What Happened On This Day November 25 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, November 25 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1920

Race driver Gaston Chevrolet tragically died in a crash at the Beverly Hills Speedway when his modified Monroe collided with Eddie O’Donnell’s car as he attempted an overtake. O’Donnell’s car plunged off the ramp, while Chevrolet’s car rose, crashed through fencing, and ultimately fell back onto O’Donnell’s wreckage. Both Chevrolet, O’Donnell, and Lyall Jolls, O’Donnell’s riding mechanic, died instantly. Despite the tragedy, Chevrolet’s prior victories that year secured him the national race-car-driving championship title based on accumulated points.

1946

Unlike many drivers supported by wealthy patrons, Slim Borgudd, born on this day in Borgholm, Sweden, found unique backing. A drummer with a passion for racing, Borgudd was also a session musician with ABBA, securing sponsorship through his connection to the band. His F1 career was brief—15 races with a best finish of sixth—but after ABBA split in the early 1980s, he continued racing, eventually becoming a European champion in truck racing.

1955

Stirling Moss and Peter Collins concluded a week of testing BRMs at Silverstone, assessing their options for the 1956 season. “After their success in a Mercedes in the Targa Florio, the pair decided they would race in the same team,” reported The Times. However, in the end, Moss accepted an offer from Maserati while Collins joined Ferrari.

2006

Alex Zanardi, who had lost both legs in a crash five years earlier, returned to test an F1 car for the first time since his accident. Driving a specially modified BMW Sauber, he posted impressive times, underscoring his commitment to ensure it wasn’t just a publicity stunt. “I was a bit too big for the cockpit of this car,” he joked, “so we cut something off my legs and made me a little bit shorter. I told the guys it was much faster than adjusting the pedals. It was just fantastic. People expect a man who loses his legs to just go home and flip channels on the TV with a remote. I’ve shown that this guy can come back after such an accident and still live the same life. That’s the great thing.”

2008

Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz reclaimed full ownership of Toro Rosso after purchasing back a 50% stake from team boss Gerhard Berger. This acquisition meant Mateschitz now entirely owned two F1 teams, with Red Bull Racing being the other. He had initially founded Toro Rosso by buying a controlling interest in the Minardi team from Paul Stoddart in 2005, subsequently entering a joint-ownership arrangement with Berger Motorsport in 2006.

2012

The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix was a race filled with milestones and farewells. Jenson Button claimed victory for McLaren, marking the 15th and final win of his Formula One career. This race also became McLaren’s last Grand Prix win until the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, and the last victory by a British driver for McLaren until Lando Norris triumphed at the 2024 Miami Grand Prix.

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Sebastian Vettel secured his third consecutive World Drivers’ Championship, finishing just ahead in the standings despite Fernando Alonso‘s second-place finish in both the race and the championship. Alonso briefly held the provisional championship lead late in the race, but Vettel’s progress up the field ultimately provided him a narrow three-point advantage, sealing the title. At just 25 years old, Vettel became the youngest driver to win three world championships, surpassing Ayrton Senna, who had held that record since 1991. Reflecting on the achievement, Vettel remarked on the significance of winning his third title in Brazil, Senna’s homeland: “To win that third title here, where one of my greatest idols, Ayrton Senna, was from, it is very difficult to imagine I join him and other great names by winning three successive titles.”

The race was also a farewell for many, as it marked the 306th and final race for Michael Schumacher, who retired for a second time. It was also the last appearance for drivers Bruno Senna, Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock, Pedro de la Rosa, and Narain Karthikeyan, as well as for the HRT Formula 1 Team, which withdrew from the sport due to financial challenges after never scoring a championship point.

2012 Brazilian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	71	1:45:22.656	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	71	+2.754s	18
3	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	+3.615s	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing Renault	71	+4.936s	12
5	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India Mercedes	71	+5.708s	10
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing Renault	71	+9.453s	8
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	71	+11.907s	6
8	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	71	+28.653s	4
9	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	71	+31.250s	2
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus Renault	70	+1 lap	1
11	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham Renault	70	+1 lap	0
12	25	Charles Pic	Marussia Cosworth	70	+1 lap	0
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	70	+1 lap	0
14	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham Renault	70	+1 lap	0
15	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	70	+1 lap	0
16	24	Timo Glock	Marussia Cosworth	70	+1 lap	0
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT Cosworth	69	+2 laps	0
18	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT Cosworth	69	+2 laps	0
19	11	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	68	DNF	0
NC	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	54	DNF	0
NC	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	5	DNF	0
NC	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	1	DNF	0
NC	19	Bruno Senna	Williams Renault	0	DNF	0
NC	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber Ferrari	0	DNF	0

2018

The 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was the last race officiated by Charlie Whiting as race director; he sadly passed away shortly before the following season. This race was also the final Formula One race for Fernando Alonso before his return in 2021 with Alpine. To commemorate Alonso’s departure, McLaren ran a special one-off livery, the first time they had done so since the 1986 Portuguese Grand Prix, celebrating the end of an era for the Spanish driver, who had announced his departure from the sport for 2019.

Mercedes driver and Championship winner Lewis Hamilton took victory from pole position, followed by Ferrari‘s Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who rounded out the podium. In a fitting tribute after the race, Alonso was joined by Hamilton and Vettel on the pit straight, where the three drivers performed celebratory doughnuts to honour Alonso’s career.

2018 Abu Dahabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	55	1:39:40.382	25
2	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	55	+2.581s	18
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	55	+12.706s	15
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	55	+15.379s	12
5	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	55	+47.957s	10
6	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	55	+72.548s	8
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Sauber Ferrari	55	+90.789s	6
8	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	55	+91.275s	4
9	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	2
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	1
11	14	Fernando Alonso1	McLaren Renault	54	+1 lap	0
12	28	Brendon Hartley	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	54	+1 lap	0
13	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
14	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Renault	54	+1 lap	0
15	35	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
NC	10	Pierre Gasly	Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda	46	DNF	0
NC	31	Esteban Ocon2	Force India Mercedes	44	DNF	0
NC	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	24	DNF	0
NC	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	6	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	0	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 25 November

Birthday	F1 Driver
25 November 1908	Ottis Stine
25 November 1946	Slim Borgudd

F1 Driver Deaths 25 November

Death	F1 Driver
25 November 1982	Walt Ader

F1 Champion 25 November

Date	Team/Driver
25 November 2012	Sebastian Vettel