What Happened On This Day April 2 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, April 2 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1926

Jack Brabham was born on this day in Sydney, marking the arrival of a future three-time Formula One world champion known for his uncompromising style. His career was distinguished by his dedication, determination, and mechanical expertise. Making his Formula One debut in 1955 and driving for Cooper, Brabham captured the Drivers’ title in 1959 and 1960, achieving five consecutive victories in the latter year. From 1962, he competed in his own Brabham cars and claimed his third title at the age of 40 in 1966. In his final racing year of 1970, Brabham continued to show formidable skill, winning at Kyalami and narrowly missing more victories. He remains the only driver to win a World Championship in a car bearing his own name.

1928

Gino Munaron, born in Turin, was a well known European racing driver, known for competing in the Mille Miglia seven times during the 1950s. He participated in four championship Grand Prix in 1960, driving an older privateer Maserati and later a non-works Cooper. He scored no championship points.

1940

Mike Hailwood, born on this day in Great Milton in 1940, became one of the most celebrated motorbike racers ever, securing nine world championships across the 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc classes between 1961 and 1967. He also triumphed 12 times at the legendary Isle of Man TT. Hailwood briefly raced in Formula One during the mid-1960s before earning a spot with Surtees in 1971, finishing fourth at Monza in his first race in six years. The following year, he won the Formula Two European title and achieved a podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours. His heroics continued in 1973 when he saved Clay Regazzoni from a fiery crash at the 1973 South African Grand Prix, earning him the George Medal. Hailwood returned to motorbike racing in the late 1970s before tragically dying in a road accident in 1981.

1963

Born in Monza, Fabrizio Barbazza first made his mark by winning the American Racing Series and earning the title of CART’s Rookie of the Year. He debuted in Formula One in 1991 with AGS but faced challenges, failing to qualify in 12 races. He returned in 1993 with Minardi, showing initial promise with two sixth-place finishes, but his season declined thereafter. In 1995, he was critically injured in an accident at Road Atlanta, leading to a long recovery and retirement from racing.

1978

Carlos Reutemann won the 1978 USA Grand Prix West at Long Beach after taking the lead from his Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve, who crashed mid-race. Reutemann finished 11 seconds ahead of Mario Andretti in a Lotus, who tied him in the championship standings. Ferrari dominated the weekend, leading in practice, qualifying, and throughout the race. Patrick Depailler finished in third for Tyrrell.

1978 USA Grand Prix West Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	Carlos Reutemann	Ferrari	80	1:52:01.301	9
2	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	80	+11.061s	6
3	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	80	+28.951s	4
4	6	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	80	+45.603s	3
5	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	80	+82.884s	2
6	35	Riccardo Patrese	Arrows Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	27	Alan Jones	Williams Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	14	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	79	+1 lap	0
9	36	Rolf Stommelen	Arrows Ford	79	+1 lap	0
10	17	Clay Regazzoni	Shadow Ford	79	+1 lap	0
11	10	Jean-Pierre Jarier	ATS Ford	75	+5 laps	0
12	8	Patrick Tambay	McLaren Ford	74	DNF	0
NC	20	Jody Scheckter	Wolf Ford	59	DNF	0
NC	19	Vittorio Brambilla	Surtees Ford	50	DNF	0
NC	15	Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Renault	43	DNF	0
NC	12	Gilles Villeneuve	Ferrari	38	DNF	0
NC	1	Niki Lauda	Brabham Alfa Romeo	27	DNF	0
NC	3	Didier Pironi	Tyrrell Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	37	Arturo Merzario	Merzario Ford	17	DNF	0
NC	9	Jochen Mass	ATS Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	2	John Watson	Brabham Alfa Romeo	9	DNF	0
NC	7	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	5	DNF	0

2006

At the 2006 Australian Grand Prix held at Albert Park, Fernando Alonso took first place for Renault, followed by Kimi Räikkönen in a McLaren and the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher. The race was delayed due to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, deviating from its traditional slot as the season opener. Renowned commentator Murray Walker returned to the commentary box for a special one-off with Australia’s Network Ten.

2006 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	1:34:27.870	10
2	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	57	+1.829s	8
3	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	57	+24.824s	6
4	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	57	+31.032s	5
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	57	+38.421s	4
6	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber BMW	57	+49.554s	3
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	57	+51.904s	2
8	14	David Coulthard	RBR Ferrari	57	+53.983s	1
9	21	Scott Speed	STR Cosworth	57	+78.817s	0
10	12	Jenson Button	Honda	56	DNF	0
11	19	Christijan Albers	MF1 Toyota	56	+1 lap	0
12	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri Honda	55	+2 laps	0
13	23	Yuji Ide	Super Aguri Honda	54	+3 laps	0
NC	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren Mercedes	46	DNF	0
NC	18	Tiago Monteiro	MF1 Toyota	39	DNF	0
NC	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR Cosworth	37	DNF	0
NC	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	32	DNF	0
NC	9	Mark Webber	Williams Cosworth	22	DNF	0
NC	15	Christian Klien	RBR Ferrari	4	DNF	0
NC	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	0	DNF	0
NC	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams Cosworth	0	DNF	0
NC	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	0	DNF	0

2023

The 2023 Australian Grand Prix was a record-breaking event, crowned by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen‘s victory, followed by Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). The race attracted a staggering 444,631 spectators over the weekend, setting a new attendance record for the Melbourne circuit and any sporting event in the city’s history. This surpassed the previous record of 440,000 set at the 2022 United States Grand Prix. The Grand Prix also saw a high number of interruptions, featuring three red flags, the most in its history.

2023 Australian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	58	2:32:38.371	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	58	+0.179s	18
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+0.769s	15
4	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes	58	+3.082s	12
5	11	Sergio Perez¹	Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT	58	+3.320s	11
6	4	Lando Norris	McLaren Mercedes	58	+3.701s	8
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas Ferrari	58	+4.939s	6
8	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren Mercedes	58	+5.382s	4
9	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	58	+5.713s	2
10	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	58	+6.052s	1
11	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo Ferrari	58	+6.513s	0
12	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	58	+6.594s	0
13	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine Renault	56	DNF	0
14	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine Renault	56	DNF	0
15	21	Nyck De Vries	AlphaTauri Honda RBPT	56	DNF	0
16	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams Mercedes	56	DNF	0
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas Ferrari	52	DNF	0
NC	63	George Russell	Mercedes	17	DNF	0
NC	23	Alexander Albon	Williams Mercedes	6	DNF	0
NC	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	0	DNF	0

¹Sergio Perez scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race – 1:20.235 lap 53.
²Carlos Sainz received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.

F1 Driver Birthdays 2 April

Birthday	F1 Driver
2 April 1926	Jack Brabham
2 April 1928	Gino Munaron
2 April 1940	Mike Hailwood
2 April 1963	Fabrizio Barbazza

Birhday	F1 Mention
2 April 1963	Mike Gascoyne British Formula One designer and engineer for teams such as McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, and Spyker.

F1 Driver Deaths 2 April

Death	F1 Driver
2 April	None

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.