What Happened On This Day November 26 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, November 26 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1908

Louis Wagner, driving a Fiat, won the first American Grand Prize on a road course in Savannah, Georgia, finishing just under a minute ahead of Victor Hemery in a Benz. Wagner averaged a speed of 65.111 mph, while Ralph DePalma set the lap record at 69.80 mph.

1953

Desire Wilson, born in Johannesburg on this day, is the only woman to win an F1 race of any kind, achieving victory at Brands Hatch in the short-lived British Aurora F1 series in 1980. The daughter of a South African motorbike champion, she attempted to qualify for the 1980 British Grand Prix but did not make the grid, calling it “the most disappointing weekend of my life” due to a substandard car she described as “a con.” A year later, she raced a Tyrrell in the South African Grand Prix, moving up to ninth place from the back of the grid before spinning out. Although initially a championship race, it was later downgraded due to political issues in the country.

1958

The FIA approved flame-resistant clothing for drivers, a move considered overdue given the frequency of injuries and fatalities in the sport. Avon Tires led these developments, though the early flameproof garments only retained their protective properties if kept dry; in wet conditions or after washing, they required re-treatment to remain effective.

2002

Niki Lauda was asked to step down as Jaguar’s team principal by Richard Parry-Jones, Ford’s head of the Formula One program. Lauda, the fourth Jaguar boss in just over two years, admitted the decision was unexpected. “But you have to understand, Britons have their unique way of solving problems. They saw away at the legs of the chair,” he remarked.

2008

Bernie Ecclestone proposed a new points system for Formula 1, suggesting that gold, silver, and bronze medals should be awarded to the top three finishers. “It’s going to happen,” he announced at a London press conference. “All the teams are happy. The idea is to encourage overtaking. The lack of overtaking isn’t due to circuits or cars; it’s because drivers don’t need to overtake.” However, the teams rejected the idea, with Eddie Jordan remarking that Ecclestone was “tinkering with something he no longer understood.” If the medal system had been in place in 2007, Lewis Hamilton would have won the championship instead of Kimi Raikkonen.

2017

At the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas led from pole position to secure a commanding victory, with teammate Lewis Hamilton close behind in second and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel completing the podium in third. Bottas, however, would face a long wait before his next win, which came at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix, a full season later.

This race was the final appearance of Felipe Massa in Formula 1. The 11-time Grand Prix winner and 2008 championship runner-up concluded his career with a tenth-place finish, securing the last points-paying position.

In a historic addition to the race weekend, the first Formula 1 eSports event took place, where British competitor Brendon Leigh emerged as the inaugural champion.

2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	55	1:34:14.062	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	55	+3.899s	18
3	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	55	+19.330s	15
4	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	55	+45.386s	12
5	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	55	+46.269s	10
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	55	+85.713s	8
7	11	Sergio Perez	Force India Mercedes	55	+92.062s	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Force India Mercedes	55	+98.911s	4
9	14	Fernando Alonso	McLaren Honda	54	+1 lap	2
10	19	Felipe Massa	Williams Mercedes	54	+1 lap	1
11	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
12	2	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren Honda	54	+1 lap	0
13	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
14	94	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
15	28	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	54	+1 lap	0
16	10	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	54	+1 lap	0
17	9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber Ferrari	54	+1 lap	0
18	18	Lance Stroll	Williams Mercedes	54	+1 lap	0
NC	55	Carlos Sainz	Renault	31	DNF	0
NC	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer	20	DNF	0

2023

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and finished ahead of Ferrari drive Charles Leclerc and the Mercedes of George Russell. Russell’s third-place finish ensured Mercedes secured second place in the 2023 Constructors’ Championship, edging out Ferrari. Verstappen’s victory also set remarkable milestones, making him the first driver to surpass 1,000 laps led in a single season and the only driver to complete every racing lap throughout the 2023 season.

This race saw several farewells within Formula 1. Franz Tost, the long-serving AlphaTauri team principal, concluded his tenure, passing leadership to Laurent Mekies, and it was the final race under the AlphaTauri name, with the team rebranding as RB for the 2024 season. Alfa Romeo also exited F1, ending their partnership with Sauber as the team began their transiton to the Audi works team for 2026. It was also Haas team principal Guenther Steiner final race, with Ayao Komatsu set to take over the role.

2023 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen¹	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	58	1:27:02.624	26
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	58	+17.993s	18
3	63	George Russell	Mercedes	58	+20.328s	15
4	11	Sergio Perez²	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	58	+21.453s	12
5	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	58	+24.284s	10
6	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	58	+31.487s	8
7	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+39.512s	6
8	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	58	+43.088s	4
9	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	+44.424s	2
10	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+55.632s	1
11	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	58	+56.229s	0
12	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	58	+66.373s	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	58	+70.360s	0
14	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	58	+73.184s	0
15	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	58	+83.696s	0
16	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	58	+87.791s	0
17	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	58	+89.422s	0
18	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	57	DNF	0
19	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	57	+1 lap	0

¹Max Verstappen scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 45 – 1:26.993
²Sergio Perez received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 26 November

Birthday	F1 Driver
26 November 1953	Desire Wilson

F1 Driver Deaths 26 November

Death	F1 Driver
26 November 1981	Ernesto Prinoth
26 November 2019	Ken Kavanagh

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Lee is our staff writer specialising in anything technical within Formula 1 from aerodynamics to engines. Lee writes most of our F1 guides for beginners and experienced fans having followed the sports since 1991, researching and understanding how teams build the ultimate machines. Like everyone else on the team he listens to podcasts about F1 and enjoys reading biographies of former drivers.