What Happened On This Day May 12 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 12 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1922

F1 driver Roy Salvadori was born on May 12, 1922, in Essex to Italian parents. He began his racing career in 1947 and entered Formula 1 in 1952. Over his decade-long F1 career, Salvadori competed for teams like Cooper and Aston Martin, achieving a single podium finish, 3rd at the 1958 British Grand Prix. He also secured wins in other series including Le Mans in 1959. After retiring from racing in 1962, Salvadori briefly managed the Cooper-Maserati team and then moved into motor trading.

1946

Raymond Sommer triumphed on May 12 at the 1946 Marseille Grand Prix, one of the first races post-World War II. The race included two heats and a final; Sommer won the second heat and went on to secure the win in the final by a significant margin after Robert Mazaud, the first heat winner, crashed early on. Notably, Tazio Nuvolari, despite setting the fastest lap in the second heat, did not finish due to mechanical issues.

1968

The 1968 Spanish Grand Prix was held in the shadow of significant loss, as it was the first race after the tragic death of Jim Clark, the two-time world champion who had led the 1968 Drivers’ Championship before the weekend. Clark had died in a Formula Two race at Hockenheim just a month earlier. The tragedy deepened when his intended replacement, Mike Spence, also lost his life in a crash during Indianapolis 500 practice—just five days before the race.

Still devastated, Lotus team boss Colin Chapman chose not to attend the Grand Prix, leaving Graham Hill as the only works Lotus driver. A second Lotus entry for Jackie Oliver was planned but could not be prepared in time.

Despite the emotional weight of the weekend, Graham Hill delivered a strong drive to victory in his Lotus, taking an important win in honour of his fallen teammate. Denny Hulme finished second for McLaren, while Brian Redman secured third place for Cooper in his Grand Prix debut.

This race also marked a historic shift in Formula One livery, as Team Lotus debuted the red, gold, and white colours of Imperial Tobacco’s Gold Leaf brand. This was the first time a works team raced in full sponsor livery, breaking from the traditional British racing green. The only previous instance of sponsor-backed liveries had been Team Gunston’s private Brabham entry in South Africa earlier that year.

1968 Spanish Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	10	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	90	2:15:20.100	9
2	1	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	90	+15.900s	6
3	14	Brian  Redman	Cooper BRM	89	+1 lap	4
4	15	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Cooper BRM	89	+1 lap	3
5	6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra Ford	81	+9 laps	2
NC	2	Bruce McLaren	McLaren Ford	77	DNF	0
NC	7	John Surtees	Honda	74	DNF	0
NC	16	Jo Siffert	Lotus Ford	62	DNF	0
NC	19	Chris Amon	Ferrari	57	DNF	0
NC	5	Piers  Courage	BRM	52	DNF	0
NC	9	Pedro Rodriguez	BRM	27	DNF	0
NC	21	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	13	DNF	0
NC	4	Jochen Rindt	Brabham Repco	10	DNF	0
DNS	2	Jack Brabham	Brabham Repco	0	DNS	0

1974

The 1974 Belgian Grand Prix saw Emerson Fittipaldi claim victory in his McLaren, narrowly edging out Niki Lauda, who finished second for Ferrari. Jody Scheckter completed the podium in third place, driving for Tyrrell.

This race also saw the Formula One debut of Tom Pryce, who made his first Grand Prix start for the newly formed Token team. The race was only the second and final time that the Belgian Grand Prix was hosted at Nivelles. From 1975 onward, the race moved to Zolder, where it remained for most of the following decade.

1974 Belgian Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren Ford	85	1:44:20.570	9
2	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	85	+0.350s	6
3	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	85	+45.610s	4
4	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	85	+52.020s	3
5	14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	85	+68.050s	2
6	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	85	+70.540s	1
7	33	Mike Hailwood	McLaren Ford	84	+1 lap	0
8	26	Graham Hill	Lola Ford	83	+2 laps	0
9	10	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	83	+2 laps	0
10	41	Tim  Schenken	Trojan Ford	83	+2 laps	0
11	28	John Watson	Brabham Ford	83	+2 laps	0
12	27	Guy Edwards	Lola Ford	82	+3 laps	0
13	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	82	+3 laps	0
14	21	Gijs van Lennep	Iso Marlboro Ford	82	+3 laps	0
15	22	Vern Schuppan	Ensign Ford	82	+3 laps	0
16	37	Francois  Migault	BRM	82	+3 laps	0
17	34	Teddy Pilette	Brabham Ford	81	+4 laps	0
18	16	Brian  Redman	Shadow Ford	80	DNF	0
NC	2	Jacky Ickx	Lotus Ford	72	DNF	0
NC	42	Tom Pryce	Token Ford	66	DNF	0
NC	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	62	DNF	0
NC	1	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	56	DNF	0
NC	43	Gerard  Larrousse	Brabham Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	19	Jochen Mass	Surtees Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	18	Carlos Pace	Surtees Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	8	Rikky von Opel	Brabham Ford	49	DNF	0
NC	20	Arturo Merzario	Iso Marlboro Ford	29	DNF	0
NC	15	Henri Pescarolo	BRM	12	DNF	0
NC	9	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	6	DNF	0

1991

Ayrton Senna dominated the 1991 Monaco Grand Prix on May 12, clinching an easy win with McLaren and celebrating his fourth consecutive victory of the season. Tyrrell driver Stefano Modena turned heads with his performance, starting from the front row and closely challenging Senna for the initial 25 laps. Unfortunately, Modena’s race was compromised by a slower car and a subsequent engine failure, which not only ended his race but also caused Riccardo Patrese to crash out. Senna continued unchallenged to the finish. Nigel Mansell finished second in a Williams–Renault, with Frenchman Jean Alesi third in a Ferrari.

1991 Monaco Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	78	1:53:02.334	10
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	78	+18.348s	6
3	28	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	78	+47.455s	4
4	19	Roberto Moreno	Benetton Ford	77	+1 lap	3
5	27	Alain Prost	Ferrari	77	+1 lap	2
6	21	Emanuele Pirro	Dallara Judd	77	+1 lap	1
7	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Lamborghini	76	+2 laps	0
8	32	Bertrand Gachot	Jordan Ford	76	+2 laps	0
9	29	Eric Bernard	Lola Ford	76	+2 laps	0
10	26	Erik Comas	Ligier Lamborghini	76	+2 laps	0
11	22	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Judd	75	+3 laps	0
12	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ferrari	72	+6 laps	0
NC	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Judd	64	DNF	0
NC	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Ferrari	49	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	Leyton House Ilmor	43	DNF	0
NC	4	Stefano Modena	Tyrrell Honda	42	DNF	0
NC	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	42	DNF	0
NC	8	Mark Blundell	Brabham Yamaha	41	DNF	0
NC	9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Porsche	39	DNF	0
NC	3	Satoru Nakajima	Tyrrell Honda	35	DNF	0
NC	30	Aguri Suzuki	Lola Ford	24	DNF	0
NC	33	Andrea de Cesaris	Jordan Ford	21	DNF	0
NC	16	Ivan Capelli	Leyton House Ilmor	12	DNF	0
NC	17	Gabriele Tarquini	AGS Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	9	DNF	0

2002

On May 12 at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, Ferrari faced significant backlash after Rubens Barrichello, who had outpaced his teammate Michael Schumacher, was instructed via team radio to let Schumacher win. Despite securing a one-two finish, the team’s actions were not well-received; Schumacher’s attempt to rectify the situation by offering Barrichello the winner’s trophy on the podium did little to mitigate the negative reaction. The incident resulted in a $500,000 fine for Ferrari and prompted the FIA to ban team orders. Barrichello later revealed that he was forced into conceding, having been reminded to consider his contract, implying that his position with the team was at risk. Juan Pablo Montoya took third for the Williams team.

2002 Austrian Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	1:33:51.562	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	71	+0.182s	6
3	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	71	+17.730s	4
4	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	71	+18.448s	3
5	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Honda	71	+49.965s	2
6	3	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	71	+50.672s	1
7	15	Jenson Button	Renault	71	+51.229s	0
8	24	Mika Salo	Toyota	71	+69.425s	0
9	25	Allan McNish	Toyota	71	+69.718s	0
10	11	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	70	DNF	0
11	20	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Arrows Cosworth	69	+2 laps	0
12	23	Mark Webber	Minardi Asiatech	69	+2 laps	0
NC	14	Jarno Trulli	Renault	44	DNF	0
NC	22	Alex Yoong	Minardi Asiatech	42	DNF	0
NC	16	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar Cosworth	38	DNF	0
NC	7	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	27	DNF	0
NC	10	Takuma Sato	Jordan Honda	26	DNF	0
NC	12	Olivier Panis	BAR Honda	22	DNF	0
NC	8	Felipe Massa	Sauber Petronas	7	DNF	0
NC	4	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	5	DNF	0
NC	21	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows Cosworth	2	DNF	0
NC	17	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar Cosworth	0	DNF	0

2003

On May 12, 2003, Juan Pablo Montoya faced repercussions after being caught speeding at 130 mph in an 82 mph zone on a French motorway. Heading back to Monaco, Montoya did not immediately pull over when pursued by police, leading to the confiscation of his driving license. He settled the fine on the spot and handed driving responsibilities to his wife, Connie. Despite the incident, Montoya expressed a nonchalant attitude about his speeding, suggesting it was common to travel at those speeds.

2004

In 2004, on May 12, Britain’s Queen officially opened the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, ushering in a new era for the McLaren Group. Ron Dennis, the team boss, emphasised the facility’s role in maintaining McLaren’s leadership in British engineering and technology, and in enhancing the McLaren brand globally: “The McLaren Group is honoured and privileged that Her Majesty The Queen has officially opened our new headquarters. The facility is a major functional tool to ensure that we remain at the forefront of British engineering and technology, whilst helping to strengthen and develop the McLaren brand.”

2005

On May 12, 2005, BAR accepted a penalty from the FIA, which involved a two-race suspension for using a second fuel tank to get around the minimum weight requirements during the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix. Initially critical of the FIA’s decision, BAR later acknowledged their misunderstanding of the rules and publicly accepted the sanction.

2013

Just the day before, Nico Rosberg secured pole position for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, leading a front-row lockout for Mercedes ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton. However, come race day, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso stole the show, delivering a sensational drive to victory in front of his home crowd, marking his 32nd Formula One win.

Alonso’s second victory at his home Grand Prix saw him finish ahead of Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus-Renault) in second place, with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) rounding out the podium in third. Despite starting from pole, Rosberg struggled for pace, eventually finishing sixth place.

2013 Spanish Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	66	1:39:16.596	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	66	+9.338s	18
3	4	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	66	+26.049s	15
4	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	66	+38.273s	12
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	66	+47.963s	10
6	9	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	66	+68.020s	8
7	14	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	66	+68.988s	6
8	5	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	66	+79.506s	4
9	6	Sergio Perez	McLaren Mercedes	66	+81.738s	2
10	19	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	65	+1 lap	1
11	12	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	65	+1 lap	0
12	10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
13	15	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
14	16	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	65	+1 lap	0
15	11	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber Ferrari	65	+1 lap	0
16	17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Renault	65	+1 lap	0
17	20	Charles Pic	Caterham Renault	65	+1 lap	0
18	22	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Cosworth	64	+2 laps	0
19	23	Max Chilton	Marussia Cosworth	64	+2 laps	0
NC	18	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	52	DNF	0
NC	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Renault	21	DNF	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	8	DNF	0

2019

Valtteri Bottas secured pole position for the 2019 Spanish Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes front-row lockout, with Lewis Hamilton starting second and the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel in third.

At the start, Hamilton overtook Bottas on lap one and never looked back, dominating the race to claim his third Spanish Grand Prix victory. Bottas finished second, securing yet another Mercedes 1-2, while Max Verstappen took third place with Red Bull, beating both Ferrari drivers. This result was Mercedes’ fifth consecutive 1-2 finish of the 2019 season.

2019 Spanish Grand Prix Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	66	1:35:50.443	26
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	66	+4.074s	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda	66	+7.679s	15
4	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	66	+9.167s	12
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	66	+13.361s	10
6	10	Pierre Gasly	Red Bull Racing Honda	66	+19.576s	8
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	66	+28.159s	6
8	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren Renault	66	+32.342s	4
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	66	+33.056s	2
10	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	66	+34.641s	1
11	23	Alexander Albon	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	66	+35.445s	0
12	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	66	+36.758s	0
13	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	66	+39.241s	0
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	66	+41.803s	0
15	11	Sergio Perez	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	66	+46.877s	0
16	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari	66	+47.691s	0
17	63	George Russell	Williams Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
18	88	Robert Kubica	Williams Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
NC	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point BWT Mercedes	44	DNF	0
NC	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Renault	44	DNF	0
Note – Hamilton scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. Hulkenberg started from the pit lane as penalty for a change of front wing specification following qualifying.

F1 Driver Birthdays 12 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
12 May 1922	Roy Salvadori (d. 2012)
12 May 1963	Stefano Modena

F1 Driver Deaths 12 May

Death	F1 Driver
12 May 1957	Alfonso de Portago (b. 1928)
12 May 1961	Tony Bettenhausen (b. 1916)
12 May 2009	Heini Walter (b. 1927)