What happened on this day, September 14 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1917
Mack Hellings was born on this day in Fort Dodge, Iowa, in 1917. The American driver competed in the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 and 1951, when the race was part of the World Championship, with a career-best finish of 13th. Hellings was killed in a plane crash in November 1951, aged 34.
1918
Georges Berger was born in Bruxelles in 1918. The Belgian driver only competed in two Grands Prix between 1953-54, with a career-best finish of 20th. Berger died in August 1967 at the age of 48 when he crashed a Porsche 911 at the Nurburgring.
1980
The 1980 Italian Grand Prix was the only one not held at Monza. It took place at Imola in 1980 and witnessed a horrific accident involving Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve. Villeneuve’s bravery earned him huge respect among the Italian Tifosi, but on this occasion, his luck ran out. After qualifying the outdated Ferrari in a respectable eighth place, Villeneuve suffered a tyre blowout on lap five and crashed into the Armco barrier at high speed. The car disintegrated on impact, and the main monocoque was thrown back into oncoming cars. Remarkably, Villeneuve emerged with just scratches and bruises, but any hope of a Ferrari podium on home soil (he was running fourth at the time) was gone. Nelson Piquet won the race with Brabham after taking the lead on lap three and maintaining his advantage throughout. Alan Jones finished second for Williams after a charge through the field from sixth on the grid, setting the fastest lap in the process. His teammate Carlos Reutemann finished third.
Jones’ and Reutemann’s podium finishes enabled the Williams team to secure their first-ever Constructors’ Championship with two races remaining.
2001
In 2001, Mika Hakkinen announced he would be taking a sabbatical year from Formula One, and fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen would take his McLaren seat. In the end, the double world champion never returned to the sport despite several offers from high-profile teams. It’s often joked he may still return, never officially retiring. After a career spanning four decades, starting in karting in 1974 at the age of five, Hakkinen expressed a desire to spend more time with his wife and son. He ended his F1 journey with 2 Championships, 20 wins, 51 podiums, 420 career points, 26 pole positions and 25 fastest laps.
Consistent and quick, he scored points in over half of his races. In their 11 years as rivals, only Michael Schumacher achieved more, and Schumacher himself said that the opponent he most respected was Hakkinen.
2003
Michael Schumacher, driving for Ferrari, won the 2003 Italian Grand Prix after starting from pole position. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in a Williams, with Rubens Barrichello securing third in the other Ferrari. Marc Gene, replacing the injured Ralf Schumacher in the sister Williams, achieved his highest-ever Formula One finish and scored his final points in the sport. Until the 2023 race, this event held the record for the shortest-duration fully completed Formula One World Championship race, with the fastest average race speed ever recorded at 247.585 km/h.
2008
Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver at the time to win a Formula One Grand Prix at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, aged 21 years and 74 days, driving for Toro Rosso. The day before, Vettel had also become the youngest driver at the time to take pole in Formula One history. He finished 12.5 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen in wet weather conditions. The 21-year-old drove with precision in the slippery conditions while running standard-spec low downforce at the 3.6-mile circuit. In the post-race press conference, Vettel recalled the last few laps:
“P1 was still on the board, P1 and a plus, and I was leading by quite a bit, and I thought f***k, you know, if you finish the race you will be winning – I apologise – but you know, it was unbelievable. Then I tried to focus again, the conditions were difficult. In the end it was not so difficult to keep up concentration.”
The result was also a team best for Toro Rosso, being the only podium finish it ever achieved. The 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton only managed seventh.
F1 Driver Birthdays 14 September
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 14 September 1917 | Mack Hellings |
| 14 September 1918 | Georges Berger |
| 14 September 1950 | Masami Kuwashima |
F1 Driver Deaths 14 September
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 14 September 2023 | Basil van Rooyen |
F1 Champion 14 September
| Date | Team/Driver |
|---|---|
| 14 September 1980 | Williams |
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