What Happened On This Day May 15 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 15 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1949

The 1949 British Grand Prix took place less than 12 months before the inaugural F1 Championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix. The 1949 event, featured a substantially revised circuit layout to the previous years race. Unlike the previous year, the new configuration used only the perimeter roads, eliminating the section that had previously run down the runways.

This revised layout closely resembled the Silverstone circuit used until 1973, with one notable difference—a tight chicane at Club Corner. This modification was introduced to ensure that cars were tested at both high and low speeds, adding an extra challenge for drivers.

A major milestone for the event was the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) receiving Grande Épreuve status, officially elevating the race to the British Grand Prix, marking its recognition as an international motorsport event.

1949 British Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1	2	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	100	03:52:50	4
2	7	Bob Gerard	ERA	100	+ 1:05.2	5
3	16	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago – Talbot	99	+ 1 Lap	20
4	8	David Hampshire / Billy Cotton	ERA	99	+ 1 Lap	10
5	24	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago – Talbot	97	+ 3 Laps	8
6	11	Fred Ashmore	Maserati	97	+ 3 Laps	11
7	18	George Abecassis	Alta	96	+ 4 Laps	12
8	21	Peter Whitehead / Dudley Folland	Ferrari	95	+ 5 Laps	14
9	6	Geoff Ansell / Brian Shawe-Taylor	ERA	94	+ 6 Laps	13
10	19	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago – Talbot	92	+ 8 Laps	18
11	22	Philip Fotheringham-Parker / Duncan Hamilton	Maserati	92	+ 8 Laps	22
Ret	4	Raymond Mays / Ken Richardson	Thinwall Special Ferrari	82	Accident	19
Ret	10	Reg Parnell	Maserati	69	Transmission	6
Ret	25	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	65	Valve	23
Ret	9	David Murray	Maserati	64	Engine	25
Ret	27	John Bolster	ERA	53	Accident	16
Ret	28	Peter Walker	ERA	50	Brakes	3
Ret	1	B. Bira	Maserati	47	Collision	2
Ret	15	Louis Chiron	Talbot-Lago – Talbot	41	Engine	15
Ret	17	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago – Talbot	39	Oil leak	11
Ret	26	Anthony Baring	Maserati	39	Water leak	21
Ret	12	Luigi Villoresi	Maserati	36	Engine	1
Ret	23	Cuth Harrison	ERA	25	Engine	9
Ret	20	George Nixon	ERA	16	Supercharger	24
Ret	3	Tony Rolt	Alfa Romeo	15	Rear axle	7
DNS	5	Bob Ansell	Maserati		Engine

1983

On May 15, Keke Rosberg clinched victory with Williams at the 1983 Monaco Grand Prix by opting to start on slick tyres despite the damp track conditions. While most drivers chose wet tyres, leading to early pit stops, Rosberg capitalised and secured a significant lead. Marc Surer, who also started on slicks, seemed poised for a podium finish, climbing from 13th on the grid in his Arrows. However, his race unravelled when he collided with Derek Warwick while battling for third at the first corner. Ultimately, Nelson Piquet (Brabham) and Alain Prost (Renault), who both started on wet tyres, managed to recover and finish second and third, respectively.

1983 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Keke Rosberg	Williams Ford	76	1:56:38.121	9
2	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	76	+18.475s	6
3	15	Alain Prost	Renault	76	+31.366s	4
4	27	Patrick Tambay	Ferrari	76	+64.297s	3
5	4	Danny Sullivan	Tyrrell Ford	74	+2 laps	2
6	23	Mauro Baldi	Alfa Romeo	74	+2 laps	1
7	30	Chico Serra	Arrows Ford	74	+2 laps	0
NC	6	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	64	DNF	0
NC	2	Jacques Laffite	Williams Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	29	Marc Surer	Arrows Ford	49	DNF	0
NC	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman Hart	49	DNF	0
NC	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	49	DNF	0
NC	25	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Ligier Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	16	Eddie  Cheever	Renault	30	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	13	DNF	0
NC	28	Rene Arnoux	Ferrari	6	DNF	0
NC	26	Raul Boesel	Ligier Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	9	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS BMW	3	DNF	0

1986

On May 15, 1986, Elio de Angelis died following a fiery accident during testing at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. The rear wing of his Brabham detached at high speed, causing his car to cartwheel off the track and over the crash barriers. While the impact did not kill him, the lack of marshals at the test meant he struggled to escape the burning wreckage, and he later died from smoke inhalation. Nigel Mansell recalls the incident:

“Alain Prost and I tried to get him out, but the car was crackling and exploding and there was just no way. Poor Elio had no chance.”

The tragic circumstances of his death weighed heavily on the sport’s conscience, prompting FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre to implement several measures to improve safety. De Angelis is often considered the last of F1’s gentleman racers, known for his wealthy background and talent as a concert pianist.

1988

On May 15, McLaren driver Ayrton Senna unexpectedly crashed out of the lead at the 1988 Monaco Grand Prix after dominating the early stages of the race. Devastated by the incident, Senna went straight to his nearby apartment, where he was found hours later, reeling over the missed opportunity. He had built a 50-second lead after his teammate, Alain Prost, missed a gear and fell behind Gerhard Berger‘s Ferrari. McLaren instructed Senna to back off, but this led to a lapse in concentration, causing him to crash at Portier. By then, Prost had overtaken Berger and went on to win the race by 20 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver. Michele Alboreto finished third for Ferrari.

1988 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Alain Prost	McLaren Honda	78	1:57:17.077	9
2	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	78	+20.453s	6
3	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	78	+41.229s	4
4	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows Megatron	77	+1 lap	3
5	3	Jonathan  Palmer	Tyrrell Ford	77	+1 lap	2
6	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Judd	77	+1 lap	1
7	29	Yannick Dalmas	Lola Ford	77	+1 lap	0
8	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton Ford	76	+2 laps	0
9	21	Nicola Larini	Osella	75	+3 laps	0
10	16	Ivan Capelli	March Judd	72	+6 laps	0
NC	12	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	66	DNF	0
NC	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	15	Mauricio Gugelmin	March Judd	45	DNF	0
NC	9	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Zakspeed	43	DNF	0
NC	19	Alessandro Nannini	Benetton Ford	38	DNF	0
NC	24	Luis Perez-Sala	Minardi Ford	36	DNF	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Judd	32	DNF	0
NC	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Rial Ford	28	DNF	0
NC	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Judd	17	DNF	0
NC	32	Oscar Larrauri	Euro Brun Ford	14	DNF	0
NC	18	Eddie  Cheever	Arrows Megatron	8	DNF	0
NC	26	Stefan Johansson	Ligier Judd	6	DNF	0
NC	31	Gabriele Tarquini	Coloni Ford	5	DNF	0

1994

Just two weeks after the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, Karl Wendlinger was left in a coma following a severe accident during Thursday’s practice for the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix. His car lost control approaching the harbour chicane and crashed into the barriers backwards at high speed. As a result, on this day in 1994, Sauber withdrew from the race. Wendlinger made a full recovery but did not race again that season.

1994

On May 15, 1994, Michael Schumacher secured victory at the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, the first of his five Monaco wins, starting from pole position. He capitalised on a first-corner crash between Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen to establish a comfortable early lead. His lead was briefly jeopardised when he nearly collided with the barrier after sliding on oil from Mark Blundell’s blown engine. Martin Brundle eventually finished second in the McLaren despite having to pit to remove debris from his sidepods that was causing his engine to overheat. Gerhard Berger finished third for Ferrari.

1994 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	78	1:49:55.372	10
2	8	Martin Brundle	McLaren Peugeot	78	+37.278s	6
3	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	78	+76.824s	4
4	15	Andrea de Cesaris	Jordan Hart	77	+1 lap	3
5	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	77	+1 lap	2
6	24	Michele Alboreto	Minardi Ford	77	+1 lap	1
7	6	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Benetton Ford	77	+1 lap	0
8	19	Olivier Beretta	Larrousse Ford	76	+2 laps	0
9	26	Olivier Panis	Ligier Renault	76	+2 laps	0
10	20	Erik Comas	Larrousse Ford	75	+3 laps	0
11	11	Pedro Lamy	Lotus Mugen Honda	73	+5 laps	0
NC	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Mugen Honda	68	DNF	0
NC	33	Paul Belmondo	Pacific Ilmor	53	DNF	0
NC	34	Bertrand Gachot	Pacific Ilmor	49	DNF	0
NC	9	Christian Fittipaldi	Footwork Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	31	David Brabham	Simtek Ford	45	DNF	0
NC	4	Mark Blundell	Tyrrell Yamaha	40	DNF	0
NC	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	38	DNF	0
NC	25	Eric Bernard	Ligier Renault	34	DNF	0
NC	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Hart	27	DNF	0
NC	0	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Peugeot	0	DNF	0
NC	10	Gianni Morbidelli	Footwork Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	23	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	0	DNF	0

2016

The 2016 Spanish Grand Prix saw Max Verstappen secure a stunning victory on his debut for Red Bull, after swapping seats with Daniil Kvyat ahead of the race. At just 18 years and 228 days old, Verstappen became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race, the youngest driver to score a podium finish, and the youngest driver to lead a lap in F1 history. In doing so, Verstappen also became the first Dutch driver to win a Grand Prix and the first race winner born in the 1990s.

The race was shaken up on the first lap when Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg collided, forcing both to retire. This incident led to the only race in 2016 where a Mercedes driver did not finish on the podium
Mercedes’ first double retirement since the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.

With Mercedes out of contention, Ferrari capitalised, securing a double podium finish, with Kimi Raikkonen taking second place and Sebastian Vettel finishing third.

2016 Spanish Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	66	1:41:40.017	25
2	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	66	+0.616s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	66	+5.581s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	66	+43.950s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	66	+45.271s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso Ferrari	66	+61.395s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	66	+79.538s	6
8	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	66	+80.707s	4
9	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	65	+1 lap	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso Ferrari	65	+1 lap	1
11	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas Ferrari	65	+1 lap	0
12	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	65	+1 lap	0
13	30	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	65	+1 lap	0
14	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	65	+1 lap	0
15	20	Kevin Magnussen	Renault	65	+1 lap	0
16	94	Pascal Wehrlein	MRT Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
17	88	Rio Haryanto	MRT Mercedes	65	+1 lap	0
NC	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	56	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	45	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	20	DNF	0
NC	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	0	DNF	0
Note – Magnussen had 10 seconds added to his race time for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 15 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
15 May 1913	Francis Rochat (d. 1982)
15 May 1926	Peter Broeker (d. 1980)
15 May 1943	Alan Rollinson (d. 2019)
15 May 1959	Luis Perez-Sala

F1 Driver Deaths 15 May

Death	F1 Driver
15 May 1953	Chet Miller (b. 1902)
15 May 1957	Keith Andrews (b. 1920)
15 May 1986	Elio de Angelis (b. 1958)
15 May 1991	Fritz Riess (b. 1922)
15 May 2009	Frank Mundy (b. 1918)
15 May 2010	Louis Kessel (b. 1950)
15 May 2011	Pete Lovely (b. 1926)
15 May 2015	Renzo Zorzi (b. 1946)
15 May 2021	Ray Allen (b. 1943)