What Happened On This Day May 5 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, May 5 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1929

In 1929, the Targa Florio, a public road endurance car race held in the mountains of Sicily, witnessed a thrilling showdown between Bugatti and Alfa Romeo. Albert Divo took the lead from the third lap onwards, securing Bugatti’s fifth consecutive win. Notably, Madame Juneck, a trailblazing female driver, made her mark, briefly leading the race in her black-and-yellow Bugatti.

1934

In 1934, Achille Varzi clinched his third win at the 1934 Tunis Grand Prix, marking his debut win for Auto Union. Initially listed as an independent driver due to a dispute over prize money – he insisted on payment in Italian lira due to strict Nazi currency regulations – Varzi dominated the race, maintaining his lead from start to finish. He crossed the finish line nearly four minutes ahead of Jean-Pierre Wimille’s Bugatti.

1985

The 1985 San Marino Grand Prix concluded in chaos. Alain Prost initially claimed the win, but two hours later, he was disqualified for his McLaren being two kilos underweight after his car ran out of fuel during the warm-down lap.

During the race Ayrton Senna, driving for Team Lotus and later Stefan Johansson in the Ferrari, also ran out of fuel while leading. Nelson Piquet, and his hopes of a podium finish vanished as his car stopped on the final lap, also due to a fuel issue. Ultimately, Elio de Angelis in the Lotus-Renault was declared the winner, though he was already at the airport. Thierry Boutsen, who had to push his Arrows car to the finish due to fuel also running out of fuel, was placed second. However, protests arose from other teams, contesting Boutsen’s finish as he hadn’t pushed the car completely over the finishing line. His second place would stand.

1985 San Marino Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Renault	60	1:34:35.955	9
2	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	59	+1 lap	6
3	15	Patrick Tambay	Renault	59	+1 lap	4
4	1	Niki Lauda	McLaren TAG	59	+1 lap	3
5	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	58	DNF	2
6	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	57	DNF	1
7	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	57	DNF	0
8	7	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	57	DNF	0
9	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Ford	56	DNF	0
10	16	Derek Warwick	Renault	56	+4 laps	0
NC	23	Eddie Cheever	Alfa Romeo	50	DNF	0
NC	24	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	46	+14 laps	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari	29	DNF	0
NC	9	Manfred Winkelhock	RAM Hart	27	DNF	0
NC	10	Philippe Alliot	RAM Hart	24	DNF	0
NC	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Honda	23	DNF	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Renault	22	DNF	0
NC	29	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Motori Moderni	14	DNF	0
NC	25	Andrea de Cesaris	Ligier Renault	11	DNF	0
NC	21	Mauro Baldi	Spirit Hart	9	DNF	0
NC	8	Francois Hesnault	Brabham BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	4	Stefan Bellof	Tyrrell Ford	5	DNF	0
NC	17	Gerhard Berger	Arrows BMW	4	DNF	0
NC	22	Riccardo Patrese	Alfa Romeo	4	DNF	0

1996

Damon Hill secured victory in the 1996 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, driving for Williams after starting from second on the grid. Michael Schumacher claimed second place for Ferrari, despite his front-right brake seizing midway through the final lap. Gerhard Berger completed the podium in third for Benetton. Jacques Villeneuve was forced to retire late in the race following a collision with Jean Alesi.

1996 San Marino Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	63	1:35:26.156	10
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	63	+16.460s	6
3	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	63	+46.891s	4
4	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	63	+61.583s	3
5	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Peugeot	63	+78.490s	2
6	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	62	+1 lap	1
7	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier Mugen Honda	62	+1 lap	0
8	7	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	61	DNF	0
9	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi Ford	61	+2 laps	0
10	22	Luca Badoer	Forti Ford	59	+4 laps	0
11	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	57	DNF	0
NC	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier Mugen Honda	54	DNF	0
NC	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	45	DNF	0
NC	8	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	44	DNF	0
NC	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork Hart	40	DNF	0
NC	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork Hart	38	DNF	0
NC	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan Peugeot	36	DNF	0
NC	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Ford	32	DNF	0
NC	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Minardi Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Yamaha	23	DNF	0

2001

In 2001, Thomas Scheckter, the son of F1 world champion Jody Scheckter, experienced a significant setback in his Formula 1 career. Following an unfortunate incident, he was dismissed from his role as Jaguar test driver. Reports indicated that he was discovered engaging in kerb-crawling in Milton Keynes. The incident not only tarnished his reputation but also led to the termination of his contract with the Jaguar team.

2002

In 2002, amidst the collapse of Alain Prost’s F1 team, Prost Grand Prix, 12 of its iconic cars were auctioned off. The auction took place at the Palais de Congres in Paris, marking the end of an era in Formula 1 history. Enthusiasts gathered as the cars, once the pride of the Prost team, were put up for sale. The auction fetched a total of US$900,000, marking the end of the team and the breakup of its assets and legacy.

2024

After securing pole on Saturday for the 2024 Miami Grand Prix, Max Verstappen started the race on the front row with Charles Leclerc. Carlos Sainz lined up in third with Sergio Perez in fourth on the second row. However, the race wouldn’t go Verstappen’s way for the second time in 2024 with Lando Norris in the McLaren, who started in sixth, catapulting himself into the ranks of F1 winners with a remarkable first win in Formula 1. Verstappen settled for second place, struggling with his performance throughout the race, while Charles Leclerc claimed third, leading his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz in fourth, who had a late collision with Oscar Piastri. Piastri fell back to 13th by the race end after needing a new front wing, and the stewards penalised Sainz with a five-second time penalty for his role in the collision, which demoted him to fifth, and Perez lifted to fourth.

Full Race Report

2024 Miami Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2024 Miami Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	PTS
1	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	57	1:30:49.876	25
2	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	57	+7.612s	18
3	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	57	+9.920s	15
4	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	57	+14.650s	12
5	55	Carlos Sainz¹	Ferrari	57	+16.407s	10
6	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	57	+16.585s	8
7	22	Yuki Tsunoda	RB Honda RBPT	57	+26.185s	6
8	63	George Russell	Mercedes	57	+34.789s	4
9	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	57	+37.107s	2
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	57	+39.746s	1
11	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	57	+40.789s	0
12	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	57	+44.958s	0
13	81	Oscar Piastri²	McLaren Mercedes	57	+49.756s	0
14	24	Zhou Guanyu	Kick Sauber Ferrari	57	+49.979s	0
15	3	Daniel Ricciardo	RB Honda RBPT	57	+50.956s	0
16	77	Valtteri Bottas	Kick Sauber Ferrari	57	+52.356s	0
17	18	Lance Stroll³	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	57	+55.173s	0
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	57	+76.091s	0
19	20	Kevin Magnussen⁴	Haas Ferrari	57	+84.683s	0
NC	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	27	DNF	0

¹Sainz was penalized with a five-second time penalty for his role in a collision.
²Fastest lap: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:30.634 (lap 43)
³Stroll incurred a 10-second time penalty for track limit violations resulting in an advantage gain.
⁴Magnussen was handed a 10-second time penalty for his involvement in a collision and an additional 20-second penalty for entering the pits during a Safety Car period without changing tyres.

F1 Driver Birthdays 5 May

Birthday	F1 Driver
5 May 1913	Duane Carter (d. 1993)
5 May 1932	Luigi Taramazzo (d. 2004)
5 May 1932	Bob Said (d. 2002)
5 May 1937	Keith St John

F1 Driver Deaths 5 May

Death	F1 Driver
5 May 2001	Bill Homeier (b. 1918)

Seen in:

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.