What happened on this day, August 10 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.
1910
French racer Guy Mairesse was born. He participated in three Formula One races between 1950 and 1951 driving a non-works Talbot-Lago but mainly competed in other racing series. Mairesse tragically died in 1954 during practice for the Coupe de Paris at Montlhéry, crashing into a concrete wall after swerving to avoid another car.
1915
Carlos Menditeguy was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He competed in Formula One from 1953 to 1960, making ten Grand Prix appearances and achieving one podium finish. He drove for Gordini, Maserati, and Scuderia Centro Sud. Menditeguy was also a skilled polo player who reached the highest possible handicap of 10. He passed away on 27 April 1973 aged 58.
1980
The 1980 German Grand Prix, held on August 10 at the Hockenheimring, marked the ninth round of the 1980 Formula One season. Jacques Laffite secured victory in his Ligier-Ford, finishing just over three seconds ahead of Williams teammates Carlos Reutemann and Alan Jones. Jones had started from pole position and led early on, but a puncture forced an unscheduled pit stop, allowing Laffite and Reutemann to overtake. This win was Laffite’s first of the season and his fourth career victory.
The race was overshadowed by Patrick Depailler’s recent fatal accident during testing at the Ostkurve, which continued to highlight the dangers of the high-speed Hockenheim circuit. In the 1980 Constructors’ Championship, Williams extended their lead over Ligier, while in the 1980 Drivers’ Standings, Jones increased his advantage over Nelson Piquet to seven points.
1980 German Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | Jacques Laffite | Ligier Ford | 45 | 1:22:59.730 | 9 |
| 2 | 28 | Carlos Reutemann | Williams Ford | 45 | +3.190s | 6 |
| 3 | 27 | Alan Jones | Williams Ford | 45 | +43.530s | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Nelson Piquet | Brabham Ford | 45 | +44.480s | 3 |
| 5 | 23 | Bruno Giacomelli | Alfa Romeo | 45 | +76.490s | 2 |
| 6 | 2 | Gilles Villeneuve | Ferrari | 45 | +88.720s | 1 |
| 7 | 11 | Mario Andretti | Lotus Ford | 45 | +93.010s | 0 |
| 8 | 30 | Jochen Mass | Arrows Ford | 45 | +107.750s | 0 |
| 9 | 29 | Riccardo Patrese | Arrows Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 10 | 4 | Derek Daly | Tyrrell Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 8 | Alain Prost | McLaren Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 9 | Marc Surer | ATS Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 1 | Jody Scheckter | Ferrari | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 14 | Jan Lammers | Ensign Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 3 | Jean-Pierre Jarier | Tyrrell Ford | 44 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 12 | Elio de Angelis | Lotus Ford | 43 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | John Watson | McLaren Ford | 39 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Jean-Pierre Jabouille | Renault | 27 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 16 | Rene Arnoux | Renault | 26 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 31 | Eddie Cheever | Osella Ford | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 25 | Didier Pironi | Ligier Ford | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Fittipaldi Ford | 18 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Keke Rosberg | Fittipaldi Ford | 8 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 6 | Hector Rebaque | Brabham Ford | 4 | DNF | 0 |
1986
Alain Prost celebrated his 100th Grand Prix start at the 1986 Hungarian Grand Prix, but it ended in disappointment as he retired on lap 23. Nelson Piquet won the race with Williams, followed by the Lotus of Ayrton Senna in second and third-place Nigel Mansell in the other Williams. This result left four men—Mansell, Senna, Piquet, and Prost—within just 11 points of each other in the 1986 Drivers’ Championship standings.
It was the first Hungarian Grand Prix since 1936 and the inaugural F1 race held behind the Iron Curtain. The event drew 200,000 spectators from across the Eastern Bloc, setting a record for Formula One attendance that stood for nearly a decade until it was surpassed by the 1995 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, which attracted 210,000 fans.
1986 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nelson Piquet | Williams Honda | 76 | 2:00:34.508 | 9 |
| 2 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | Lotus Renault | 76 | +17.673s | 6 |
| 3 | 5 | Nigel Mansell | Williams Honda | 75 | +1 lap | 4 |
| 4 | 28 | Stefan Johansson | Ferrari | 75 | +1 lap | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Johnny Dumfries | Lotus Renault | 74 | +2 laps | 2 |
| 6 | 3 | Martin Brundle | Tyrrell Renault | 74 | +2 laps | 1 |
| 7 | 16 | Patrick Tambay | Lola Ford | 74 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | Philippe Streiff | Tyrrell Renault | 74 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 9 | 26 | Philippe Alliot | Ligier Renault | 73 | +3 laps | 0 |
| 10 | 14 | Jonathan Palmer | Zakspeed | 70 | +6 laps | 0 |
| NC | 25 | Rene Arnoux | Ligier Renault | 48 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 15 | Alan Jones | Lola Ford | 46 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 20 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton BMW | 44 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Thierry Boutsen | Arrows BMW | 40 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Keke Rosberg | McLaren TAG | 34 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 19 | Teo Fabi | Benetton BMW | 32 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 24 | Alessandro Nannini | Minardi Motori Moderni | 30 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 8 | Derek Warwick | Brabham BMW | 28 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 1 | Alain Prost | McLaren TAG | 23 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 21 | Piercarlo Ghinzani | Osella Alfa Romeo | 15 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Christian Danner | Arrows BMW | 7 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 7 | Riccardo Patrese | Brabham BMW | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Andrea de Cesaris | Minardi Motori Moderni | 5 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 29 | Huub Rothengatter | Zakspeed | 2 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Allen Berg | Osella Alfa Romeo | 1 | DNF | 0 |
1997
Damon Hill experienced heartbreak at the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix after leading most of the race. A hydraulics failure dashed his hopes for an unlikely victory in his Arrows-Yamaha. Hill was ahead of Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams by 35 seconds with three laps remaining when he got stuck in third gear due to the technical issue. Villeneuve only managed to overtake Hill on the final lap. A victory would have marked Hill’s first podium finish and second points of the season with the Arrows team. Even his bitter rival, Michael Schumacher, praised Hill’s performance, saying, “I hoped he would win, because he deserved to, and I congratulate him. I also hoped he’d win because it would have helped me in the championship.”
Johnny Herbert took third in a Sauber-Petronas. Villeneuve’s victory marked his fifth win of the season, bringing him within three points of Schumacher in the 1997 Drivers’ Championship, as the Ferrari driver finished only fourth in the race. This race also saw Shinji Nakano score his final world championship points, driving a Prost-Mugen-Honda.
1997 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams Renault | 77 | 1:45:47.149 | 10 |
| 2 | 1 | Damon Hill | Arrows Yamaha | 77 | +9.079s | 6 |
| 3 | 16 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber Petronas | 77 | +20.445s | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 77 | +30.501s | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan Peugeot | 77 | +30.715s | 2 |
| 6 | 15 | Shinji Nakano | Prost Mugen Honda | 77 | +41.512s | 1 |
| 7 | 14 | Jarno Trulli | Prost Mugen Honda | 77 | +75.552s | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton Renault | 77 | +76.409s | 0 |
| 9 | 6 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 76 | DNF | 0 |
| 10 | 20 | Ukyo Katayama | Minardi Hart | 76 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 11 | 7 | Jean Alesi | Benetton Renault | 76 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 12 | 21 | Tarso Marques | Minardi Hart | 75 | +2 laps | 0 |
| 13 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell Ford | 75 | +2 laps | 0 |
| NC | 10 | David Coulthard | McLaren Mercedes | 65 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 18 | Jos Verstappen | Tyrrell Ford | 61 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 2 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows Yamaha | 53 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 12 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan Peugeot | 42 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 4 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams Renault | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 22 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart Ford | 29 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 9 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren Mercedes | 12 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 17 | Gianni Morbidelli | Sauber Petronas | 7 | DNF | 0 |
| NC | 23 | Jan Magnussen | Stewart Ford | 5 | DNF | 0 |
F1 Driver Birthdays 10 August
| Birthdays | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 10 August 1910 | Guy Mairesse (d. 1954) |
| 10 August 1915 | Carlos Menditeguy (d. 1973) |
| 10 August 1928 | Gerino Gerini (d. 2013) |
F1 Driver Deaths 10 August
| Deaths | F1 Driver |
|---|---|
| 10 August 2008 | Johnny Kay (b. 1919) |
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