What Happened On This Day October 26 In F1 History?

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

1942

Jonathan Williams, a British racing driver and close friend of Frank Williams and Piers Courage, was born in Cairo. He competed in various lower series and became a Ferrari F2 driver in 1967. Williams got his opportunity in Formula 1 at the 1967 Italian Grand Prix that year, finishing eighth after starting 16th, filling in after multiple Ferrari drivers were killed earlier in the season.

1947

British F1 driver Ian Ashley, born in Wuppertal, Germany, carved out a reputation in F5000 before bouncing between underperforming F1 teams in the 1970s. He debuted at the Nurburgring in 1974, finishing 14th in a Token car, hindered by a slow puncture. Later that season, his sponsors acquired a Brabham from Bernie Ecclestone, but Ashley recalled it as “a diabolical piece of machinery” due to mismatched shock absorbers. Stints with Frank Williams and BRM followed, leading to a 1977 drive with Hesketh. After qualifying for the 1977 US Grand Prix, his career ended abruptly with a severe crash during practice for the 1977 Canadian Grand Prix, where he sustained multiple injuries. Ashley later raced in Champ Cars and made a brief return in the British Touring Car Championship in 1993.

1986

The 1986 Australian Grand Prix delivered one of the most thrilling season finales in F1 history, where Alain Prost emerged victorious for McLaren over the Williams’ of Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet. Early in the race, Piquet spun, while Prost suffered a puncture, forcing a pit stop. Piquet quickly recovered and overtook Mansell, who seemed poised to win the title. However, disaster struck when Mansell’s left-rear tyre exploded at 180mph, showering sparks and ending his race. “And look at that! Out, and… and colossally… that’s Mansell!” exclaimed BBC commentator Murray Walker. Williams, fearing another tyre failure, called Piquet in for a precautionary stop, allowing Prost to win both the race and the 1986 Drivers’ Championship. Piquet finished second, with Stefan Johansson in a Ferrari finishing third. Reflecting on the incident years later, Mansell described it as a “simply awful experience.”

1986 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Alain Prost	McLaren TAG	82	1:54:20.388	9
2	6	Nelson Piquet	Williams Honda	82	+4.205s	6
3	28	Stefan Johansson	Ferrari	81	+1 lap	4
4	3	Martin Brundle	Tyrrell Renault	81	+1 lap	3
5	4	Philippe Streiff	Tyrrell Renault	80	DNF	2
6	11	Johnny Dumfries	Lotus Renault	80	+2 laps	1
7	25	Rene Arnoux	Ligier Renault	79	+3 laps	0
8	26	Philippe Alliot	Ligier Renault	79	+3 laps	0
9	14	Jonathan  Palmer	Zakspeed	77	+5 laps	0
10	19	Teo Fabi	Benetton BMW	77	+5 laps	0
NC	16	Patrick Tambay	Lola Ford	70	+12 laps	0
NC	5	Nigel Mansell	Williams Honda	63	DNF	0
NC	7	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	63	DNF	0
NC	2	Keke Rosberg	McLaren TAG	62	DNF	0
NC	22	Allen Berg	Osella Alfa Romeo	61	+21 laps	0
NC	8	Derek Warwick	Brabham BMW	57	DNF	0
NC	17	Christian Danner	Arrows BMW	52	DNF	0
NC	18	Thierry Boutsen	Arrows BMW	50	DNF	0
NC	12	Ayrton Senna	Lotus Renault	43	DNF	0
NC	20	Gerhard Berger	Benetton BMW	40	DNF	0
NC	23	Andrea de Cesaris	Minardi Motori Moderni	40	DNF	0
NC	29	Huub Rothengatter	Zakspeed	29	DNF	0
NC	15	Alan  Jones	Lola Ford	16	DNF	0
NC	24	Alessandro Nannini	Minardi Motori Moderni	10	DNF	0
NC	21	Piercarlo Ghinzani	Osella Alfa Romeo	2	DNF	0
NC	27	Michele Alboreto	Ferrari		DNF	0

1997

Williams driver Jacques Villeneuve secured the 1997 Drivers’ Championship in a dramatic finale at the 1997 European Grand Prix, overcoming a controversial clash with the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher. On lap 48, Villeneuve attempted a decisive pass on Schumacher, only for the German driver to turn into him, resulting in heavy contact. Schumacher ended up in the gravel, while Villeneuve continued to finish third and clinch the title. “Either he had his eyes shut, or his hands slipped on the steering wheel,” Villeneuve fumed after the race. “I knew there was a 50% chance he’d try to take me out.” Schumacher defended his actions, claiming, “Jacques braked so late that if I hadn’t turned in, we both would have missed the corner.” The FIA later sided with Villeneuve, penalising Schumacher by stripping him of all his championship points. The McLaren drivers Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard took a 1-2 finish for the team.

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1997 European Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	9	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	69	1:38:57.771	10
2	10	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	69	+1.654s	6
3	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams Renault	69	+1.803s	4
4	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton Renault	69	+1.919s	3
5	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	69	+3.789s	2
6	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams Renault	69	+4.537s	1
7	14	Olivier Panis	Prost Mugen Honda	69	+67.145s	0
8	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber Petronas	69	+72.961s	0
9	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart Ford	69	+77.487s	0
10	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost Mugen Honda	69	+78.215s	0
11	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Peugeot	68	+1 lap	0
12	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell Ford	68	+1 lap	0
13	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton Renault	68	+1 lap	0
14	17	Norberto Fontana	Sauber Petronas	68	+1 lap	0
15	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi Hart	68	+1 lap	0
16	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell Ford	68	+1 lap	0
17	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi Hart	68	+1 lap	0
NC	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	47	DNF	0
NC	1	Damon Hill	Arrows Yamaha	47	DNF	0
NC	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan Peugeot	44	DNF	0
NC	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	30	DNF	0
NC	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows Yamaha	11	DNF	0

2025

Lando Norris delivered a dominant performance at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, leading every lap to claim a commanding victory in the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix. The McLaren driver controlled the race from the start, surviving a chaotic Turn 1 that saw four cars vying for the lead, before pulling away to finish over 30 seconds ahead of Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen’s late charge came up just short, with the Red Bull driver finishing third, while Norris’s win moved him to the top of the 2025 F1 World Championship by a single point over teammate Oscar Piastri.

Further behind, Haas celebrated a breakout drive from Ollie Bearman, who took a sensational fourth place under mounting pressure from Piastri in the final laps. Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli impressed again with sixth, ahead of teammate George Russell, as the Silver Arrows executed late race swaps to manage tyre wear. Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of a podium evaporated after a 10-second penalty for leaving the track in a duel with Verstappen dropped him to eighth, followed by Esteban Ocon and rookie Gabriel Bortoleto, who claimed the final point for Kick Sauber.

The race saw several retirements, including Liam Lawson, Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg, and Carlos Sainz, who stopped in the stadium section near the finish. A brief Virtual Safety Car in the closing laps halted Verstappen’s pursuit of Leclerc and Piastri’s bid for fourth. Norris’s victory — his tenth in Formula 1 — solidified McLaren’s resurgence and set up a fierce three-way title battle with Piastri and Verstappen as the championship headed into its decisive final rounds.

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2025 Mexico City Grand Prix Race Results

The 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix Race was held on 26 October 2025 at 2:00 pm local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	71	01:37:59	25
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	71	+30.324s	18
3	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	71	+31.049s	15
4	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	71	+40.955s	12
5	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	71	+42.065s	10
6	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	71	+47.837s	8
7	63	George Russell	Mercedes	71	+50.287s	6
8	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	71	+56.446s	4
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	71	+75.464s	2
10	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Kick Sauber	71	+76.863s	1
11	22	Yuki Tsunoda	Red Bull Racing	71	+79.048s	0
12	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	70	+1 lap	0
13	6	Isack Hadjar	Racing Bulls	70	+1 lap	0
14	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	70	+1 lap	0
15	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	70	+1 lap	0
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	70	+1 lap	0
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	67	DNF	0
NC	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	34	DNF	0
NC	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Kick Sauber	25	DNF	0
NC	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	5	DNF	0

F1 Driver Birthdays 26 October

Birthday	F1 Driver
26 October 1915	Joe Fry (d. 1950)
26 October 1915	Ray Crawford (d. 1996)
26 October 1942	Jonathan Williams (d. 2014)
26 October 1947	Ian Ashley

F1 Driver Deaths 26 October

Death	F1 Driver
26 October 2003	Johnny Boyd

F1 Champion 26 October

Date	Team/Driver
26 October 1986	Alain Prost
26 October 1997	Jacques Villeneuve