What Happened On This Day August 3 In F1 History?

What happened on this day, August 3 in Formula 1 history? Find out interesting facts and stories about Formula 1 on this day.

1939

The final day of racing at the iconic Brooklands circuit went unnoticed as the last. With the outbreak of World War II, the land was taken over by the Vickers aircraft company, which used it to build airplanes such as Spitfires. Sections of the banking were demolished, making it impossible to restore the venue to its pre-war state after the conflict.

Opened in 1907, it was the world’s first purpose-built ‘banked’ motor racing circuit and one of Britain’s earliest airfields. By 1918, it had also become the largest aircraft manufacturing centre in Britain, producing military aircraft like the Wellington and civil airliners such as the Viscount and VC-10.

1952

The 1952 German Grand Prix, held on 3 August at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was the sixth round of the eight-race World Championship. Like all races that season, it was contested under Formula Two regulations rather than the standard Formula One rules.

Ferrari dominated the event, with Alberto Ascari taking victory after starting from pole position. His teammates Giuseppe Farina and Rudi Fischer completed the podium, securing a Ferrari 1-2-3 finish in the gruelling 18-lap race.

With the win, Ascari clinched the 1952 World Championship, making him the first driver to win the title with two races left to go.

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1952 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	101	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	18	3:06:13.300	9
2	102	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	+14.100s	6
3	117	Rudi  Fischer	Ferrari	18	+430.100s	4
4	103	Piero  Taruffi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	3
5	108	Jean Behra	Gordini	17	+1 lap	2
6	119	Roger Laurent	Ferrari	16	+2 laps	0
7	121	Fritz Riess	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
8	125	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
9	124	Helmut Niedermayr	AFM BMW	15	+3 laps	0
10	113	Johnny Claes	HWM Alta	15	+3 laps	0
11	128	Hans Klenk	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
12	135	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	14	+4 laps	0
NC	107	Robert  Manzon	Gordini	8	DNF	0
NC	123	Willi Heeks	AFM BMW	7	DNF	0
NC	120	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	6	DNF	0
NC	110	Marcel  Balsa	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	126	Adolf Brudes	Veritas	5	DNF	0
NC	130	Günther Bechem	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	116	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	4	DNF	0
NC	136	Rudolf Krause	BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	118	Rudolf Schoeller	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	114	Bill  Aston	Aston Butterworth	2	DNF	0
NC	104	Piero Carini	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	127	Paul  Pietsch	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	122	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	112	Paul Frere	HWM Alta	1	DNF	0
NC	129	Josef Peters	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	109	Maurice  Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
DQ	105	Felice  Bonetto	Maserati	1	DSQ	0
NC	115	Gino Bianco	Maserati	0	DNF	0

1958

Peter Collins tragically lost his life during the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring while chasing Tony Brooks‘ Vanwall in the Pflanzgarten section. After running wide and catching a wheel in a ditch, his Ferrari somersaulted across the track. Collins was thrown into a tree and succumbed to his head injuries later that day. Brooks went on to win the race, and later in life, in his biography, he stated that Collins drove more aggressively than any other driver he encountered throughout his racing career.

A favourite of Enzo Ferrari, Collins had previously shown his team spirit by giving up his car for teammate Juan Manuel Fangio at the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, even when Collins still had a chance to become the champion.

From 32 race starts, Collins took three wins, nine podiums, and 47 career points driving for HWM, Vanwall, Maserati and Ferrari.

Roy Salvadori took second and Maurice Trintignant third, both in Cooper cars.

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1958 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	8	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	15	2:21:15.000	8
2	10	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Climax	15	+209.700s	6
3	11	Maurice  Trintignant	Cooper Climax	15	+311.200s	4
4	4	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	15	+376.300s	3
5	20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Climax	15	+386.300s	0
6	21	Edgar Barth	Porsche	15	+392.400s	0
7	26	Ian Burgess	Cooper Climax	15	+419.300s	0
8	30	Tony  Marsh	Cooper Climax	15	+429.900s	0
9	23	Phil Hill	Ferrari	15	+465.500s	0
10	12	Cliff Allison	Lotus Climax	13	+2 laps	0
11	28	Ivor  Bueb	Lotus Climax	13	+2 laps	0
NC	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	11	DNF	0
NC	2	Peter Collins	Ferrari	10	DNF	0
NC	6	Harry Schell	BRM	9	DNF	0
NC	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Cooper Climax	9	DNF	0
NC	5	Jean Behra	BRM	4	DNF	0
NC	25	Graham Hill	Lotus Climax	4	DNF	0
NC	27	Christian  Goethals	Cooper Climax	4	DNF	0
NC	17	Hans  Herrmann	Maserati	3	DNF	0
NC	7	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	3	DNF	1
NC	18	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	3	DNF	0
NC	19	Dick  Gibson	Cooper Climax	2	DNF	0
NC	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper Climax	1	DNF	0
NC	29	Brian  Naylor	Cooper Climax	1	DNF	0
NC	16	Jo Bonnier	Maserati	1	DNF	0

1969

The 1969 German Grand Prix, held on August 3 at the Nürburgring, was won by Belgian driver Jacky Ickx in a Brabham. Despite a poor start that dropped him to ninth, Ickx fought back through the field and engaged in a battle with championship leader Jackie Stewart. Ickx took the lead on lap 5 and maintained it, finishing nearly a minute ahead of Stewart, who was hampered by gearbox issues. Bruce McLaren secured third place, followed by Graham Hill in fourth. Ickx’s victory, came from pole with the fastest lap to boot.

The race weekend was marred by tragedy when German driver Gerhard Mitter was killed during practice due to a suspected suspension failure in his Formula Two car. This incident led to the withdrawal of BMW’s entries and cast a sombre tone over the event.

The race also featured several accidents, including a collision involving Mario Andretti and Vic Elford on the first lap, resulting in Elford sustaining a broken arm.

1969 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	6	Jacky Ickx	Brabham Ford	14	1:49:55.400	9
2	7	Jackie Stewart	Matra Ford	14	+57.700s	6
3	10	Bruce McLaren	McLaren Ford	14	+201.600s	4
4	1	Graham Hill	Lotus Ford	14	+238.800s	3
5	26	Henri Pescarolo	Matra Ford	14	+491.000s	0
6	29	Richard Attwood	Brabham Ford	13	+1 lap	0
7	20	Kurt  Ahrens	Brabham Ford	13	+1 lap	0
8	22	Rolf Stommelen	Lotus Ford	13	+1 lap	0
9	31	Peter  Westbury	Brabham Ford	13	+1 lap	0
10	30	Xavier Perrot	Brabham Ford	13	+1 lap	0
11	11	Jo Siffert	Lotus Ford	12	DNF	0
12	8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra Ford	12	DNF	0
NC	15	Jackie Oliver	BRM	11	DNF	0
NC	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren Ford	11	DNF	0
NC	2	Jochen Rindt	Lotus Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	28	Francois  Cevert	Tecno Cosworth	9	DNF	0
NC	27	Johnny  Servoz-Gavin	Matra Ford	6	DNF	0
NC	16	Jo Bonnier	Lotus Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	17	Piers  Courage	Brabham Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	12	Vic  Elford	McLaren Ford	0	DNF	0
NC	3	Mario Andretti	Lotus Ford	0	DNF	0

1975

Brabham driver Carlos Reutemann won the 1975 German Grand Prix on August 3 at the Nürburgring. Starting from 10th on the grid, Reutemann navigated a race that saw multiple retirements and mechanical issues among front-runners. Niki Lauda, who had secured pole with a record-breaking lap, led the early stages but suffered a puncture and front spoiler damage, requiring a pit stop that dropped him down the order. Jacques Laffite achieved his first Formula One podium, finishing second, while Lauda recovered to secure third, maintaining his lead in the 1975 Drivers’ Championship.

Patrick Depailler and Carlos Pace both retired due to suspension failures, while Clay Regazzoni‘s engine failure ended Ferrari‘s hopes for a 1–2 finish. Tom Pryce finished fourth for Shadow, followed by Alan Jones in fifth for Hill, and Gijs van Lennep in sixth for Ensign. Reutemann’s victory propelled him to second in the championship standings, 17 points behind Lauda, with three races remaining in the season.

1975 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	7	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham Ford	14	1:41:14.100	9
2	21	Jacques Laffite	Frank Williams Racing Cars/Williams	14	+97.700s	6
3	12	Niki Lauda	Ferrari	14	+143.300s	4
4	16	Tom Pryce	Shadow Ford	14	+211.400s	3
5	22	Alan  Jones	Hill Ford	14	+230.300s	2
6	19	Gijs van Lennep	Ensign Ford	14	+305.500s	1
7	29	Lella Lombardi	March Ford	14	+450.400s	0
8	25	Harald Ertl	Hesketh Ford	14	+460.900s	0
9	4	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell Ford	13	+1 lap	0
10	27	Mario Andretti	Parnelli Ford	12	DNF	0
NC	24	James Hunt	Hesketh Ford	10	DNF	0
NC	11	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	9	DNF	0
NC	23	Tony Brise	Hill Ford	9	DNF	0
NC	3	Jody Scheckter	Tyrrell Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	17	Jean-Pierre Jarier	Shadow Ford	7	DNF	0
NC	8	Carlos Pace	Brabham Ford	5	DNF	0
NC	30	Wilson Fittipaldi	Fittipaldi Ford	4	DNF	0
NC	1	Emerson Fittipaldi	McLaren Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	10	Hans-Joachim Stuck	March Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	9	Vittorio Brambilla	March Ford	3	DNF	0
NC	6	John Watson	Lotus Ford	2	DNF	0
NC	5	Ronnie Peterson	Lotus Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	28	Mark Donohue	March Ford	1	DNF	0
NC	2	Jochen Mass	McLaren Ford	0	DNF	0

2003

Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya completed a hat-trick by securing pole, the fastest lap, and victory at the 2003 German Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher, competing in his home race, managed only seventh place but maintained a six-point lead in the 2003 Drivers’ Championship by the end of the weekend.

David Coulthard finished second for McLaren, with Jarno Trulli third in a Renault.

Schumacher went on to become F1 world champion for the fourth time in a row (and sixth time overall) for Ferrari with 93 points.

2003 German Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams BMW	67	1:28:48.769	10
2	5	David Coulthard	McLaren Mercedes	67	+65.459s	8
3	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	67	+69.060s	6
4	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	67	+69.344s	5
5	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	66	+1 lap	4
6	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	66	+1 lap	3
7	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	66	+1 lap	2
8	17	Jenson Button	BAR Honda	66	+1 lap	1
9	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR Honda	65	+2 laps	0
10	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber Petronas	65	+2 laps	0
11	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar Cosworth	64	DNF	0
12	18	Nicolas Kiesa	Minardi Cosworth	62	+5 laps	0
13	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan Ford	60	DNF	0
NC	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi Cosworth	23	DNF	0
NC	15	Justin Wilson	Jaguar Cosworth	6	DNF	0
NC	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams BMW	1	DNF	0
NC	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber Petronas	1	DNF	0
NC	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	0	DNF	0
NC	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren Mercedes	0	DNF	0
NC	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan Ford	0	DNF	0

2008

Felipe Massa suffered a heartbreaking loss at the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix when his Ferrari engine blew three laps from the finish, forcing him to coast to a halt on the pit straight. Massa, who had taken the lead from the first corner and maintained it throughout the race, saw his victory snatched away through no fault of his own. Heikki Kovalainen went on to claim his maiden race win for McLaren, which made him the sport’s 100th driver to win a World Championship race, while Lewis Hamilton secured his 10th career pole the previous day.

Timo Glock with Toyota came home in P2 and Finland’s Kimi Räikkönen with Ferrari in P3. As a consequence of the race, Hamilton extended his lead in the 2008 Drivers’ Championship to five points over Räikkönen, with Massa a further three behind. A title he would go on to win in dramatic fashion in Brazil.

2008 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren Mercedes	70	1:37:27.067	10
2	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	70	+11.061s	8
3	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	70	+16.856s	6
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	70	+21.614s	5
5	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren Mercedes	70	+23.048s	4
6	6	Nelson Piquet	Renault	70	+32.298s	3
7	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	70	+36.449s	2
8	4	Robert Kubica	Sauber BMW	70	+48.321s	1
9	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull Renault	70	+58.834s	0
10	3	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber BMW	70	+67.709s	0
11	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull Renault	70	+70.407s	0
12	16	Jenson Button	Honda	69	+1 lap	0
13	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams Toyota	69	+1 lap	0
14	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams Toyota	69	+1 lap	0
15	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India Ferrari	69	+1 lap	0
16	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	68	+2 laps	0
17	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	DNF	0
18	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR Ferrari	67	+3 laps	0
NC	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India Ferrari	62	DNF	0
NC	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR Ferrari	22	DNF	0

2009

Renault‘s sacking of Nelson Piquet Jr. marked the beginning of the Crashgate scandal. Piquet, who had a best finish of seventh after a season-and-a-half, criticised his manager, Flavio Briatore, for lack of support, calling him “my executioner.” Piquet and his father later sought revenge, leading to the unravelling of the scandal.

F1 Driver Birthdays 3 August

Births	F1 Driver
3 August 1899	Louis Chiron (d. 1979)
3 August 1989	Jules Bianchi (d. 2015)

F1 Driver Deaths 3 August

Deaths	F1 Driver
3 August 1958	Peter Collins (b. 1931)
3 August 2016	Chris Amon (b. 1943)
3 August 2020	Tino Brambilla (b. 1934)

F1 Champion 3 August

Date	Driver/Team
3 August 1952	Alberto Ascari