What Happened On This Day November 20 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, November 20 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1948

Gunnar Nilsson was born in Helsingborg, Sweden. With 32 Grand Prix entries, his highlight came in his second season with a win in the rain-soaked 1977 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder, following two previous podium finishes. Unknown to most, he was diagnosed with cancer at the end of the season. Despite securing a lead role with Arrows for 1978, his worsening condition forced him to step down before the first race. He dedicated his remaining months to launching the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Treatment Campaign with Charing Cross Hospital, working tirelessly without pain relief to extend his efforts. His death occurred only five weeks after his friend and compatriot, Ronnie Peterson.

1957

Stefan Bellof, one of Germany’s most thrilling racing talents, was born in Glessen. Known for his fearless driving style, Bellof was considered a future world champion and joined Formula One in 1984 with Tyrrell. At the Monaco Grand Prix, he was closing in on Alain Prost alongside Ayrton Senna in the rain before the race was halted, robbing him of a potential victory. In 1985, Tyrrell’s car was less competitive, with Bellof securing only a fourth and sixth place before a tragic accident at Spa during the 1000 km of Spa World Sportscar Championship race. Attempting a daring overtake at the infamous Eau Rouge, he lost his life instantly.

1960

Stirling Moss clinched victory at the 1960 United States Grand Prix at Riverside International Raceway in California, finishing ahead of his Lotus teammate Innes Ireland. Despite the presence of American driver Dan Gurney, the event failed to generate significant interest among U.S. fans, drawing a modest crowd of 25,000. A public relations misstep by organiser Alec Ullmann, who alienated the local media, led to limited coverage of the race. Ullmann suffered substantial financial losses but paid Moss’s $7,500 prize and all other debts out of pocket. Gurney had a tough race, retiring on lap 18 due to an overheated engine. Bruce McLaren took third place, with newly crowned world champion Jack Brabham in fourth. Ferrari, having no stakes in the race, opted out, although drivers Wolfgang von Trips and Phil Hill participated with other teams.

1960 United States Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	5	Stirling Moss	Lotus Climax	75	2:28:52.200	8
2	10	Innes Ireland	Lotus Climax	75	+38.000s	6
3	3	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	75	+82.000s	4
4	2	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	74	+1 lap	3
5	15	Jo Bonnier	BRM	74	+1 lap	2
6	9	Phil Hill	Cooper Climax	74	+1 lap	1
7	24	Jim Hall	Lotus Climax	73	+2 laps	0
8	14	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Climax	73	+2 laps	0
9	26	Wolfgang von Trips	Cooper Maserati	72	+3 laps	0
10	23	Chuck Daigh	Scarab	70	+5 laps	0
11	25	Pete Lovely	Cooper Castellotti	69	+6 laps	0
12	7	Olivier Gendebien	Cooper Climax	69	+6 laps	0
13	20	Bob Drake	Maserati	68	+7 laps	0
14	8	Henry Taylor	Cooper Climax	68	+7 laps	0
15	18	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper Maserati	66	+9 laps	0
16	12	Jim Clark	Lotus Climax	61	+14 laps	0
NC	17	Graham Hill	BRM	34	DNF	0
NC	19	Ian Burgess	Cooper Maserati	29	DNF	0
NC	21	Brian Naylor	JBW Maserati	20	DNF	0
NC	16	Dan Gurney	BRM	18	DNF	0
NC	4	Ron Flockhart	Cooper Climax	11	DNF	0
NC	6	Tony Brooks	Cooper Climax	6	DNF	0
NC	11	John Surtees	Lotus Climax	3	DNF	0

2004

Michael Schumacher added yet another accolade to his impressive career, voted Germany’s greatest sportsman of the 20th century in a national television poll. Schumacher triumphed over football legend Franz Beckenbauer and tennis icon Boris Becker. “I would never have expected an honour like this. It’s a total surprise,” Schumacher said.

2008

After 24 years of marriage, Bernie Ecclestone’s wife, Slavica, announced her intent to divorce via her PR agency. Surprised by the news, Ecclestone quipped, “I didn’t even know she had a PR company.” The divorce was finalised in March 2009 with a decree nisi granted in just 58 seconds. Slavica reportedly received a settlement of around $1 billion.

2022

At the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships already secured by Max Verstappen and Red Bull in earlier races at Japan and the United States, the final showdown was a race for the remaining podium spots. Verstappen took victory, finishing ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and teammate Sergio Perez. Leclerc’s second-place finish ensured he edged out Perez in their battle for second in the 2022 Drivers’ Championship.

This race also marked a significant milestone for Sebastian Vettel, as it was his 300th Grand Prix entry and his 299th and final start in Formula One. The four-time World Champion finished tenth, earning his final point with Aston Martin in the sport and closing his career with one last result.

2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing RBPT	58	1:27:45.914	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	+8.771s	18
3	11	Sergio Perez	Red Bull Racing RBPT	58	+10.093s	15
4	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	58	+24.892s	12
5	63	George Russell	Mercedes	58	+35.888s	10
6	4	Lando Norris¹	McLaren Mercedes	58	+56.234s	9
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	58	+57.240s	6
8	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+76.931s	4
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren Mercedes	58	+83.268s	2
10	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+83.898s	1
11	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri RBPT	58	+89.371s	0
12	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
13	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	57	+1 lap	0
14	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri RBPT	57	+1 lap	0
15	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
16	47	Mick Schumacher²	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
18	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	55	DNF	0
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams Mercedes	55	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine Renault	27	DNF	0

¹Lando Norris scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 44 – 1:28.391
²Mick Schumacher received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 20 November

Birthday	F1 Driver
20 November 1905	Frank Luptow
20 November 1912	Hal Cole
20 November 1919	Alan Brown
20 November 1945	Ewald Boisitz
20 November 1948	Gunnar Nilsson
20 November 1957	Stefan Bellof

F1 Driver Deaths 20 November

Death	F1 Driver
20 November 2000	Wal Ever

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Mark is a staff writer specialising in the history of Formula 1 races. Mark researches most of our historic content from teams to drivers and races. He has followed Formula 1 since 1988, and admits to having a soft spot for British drivers from James Hunt and Nigel Mansell to Lando Norris. He loves a great F1 podcast and has read pretty much every drivers biography.