What Happened On This Day May 19 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 19 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1928

On May 19, 1928, Colin Chapman, the legendary Lotus boss, was born in Richmond, UK. He led his team to seven constructors’ championships and was instrumental in developing innovative technologies and successful drivers. Chapman pioneered the use of the monocoque chassis, wings, and ground effect aerodynamics, contributing significantly to Lotus’ success. His team was the first constructor to introduce sponsorship on its cars with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf Tobacco colours during the 1968 season. Chapman died at age 54 on the same day Lotus was testing active suspension for the first time in 1982.

1957

Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 Monaco Grand Prix on May 19 after a major accident on lap four eliminated nearly all his serious competitors. Fangio qualified on pole with Stirling Moss leading initially. Moss crashed at the harbour chicane, and second-place Peter Collins collided while trying to avoid Moss. Fangio navigated the crash unscathed, but Tony Brooks, in fourth, was rear-ended by Mike Hawthorn as he braked. Brooks continued but was five seconds behind Fangio and never posed a threat, eventually finishing second for Vanwall and over 25 seconds behind Fangio at that point. Only six cars finished behind Fangio, with Jack Brabham pushing his car across the line due to a fuel pump failure. Masten Gregory finished third for Maserati.

1957 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	32	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	105	3:10:12.800	9
2	20	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	105	+25.200s	6
3	2	Masten Gregory	Maserati	103	+2 laps	4
4	10	Stuart  Lewis-Evans	Connaught Alta	102	+3 laps	3
5	30	Maurice  Trintignant	Ferrari	100	+5 laps	2
6	14	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	100	+5 laps	0
7	24	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari		SHC	0
7	24	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	95	DNF	0
NC	34	Giorgio  Scarlatti	Maserati		SHC	0
NC	34	Harry Schell	Maserati	64	DNF	0
NC	6	Ron Flockhart	BRM	60	DNF	0
NC	36	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	51	DNF	0
NC	12	Ivor  Bueb	Connaught Alta	47	DNF	0
NC	38	Harry Schell	Maserati	23	DNF	0
NC	22	Horace  Gould	Maserati	10	DNF	0
NC	28	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	4	DNF	0
NC	26	Peter Collins	Ferrari	4	DNF	0
NC	18	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	4	DNF	0

1967

Paolo Gislimberti was born on this day in Trento, Italy. He sadly died on 10 September 2000 in Monza, when he was killed by a loose wheel from Heinz-Harald Frentzen‘s Jordan on the first lap of the 2000 Italian Grand Prix.

Gislimberti was behind the left side barrier near the Variante della Roggia, the second of Monza’s three chicanes. As cars approached the braking zone for the corner, a collision involving Frentzen, Jarno Trulli, David Coulthard, and Rubens Barrichello, putting all four drivers out of the race. As Frentzen’s car hit Trulli’s, the German driver’s front-right wheel became detached and flew over the Armco barrier at high speed, striking the Italian marshal in the head and chest.

His death was the first at any Formula One event since Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Tragically, just five races later, at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the new season, death was to strike Formula One again when Australian marshal Graham Beveridge suffered fatal injuries, also from being hit by a loose wheel.

• 

  List of Fatal Accidents in F1

1985

On May 19, the action-packed 1985 Monaco Grand Prix saw Alain Prost win for McLaren, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Michele Alboreto. Ayrton Senna started on pole in his Lotus and led initially. At the first corner, Gerhard Berger, Patrick Tambay, and Stefan Johansson crashed, while Prost navigated the chaos from fourth place. Alboreto executed a brilliant move on Nigel Mansell for second and took the lead when Senna retired with an engine failure. Prost closed in on Alboreto, who then slid on oil from a fiery accident involving Riccardo Patrese and Nelson Piquet, allowing Prost to take the lead. Alboreto regained the lead with an impressive outside pass at Saint Devote but later fell back to fourth due to a slow puncture and a subsequent pit stop. He fought back to second but couldn’t catch Prost again. Elio de Angelis finished third for Lotus.

1985 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	78	1:51:58.034	9
2	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	78	+7.541s	6
3	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	78	+87.171s	4
4	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	77	+1 lap	3
5	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	77	+1 lap	2
6	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Renault	77	+1 lap	1
7	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	77	+1 lap	0
8	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	76	+2 laps	0
9	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	76	+2 laps	0
10	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Ford	74	+4 laps	0
11	30	Jonathan  Palmer	Zakspeed	74	+4 laps	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	17	DNF	0
NC	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	16	DNF	0
NC	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	16	DNF	0
NC	19	Teo Fabi	Toleman Hart	16	DNF	0
NC	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	13	DNF	0
NC	23	Eddie  Cheever	Alfa Romeo	10	DNF	0
NC	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault		DNS	0
NC	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows BMW		DNS	0

1996

On May 19, Olivier Panis triumphed in a rain-soaked 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, securing the final victory for the Ligier team in Formula 1. Michael Schumacher had qualified on pole, but the wet conditions disrupted race strategies. The treacherous track led to the retirement of eight out of 21 drivers, including Schumacher, within the first five laps. Panis made his way through the field, overtaking Eddie Irvine for third after colliding and banging wheels with him at the Loews hairpin. In what he calls the greatest race of his life, Panis clocked laps comparable to leaders Damon Hill and Jean Alesi, both driving superior cars. When Hill and Alesi retired due to engine and suspension failures, respectively, Panis took the lead. By the race’s end at the two-hour limit, only four other cars were still running: David Coulthard, Johnny Herbert, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The win was Panis’ only F1 victory. Coulthard finished second for McLaren and Herbert third for Sauber.

1996 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	75	2:00:45.629	10
2	8	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	75	+4.828s	6
3	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Ford	75	+37.503s	4
4	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	74	DNF	3
5	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	70	DNF	2
6	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	70	DNF	1
7	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	68	DNF	0
NC	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	66	DNF	0
NC	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	60	DNF	0
NC	22	Luca Badoer	Forti Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	40	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan Peugeot	30	DNF	0
NC	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	9	DNF	0
NC	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier Mugen Honda	5	DNF	0
NC	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork Hart	3	DNF	0
NC	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	2	DNF	0
NC	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	0	DNF	0
NC	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork Hart	0	DNF	0
NC	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	0	DNF	0
NC	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Minardi Ford	0	DNF	0

2014

Jack Brabham died on this day aged 88, he was the last surviving Formula One World Champion from the 1950s.

A three-time Formula One world champion, his career was distinguished by not just his driving but his mechanical know-how too. Making his Formula One debut in 1955 and driving for Cooper, Brabham won the drivers’ title in 1959 and 1960, winning five consecutive victories in the latter year. From 1962, he competed for his own Brabham team and claimed his third title at 40 in 1966. In his final racing year of 1970, Brabham continued to show formidable talent, winning at Kyalami and narrowly missing more wins. He remains the only driver to win a World Championship in a car bearing his own name.

2024

Max Verstappen returned to winning form by winning the 2024 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, successfully fending off a thrilling late charge from Lando Norris. After a strong start from pole position, Verstappen built up a solid lead in the early stages. The Red Bull driver enjoyed a mostly serene drive around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari until Norris’s McLaren began to close the gap from P2 in the race’s latter stages. A dramatic finish followed as Norris continued to cut into Verstappen’s lead. However, a snap of oversteer further wore out Norris’s ageing tyres, allowing Verstappen to hold on to P1 by just 0.725 seconds as the checkered flag waved. Despite initially challenging Norris for P2, Charles Leclerc settled for the final podium position in third, much to the delight of the Ferrari home fans. Oscar Piastri secured P4, marking a solid performance for McLaren.

Full Race Report

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  2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2024 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	PTS
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	63	1:25:25.252	25
2	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	63	+0.725s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	63	+7.916s	15
4	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	63	+14.132s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	63	+22.325s	10
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	63	+35.104s	8
7	63	George Russell1	Mercedes	63	+47.154s	7
8	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	63	+54.776s	4
9	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	63	+79.556s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	62	+1 lap	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	62	+1 lap	0
12	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	62	+1 lap	0
13	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	62	+1 lap	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	62	+1 lap	0
15	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	62	+1 lap	0
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	62	+1 lap	0
17	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	62	+1 lap	0
18	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	62	+1 lap	0
19	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	62	+1 lap	0
NC	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	51	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 19 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
19 May 1928	Colin Chapman (d. 1982)
19 May 1931	Bob Anderson (d. 1967)

Birthday	F1 Mentions
19 May 1967	Paolo Gislimberti (d. 2000) An Italian volunteer firefighter and youth coach. He was killed by a loose wheel from Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan Formula One car on the first lap of the 2000 Italian Grand Prix.

F1 Driver Deaths 19 May

Death	F1 Driver
19 May 1958	Archie Scott-Brown (b. 1927)
19 May 1959	Bob Cortner (b. 1927)
19 May 1997	Troy Ruttman (b. 1930)
19 May 2000	Johnny Baldwin (b. 1922)
19 May 2007	Willie Ferguson (b. 1940)
19 May 2012	Ian Burgess (b. 1930)
19 May 2014	Jack Brabham (b. 1926)
19 May 2014	Gig Stephens (b. 1926)