What happened on this day, September 25 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1942
Henri Pescarolo, born on this day in Montfermeil, Seine-Saint-Denis, entered Formula One with Matra after impressive performances in Formula Three, Formula Two, and sports car racing. However, his career was almost derailed when he suffered severe burns in a crash at Le Mans in 1969. Remarkably, he fully recovered and joined the Matra Formula One team in 1970, securing a third-place finish at Monaco. In 1971, he achieved fourth place at Silverstone, driving for Frank Williams’ March. Pescarolo eventually stepped away from Formula One, making sporadic returns, but by the end of 1976, he focused entirely on sports car racing. Notably, he won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the fourth time in 1984. Today, he continues to run one of Europe’s top sports car teams, nurturing young French talent and remains a prominent figure at Le Mans.
1982
Williams driver Keke Rosberg won his only Drivers’ Championship in the final race of the season the 1982 Caesars Palace Grand Prix, held in the car park of Caesars Palace Casino in Las Vegas. His fifth-place finish was enough to beat his only remaining rival, McLaren driver John Watson, who finished second to 25-year-old Michele Alboreto in a Tyrrell. American Eddie Cheever finished third for Ligier.
It was a chaotic weekend, as Rosberg had recently lost an appeal against a disqualification from the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix, which could have made Watson the champion. However, Rosberg held on, and this marked the third US Grand Prix of the season and the last to be held at Caesars Palace. 41 years later F1 returned to Vegas at the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix held on a new circuit featuring the Las Vegas Strip.
Despite neither Ferrari drivers’ of Mario Andretti and Patrick Tambay finihsing in the top six the teams efforts earlier in the season saw them win the 1982 Constructors’ Championship at race end.
1983
Nelson Piquet won the 1983 European Grand Prix in a Brabham at Brands Hatch, cutting Renault driver Alain Prost‘s lead, who claimed second in the race, at the top of the drivers’ standings to just two points with one race left. Nigel Mansell came home in third for Lotus.
At the next race in South Africa, Piquet finished third while Prost retired, allowing Piquet to win his second of three world titles. At Brands Hatch, Piquet had a comfortable six-and-a-half-second lead over Prost. While Derek Warwick, who finished fifth, experienced an exploding fire extinguisher in the cockpit of his Toleman: “The fluid kept pouring out for a lap and it was a bit like frostbite. My gear-changing hand simply froze solid and I had to work hard to get some feeling back into it.”
1988
The 71-lap, 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix, was won by Alain Prost in a McLaren-Honda, with Ivan Capelli finishing second in a March-Judd and Thierry Boutsen taking third in a Benetton-Ford. Prost’s teammate and championship contender, Ayrton Senna, finished a distant sixth.
Prost’s fifth win of the season, and his first since the 1988 French Grand Prix, combined with Senna’s sixth-place finish, kept him firmly in contention for his third World Championship.
1994
At the 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix, Damon Hill led his Williams team-mate David Coulthard to the first British one-two finish since Hill’s father, Graham Hill, and Piers Courage achieved the feat at Monaco 25 years earlier. Coulthard had led early after the Ferrari of Gerhard Berger retired, but on lap 28, he ran wide at a hairpin, allowing Hill to pass. Coulthard admitted it was a “great overtaking manoeuvre” but noted he thought “we’d agreed we wouldn’t overtake at that corner.”
2005
Third place at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was enough for Renault’s Fernando Alonso to become the youngest world champion, at the time, at 24 years and 59 days. “The final laps seemed to take forever,” Alonso said. “It took a while for it to sink in once I stopped. I won the championship with maybe not the best car, so I am proud of what I did. Taking the title from Michael Schumacher is a bonus. I come from a country with no Formula One tradition, and I had to fight my way alone, with help from only two or three people.” Schumacher, reflecting on his title loss, remarked that he was “not sad” after his long reign.
McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya took first place while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen came home in second.
2011
Sebastian Vettel, the 2011 Drivers’ Championship leader, secured victory at the 2011 Singapore Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing after starting from pole position. Jenson Button finished second for McLaren, while Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber claimed the final podium spot in third.
With this win, Vettel extended his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship to 124 points over Button, who moved up to second place. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso and Webber, ranked third and fourth in the standings, were mathematically eliminated from title contention.
2022
The 2022 Russian Grand Prix was cancelled in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, before the contract for all future races was terminated also due to the invasion.
The event is notable for having only ever been won by Mercedes during the race’s inclusion as a World Championship event.
F1 Driver Birthdays 25 September
| Birthday | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 25 September 1938 | Neville Lederme |
| 25 September 1942 | Henri Pescarolo |
| 25 September 1991 | Alexander Rossi |
F1 Driver Deaths 25 September
| Death | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 25 September 1998 | George Tichenor |
F1 Champion 25 September
| Date | Driver/Team |
|---|---|
| 25 September 1982 | Keke Rosberg |
| 25 September 2005 | Fernando Alonso |
| 25 September 1982 | Ferrari |
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