What Happened On This Day May 31 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 31 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1954

Bill Vukovich recorded his second successive victory in the 1954 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first man to lead the race for the most laps for three straight years. In 1952, he had been forced to quit through exhaustion while leading eight laps from the end. Jimmy Bryan finished second, and Jack McGrath third.

1954 Indianapolis 500 Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	14	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200	3:49:17.270	8
2	9	Jimmy Bryan	Kuzma Offenhauser	200	+69.951s	6
3	2	Jack McGrath	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		5
4	34	Troy Ruttman	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		1.5
4	34	Duane Carter	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	1.5
5	73	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		2
6	77	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		0
7	7	Don Freeland	Phillips Offenhauser	200		0
8	5	Paul Russo	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
8	5	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		0
9	28	Larry Crockett	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		0
10	24	Cal Niday	Stevens Offenhauser	200		0
11	45	Art Cross	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
11	45	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
11	45	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
11	45	Andy Linden	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
11	45	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	200		0
12	98	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma Offenhauser		SHC	0
12	98	Walt Faulkner	Kuzma Offenhauser	199	+1 lap	0
13	88	Manny Ayulo	Kuzma Offenhauser	197	+3 laps	0
14	17	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	197	+3 laps	0
15	16	Duane Carter	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
15	16	Jimmy Jackson	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	196	+4 laps	0
15	16	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
15	16	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
16	32	Ernie McCoy	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	194	+6 laps	0
17	25	Jimmy Reece	Pankratz Offenhauser	194	+6 laps	0
18	27	Ed Elisian	Stevens Offenhauser		SHC	0
18	27	Bob Scott	Stevens Offenhauser	193	+7 laps	0
19	71	Frank Armi	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	193	+7 laps	0
19	71	George Fonder	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
20	1	Sam Hanks	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
20	1	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
20	1	Jim Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	191	DNF	0
21	35	Pat O’Connor	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	181	DNF	0
22	12	Rodger Ward	Pawl Offenhauser	172	DNF	0
22	12	Eddie Johnson	Pawl Offenhauser		SHC	0
23	31	Gene Hartley	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
23	31	Marshall Teague	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	168	DNF	0
24	43	Johnny Thomson	Nichels Offenhauser		SHC	0
24	43	Andy Linden	Nichels Offenhauser		SHC	0
24	43	Bill Homeier	Nichels Offenhauser	165	DNF	0
25	74	Andy Linden	Schroeder Offenhauser		SHC	0
25	74	Bob Scott	Schroeder Offenhauser	165	DNF	0
26	99	Jerry Hoyt	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	130	DNF	0
27	19	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	111	DNF	0
28	38	Jim Rathmann	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser		SHC	0
28	38	Pat Flaherty	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	110	DNF	0
29	10	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	105	DNF	0
30	65	Spider Webb	Bromme Offenhauser		SHC	0
30	65	Danny Kladis	Bromme Offenhauser	104	DNF	0
31	33	Len Duncan	Schroeder Offenhauser		SHC	0
31	33	George Fonder	Schroeder Offenhauser	101	DNF	0
32	15	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	79	DNF	0
33	51	Bill Homeier	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	74	DNF	0

1959

The British BRM team celebrated a memorable day by winning its first championship race at the 1959 Dutch Grand Prix Race, after many years of trying and “countless heartbreaking disappointments.” It was also the first pole position and win for a BRM engine after almost a decade of effort.

In another first, it was Sweedish driver Jo Bonnier‘s first win, aided in part by Stirling Moss, who had taken the lead from him after 60 of the 75 laps but was forced to retire with a gearbox failure three laps later. Bonnier won by fifteen seconds over Australian driver Jack Brabham, driving for Cooper, to also become the first Swedish driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Brabham’s American teammate Masten Gregory was the only other driver to finish on the lead lap in third position.

Interestingly, the organisers wanted to include a local driver in this race, so Carel Godin de Beaufort was allowed to compete despite his car being a Porsche RSK sports car.

1959 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Jo Bonnier	BRM	75	2:05:26.800	8
2	8	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	75	+14.200s	6
3	9	Masten Gregory	Cooper Climax	75	+83.000s	4
4	12	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	74	+1 lap	3
5	1	Jean Behra	Ferrari	74	+1 lap	2
6	3	Phil Hill	Ferrari	73	+2 laps	0
7	14	Graham Hill	Lotus Climax	73	+2 laps	0
8	10	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper Climax	73	+2 laps	0
9	16	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	71	+4 laps	0
10	15	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	68	+7 laps	0
NC	11	Stirling Moss	Cooper Climax	63	DNF	1
NC	6	Harry Schell	BRM	46	DNF	0
NC	2	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	42	DNF	0
NC	5	Carroll Shelby	Aston Martin	25	DNF	0
NC	4	Roy Salvadori	Aston Martin	3	DNF	0

1981

Gilles Villeneuve delivered Ferrari‘s first win in a turbocharged car at the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix. Nelson Piquet initially led but crashed while overtaking backmarkers, and defending champion Alan Jones suffered a fuel-feed problem, allowing Villeneuve to overtake him four laps from the end. Chaos ensued before the scheduled start when a fire in the Loews Hotel kitchens above the tunnel caused water to cascade onto the track, raising concerns about the tunnel’s electric lighting. The race started an hour late. Jones finished second for Williams, with Frenchman Jacques Laffite third for Ligier.

1981 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	27	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	76	1:54:23.380	9
2	1	Alan Jones	Williams Ford	76	+39.910s	6
3	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	76	+89.240s	4
4	28	Didier Pironi	Ferrari	75	+1 lap	3
5	3	Eddie Cheever	Tyrrell Ford	74	+2 laps	2
6	14	Marc Surer	Ensign Ford	74	+2 laps	1
7	33	Patrick Tambay	Theodore Ford	72	+4 laps	0
NC	5	Nelson Piquet	Brabham Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	53	DNF	0
NC	4	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	50	DNF	0
NC	15	Alain Prost	Renault	45	DNF	0
NC	2	Carlos Reutemann	Williams Ford	34	DNF	0
NC	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	32	DNF	0
NC	29	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	29	DNF	0
NC	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	30	Siegfried Stohr	Arrows Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	McLaren Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	22	Mario Andretti	Alfa Romeo	0	DNF	0

1987

Nigel Mansell faced a disappointing day at the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix, retiring while leading and allowing Ayrton Senna to secure an easy victory. Alain Prost also retired three laps from the end while in third place. Mansell reflected, “The car felt terrific and I was under no pressure at all.” The day’s only serious crash came when Philippe Streiff’s Tyrrell crashed into a guard rail near Casino Square, sending a piece of wreckage flying into a stone statue outside the casino.

Senna’s compatriot Nelson Piquet was second for Williams, with Italian Michele Alboreto third in a Ferrari.

1987 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Honda	78	1:57:54.085	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams Honda	78	+33.212s	6
3	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	78	+72.839s	4
4	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	77	+1 lap	3
5	3	Jonathan Palmer	Tyrrell Ford	76	+2 laps	2
6	16	Ivan Capelli	March Ford	76	+2 laps	1
7	9	Martin Brundle	Zakspeed	76	+2 laps	0
8	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton Ford	76	+2 laps	0
9	1	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	75	DNF	0
10	11	Satoru Nakajima	Lotus Honda	75	+3 laps	0
11	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Megatron	74	+4 laps	0
12	26	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Ligier Megatron	74	+4 laps	0
13	14	Pascal Fabre	AGS Ford	71	+7 laps	0
NC	18	Eddie Cheever	Arrows Megatron	59	DNF	0
NC	17	Derek Warwick	Arrows Megatron	58	DNF	0
NC	2	Stefan Johansson	McLaren TAG	57	DNF	0
NC	30	Philippe Alliot	Lola Ford	42	DNF	0
NC	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	41	DNF	0
NC	21	Alex Caffi	Osella Alfa Romeo	39	DNF	0
NC	8	Andrea de Cesaris	Brabham BMW	38	DNF	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	29	DNF	0
NC	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi Motori Moderni	21	DNF	0
NC	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	20	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton Ford	5	DNF	0

1989

Andrea de Cesaris, born in Rome on this day, May 31, 1989, drove 208 Grands Prix between 1980 and 1994 without ever winning one. Initially wild, he survived early setbacks thanks to wealthy backers. He had the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix at his mercy when he ran out of fuel on the final lap and led again at Spa in 1983 when his engine blew. He drove for nine different teams.

1992

In another frustrating day for Williams driver Nigel Mansell at the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix, a loose wheel nut forced him into the pits while leading with eight laps remaining, again handing the win to Ayrton Senna as he did in 1987. Mansell, on fresh tyres, smashed the lap record but was brilliantly kept at bay by Senna, whose tyres were gone. This ended Mansell’s streak of five consecutive wins, though he went on to win the 1992 Drivers’ Championship. Mansell said, “When I got up behind Ayrton, I thought my eyes were playing tricks because it seemed there were three McLarens across the track ahead of me. He made his car very wide but it was absolutely fair.” Senna simply smiled and said, “I used my equipment to the maximum.”

With the win, it was Senna’s fifth at Monaco, equalling the record set by Graham Hill. Mansell’s teammate Riccardo Patrese was third, half a minute behind,

1992 Monaco Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Honda	78	1:50:59.372	10
2	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Renault	78	+0.215s	6
3	6	Riccardo Patrese	Williams Renault	78	+31.843s	4
4	19	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	78	+39.294s	3
5	20	Martin Brundle	Benetton Ford	78	+81.347s	2
6	29	Bertrand Gachot	Venturi Lamborghini	77	+1 lap	1
7	9	Michele Alboreto	Footwork Mugen Honda	77	+1 lap	0
8	23	Christian Fittipaldi	Minardi Lamborghini	77	+1 lap	0
9	21	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Dallara Ferrari	76	+2 laps	0
10	26	Erik Comas	Ligier Renault	76	+2 laps	0
11	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	76	+2 laps	0
12	25	Thierry Boutsen	Ligier Renault	75	+3 laps	0
NC	28	Ivan Capelli	Ferrari	60	DNF	0
NC	2	Gerhard Berger	McLaren Honda	32	DNF	0
NC	11	Mika Hakkinen	Lotus Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	28	DNF	0
NC	33	Mauricio Gugelmin	Jordan Yamaha	18	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	34	Roberto Moreno	Moda Judd	11	DNF	0
NC	4	Andrea de Cesaris	Tyrrell Ilmor	9	DNF	0
NC	15	Gabriele Tarquini	Fondmetal Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	32	Stefano Modena	Jordan Yamaha	6	DNF	0
NC	3	Olivier Grouillard	Tyrrell Ilmor	4	DNF	0
NC	16	Karl Wendlinger	March Ilmor	1	DNF	0
NC	24	Gianni Morbidelli	Minardi Lamborghini	1	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 31 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
31 May 1924	Johnny Roberts (d. 1965)
31 May 1942	Jo Vonlanthen
31 May 1959	Andrea de Cesaris (d. 2014)

F1 Driver Deaths 31 May

Death	F1 Driver
31 May 1976	Elmer George (b. 1928)
31 May 1998	Charles Van Acker (b. 1912)
31 May 2012	Paul Pietsch (b. 1911)

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.