What happened on this day, May 21 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1950
The second Formula One World Championship race took place in Monaco on 21 May 1950 and was won by Juan Manuel Fangio. Due to windy conditions, waves and spray from the harbour made the Tabac corner exceptionally slippery, causing a nine-car pileup on the first lap. Fangio, driving an Alfa Romeo, avoided the chaos and secured victory in the 100-lap race, finishing over a lap ahead of Alberto Ascari in the Ferrari. Luigi Villoresi added excitement by stalling at the start but fought back to second place before retiring with a mechanical issue. Local hero and Monégasque Louis Chiron in a Maserati finished third. It was also the first Formula One race for Ferrari.
Interestingly, Chiron’s 3rd-place finish made him the only Monegasque driver to score points in Formula One until Charles Leclerc finished 6th in the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix some 68 years later. Leclerc would go on to win the 2024 Monaco Grand Prix.
Full Race Report
1950 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 34 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 100 | 3:13:18.700 | 9 |
| 2 | 40 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 99 | +1 lap | 6 |
| 3 | 48 | Louis Chiron | Maserati | 98 | +2 laps | 4 |
| 4 | 42 | Raymond Sommer | Ferrari | 97 | +3 laps | 3 |
| 5 | 50 | Prince Bira | Maserati | 95 | +5 laps | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Bob Gerard | ERA | 94 | +6 laps | 0 |
| 7 | 6 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago | 94 | +6 laps | 0 |
| NC | 38 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 63 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Philippe Etancelin | Talbot-Lago | 36 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Jose Froilan Gonzalez | Maserati | 1 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 36 | Luigi Fagioli | Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 32 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Harry Schell | Cooper JAP | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 52 | Toulo de Graffenried | Maserati | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 24 | Cuth Harrison | ERA | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 44 | Franco Rol | Maserati | 0 | DNF | 0 |
1978
Mario Andretti led a dominant Lotus one-two victory at the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix, a familiar result during the 1978 season. Andretti started strong, with Gilles Villeneuve in second place. However, several cars collided, trying to avoid the slow-starting Carlos Reutemann. Villeneuve maintained second place ahead of Ronnie Peterson‘s Lotus until a front-left puncture forced him to pit, dropping him down the order. From that point, Lotus controlled the race, with the Ferraris of Reutemann and Villeneuve finishing third and fourth.
1978 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Mario Andretti | Lotus Ford | 70 | 1:39:52.020 | 9 |
| 2 | 6 | Ronnie Peterson | Lotus Ford | 70 | +9.900s | 6 |
| 3 | 11 | Carlos Reutemann | Ferrari | 70 | +24.340s | 4 |
| 4 | 12 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 70 | +47.040s | 3 |
| 5 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Matra | 69 | DNF | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Didier Pironi | Tyrrell Ford | 69 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 30 | Brett Lunger | McLaren Ford | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 8 | 33 | Bruno Giacomelli | McLaren Ford | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 9 | 31 | Rene Arnoux | Martini Ford | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams Ford | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 11 | 9 | Jochen Mass | ATS Ford | 68 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 12 | 22 | Jacky Ickx | Ensign Ford | 64 | +6 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 19 | Vittorio Brambilla | Surtees Ford | 63 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Hans-Joachim Stuck | Shadow Ford | 56 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 56 | +14 laps | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Jody Scheckter | Wolf Ford | 53 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 4 | Patrick Depailler | Tyrrell Ford | 51 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Clay Regazzoni | Shadow Ford | 40 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 35 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows Ford | 31 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 36 | Rolf Stommelen | Arrows Ford | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | John Watson | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 14 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | James Hunt | McLaren Ford | 0 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Niki Lauda | Brabham Alfa Romeo | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2000
Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won a wet 2000 European Grand Prix ahead of Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, following a race-long battle between the two title contenders. Although Hakkinen took the lead into the first corner after the pair banged wheels at the start, the arrival of rain saw Hakkinen struggling to control his car. Schumacher, on the other hand, remained composed and overtook Hakkinen at the final chicane. Making better use of slick tyres on a slippery surface, Schumacher built a lead. When the entire field eventually pitted for wet tyres, Schumacher maintained his first place and extended his gap over Hakkinen. Despite Hakkinen getting within five seconds at one point, Schumacher held on to secure his first Ferrari victory in Germany. Hakkinen finished second, and his McLaren teammate David Coulthard finished third.
2000 European Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 67 | 1:42:00.307 | 10 |
| 2 | 1 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 67 | +13.821s | 6 |
| 3 | 2 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 66 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 66 | +1 lap | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton Playlife | 66 | +1 lap | 2 |
| 6 | 18 | Pedro de la Rosa | Arrows Supertec | 66 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Sauber Petronas | 65 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 8 | 21 | Gaston Mazzacane | Minardi Fondmetal | 65 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 9 | 14 | Jean Alesi | Prost Peugeot | 65 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 10 | Jenson Button | Williams BMW | 62 | DNF | 0 |
| 11 | 8 | Johnny Herbert | Jaguar Cosworth | 61 | DNF | 0 |
| 12 | 12 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton Playlife | 61 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Ricardo Zonta | BAR Honda | 51 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Marc Gene | Minardi Fondmetal | 47 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR Honda | 46 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar Cosworth | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Arrows Supertec | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams BMW | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Mika Salo | Sauber Petronas | 27 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 5 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Jordan Mugen Honda | 2 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan Mugen Honda | 0 | DNF | 0 |
2005
On May 21, Jacques Villeneuve criticised Juan Pablo Montoya after a three-car pileup during Saturday’s free practice session of the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix, saying Montoya’s actions could have been fatal. Montoya brake-tested Ralf Schumacher, feeling the Toyota driver had held him up on the previous lap. The sudden deceleration on the hill out of Saint Devote caused an unsighted Villeneuve to crash into the back of David Coulthard and Schumacher. Villeneuve described Montoya’s behaviour as “out of order,” expressing how serious the incident could have been: “How serious could it have been? It could have been me and a few people in the hotel dead. I’m just lucky I hit David’s gearbox instead of hitting his rear wheel. If not I would have taken off like in Australia a few years ago [when an accident Villeneuve was involved in killed a marshal] … it was extremely, extremely dangerous.”
2023
The 2023 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was originally scheduled for May 21, 2023, at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy. However, on May 17, Formula One Management announced its cancellation due to severe flooding in the region.
In the days leading up to the event, a red weather alert was issued for the Emilia-Romagna region, warning of heavy rainfall that had already triggered floods and landslides. On May 16, all Formula One personnel were instructed to evacuate the paddock as a precautionary measure after rising water levels were reported in the nearby Santerno River. With persistent rainfall throughout the week and growing concerns, the Italian government called for the race to be postponed. Soon after the cancellation, parts of the circuit, including the Formula 2 paddock, were seen submerged in floodwaters.
As a result, the Grand Prix, along with its Formula 2 and Formula 3 support races, was called off. In response to the disaster, Formula One donated €1 million, while Ferrari contributed an additional €1 million to support relief efforts.
F1 Driver Birthdays 21 May
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 21 May 1912 | Bud Sennett (d. 2003) |
| 21 May 1942 | Danny Ongais (d. 2022) |
F1 Driver Deaths 21 May
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 21 May 1998 | Jack Rounds (b. 1930) |
| 21 May 2003 | Alejandro de Tomaso (b. 1928) |
| 21 May 2016 | Eddie Keizan (b. 1944) |
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