What Happened On This Day August 29 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, August 29 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1947

The 1976 F1 World Champion, James Hunt, was born on this day 29 August 1947. Hunt lived a stormy life, pushing boundaries both on and off the racetrack. As a driver, he conquered constant fear and overwhelming odds to become the world’s best, winning one of the most dramatic championship battles in Formula One history. Known for his colourful personality and unconventional character, Hunt entertained admirers and offended critics with his sometimes outrageous behaviour.

Niki Lauda was his closest friend among the drivers, with whom he had a thrilling battle for the 1976 Championship, was leading the standings that season until a near-fatal accident at the Nurburgring. James won that race and five others, leading to a final showdown with the miraculously recovered Lauda in Japan. Lauda deemed the race too dangerous due to the wet conditions and retired after a few laps, while Hunt drove furiously to finish third and become World Champion. Post-retirement, Hunt made a significant impact as a TV commentator but tragically died in his prime on 15 June 1993 aged 45.

1976

On his 29th birthday, British driver James Hunt raced a McLaren M23 to victory at the 1976 Dutch Grand Prix. Clay Regazzoni in a Ferrari took second, and Lotus driver Mario Andretti completed the podium in third. Tragically, the weekend was overshadowed by the death of track marshal Ron Lenderink, who was also 29, during a touring car support race.

1976 Dutch Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	11	James Hunt	McLaren Ford	75	1:44:52.090	9
2	2	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	75	+0.920s	6
3	5	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	75	+2.090s	4
4	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow Ford	75	+6.940s	3
5	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	75	+22.460s	2
6	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	75	+45.030s	1
7	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	75	+56.280s	0
8	19	Alan  Jones	Surtees Ford	74	+1 lap	0
9	12	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	74	+1 lap	0
10	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	74	+1 lap	0
11	38	Henri Pescarolo	Surtees Ford	74	+1 lap	0
12	25	Rolf Stommelen	Hesketh Ford	72	+3 laps	0
NC	22	Jacky Ickx	Ensign Ford	66	DNF	0
NC	39	Boy Hayje	Penske Ford	63	DNF	0
NC	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham Alfa Romeo	53	DNF	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	53	DNF	0
NC	10	Ronnie Peterson	March Ford	52	DNF	0
NC	24	Harald Ertl	Hesketh Ford	49	DNF	0
NC	28	John Watson	Penske Ford	47	DNF	0
NC	37	Larry Perkins	Boro Ford	44	DNF	0
NC	30	Emerson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	40	DNF	0
NC	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Alfa Romeo	11	DNF	0
NC	6	Gunnar Nilsson	Lotus Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	18	Conny Andersson	Surtees Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	34	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	20	Arturo Merzario	Wolf-Williams	5	DNF	0

1982

Despite not being held in Switzerland, the 1982 Swiss Grand Prix took place at Dijon-Prenois in France on 29 August. Keke Rosberg won the race in a Williams, with Alain Prost, who started from pole position, finishing second in a Renault, while Niki Lauda took third place in a McLaren. This victory marked Rosberg’s only win of the 1982 season, despite him becoming the World Champion that year. In a comical error, the chequered flag was mistakenly shown after 81 laps, as the organisers missed the leading car on the 80th lap.

This race was significant as it marked the first Swiss Grand Prix to be part of the World Championship since 1954, even though it was not held in Switzerland, where motor racing had been banned following the 1955 Le Mans disaster.

1982 Swiss Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Keke Rosberg	Williams Ford	80	1:32:41.087	9
2	15	Alain Prost	Renault	80	+4.440s	6
3	8	Niki Lauda	McLaren Ford	80	+60.340s	4
4	1	Nelson Piquet	Brabham BMW	79	+1 lap	3
5	2	Riccardo Patrese	Brabham BMW	79	+1 lap	2
6	11	Elio de Angelis	Lotus Ford	79	+1 lap	1
7	3	Michele Alboreto	Tyrrell Ford	79	+1 lap	0
8	12	Nigel Mansell	Lotus Ford	79	+1 lap	0
9	5	Derek Daly	Williams Ford	79	+1 lap	0
10	22	Andrea de Cesaris	Alfa Romeo	78	+2 laps	0
11	4	Brian Henton	Tyrrell Ford	78	+2 laps	0
12	23	Bruno Giacomelli	Alfa Romeo	78	+2 laps	0
13	7	John Watson	McLaren Ford	77	+3 laps	0
14	10	Eliseo Salazar	ATS Ford	77	+3 laps	0
15	29	Marc Surer	Arrows Ford	76	+4 laps	0
16	16	Rene Arnoux	Renault	75	DNF	0
NC	25	Eddie  Cheever	Ligier Matra	70	DNC	0
NC	9	Manfred Winkelhock	ATS Ford	55	DNF	0
NC	31	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Osella Ford	44	DNF	0
NC	26	Jacques Laffite	Ligier Matra	33	DNF	0
NC	36	Teo Fabi	Toleman Hart	31	DNF	0
NC	18	Raul Boesel	March Ford	31	DNF	0
NC	17	Rupert Keegan	March Ford	25	DNF	0
NC	35	Derek Warwick	Toleman Hart	24	DNF	0
NC	14	Roberto Guerrero	Ensign Ford	4	DNF	0

1993

British driver Damon Hill, racing for Williams, secured victory at the 1993 Belgian Grand Prix, while his French teammate Alain Prost, who started from pole position, led the first 30 laps. However, Prost fell to third place after a slow pit stop, allowing Hill and Benetton driver Michael Schumacher to overtake him. Hill ultimately won the race by 3.6 seconds ahead of Schumacher, with Prost finishing 11 seconds further back. This 1-3 finish clinched Williams their second consecutive Constructors’ Championship.

1993 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	0	Damon Hill	Williams Renault	44	1:24:32.124	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Benetton Ford	44	+3.668s	6
3	2	Alain Prost	Williams Renault	44	+14.988s	4
4	8	Ayrton Senna	McLaren Ford	44	+99.763s	3
5	12	Johnny Herbert	Lotus Ford	43	+1 lap	2
6	6	Riccardo Patrese	Benetton Ford	43	+1 lap	1
7	25	Martin Brundle	Ligier Renault	43	+1 lap	0
8	7	Michael Andretti	McLaren Ford	43	+1 lap	0
9	30	Jyrki Jarvilehto	Sauber	43	+1 lap	0
10	28	Gerhard Berger	Ferrari	42	DNF	0
11	26	Mark Blundell	Ligier Renault	42	DNF	0
12	19	Philippe Alliot	Larrousse Lamborghini	42	+2 laps	0
13	22	Luca Badoer	Lola Ferrari	42	+2 laps	0
14	21	Michele Alboreto	Lola Ferrari	41	+3 laps	0
15	3	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell Yamaha	40	+4 laps	0
NC	20	Erik Comas	Larrousse Lamborghini	37	DNF	0
NC	9	Derek Warwick	Footwork Mugen Honda	28	DNF	0
NC	29	Karl Wendlinger	Sauber	27	DNF	0
NC	4	Andrea de Cesaris	Tyrrell Yamaha	24	DNF	0
NC	23	Christian Fittipaldi	Minardi Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	24	Pierluigi Martini	Minardi Ford	15	DNF	0
NC	10	Aguri Suzuki	Footwork Mugen Honda	14	DNF	0
NC	14	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan Hart	11	DNF	0
NC	27	Jean Alesi	Ferrari	4	DNF	0

1999

McLaren driver David Coulthard started from second position at the 1999 Belgian Grand Prix but quickly took the lead by overtaking his Finnish teammate Mika Hakkinen, who had secured pole position, at the first corner. Coulthard maintained his lead for all 44 laps, ultimately winning the race. Hakkinen finished in second place, about 10 seconds behind, while German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen secured third place for Jordan. Frentzen’s teammate and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill scored his last points in F1 at this race, finishing sixth.

1999 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	44	1:25:43.057	10
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren Mercedes	44	+10.469s	6
3	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan Mugen Honda	44	+33.433s	4
4	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	44	+44.948s	3
5	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams Supertec	44	+48.067s	2
6	7	Damon Hill	Jordan Mugen Honda	44	+54.916s	1
7	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	44	+56.249s	0
8	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams Supertec	44	+67.022s	0
9	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber Petronas	44	+73.848s	0
10	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart Ford	44	+80.742s	0
11	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton Playlife	44	+92.195s	0
12	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost Peugeot	44	+96.154s	0
13	18	Olivier Panis	Prost Peugeot	44	+101.543s	0
14	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton Playlife	44	+117.745s	0
15	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Supertec	43	+1 lap	0
16	21	Marc Gene	Minardi Ford	43	+1 lap	0
NC	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	35	DNF	0
NC	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi Ford	33	DNF	0
NC	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR Supertec	33	DNF	0
NC	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart Ford	27	DNF	0
NC	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber Petronas	19	DNF	0
NC	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	0	DNF	0

2004

Kimi Raikkonen won the 2004 Belgian Grand Prix, securing his and McLaren’s only win of the 2004 season after starting from tenth on the grid. Michael Schumacher finished in second place for Ferrari, enough to secure his seventh and final World Championship, with teammate Rubens Barrichello taking third.

Jarno Trulli started from pole position for Renualt alongside Schumacher, and the race featured numerous lead changes. However, after several well-timed safety car periods, Raikkonen emerged in the lead for the final laps. At the start, Mark Webber in a Jaguar triggered a pile-up that eliminated four cars and damaged several others, for which he later admitted fault. Webber’s teammate, Christian Klien, also secured his first championship points by finishing sixth, but they would be the last points the Jaguar team secured in F1. It was also the last point scored for Olivier Panis.

2004 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	44	1:32:35.274	10
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	44	+3.132s	8
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	44	+4.371s	6
4	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber Petronas	44	+12.504s	5
5	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Sauber Petronas	44	+14.104s	4
6	15	Christian Klien	Jaguar Cosworth	44	+14.614s	3
7	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	44	+17.970s	2
8	17	Olivier Panis	Toyota	44	+18.693s	1
9	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	44	+22.115s	0
10	16	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	41	DNF	0
11	18	Nick Heidfeld	Jordan Ford	40	+4 laps	0
NC	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	37	DNF	0
NC	4	Antonio Pizzonia	Williams BMW	31	DNF	0
NC	9	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	29	DNF	0
NC	21	Zsolt Baumgartner	Minardi Cosworth	28	DNF	0
NC	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	11	DNF	0
NC	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	0	DNF	0
NC	10	Takuma Sato	BAR Honda	0	DNF	0
NC	20	Gianmaria Bruni	Minardi Cosworth	0	DNF	0
NC	19	Giorgio Pantano	Jordan Ford	0	DNF	0

2010

Lewis Hamilton won the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix for McLaren after starting from second position. Red Bull‘s Mark Webber finished second, with Robert Kubica securing third for Renault. This win was Hamilton’s third of the season and the 14th of his career.

The result returned Hamilton to the top of the World Drivers’ Championship standings with 182 points, three ahead of the previous leader Webber in second. Webber’s teammate Sebastian Vettel remained in third despite coming 15th after colliding with Jenson Button and sustaining a left-rear puncture from contact with Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India car. McLaren lowered Red Bull’s World Constructors’ Championship lead to one point with Ferrari third with six races left in the season.

2010 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	44	1:29:04.268	25
2	6	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	44	+1.571s	18
3	11	Robert Kubica	Renault	44	+3.493s	15
4	7	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	+8.264s	12
5	14	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	44	+9.094s	10
6	4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	44	+12.359s	8
7	3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	44	+15.548s	6
8	23	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber Ferrari	44	+16.678s	4
9	12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault	44	+23.851s	2
10	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India Mercedes	44	+34.831s	1
11	22	Pedro de la Rosa	Sauber Ferrari	44	+36.019s	0
12	16	Sebastien Buemi	STR Ferrari	44	+39.895s	0
13	17	Jaime Alguersuari	STR Ferrari	44	+49.457s	0
14	10	Nico Hulkenberg	Williams Cosworth	43	+1 lap	0
15	5	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	43	+1 lap	0
16	19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Cosworth	43	+1 lap	0
17	25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Cosworth	43	+1 lap	0
18	24	Timo Glock	Virgin Cosworth	43	+1 lap	0
19	18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus Cosworth	43	+1 lap	0
20	20	Sakon Yamamoto	HRT Cosworth	42	+2 laps	0
NC	8	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	37	DNF	0
NC	1	Jenson Button	McLaren Mercedes	15	DNF	0
NC	21	Bruno Senna	HRT Cosworth	5	DNF	0
NC	9	Rubens Barrichello	Williams Cosworth	0	DNF	0

2021

Max Verstappen won the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix for Red Bull, with the Williams of George Russell in second and Lewis Hamilton finishing third for Mercedes.

Originally planned to run for 44 laps, the race ended prematurely during the third lap due to wet conditions. The first two laps were completed behind the safety car before a red flag halted the race on lap three. According to sporting regulations, the final results were taken from the end of the first lap, and half points were awarded to the top 10 finishers since less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed.

As of 2023, this race holds the record for the shortest Formula One World Championship race in terms of both distance (6.880 km or 4.275 mi) and number of laps raced (1). It surpassed the previous records set at the 1991 Australian Grand Prix for distance and the 1971 German Grand Prix for the fewest laps raced. This event also marked the first time since the 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix that half points were awarded, a rare occurrence that has only happened six times in Formula One history. Subsequent regulation changes for the 2022 season eliminated the possibility of half-points being awarded in the future.

The decision to run two laps behind the safety car before red-flagging the race on lap three sparked considerable controversy. The FIA and race director, Michael Masi, faced criticism from the media, fans, teams, and drivers for their handling of the weekend, particularly on race day. Notably, this race remains the only World Championship event to not run under full green flag conditions.

Full Race Report

• 

  2021 Belgian Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

2021 Belgian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1	3:27.071	1	12.5
2	63	George Russell	Williams	1	+1.995	2	9
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1	+2.601	3	7.5
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1	+4.496	4	6
5	5	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1	+7.479	5	5
6	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1	+10.177	6	4
7	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1	+11.579	8	3
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1	+12.608	9	2
9	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1	+15.484	10	1
10	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1	+16.166	11	0.5
11	14	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1	+20.590	12
12	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1	+22.414	13
13	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1	+24.163	14
14	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1	+27.109	15
15	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1	+28.329	16
16	47	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1	+29.507	17
17	9	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	1	+31.993	18
18	7	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1	+36.054	PL
19	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull Racing	1	+38.205	PL
20	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1	+44.108	19

F1 Driver Birthdays 29 August

Birthday	F1 Driver
29 August 1933	Alan Stacey (d. 1960)
29 August 1947	James Hunt (d. 1993)

F1 Driver Deaths 29 August

Death	F1 Driver
29 August 1977	Brian McGuire (b. 1945)
29 August 2002	Lance Macklin (b. 1919)
29 August 2009	Frank Gardner (b. 1930)

F1 Champion 29 August

Date	Team/Driver
29 August 1993	Williams
29 August 2004	Michael Schumacher