for his extensive racing in US midget and Champ Car circuits, Schindler suffered a severe crash in 1936, resulting in the loss of his left leg above the knee. Nonetheless, he competed in three Indy 500 races, which were part of the World Championship at the time. His life tragically ended in a sprint car race accident in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1952, when he was 43.
1917
German racer Oswald Karch was born. His Formula One career was short-lived, as he had to retire after just ten laps in his only Grand Prix appearance the 1953 German Grand Prix. Despite not setting a time during qualifying, he was allowed to start the race in 34th position. Karch died after a period of illness in a nursing home in Mannheim in 2009.
1931
Born in Dumbartonshire, Scotland, Jimmy Stewart, the older brother of world champion Jackie Stewart, had a brief racing career. Unlike his younger sibling, Jimmy participated in only one championship grand prix with Ecurie Ecosse and various non-championship events. He passed away on January 3, 2008, at the age of 76. Jimmy struggled with alcoholism after retiring from racing and with Jackie’s support, he overcame his addiction and dedicated himself to anti-drinking campaigns.
1971
Mario Andretti claimed his inaugural F1 Championship win in the 1971 South African Grand Prix at the Kyalami Circuit, driving for Ferrari. He crossed the finish line nearly 21 seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart, who was driving for Tyrrell. Andretti’s teammate Clay Regazzoni came home in third. Andretti is distinguished as the only driver to win the US Driver of the Year award across three decades: 1967, 1978, and 1984. Despite it being Andretti’s first Formula One victory, he would not win another F1 race until 1976.
1971 South African Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mario Andretti | Ferrari | 79 | 1:47:35.500 | 9 |
| 2 | 9 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell Ford | 79 | +20.900s | 6 |
| 3 | 5 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 79 | +31.400s | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Reine Wisell | Lotus Ford | 79 | +69.400s | 3 |
| 5 | 19 | Chris Amon | Matra | 78 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hulme | McLaren Ford | 78 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 28 | Brian Redman | Surtees Ford | 78 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 78 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 14 | Graham Hill | Brabham Ford | 77 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 7 | Ronnie Peterson | March Ford | 77 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 22 | Henri Pescarolo | March Ford | 77 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 21 | Rolf Stommelen | Surtees Ford | 77 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 8 | Andrea de Adamich | March Alfa Romeo | 75 | +4 laps | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus Ford | 58 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | John Surtees | Surtees Ford | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Francois Cevert | Tyrrell Ford | 45 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Howden Ganley | BRM | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Pedro Rodriguez | BRM | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Jo Siffert | BRM | 31 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Dave Charlton | Brabham Ford | 31 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 24 | John Love | March Ford | 30 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 25 | Jackie Pretorius | Brabham Ford | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Peter Gethin | McLaren Ford | 7 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Jo Bonnier | McLaren Ford | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 26 | Alex Soler-Roig | March Ford | 5 | DNF | 0 |
1976
At the 1976 South African Grand Prix, Austrian driver Niki Lauda secured his third consecutive victory in a Ferrari 312T and his second of the season, finishing a narrow 1.3 seconds ahead of his British rival, James Hunt, who was driving a McLaren M23. Jochen Mass, Hunt’s teammate from West Germany, completed the podium by finishing third. The win placed Lauda twelve points ahead of both Hunt and Tyrrell’s Patrick Depailler in the championship standings. In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari extended their lead to nine points over Tyrrell and eleven points over McLaren.
1976 South African Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Niki Lauda | Ferrari | 78 | 1:42:18.400 | 9 |
| 2 | 11 | James Hunt | McLaren Ford | 78 | +1.300s | 6 |
| 3 | 12 | Jochen Mass | McLaren Ford | 78 | +45.900s | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Jody Scheckter | Tyrrell Ford | 78 | +68.400s | 3 |
| 5 | 28 | John Watson | Penske Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 27 | Mario Andretti | Parnelli Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 16 | Tom Pryce | Shadow Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 9 | Vittorio Brambilla | March Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 5 | Bob Evans | Lotus Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 18 | Brett Lunger | Surtees Ford | 77 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 34 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | March Ford | 76 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 21 | Michel Leclere | Wolf-Williams | 76 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 14 | 22 | Chris Amon | Ensign Ford | 76 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 15 | 24 | Harald Ertl | Hesketh Ford | 74 | +4 laps | 0 |
| 16 | 20 | Jacky Ickx | Wolf-Williams | 73 | +5 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 30 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi Ford | 70 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 52 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Matra | 49 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Shadow Ford | 28 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Carlos Pace | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 22 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Gunnar Nilsson | Lotus Ford | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 16 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Ronnie Peterson | March Ford | 15 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Ian Scheckter | Tyrrell Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2005
At the 2005 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the season, Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella clinched victory from pole position. Following closely was Rubens Barrichello in a Ferrari, who took second place, while Fisichella’s teammate, Fernando Alonso, secured third. This race also saw the debut of Red Bull Racing, which had entered the sport by acquiring the former Jaguar team. David Coulthard finished fourth, and Christian Klien seventh for the team.
2005 Australian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 57 | 1:24:17.336 | 10 |
| 2 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 57 | +5.553s | 8 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 57 | +6.712s | 6 |
| 4 | 14 | David Coulthard | RBR Cosworth | 57 | +16.131s | 5 |
| 5 | 7 | Mark Webber | Williams BMW | 57 | +16.908s | 4 |
| 6 | 10 | Juan Pablo Montoya | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +35.033s | 3 |
| 7 | 15 | Christian Klien | RBR Cosworth | 57 | +38.997s | 2 |
| 8 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren Mercedes | 57 | +39.633s | 1 |
| 9 | 16 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 57 | +63.108s | 0 |
| 10 | 12 | Felipe Massa | Sauber Petronas | 57 | +64.393s | 0 |
| 11 | 3 | Jenson Button | BAR Honda | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| 12 | 17 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 11 | Jacques Villeneuve | Sauber Petronas | 56 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 4 | Takuma Sato | BAR Honda | 55 | DNF | 0 |
| 15 | 19 | Narain Karthikeyan | Jordan Toyota | 55 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 16 | 18 | Tiago Monteiro | Jordan Toyota | 55 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 17 | 20 | Patrick Friesacher | Minardi Cosworth | 53 | +4 laps | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Nick Heidfeld | Williams BMW | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Christijan Albers | Minardi Cosworth | 16 | DNF | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 6 March
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 6 March 1909 | Bill Schindler (d. 1952) |
| 6 March 1917 | Oswald Karch (d. 2009) |
| 6 March 1921 | Piero Carini (d. 1957) |
| 6 March 1931 | Jimmy Stewart (d. 2008) |
| 6 March 1940 | Willie Ferguson (d. 2007) |
F1 Driver Deaths 6 March
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 6 March 1981 | Allen Heath (b. 1918) |
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