What Happened On This Day May 24 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 24 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1903

The tragic events of the prestigious Paris-Madrid Trial in 1903 led to a significant shift in motor racing from open roads to specialised enclosed tracks. Out of 316 vehicles that started the 1014km race, more than 100,000 spectators watched the beginning. However, the roads were heavily crowded with onlookers, resulting in numerous accidents within hours. Notably, Marcel Renault, co-founder of the Renault motor company, crashed at 80mph, hitting a tree and killing himself and his mechanic. Additionally, a small boy and a man attempting to save him were also killed. In total, eight people died on the first day, prompting the French and Spanish governments to ban the race, leading to its abandonment overnight. The public backlash was so intense that the racers were not permitted to drive their cars back to Paris.

1964

Lotus driver Jim Clark secured a comfortable victory at the 1964 Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, finishing ahead of the Ferrari of John Surtees. Clark took an early lead at the first corner, ahead of Graham Hill and Dan Gurney, and maintained it for 80 laps. Surtees, despite a poor start, provided the excitement in the race by moving up the field to secure second place, finishing as the only other driver on the same lap as Clark. Clark’s teammate Peter Arundell came in third.

This was the 100th Formula One World Championship race for an American driver, with Phil Hill, Richie Ginther, and Gurney driving. In those 100 races, Americans had won 15 races, had taken 76 podiums, 19 pole positions, 20 fastest laps and 1 World Championship. This race also saw the first pole position for the Brabham team.

1964 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	18	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	80	2:07:35.400	9
2	2	John Surtees	Ferrari	80	+53.600s	6
3	20	Peter  Arundell	Lotus Climax	79	+1 lap	4
4	6	Graham Hill	BRM	79	+1 lap	3
5	10	Chris Amon	Lotus BRM	79	+1 lap	2
6	34	Bob Anderson	Brabham Climax	78	+2 laps	1
7	24	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	78	+2 laps	0
8	22	Phil Hill	Cooper Climax	76	+4 laps	0
9	26	Jo Bonnier	Brabham Climax	76	+4 laps	0
10	32	Giancarlo Baghetti	BRM	74	+6 laps	0
11	8	Richie Ginther	BRM	64	+16 laps	0
12	12	Mike Hailwood	Lotus BRM	57	DNF	0
13	36	Jo Siffert	Brabham BRM	55	+25 laps	0
NC	14	Jack Brabham	Brabham Climax	44	DNF	0
NC	4	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	25	DNF	0
NC	16	Dan Gurney	Brabham Climax	23	DNF	0
NC	28	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	8	DNF	0

1998

McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen claimed his only Monte Carlo win at the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix with a dominant performance, securing pole position and the fastest lap. A fierce second-place battle between Alex Wurz and Michael Schumacher ended dramatically. Schumacher, eager to overtake Wurz to chase Hakkinen, tried various tactics before ultimately colliding with Wurz in a clumsy manoeuvre at the Loews hairpin, damaging his rear suspension and forcing him to pit, losing three laps. Although Wurz initially seemed unscathed, his suspension failed when he pitted for fresh tyres, causing a high-speed crash in the tunnel. Fortunately, he was unhurt, while his Benetton teammate Giancarlo Fisichella took second place, with the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine finishing third.

1998 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	78	1:51:23.595	10
2	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	78	+11.475s	6
3	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	78	+41.378s	4
4	17	Mika Salo	Arrows	78	+60.363s	3
5	1	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Mecachrome	77	+1 lap	2
6	16	Pedro Diniz	Arrows	77	+1 lap	1
7	15	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	77	+1 lap	0
8	9	Damon Hill	Jordan Mugen Honda	76	+2 laps	0
9	22	Shinji Nakano	Minardi Ford	76	+2 laps	0
10	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
11	21	Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell Ford	76	+2 laps	0
12	14	Jean Alesi	Sauber Petronas	72	DNF	0
NC	12	Jarno Trulli	Prost Peugeot	56	DNF	0
NC	11	Olivier Panis	Prost Peugeot	49	DNF	0
NC	10	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Mugen Honda	44	DNF	0
NC	6	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	42	DNF	0
NC	19	Jan Magnussen	Stewart Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	7	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	17	DNF	0
NC	18	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Mecachrome	9	DNF	0
NC	23	Esteban Tuero	Minardi Ford	0	DNF	0

2000

In 2000, Giancarlo Fisichella narrowly escaped injury in a dramatic testing crash, highlighting the dangers of open-wheel racing. Fisichella’s Benetton collided with Jarno Trulli‘s Jordan during preparations for the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix in Valencia. Unable to avoid a collision in a tight section of the track, Fisichella’s car was launched into the air, flipping over Trulli’s car and landing on top of it. Despite the Benetton being completely destroyed, both drivers emerged unharmed and were able to resume testing later that day.

2001

In 2001, Jordan and Arrows caused a sensation in the Monaco paddock by arriving for Thursday practice with peculiar wings mounted high above the nose cones of their cars. These wings were intended to provide extra front downforce, but the FIA banned them immediately on safety grounds. There were also suggestions that they were banned because of their unsightly appearance.

2009

Brawn GP driver Jenson Button won the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, a highlight in his championship-winning year, even though he missed out on winning his home race at Silverstone. Button and his Brawn teammate Rubens Barrichello dominated, finishing first and second. After the race, Button mistakenly returned to the pits instead of parking on the start-finish straight, as per Monaco tradition. Nonetheless, he enjoyed a solo run from the pits to the podium, cheered by his team and fans. Reflecting on his victory, Button said, “Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is something you dream about as a child and as a racing driver, and the reality of taking that victory just feels awesome.” Kimi Raikkonen completed the podium in third for Ferrari.

2009 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	22	Jenson Button	Brawn Mercedes	78	1:40:44.282	10
2	23	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn Mercedes	78	+7.666s	8
3	4	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	78	+13.442s	6
4	3	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	78	+15.110s	5
5	14	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	78	+15.730s	4
6	16	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	78	+33.586s	3
7	7	Fernando Alonso	Renault	78	+37.839s	2
8	11	Sebastien Bourdais	STR Ferrari	78	+63.142s	1
9	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India Mercedes	78	+65.040s	0
10	10	Timo Glock	Toyota	77	+1 lap	0
11	6	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	77	+1 lap	0
12	1	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	77	+1 lap	0
13	9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	77	+1 lap	0
14	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	77	+1 lap	0
15	17	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	76	DNF	0
NC	2	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	51	DNF	0
NC	5	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	28	DNF	0
NC	15	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	15	DNF	0
NC	8	Nelson Piquet	Renault	10	DNF	0
NC	12	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	10	DNF	0

2015

At the 2015 Monaco Grand Prix, reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton secured his first-ever pole position at the principality circuit during Saturday’s qualifying. However, the race saw his Mercedes teammate and Monaco resident, Nico Rosberg, claim his third consecutive Monaco victory, marking his second win of the season and the tenth of his career. Sebastian Vettel finished second for Ferrari, while Hamilton—who had led for most of the race—dropped to third due to a strategic error during a late-race safety car period. Mercedes later apologised for the misjudged pit stop, which cost Hamilton the victory.

The race also marked a milestone for McLaren–Honda, as they scored their first points since the partnership’s revival. With Rosberg’s win, he closed the gap in the 2015 Drivers’ Championship standings to ten points behind Hamilton.

2015 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	78	1:49:18.420	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	78	+4.486s	18
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	78	+6.053s	15
4	26	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing Renault	78	+11.965s	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing Renault	78	+13.608s	10
6	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	78	+14.345s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	78	+15.013s	6
8	22	Jenson Button	McLaren Honda	78	+16.063s	4
9	12	Felipe Nasr	Sauber Ferrari	78	+23.626s	2
10	55	Carlos Sainz	STR Renault	78	+25.056s	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	78	+26.232s	0
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Mercedes	78	+28.415s	0
13	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	78	+31.159s	0
14	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Mercedes	78	+45.789s	0
15	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	77	+1 lap	0
16	98	Roberto Merhi	Marussia Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
17	28	Will Stevens	Marussia Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
NC	33	Max Verstappen	STR Renault	62	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	41	DNF	0
NC	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus Mercedes	5	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 24 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
24 May 1953	Lamberto Leoni
24 May 1963	Ivan Capelli

F1 Driver Deaths 24 May

Death	F1 Driver
24 May 1981	Herbert Muller (b. 1940)
24 May 1990	Dries van der Lof (b. 1919)
24 May 2024	Dave Walker (b. 1941)