On This Day In Formula One - 26 July

                                                                                     1925

Antonio Ascari

Italian racing driver Antonio Ascari was killed while leading the French Grand Prix in an Alfa Romeo P2 at the Autodrome de Montlhery near Paris. Ascari left behind a seven-year old son, Alberto, who went on to win the FIA World Championship in 1952 and 1953. Eerily, Alberto died in similar circumstances to his father, on the 26th day of the month, aged 36 in car No. 26. Both had won 13 grands prix and both died four days after surviving previous accidents and both left a wife and two children.

                                                                                     1987
Nelson Piquet won the German Grand Prix from Stefan Johansson and Ayrton Senna. Nigel Mansell had started on pole ahead of his title rivals Senna, Prost and Piquet and he overtook Senna for the lead on the second lap after a slow start. The race was Mansell's to lose and so it transpired when an engine problem forced his retirement, Prost then seemed to have the race won himself but a broken alternator belt left Piquet to reap the rewards.

1992

Huge crowds turned up to watch Michael Schumacher at Hockenheim but it was Nigel Mansell who ended up the winner of the 1992 German Grand Prix. Mansell was in dominant mood while behind him, the non-stopping Ayrton Senna and Schumacher finished second and third, the German benefitting from a late spin by Riccardo Patrese's Williams.

                                                                                                                                                          1998

Mika Hakkinen emotional after dominating the 1998 Australian Grand Prix.

Mika Hakkinen won the Austrian Grand Prix from team-mate David Coulthard and the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Rain during qualifying led to an unusual grid with Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton on pole from Jean Alesi's Sauber. Both Hakkinen and Schumacher passed the front row cars at the start but the drive of the day came from David Coulthard who stormed through the field from 14th on the grid to seventh on lap 16. Further passes and pit stops by cars ahead meant that Coulthard found himself second at the end ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari as Hakkinen held on for victory.

2009

Lewis Hamilton celebrated his tenth grand prix victory after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]

On This Day In Formula One - 25 July

                                                                           1982

Rene Arnoux wins the 1982 French Grand Prix ahead of Alain Prost.
Source: ESPNF1.com

Rene Arnoux won the French Grand Prix for Renault on home soil to bring up ten wins in Formula One for the French manufacturer. Arnoux led home Alain Prost to secure the first ever 1-2 for the team. But Prost was livid with his team-mate as he thought he should have allowed him to win to aid his championship bid.

                                                             1993
Alain Prost won the German Grand Prix to consolidate his grip on a fourth drivers' title. Prost made a bad start from pole and was passed by both team-mate Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher. The Frenchman then caught and passed both his rivals but was called in for a stop-go penalty for cutting a chicane which dropped him back to fifth. Hill looked certain of victory but a left-rear tyre failure on the penultimate lap handed the win to his grateful team-mate.

               1999

Eddie Irvine crosses the line to win the 1999 Australian Grand Prix.

Two weeks after Michael Schumacher broke his leg in a crash at the British Grand Prix, Eddie Irvine won the Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari to settle into his newfound status as the team's lead driver. Mike Hakkinen took the lead from pole but was tipped into a spin by team-mate David Coulthard at the first corner. Coulthard stayed ahead of Irvine until his pit stop, the Ulsterman sneaking out ahead where he stayed until the finish.

                                             2004

Michael Schumacher celebrates his victory.

Michael Schumacher won the German Grand Prix to notch up his 11th victory in 12 races of a dominant season. Jenson Button ended the day just eight seconds behind the German star and the Englishman may well have won the race but for an engine failure in practice that demoted him ten places to 13th on the grid instead of the third he would have qualified. Fernando Alonso finished third in his Renault.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]

On This Day In Formula One - 24 July

                                                                 1938

Dick Seaman celebrates his 1938 German Grand Prix victory.

A young British aristocrat racer named Dick Seaman won the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring driving a Mercedes-Benz and watched by Adolf Hitler. The young Brit, who was given a country estate for his 20th birthday, was the first Englishman to win a major grand prix since Major Henry Segrave in 1923. On the podium he gave a Nazi salute but said afterwards: "I only wish it had been a British car." A year later, Seaman was killed when pushing too hard at Spa. Hitler sent an enormous wreath and Mercedes still tends to his grave to this day.

1966

Jack Brabham won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort to extend his lead in the drivers' championship over Graham Hill. There had been much newspaper speculation that the 40-year-old was too old to be a serious challenger for the world championship and Brabham limped to his car with the aid of a stick whilst sporting a false beard, much to the amusement of the paddock. But Jack had the last laugh as he won the race en route to the championship.

                                                                               1988

Ayrton Senna crosses the line to win the 1988 German Grand Prix.

Ayrton Senna won the German Grand Prix from team-mate Alain Prost as McLaren continued its dominant March towards the championship. Victory marked the team's eighth successive victory in a season where they would only fail to win one race, in Italy. The race also marked Nelson Piquet's 150th grand prix start.

                                                            2005

Fernando Alonso won the German Grand Prix from Juan Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button to extend his championship lead to 36 points over Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen had looked certain to win the race until a hydraulics problem forced his retirement on lap 35, leaving Alonso to coast to victory and, almost certainly, the drivers' title.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com] 

Part 4 - The Hungarian Grand Prix - DID YOU KNOW (FACTS)

On This Day In Formula One - 23 July

1935

Former Formula One driver and automotive pioneer Jim Hall was born in Abilene, Texas. Hall competed in F1 from 1960 to 1963, participating in 12 World Championship Grands Prix and numerous non-Championship races. But Hall's place in motorsport history came as the owner and driving force of Chaparral Cars of Midland, Texas, which were the most innovative cars in racing. He was a very early adopter of aerodynamics applied to race cars and was leading proponent of that technology for an entire decade. Hall came back to prominence in the Championship Auto Racing Teams series, including two wins in the Indianapolis 500 in 1978 and 1980; the latter with the first of the ground effect cars to be raced in the event.

                                                               2002

Jenson Button with BAR team boss Dave Richards.

Jenson Button announced he would be joining the BAR team after an unsuccessful spell at Renault. "BAR provided me with an excellent opportunity to progress and ultimately, I hope, to achieve my ambition to be world champion," said Button. He was right on one count, but his success would come with Brawn GP in 2009 a year after his Honda team, who had bought BAR in 2006, folded.

2005

Flamboyant Renault team boss Flavio Briatore was signed up to play himself in an Italian movie shot around his Billionaire nightclub in Sardinia. On starring in Costa Smeralda, Briatore said: "I will play a part I know already: that of Flavio Briatore, aiming for the excesses, obviously. I'm laughing already,"

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]

Part 3 - The Hungarian Grand Prix - DID YOU KNOW (FACTS)

'Topsy Turvy' - By Jake Davis

This fantastic weekly F1 Toon was designed and created by Jake Davis Creative. Prints are available in sizes A4, A3 and A2. Commissions are also available. If you would like to order a PRINT of this fantastic F1 Toon feel free to contact him via:

                                                                                                    E-mail - davisjake@hotmail.co.uk

                                                                                                    Twitter - @JakeDDCreative

On This Day In Formula One - 22 July

                                                                                     1984

Niki Lauda wins the 1984 British Grand Prix.

McLaren team-mates were at it again at the British Grand Prix, this time it was Niki Lauda who came out victorious to narrow the gap in the championship standings to Alain Prost. The race also marked the closest Derek Warwick would ever come to a Formula One victory when he finished second in his Renault. The race was also notable because the Tyrrell team was banned for using lead balls in its water ballast. They appealed but to no avail and they were stripped of their points for the entire season.

                                                              2003
Rubens Barrichello broke his winner's trophy for the British Grand Prix while checking in for his flight home at Heathrow airport. The gold replica of the original was accidently knocked to the ground and smashed leaving the Brazilian distraught after one of his greatest F1 victories. "Somebody bumped into the trophy and it fell and broke," he said.

                                                              2004

Bernie Ecclestone rushed to the defence of Michael Schumacher's dominance of F1, as the German was on the verge of a record seventh world title. Many claimed Schumacher had made the sport boring but Ecclestone, the sport's commercial rights holder and potentially the one with the most to lose by viewers switching off, said: "Michael is a superstar. That is exactly what we wanted - every sport needs a superstar and he is ours. Everybody tries to beat him and that is great publicity for Formula One. He is lucky to drive for a team that supports him the way Ferrari does but it was Michael who motivated them after their initial problems."

                                                                   2007

Turn 8 and 9 at the at the Nurburgring Circuit is named after the
 legendary 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Michael Schumacher had a corner named after him at the Nurburgring grand prix circuit. The high speed turns nine and ten were officially named at that year's European Grand Prix to commemorate the German's career, which started nearby at a local kart track. "I'm absolutely thrilled to be privileged to experience a situation like this," said Schumacher.

                                                                   2007
Fernando Alonso won the European Grand Prix to close the gap in the championship standings to just two points between himself and McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton. A rainstorm hit the circuit after just one lap of action leading to the extraordinary sight of debutant Markus Winkelhock leading his first F1 race by half a minute - in a Spyker. Sadly for Winkelhock, conditions were so bad that the race had to be suspended and on the restart, Kimi Raikkonen led Felipe Massa and Alonso before further rainfall and more pitstops again shuffled the pack leaving Alonso to slither to victory from Massa and Mark Webber's Red Bull. Listeners to BBC radio were able to enjoy the commentary of Murray Walker for the first time since he retired in 2001. 

2008

BMW had to abandon testing of its Kinetic Energy Recovery System after one of its mechanics received an electric shock. The team had been testing for the following year when the revolutionary technology was introduced to the sport. The KERS unit was in its early stages of development and the first mechanic to touch the car after a test run fell to the ground after an electric shock. It was one of a number of scares about the new technology when it was first introduced, which eventually led to mechanics wearing rubber gloves when handling the cars.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]

Part 2 - The Hungarian Grand Prix - DID YOU KNOW (FACTS)

On This Day In Formula One - 21 July

                                                                1962

Jim Clark won the 1962 British Grand Prix at Aintree.

Jim Clark took the first of his five British Grand Prix victories. Clark secured the win, pole position and fastest lap, exhibiting his deep reserves of skill at a packed Aintree. The race itself was devoid of action but the home fans were kept happy by John Surtees, joining Clark on the podium in second place.

1985

McLaren's Alain Prost won the British Grand Prix after an intense battle with Ayrton Senna was brought to an end when the Lotus ran out of fuel. Senna made a brilliant start and shot ahead of Keke Rosberg on pole to take the lead. He led comfortably up to about lap 30 but then came under attack from Prost for the second half of the race. Heading into the final 10 laps Senna's engine started to sound rough and on lap 58 Prost slipped through to take the lead. Senna retaliated and actually got back past the McLaren before he was forced to retire when he ran out of fuel. Prost went on to take the win by over a lap from Michele Alboreto in the Ferrari. Rather embarrassingly for the race director, he put the chequered flag out one lap too late meaning the race was 2.9 miles longer than it should have been. Fortunately the mistake did not alter the result.

                                                                                                                                                         2002

Michael Schumacher celebrates his fifth World Championship.

Michael Schumacher took his fifth Formula One title, equalling the record of Juan Manuel Fangio. He sealed the championship at just the 11th round in France, taking his eighth win of the season and notching up his 96th point of the year. The race itself was fairly dull, with Kimi Raikkonen conceding victory to Schumacher five laps from the end when he ran wide on oil at the Adelaide hairpin. Schumacher's closest championship competitor before the race was his Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello but the Brazilian failed to make the start when his engine failed on the grid.

                2006

BAR Honda set a new land-speed record for a Formula One car.

BAR set a new land-speed record for a Formula One car but fell short of its ambitious 400km/h (248mph) target. The team had taken a modified version of its V10 F1 car to the Bonneville salt flats to attempt the record, with South African Alan van der Merwe at the wheel. The team did manage to get the BAR (with a fin instead of a rear wing) over 400km/h but couldn't repeat the feat driving the other way, which is necessary to set a record. Its official top speed was a still-impressive 397.360km/h average over two consecutive runs. Van der Merwe now drives the F1 medical car at grands prix.

[INFORMATION BY - ESPNF1.com]